Resources · Restaurant POS

Restaurant POS systems for UK independents: till, QR and kitchen display

Connect counter orders, guest QR ordering and kitchen tickets with Servio. Start with core POS tools from £89/month; add the tables, routing and reporting your restaurant needs. Use compatible devices and prepare your menu and payments before service. Read EPOS systems guide, cloud POS guide, 2026 restaurant POS comparison.

One system, front to back

Counter, QR and staff orders use the same menu and feed the connected kitchen queue. Selected modifiers and notes travel with the ticket, and venue reports record the sales. Single-station KDS is included; separate prep stations require Growth, Enterprise or the Starter routing add-on. Read counter till, QR table ordering, kitchen station, analytics.

Why independents choose it

Published plans. Starter £89/month, Growth £219 and Enterprise from £449, excluding VAT. Compatible devices. No proprietary Servio till; readers and printers have separate requirements. Billing choice. Monthly or annual, with the terms shown before subscribing. Reviewable menu import. Check the draft before publishing. Stripe payments. Processing fees are separate, with zero default platform markup and any configured fees stated. Read 2026 restaurant POS comparison, UK cost guide, how we calculate every figure.

What a restaurant service actually demands

Check the workflows your restaurant actually uses: staff and guest ordering, modifiers, kitchen routing, bill splitting and table sessions. Walk through a representative order in the demo, then test it with your own menu and equipment before the first live shift.

Servio connects menu items, modifiers, order notes, bill splits and kitchen tickets. Growth adds table management, reservations, inventory and multi-station routing. Check specialist workflows against the current product before choosing a plan; do not assume every restaurant feature is included at the entry price. Read kitchen display.

A Saturday service, from door to close

The clearest way to judge a restaurant POS is to walk one busy evening through it and see where the friction lands.

18:00: the floor fills

With Growth table management and reservations, the host can review bookings and table availability in the same venue. Set up the floor and practise seating a party before using it in service.

19:30: the rush

Staff orders and guest QR orders reach the connected kitchen queue without a second menu to maintain. With multi-station routing, items go to their assigned prep stations. Connectivity, sensible routing and a clear handoff at the pass still matter.

20:10: the awkward bits

Practise splitting a bill, correcting an order and processing a refund with the team. Check the relevant permissions, payment state and recorded activity before relying on these workflows during a busy service.

22:40: close

Review takings, order counts, average order value and top items at close. Reconcile cash and external-reader payments against their own records; a POS report does not remove that responsibility.

What a restaurant needs that a retail till does not

Restaurant buying criteria go beyond the ability to take a payment. Look for the menu, order and floor workflows your team uses, and test them rather than relying on the product category alone.

Order timing. Check how staff send orders, how kitchen tickets are sequenced and which status changes the floor can see. If coursing is essential, verify the specific workflow before buying.

Useful modifiers. Configure priced options, required choices and order notes so the kitchen can read the selected build without retyping it. Review allergen information separately when ingredients change.

Allergen information. Keep verified information with menu items and brief staff on changes. For food prepacked for direct sale, Natasha’s Law requires a full ingredient list with allergens emphasised. POS notes are not a substitute for the labels and procedures your venue must provide.

Tables and guests. Check reservations, table sessions and floor visibility against the way you seat and serve people. Growth includes these floor tools; a counter-led venue may need a simpler setup.

Sizing it for your venue

A twenty-cover bistro and a hundred-cover restaurant with a bar need different things, and the honest answer is not always the bigger plan.

Counter-led restaurant, one prep area. Starter at £89/month includes POS, QR ordering, loyalty and a single-station kitchen display. If you need a managed floor, reservations or stock tools, compare Growth and the relevant add-ons.

Busy full-service with a floor and a bar. Multi-station routing, table management and inventory start earning their keep the moment two prep areas are working the same ticket. That is Growth.

More than one site. Growth includes one venue and allows up to two paid extras at £99/month each. Enterprise includes five venues and adds central menus and cross-venue reporting. Compare venue charges and the management features your group needs.

Whatever the size, judge it on the all-in monthly figure at your own card volume rather than the software price, and check the working on our cost methodology page.

The hour before doors

Review the imported menu, configure the stations you need, register devices and create staff accounts. Complete Stripe requirements if taking integrated cards, then test an allowed payment amount and verify the receipt and kitchen ticket. A successful charge and payout readiness are separate checks. Print and test one QR code before producing the full set. Read going-live, menu import, Stripe.

Check allergen notes and modifiers on representative kitchen tickets. If an order is missing, confirm it exists in the venue order list, check connectivity and the selected station, then follow the troubleshooting guide before resending anything. Read orders not reaching the kitchen.

Switching from a kit you already paid for

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.

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 2026 Growth example and venue equipment comparison use different hardware and feature assumptions. Compare each on its own terms rather than treating their totals as interchangeable. Read cash to open versus all-in.

What changes when the till is cloud based

Cloud POS stores synchronised menu, order and reporting data remotely, so authorised staff can use connected devices and an owner can review reports away from the venue. Some work can remain local while offline, so device access and pending-order recovery still matter.

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. Read EPOS systems guide.

Common questions

What is the best POS system for a UK restaurant?

The best fit depends on your service, floor, kitchen, hardware, support and budget. Servio offers connected till, QR ordering, single-station kitchen display and basic reports from £89/month; Growth adds tables, reservations, routing, inventory and deeper analytics. Test the workflows you need and compare complete quotes. Read 2026 restaurant POS comparison.

How much does a restaurant POS 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’s published plans are Starter £89/month, Growth £219 and Enterprise from £449, excluding VAT.

Does Servio handle table service and kitchen tickets?

Single-station kitchen display is included on every plan. Multi-station routing is included on Growth and Enterprise, or available on Starter for £35/month. Use compatible screens and assign menu items to the stations that prepare them; hardware costs remain separate. Growth also includes table management and reservations.

Can I switch my restaurant without closing?

Prepare the new system while the existing workflow remains available, then choose a quiet first service. Review menu import, payment readiness, routing, devices and staff access first. The time needed and any service interruption depend on your venue; an afternoon cutover is not guaranteed.