Cloud POS explained: what UK venues actually get
This page explains cloud POS architecture for UK hospitality: software in the browser, data off-site, and devices you already own as tills or kitchen screens. It is not a restaurant feature tour, and it is not the place to compare EPOS prices. For EPOS buying criteria and cost lines, use the EPOS systems guide. For table service workflows, use the restaurant POS page. For published numbers, see pricing, the POS cost guide and methodology.
The short version
A cloud POS moves the brains of your till off the counter and into the cloud. The software runs in a browser, the data lives on secure servers, and any device you own (iPad, Android tablet, phone, laptop) becomes a till, a kitchen display or a live sales dashboard. Change a price once and it updates on every device. You can check takings from home, and if you need an extra till for a busy weekend you just log in on another tablet. Servio is built this way from the ground up: one cloud platform running the till, QR table ordering, kitchen screens and owner analytics, all in sync.
No till hardware
The £699-a-register economics of traditional EPOS disappear. Your existing tablets are the hardware, and replacements are whatever the shop sells.
Always current
Updates ship continuously to every venue at once, with no engineer visits. Every till is on the same version of the software.
Data that survives
Orders and reports live off-site and backed up, so a dropped tablet costs you a screen and nothing else. Card data never touches the system at all, because payments run through Stripe.
Any device, any role
The same platform is a till at the counter, a prep screen in the kitchen and a dashboard on the owner's phone: one login, live everywhere.
Built for real connections
Short internet drops don't stop service. Servio re-syncs automatically when you're back online, and a phone hotspot covers longer outages.
Priced like software
You pay a monthly subscription you can cancel, rather than buying hardware you write down over years. Servio publishes every price: £89-£219/month, whole platform included.
How to judge any cloud POS (including ours)
Three tests separate genuine cloud platforms from legacy tills with a web login. One: can you run it entirely on devices you already own? If the answer involves a proprietary terminal, you’re still paying hardware economics, and our cost guide shows what that adds per month. Two: is everything one system? QR ordering and kitchen displays bolted on as separate apps mean more subscriptions and logins, with orders hopping between systems. The connected-versus-bolted difference is why order errors collapse on one platform. Three: is the price public? Cloud software has no site-survey excuse for quote-only pricing. We built Servio to pass all three. See how it compares to Square, Toast and others, or start the live demo in your browser right now. The demo is the same software venues use in service.
Cloud EPOS by venue type
The architecture is the same everywhere, but what makes a cloud system earn its keep differs by venue. Cafés and coffee shops live and die on counter speed and modifier handling. The café EPOS guide covers what to look for through a morning rush. Takeaways and fast food need peak-hour speed with counter, collection and QR orders in one queue; that's the takeaway EPOS guide. Kitchens get the biggest quality jump when the display runs on the same platform as the till. The kitchen display guide explains station routing. And if you're weighing providers, the 2026 UK system comparison ranks the market honestly, and the menu migration guide shows how switching works in an afternoon.
What "runs in the browser" actually means
There is no Servio terminal to buy, lease or return. A till is a tablet or laptop on your counter. A kitchen screen is another tablet on a mount. An owner dashboard is the same login on a phone on the sofa. Updates arrive without an engineer. A dropped device costs you a screen, not the sales data, because nothing important lives on it. Payments default to Stripe. On Growth, Square readers you already have can connect so you are not binning kit on day one. Toast and other reader connections are coming for the same reason: switch aid, not a hardware partnership.
The internet question, answered without an invented SLA
Servio keeps working through short connection drops and re-syncs when the line returns. That covers a few minutes of a flaky connection, not a long outage. For a longer drop, a phone hotspot will run a browser-based till. Do not clear browser data while offline: that is the one action that can lose unsynced work. We have not published a guaranteed offline window, and we will not invent one. The mid-service version is If the internet drops.
Cost without the quote wall
Starter £89, Growth £219, Enterprise from £449, month-to-month. Annual billing is two months free. Cash to open is £0 if you already have tablets. Rivals' first-party kits, no iPads added: Square £1,687, Zettle £895, SumUp £549. On the default venue the monthly all-in is SumUp about £1,002, Zettle about £1,015, Servio Growth £999, Square about £1,092. SumUp wins the month below about a £24 average order, because Stripe's 10p in person costs more than a flat percentage on small tickets. The EPOS guide and methodology show the arithmetic.
Two offers, same software as the demo
Starter: 14 days free, no card. Founding Growth pilot: 30 days free, no application, then £109 for six paid months, then £219. The live demo at app.servio.uk/demo is the same software venues run in service. Setup is in Set up your venue in an afternoon.
What breaks on a traditional till, and what breaks in a browser
A traditional EPOS fails when the box fails. The menu, the prices and yesterday's takings were on that terminal. A cloud POS fails when the connection fails for longer than a short drop, or when someone clears browser data while unsynced work is still local. Those are different failure modes. Ask every vendor the internet question in writing. Our written answer is If the internet drops: short drops keep working and re-sync; a long outage needs a hotspot; we will not invent a numeric offline SLA.
Who holds the card, and what PCI you still have
Payments default to Stripe. Servio never stores card data. Takings settle to your bank through your Stripe account, not through a Servio wallet. That keeps PCI scope smaller than a till that stores PANs. It does not make you exempt from looking after staff logins, devices, or a lost tablet that is still signed in. On Growth, Square readers you already have can connect as a switch aid. Toast and others are coming the same way. That is not a hardware partnership.
Refunds with money attached
If core ordering and payments are unavailable for more than 24 consecutive hours through a fault on our side, the refund policy is a pro-rata refund for the affected period. That is not an uptime badge and not a 99.9% claim. We have not published a numeric uptime SLA on this site. Full refund in the first 14 days of your first paid month is also in that policy.
How to judge any cloud POS, including us
Four lines in writing: software, paid extras to match a hospitality stack, hardware you must buy from them, card rate at your mix of in-person and QR. Then the exit, and whether you can export menu, orders and customers. Servio's answers are public on Pricing and export. The live demo is the same software. Starter 14 days. Founding Growth 30 days, then £109 × 6, then £219.
Common questions
What is a cloud POS system?
A cloud POS (point of sale) runs in the browser or an app and stores its data on remote servers rather than on a till in your venue. Orders, menus, prices and reports live in the cloud, so any device with a browser becomes a till, a kitchen screen or a live dashboard, and everything stays in sync across them in real time.
What's the difference between cloud POS and traditional EPOS?
A traditional EPOS is a physical till: software installed on proprietary hardware, data stored locally, updates and repairs done on site. A cloud POS separates software from hardware: you use your own devices, updates arrive automatically, data is backed up off-site, and you can check sales from anywhere. The cost model changes too: subscription instead of hardware purchase plus maintenance.
What happens to a cloud POS if the internet goes down?
It's the first question to ask any provider. Servio keeps working through short drops and re-syncs automatically when the connection returns, so service keeps moving. That covers a few minutes of a flaky connection, not a long outage. We have not published a guaranteed offline window, and we will not invent one. Details are on the security page and in If the internet drops. For longer outages, a phone hotspot keeps a browser-based system alive, which is harder to improvise with a proprietary till.
How much does a cloud POS cost in the UK?
UK cloud POS software runs from £0 app tiers to £219+/month for full platforms in 2026; the real comparison is the all-in bill including add-ons, hardware and card fees. Because cloud systems can run on devices you already own, the hardware line can be £0. Servio's plans (£89 Starter, £219 Growth, Enterprise from £449) are published on the pricing page, and our cost guide works the full market comparison.
Do I need a proprietary cloud POS till?
No. Servio runs in the browser on tablets, phones and laptops you already own. There is no Servio terminal to buy, lease or return. On Growth, Square readers you already have can stay as a switch aid.
Have you published an offline SLA?
No, and we will not invent one. Short drops keep working and re-sync. A long outage needs a hotspot. Do not clear browser data while offline. Details are in If the internet drops.