Choosing the right EPOS system for your restaurants or restaurants has never been more crucial since the onset of the COVID-19 epidemic.
Right now. the right EPOS system can literally be the difference between making a profit during difficult economic times and just about breaking even.
The right EPOS system for your restaurant or group of restaurants enables you to better:
- reduce food wastage through clearer visibility of stock and the ability to predict demand,
- allocate just the right amount of staff to continue to deliver memorable experiences to your diners,
- generate additional revenue through integration of your EPOS system with food delivery apps, and
- stimulate extra demand from your loyal clientele through the use of in-built marketing tools based upon their preferences.
There are two types of competitor in this market:
- specialist restaurant EPOS providers and
- general EPOS providers which have launched new services specifically for the hospitality sector.
All of the six systems we’ve reviewed score very well on TrustPilot.
There seems to be little difference in customer satisfaction between the specialist EPOS suppliers and the more generic suppliers.
There is, however, enough variance between these competing products meaning that it’s worth spending time investigating to see which supplier offers the most suitable product for your restaurant(s).
In this article, we’ll cover:
- the 6 key benefits of investing in a restaurant EPOS system,
- six of the current top restaurant EPOS providers with a short review of their services, and
- how to approach making the decision on which EPOS supplier is right for your restaurant.
Welcome to BusinessCostSaver – we’re a team of results-focused advisors whose role is to assist our readers in lowering their overheads and increasing their profitability.
The hospitality sector is especially demanding and owning a hospitality business often means that you have little or no time left in the day to spend hours investigating a new EPOS system for your restaurant.
We really hope you find our article useful but, if you’d prefer one of our restaurant EPOS advisors to come up with recommendations for you based upon your current and future business needs, please fill in the details at the top of this page.
Our service is completely free and you’re under no obligation to accept any of the recommendations we make to you.
The 6 main benefits of a restaurant EPOS system
The better restaurant EPOS systems offer much more than just the ability to take payment from customers.
We list the six main benefits of investing in a system below.
When you compare EPOS systems for restaurants, be sure to make a list of “essential” and “desirable” functions you want your system to have – functions which justify your expenditure on the system and which add value to your overall business.
By doing that, you only pay for what you need and you’re not left paying for a system which underperforms or overpaying for a system whose features you and your staff rarely use.
1. Ingredient tracking and reordering
Restaurants and food outlets have a difficult balancing act in:
- judging likely customer demand so that their patrons aren’t disappointed and
- ensuring that they don’t overstock on what are perishable items.
More so than in most businesses, stock management and cost control make the difference between making a profit or recording a loss in business sectors like hospitality which generally operate on very slender net profit margins.
Your EPOS system keeps track of the types of ingredients you have in stock and their volume.
It can track how quickly you get through individual stock items and it will either automatically order more from your supplier or alert you that your current supply is constrained.
2. Faster and more convenient customer turnaround
Poor service, even when the food you’ve been served has been delicious, deters all diners from going back to a particular restaurant.
Investing in an EPOS system improves live record-keeping on open tickets and it ensures that, when the bill is taken to the table, patrons are presented with the correct total to pay.
Modern EPOS system payment collection is a lot quicker and simpler than the traditional method and all order information is retained by the EPOS system allowing for better business analysis.
3. Business analysis
Running restaurants successfully requires owners and senior managers have both well-developed business skills and an understanding of what diners want and when.
All order information is fed into the EPOS system in real time.
You and your management team can run reports on what your best-selling products are and what the gross margins are on each product and order.
This information helps restaurant owners and managers understand:
- which product ranges and dishes they should focus on to meet changing trends in customer demands and
- which product ranges and dishes are rarely ordered, and
- the gross profit margins on each product range and dish.
EPOS systems also record the dates and times of all sales processed through them so you can better organise staff rotas to improve profitability.
By running reports on your system, you’ll know when you need more kitchen and front of house staff in and when you’ll need fewer.
4. Better interaction with the kitchen
Many modern EPOS systems operate from a central server or cloud-based server.
Connected to those servers are:
- the tablets used by waiting staff to take orders and
- the kitchen printer.
For waiting staff, taking diners’ requests on a tablet is a lot quicker and more accurate – they can read back diners’ orders to them for verification before the order is sent to the kitchen.
Likewise, if, after ordering, a diner changes their mind, the EPOS system records this for billing purposes and it also alerts the kitchen instantly to the requested change.
For the kitchen brigade, the instructions coming from the front of house staff are a lot clearer and much less likely to confuse chefs.
This means a much smoother kitchen operation resulting in faster dispatch of dishes from the kitchen to diners’ tables.
5. Marketing opportunities
EPOS systems are able to record accurately each diners’ name, mobile number, and email address.
Over time, you build a database of each diners’ spending patterns, food preferences, and frequency of visits.
From that database, you can target special promotions to some or all of your diners as well as launching a loyalty scheme to reward the diners whose business is most valuable to you.
No-one is entirely certain how long we’ll be living with the effects of the pandemic and, even as restrictions lift, a significant proportion of diners may feel nervous about entering hospitality venues.
One of the more recent developments in restaurant EPOS functionality is the use of tablets set at a table allowing diners to place their orders directly with the kitchen and pay at the end of the meal without the need for waiting staff.
For many diners, being waited on is part of the joy of going to restaurants and that’s unlikely to change.
However, giving diners both the choice of automatic tablet-driven service and waiter/waitress service may be a significant future trend and being one of the first restaurants to offer it could give yours a distinct advantage.
6. Interaction with delivery service providers
The launch of Deliveroo and Uber Eats predated the onset of the pandemic however the pandemic led to a much faster growth in the take-up of both services.
We understand that many restaurant owners are less than happy with these services primarily because of the hefty commissions they take.
But if you want to develop a delivery service alongside your sit-in service, many EPOS systems now have integrations with delivery service apps allowing you to take advantage of this developing trend more easily.
Restaurant EPOS systems reviewed
EPOSnow Hospitality System
| EPOSNow Hospitality System | |
| Target market | Larger restaurants |
| Free trial? | 30 days |
| Initial costs | £799 |
| Lowest monthly fee | £25 per till per month |
| Highest monthly fee | £25 per till per month |
| Credit card fees | Depends on merchant account |
| Debit card fees | Depends on merchant account |
| Tied to a payment processor? | No |
| PDQ integrations | Worldway, Verifone, PayPal Here, Paymentsense, Global Payments, Barclaycard |
| Accepts cash payments? | Yes |
| Accepts gift cards? | Yes |
| Accepts vouchers? | No |
| Accepts store credit/on account? | Yes |
| Accepts cheques? | No |
| Accepts quote/layaway? | Yes |
| Accepts card on account? | Yes |
| Accepts invoice payments? | No |
| PC compatible? | Yes (touchscreens) |
| Android compatible? | Yes (tablets) |
| iPhone compatible? | No |
| iPad compatible? | Yes |
| Mac compatible? | Yes |
| Customer support | Standard plan offers limited support, premium plan 24/7 email and phone |
| Account package integration | Sage, Quickbooks, Xero |
| Integration with delivery apps | Shopify for Restaurants |
| Trustpilot rating | 4.4 |
| Number of Trustpilot reviews | 6,721 |
Advertising itself as the “complete hospitality EPOS”, EPOSNow’s services are very well received by its customers attracting an average score of 4.4 out of 5 from nearly seven thousand TrustPilot reviews.
It’s one of the UK’s fastest growing EPOS providers and it has featured in the Sunday Times’ top 100 fast growth tech company lists over a number of years.
It has an impressive range of hardware, its software is very adaptable, and the company will try to steer you into taking both as part of a package.
Particularly highly thought of among its users it is stock management system – you can keep a real time eye on the amount of ingredients you have and the system will activate an automatic purchase order when you’re running low on particular lines.
Its online booking system is particularly advanced and we like the way it integrates seamlessly with its table management system. Restaurants can also run their own promotions and build a loyalty program. The split bill function is also very intuitive and worthy of mention.
Looking at its user reviews, the major bone of contention with the company seems to be a perception that its customer service team is too small and that they take too long to respond to requests for help.
That said, we would certainly recommend for restaurants with 40 or more covers that you consider this system when deciding on a new EPOS for your business.
Lightspeed
| Lightspeed Restaurant services | |
| Target market | Mid-sized restaurants |
| Free trial? | 14 days |
| Initial costs | POA |
| Lowest monthly fee | £69 per month (retail EPOS) |
| Highest monthly fee | £199 per month (retail EPOS, eCom, Loyalty Scheme, Analytics) |
| Credit card fees | Depends on merchant account |
| Debit card fees | Depends on merchant account |
| Tied to a payment processor? | No |
| PDQ integrations | Barclaycard, Verifone, iZettle |
| Accepts cash payments? | Yes |
| Accepts gift cards? | Yes |
| Accepts vouchers? | No |
| Accepts store credit/on account? | Yes |
| Accepts cheques? | Yes |
| Accepts quote/layaway? | Yes |
| Accepts card on account? | No |
| Accepts invoice payments? | No |
| PC compatible? | No |
| Android compatible? | No |
| iPhone compatible? | No |
| iPad compatible? | Yes |
| Mac compatible? | Yes |
| Customer support | 24/7 by email and phone |
| Account package integration | Quickbooks, Xero |
| Integration with delivery apps | Yes |
| Trustpilot rating | 4.3 |
| Number of Trustpilot reviews | 524 |
Scoring marginally less than EPOSnow with its average Trustpilot review is Lightspeed. A Canadian specialist in restaurant EPOS system provision, feedback on its system has been very positive among both restaurateurs and software specialists alike.
What has potentially stopped a much wider adoption of Lightspeed is that it is Apple only – there are no PC or Android apps available for it all.
Given that the vast majority of hospitality businesses are run on a Windows back end with which users already feel comfortable (even if begrudgingly so), this will be a hurdle too high for many restaurant owners.
The installation of the system onto your Mac computers is made easier by live online and telephone support.
Following installation, there are many ways available to you in which to configure the system to your own ends than exist on many competing platforms.
It features full payment management as well as stock management (both on premises and online).
TouchBistro
| TouchBistro Restaurant EPOS System | |
| Target market | Fine dining restaurants |
| Free trial? | Free demo available |
| Initial costs | Variable |
| Lowest monthly fee | £49 per month first license |
| Highest monthly fee | £40 per month per licence (10 licences) |
| Credit card fees | Depends on merchant account |
| Debit card fees | Depends on merchant account |
| Tied to a payment processor? | Yes |
| PDQ integrations | iZettle, Square, PayPal |
| Accepts cash payments? | Yes |
| Accepts gift cards? | Yes |
| Accepts vouchers? | No |
| Accepts store credit/on account? | Yes |
| Accepts cheques? | No |
| Accepts quote/layaway? | No |
| Accepts card on account? | No |
| Accepts invoice payments? | No |
| PC compatible? | No |
| Android compatible? | No |
| iPhone compatible? | No |
| iPad compatible? | Yes |
| Mac compatible? | Yes (for the server) |
| Customer support | 24/7 by app, email, and phone |
| Account package integration | Xero, Shogo, Sage, Quickbooks |
| Integration with delivery apps | Yes |
| Trustpilot rating | 3.2 |
| Number of Trustpilot reviews | 111 |
Many of the restaurant EPOS systems available on the market allow users to download apps (or integrations) to further personalise the systems to their own needs and TouchBistro is no exception.
The number of apps is limited to 14 though covering integration, scheduling, accounting, inventory, loyalty, online ordering, and payroll.
A major feature in TouchBistro’s pitch to choose it over competing platforms is its customer service but many existing users disagree. Complaints over the speed and the quality of service the company offers are behind its relatively low 3.2 out of 5 across over one hundred TrustPilot reviews.
The Lightspeed system exists both on your business servers as well as online via the cloud.
Like Lightspeed, this is an Apple-only system (no Windows or Android) and if you need to connect more than one iPad to your EPOS system, you’ll have to invest in a Mac computer to operate as the platform’s server.
Users describe the system as easy to use but occasionally slow and bug-prone. Users appreciate the simple integration of kitchen, delivery, and takeaway orders as well as the advanced customer loyalty program (this costs extra).
The menu options, stock management, and employee management functions are intuitive and easy to use. The reporting provided by the system on each of these three important areas of restaurant management are particularly insightful.
Square
| Square For Restaurants | |
| Target market | Smaller restaurants |
| Free trial? | 30 days |
| Initial costs | From £199 |
| Lowest monthly fee | Free |
| Highest monthly fee | £69 per month per location |
| Credit card fees | 2.75% |
| Debit card fees | 2.75% |
| Tied to a payment processor? | Yes |
| PDQ integrations | Square only |
| Accepts cash payments? | Yes |
| Accepts gift cards? | Yes |
| Accepts vouchers? | Yes |
| Accepts store credit/on account? | No |
| Accepts cheques? | Yes |
| Accepts quote/layaway? | No |
| Accepts card on account? | Yes |
| Accepts invoice payments? | Yes |
| PC compatible? | No |
| Android compatible? | Yes |
| iPhone compatible? | Yes |
| iPad compatible? | Yes |
| Mac compatible? | No |
| Customer support | Email and phone during working hours |
| Account package integration | Enterpryze, Exact, Kashoo, KashFlow, QuickBooks, Sage One, Xero, Zoho Books |
| Integration with delivery apps | Yes |
| Trustpilot rating | 4.4 |
| Number of Trustpilot reviews | 1,491 |
The Square For Restaurants app is rated 4.4 out of 5 by nearly one-and-a-half thousands Trustpilot reviews however this EPOS does have its limitations.
These limitations make it much more suitable for smaller restaurants with 30 covers or less.
Once a restaurant passes this level of covers, running it becomes a lot harder without having access to ongoing and real time insights into sales performance, stock levels, and employee management.
There is a free plan available but it’d be better to choose the £69 a month option because of the additional features the platform offers.
Better still, the £69 a month covers multiple locations so, if you own or operate a chain of small cafes or restaurants, there is the opportunity to make significant savings because most restaurant EPOS operators charge by location and by the number of tills or tablets by location.
The user interface is elegant and uncluttered and there is a particular emphasis on making the input of information into the system as quick and efficient as possible.
Different menus can be displayed at different times of day and items (together with their variants) can be easily group into specific menus.
Features included on the platform include stock management, employee management, customer database build option, discounts, promotion launches, waiter/waitress tipping, and table tab management.
There are free equipment and software trials available for restaurant owners wanting to try the system out.
iZettle
| iZettle Food And Drink | |
| Target market | Smaller restaurants and cafes |
| Free trial? | 7 days |
| Initial costs | Food & Drink Kit from £399 |
| Lowest monthly fee | £29 |
| Highest monthly fee | £29 |
| Credit card fees | 1.75% |
| Debit card fees | 1.75% |
| Tied to a payment processor? | Yes |
| PDQ integrations | iZettle only |
| Accepts cash payments? | Yes |
| Accepts gift cards? | Yes |
| Accepts vouchers? | No |
| Accepts store credit/on account? | no |
| Accepts cheques? | No |
| Accepts quote/layaway? | No |
| Accepts card on account? | No |
| Accepts invoice payments? | Yes |
| PC compatible? | No |
| Android compatible? | No |
| iPhone compatible? | Yes |
| iPad compatible? | Yes |
| Mac compatible? | No |
| Customer support | Email, chatbot, or phone during working hours |
| Account package integration | Xero |
| Integration with delivery apps | Yes |
| Trustpilot rating | 4 |
| Number of Trustpilot reviews | 2,632 |
Also competing for the small café, bar, and restaurant sector with Square is iZettle, now part of the PayPal family of brands. As with Square, there is no minimum contract length and users can take it for a free test run with no obligation for seven days.
The EPOS interface is elegant and lightning-quick and it has been specifically designed to allow users to input the information they need as fast as possible with as few presses of the touchscreen.
Functionality included with the package includes
- employee management (including the ability to create separate log-ins for each member of staff),
- the ability to process both eat-in and delivery orders,
- the creation of product categories (including variables like portion sizes), and
- the ability to send diners a link to their mobile phone to pay securely without having to get their card out in store (not sure how useful that actually is, however).
You’ll need an iPad to use the software – no PC, iPhone, Android, or Mac is needed. All the payments from and data generated by the system are processed and held remotely on secure cloud servers.
The reporting and analytics on iZettle Food and Drink is not particularly in-depth but you can view information like the number of items per average order, wasted sales, closed orders, and product ranking by the number/volume of sales.
iZettle Food and Drink serves its target market well scoring 4 out of 5 across over two-and-a-half thousand online reviews.
The only bone of contention with customers seems to be that it’s customer service team is not open when restaurants do most of their trade and that, when customer services are available, they’re not as speedy as some clients desire.
Nobly POS
| NoblyPOS Restaurants | |
| Target market | Start up smaller restaurants |
| Free trial? | 15 days |
| Initial costs | No upfront costs on some plans |
| Lowest monthly fee | £39 per month per till |
| Highest monthly fee | £39 per month per till |
| Credit card fees | Depends on merchant account |
| Debit card fees | Depends on merchant account |
| Tied to a payment processor? | No |
| PDQ integrations | iZettle, SumUp, Barclaycard, Paymentsense |
| Accepts cash payments? | Yes |
| Accepts gift cards? | Yes |
| Accepts vouchers? | Yes |
| Accepts store credit/on account? | No |
| Accepts cheques? | Yes |
| Accepts quote/layaway? | No |
| Accepts card on account? | No |
| Accepts invoice payments? | No |
| PC compatible? | No |
| Android compatible? | Yes |
| iPhone compatible? | Yes |
| iPad compatible? | Yes |
| Mac compatible? | No |
| Customer support | Email and phone during working hours |
| Account package integration | Xero |
| Integration with delivery apps | No |
| Trustpilot rating | 4.6 |
| Number of Trustpilot reviews | 500 |
Available in 20 countries around the world, the NoblyPOS target market is small-to-medium sized retail and hospitality businesses.
In addition to the software they supply, NoblyPOS’s range of hardware is impressive and reasonably priced.
A 15-day free trial is available and their £39 cost per till per month is very competitive. As with iZettle’s customer service team, they’re not available during peak restaurant hours meaning that, if there’s a fault with the system and your tables are full, you may experience operational challenges that night.
NoblyPOS integrates well with QuickBooks and Zero and it offers the following features:
- discount schemes,
- end of day reports,
- gift card launch and acceptance,
- ingredient tracking,
- inventory management,
- loyalty schemes,
- parked bills,
- refunds and returns,
- reliable offline mode,
- sales reports,
- split payments,
- staff reports,
- store credits, and
- table service.
Unlike with other EPOS systems, you can use the merchant service account provider of your choice.
Some users report difficulty in configuring the back end of the system to operate in the way they want and that the reports the system generates, although useful, can be difficult to program and download.
With an average rating of 4.6 out of 5 on Trustpilot, there is a strong argument to contact the company to take advantage of its 15-day free trial.
Get help to choose the right restaurant till systems
What we’ve noticed particularly in the last 2-3 years is just how the competitors in the restaurant EPOS market are continually adding new features and integrations to their platforms.
As you’ve seen, there aren’t significant differences in price between the six main suppliers of restaurant EPOS systems in the UK.
Although price should always be a consideration in any decision, we recommend that restaurant owners focus just as much on how an EPOS system can help them reduced both their fixed and sales costs as well as highlight new profit centres and opportunities.
We’d really appreciate the opportunity to help you make a decision.
Leave your contact details in the form at the top of the page and one of our EPOS advisors will get back in touch with you.
Let us know about your restaurant as it is today and the plans you have for your business in the coming year or two.
Our advisor will then recommend one or more system to you based upon his or her assessment of its current and future suitability for your restaurant or restaurants.
We’re completely impartial, our service is free, and there’s no obligation on you to proceed with any of the recommendations we make to you.