Resources · EPOS systems, explained

EPOS system UK: costs, types and how to choose

EPOS means electronic point of sale: the software and equipment used to take orders and payments and manage sales records. Compare your service workflows, total costs and terms, whether the system runs in a browser or on dedicated hardware. Read coffee shop and café EPOS page, restaurant POS system page, cloud POS guide, cost methodology.

EPOS, POS and till: what's the difference?

EPOS and POS are commonly used for the same point-of-sale function. Cloud services and dedicated hardware are not mutually exclusive: a provider may offer both. Compare the actual software, devices, payment requirements and offline behaviour. Read cloud POS guide.

Traditional EPOS till

Write down the work your till must support: counter and table orders, modifiers, payment methods, kitchen tickets, reporting and any specialist integrations. Product labels alone do not establish whether those workflows fit.

Cloud EPOS

Browser-based cloud EPOS supports compatible devices and remote reporting. Servio Starter at £89/month includes POS, QR ordering and one kitchen station. Existing devices may be reusable, while integrated payments require supported reader equipment. Offline support and staff permissions depend on the workflow and plan.

What an EPOS system really costs in the UK

Compare four cost lines: subscription, required extras, equipment and payment fees. Inventory, loyalty and kitchen packaging vary by provider and tier, so obtain a quote for the functions you need. Apply the percentage and fixed transaction fee to your own card and channel mix. A 0.4 percentage-point difference on £40,000 is £160 before any other fee differences. See the historical POS cost guide and 2026 system comparison for their stated assumptions and limitations.

The right EPOS by venue type

Coffee shops & cafés · Counter speed and clean modifier handling (milks, syrups, sizes) decide the morning rush. See the coffee shop and café EPOS system guide.
Restaurants · Coursing, bill splits, QR at the table and kitchen display in one queue. See the restaurant POS system page.
Takeaways & fast food · Peak-hour speed with counter, collection and QR orders in one queue. See the takeaway EPOS guide.

Traditional EPOS or cloud EPOS?

Compare the supplied or reusable hardware, the software and the billing terms separately. Cloud services can use dedicated equipment, and browser-based POS may still need compatible readers or printers. Servio offers monthly and annual subscriptions on supported devices.

What traditional EPOS is genuinely better at

Purpose-built equipment can suit a fixed counter that needs durable devices, peripherals and one supplier responsible for the package. Compare its operating conditions, warranty, support and total cost with the compatible equipment you could use for a browser-based system.

What it costs you

Price the equipment, subscription and payment terms together. If hardware is leased or financed, confirm ownership and the separate agreement; cancellation of software may not cancel equipment payments.

What cloud EPOS changes

Use compatible devices you own. There’s no proprietary till to buy or standard setup fee. Integrated cards need a supported reader; other readers work separately, with payments recorded manually. Check printer compatibility before service. Synchronised records are remote, but unsynced offline orders remain on the original device.

A previously loaded POS can queue cash or external-card orders on that device and sync after reconnecting. Integrated Stripe Terminal payments cannot be queued offline. QR ordering, live kitchen updates and cloud reporting need connectivity. Keep a backup connection available and preserve browser data until pending orders sync.

How UK EPOS contracts actually work

Read the terms for the specific package you are considering. The commitment, renewal rules and cancellation dates can be as important as the monthly price.

Term and renewal. Ask for the minimum term, cancellation process, notice period and renewal treatment in writing. Put the relevant dates in your business calendar.

Whether the hardware is sold, leased or financed. Leased hardware is frequently a separate agreement with a separate finance company, which means cancelling the software does not cancel the payments. If a quote mentions a monthly hardware figure, ask which company you would actually owe it to.

What the card rate is tied to. Some EPOS providers bundle payment processing and price the software attractively on the basis they earn on every transaction. That can be fine, but you should know it and be able to compare the rate against a standalone processor. If you cannot switch processor without leaving the POS, that is a lock-in worth pricing.

What happens to your data if you leave. Menus, sales history and customer records are yours. Ask whether you can export them yourself, in a usable format, without asking permission. A provider that cannot answer that quickly is telling you something.

Servio offers rolling monthly and annual subscriptions. For a single venue, cancel in Settings > Billing through the Stripe billing portal. Access continues until the billing period ends, with no cancellation fee. For accounts with multiple venues, contact support. Annual billing costs ten monthly payments for twelve months of access; the founding Growth pilot is monthly-only. Review your selected interval and any existing provider commitments before switching. Read pricing page.

Switching without losing a service

Plan a change around menu review, staff preparation and a quieter first service. Keep the agreed fallback available until the team has tested the workflows it needs.

Menu import is included on every plan. Upload a supported file, image or PDF, paste text or use a menu URL to create a draft. Review the source against the draft for missing items, categories, prices, modifiers and operator-verified allergen information before publishing. Test the reviewed menu on the staff till and guest phone before changing over.

Run one quiet midweek service on the new system alongside the old one before you commit. Two systems for one evening is mild inconvenience; discovering a routing problem during a Saturday rush is not. Set up staff accounts before the shift rather than during it, and print a couple of QR codes to test table numbering before ordering a hundred of them.

Time the switch against your existing notice period, not your enthusiasm. If you are 14 months into a 36-month agreement, the sensible move is often to trial the new system on a free tier or trial, decide properly, and switch when the term allows.

Cash to open, then all-in

Compare two different measures. Cash to open is the equipment and setup you need before service. Ongoing cost is subscription, extras, venues, usage and processing, with any equipment financing or amortisation shown explicitly. Existing devices and readers are not free equipment supplied by the POS provider.

Compare the subscription, required extras, devices, reader, usage charges and card fees at your own sales volume. Historical examples on this site have specific dates and assumptions; they are not current quotes or a promise of the lowest cost. No proprietary Servio till does not mean payment equipment is free. The August Growth example and venue equipment comparison use different plan and equipment assumptions; do not combine their totals. Read Pricing, methodology page, cash to open versus all-in.

A longer amortisation window lowers the monthly allowance for an upfront equipment purchase; a shorter one raises it. It does not change the cash you pay to buy that equipment. Devices already owned and equipment omitted from an example should be added to your own budget when required.

How to read a POS quote

Ask for four lines in writing: software, paid extras required to match a full hospitality stack, hardware you must buy from them, and the card rate at your mix of in-person and QR. If loyalty, kitchen screens or inventory sit on a second invoice, they belong in the monthly total. If the card rate is bundled into a cheap software price, ask whether you can leave the processor without leaving the POS.

Five checks before you sign for any EPOS

Total cost. Include required extras and processing at your own mix. Devices. Confirm browser, reader and printer compatibility. Connected service. Test how orders reach the kitchen. Exit. Read the term and export arrangements. Connectivity. Check exactly which actions work offline and how pending work recovers.

Servio publishes its plan prices, supports compatible existing devices and connects POS, QR and kitchen tickets. Monthly and annual billing are available, and offline support is limited to cached POS orders with supported tenders. Explore the demo, then test your own configured workflow. Read every price, try it yourself.

Try the workflow before your pilot

Use the Servio product demo to walk through the till and ordering workflow. Then review the kitchen display guide for order routing and the new-restaurant setup guide for planning your first service.

Before committing, check your menu modifiers, kitchen stations, payment equipment and staff access against the published plans and pilot terms. A demo shows the product; a quiet pilot service tests whether it fits your venue.

Common questions

What is an EPOS system?

EPOS means electronic point of sale: the software and equipment used for orders, payments and sales records. POS is commonly used for the same function. Cloud services can work with either dedicated or general-purpose hardware, so compare specific requirements.

How much does an EPOS system cost in the UK?

Compare the subscription, required extras, devices, reader, usage charges and card fees at your own sales volume. Historical examples on this site have specific dates and assumptions; they are not current quotes or a promise of the lowest cost. No proprietary Servio till does not mean payment equipment is free. Servio plans are Starter £89/month, Growth £219 and Enterprise from £449, excluding VAT.

Do I need to buy an EPOS terminal?

What's the best EPOS system for a small hospitality business?

Match the system to the venue. Simple counters can start on free app tiers; cafés and coffee shops should look for fast modifier handling and counter speed on a dedicated coffee shop EPOS system; takeaways and fast food need peak-hour counter speed; full-service restaurants need QR ordering, kitchen displays and table management on a restaurant POS system. Servio covers the café-to-restaurant range from £89/month on your own devices, and we publish honest comparisons against Square, Toast, Lightspeed and others.