What is EPOS?

The cash register rang up a price and kept the money. An EPOS — electronic point of sale — does that and remembers everything about the sale: what was sold, to whom, by whom, how it was paid, and what stock it used.

What an EPOS does

• Takes orders — items, modifiers, tables or names.
• Takes payment — cash, card, or split between them.
• Sends orders on — to a kitchen printer or a kitchen display.
• Keeps records — every sale, refund, discount and void, for the cash-up and for your accountant.
• Feeds the rest of the business — stock goes down, customer history builds up, reports fill in.

Hardware or browser?

Older systems run on dedicated terminals with software installed on them. Newer ones run in a web browser on a tablet, laptop or phone you already own. Either way, the question to ask is what happens when the internet drops.

Questions to ask before you choose

1. Does it keep selling offline? And what happens to sales taken while it was offline?
2. Which card machines work with it?
3. Does it do stock and recipes, or only sales?
4. What does it cost — per month, per terminal, and per transaction?
5. Can you get your data out if you leave?

Common mistakes

1. Choosing on the till screen alone. Most of the value is in what happens after the sale.
2. Paying for features in five separate apps that should be one system.
3. No plan for the internet going down on a Saturday night.

In DUMA

DUMA's till runs in the browser on any device and can be installed like an app. It keeps taking orders offline; a sale that cannot be sent is kept for you to check, never dropped. Square and SumUp card machines connect directly, and any other card machine works with the amount keyed in. Receipts print from the browser; dedicated printer and cash drawer support is coming.