What is EPOS? Electronic point of sale, explained.

What does EPOS stand for?

EPOS stands for electronic point of sale. The point of sale is the moment and place a customer pays: the counter, the till or a handheld device on the shop floor. "Electronic" was added to set computerised systems apart from mechanical cash registers, and in Britain the label stuck even after almost every till became electronic.

You may also see ePOS, E.P.O.S. or "EPOS till". They all mean the same thing. When people talk about "EPOS data", they mean the sales information the system collects: what sold, when, for how much and how it was paid for.

EPOS vs POS: is there a difference?

In everyday use, no. POS, for point of sale, is the term used in the US and by most software companies worldwide. EPOS is the same idea with "electronic" in front, and it is far more common in the UK and Ireland. A British supplier selling an "EPOS system" and an American one selling a "POS system" are offering the same kind of product.

Where people do draw a line, it is usually this: POS can describe any point of sale, including a cash tin, while EPOS always means a computerised one. Some suppliers also use EPOS for the full system, with stock and reporting, and POS for the checkout screen alone, but there is no fixed rule. When you compare products, ignore the label and look at what each one actually does. Our guide to what a POS system is follows a sale through one step by step.

What is an EPOS system made of?

A typical EPOS system in a small British shop has four parts.

• EPOS software: the checkout screen, the product list and the sales records, plus back-office tools such as stock control and reports.
• A screen to run it on: a dedicated touchscreen terminal, a PC, a laptop or a tablet.
• Peripherals: a barcode scanner, a receipt printer and a cash drawer. Shops selling loose goods may also want scales, though not every system connects to them.
• A card machine: supplied by a payment company, which charges a fee on card sales. Some EPOS suppliers insist you use theirs; others leave the choice to you.

With a cloud EPOS such as POS2026, the software runs in a web browser, so the terminal can be the laptop or tablet you already own, and the scanner and printer are optional. POS2026 is not a card processor, so your card machine stays with whichever provider you choose.

What an EPOS system does for a shop

Ringing up the sale is only the start. Because each transaction is stored as data, an EPOS system takes over the record keeping that used to happen after the shutters came down.

• Reduces stock with every sale and warns you when a line is running low.
• Builds a full sales history, so you can find last Tuesday's receipt or last December's takings.
• Records deliveries from suppliers and keeps cost prices current.
• Remembers which customers settle up later and what each one owes.
• Works out profit from what you paid for stock, what you sold it for and what the shop spent.

POS2026 splits these jobs across connected modules. The POS Sales screen handles the counter, Stock keeps levels and alerts, the Due List tracks money owed, and Report turns it all into sales, product and payment reports you can filter and export.

EPOS vs an old electronic till

Plenty of shops still run on an electronic cash register, often called an ECR. It is a self-contained machine: prices are programmed onto keys or PLU numbers, sales are grouped into departments, and at closing time a Z report on the till roll gives the day's totals and clears the memory.

That works well for a short, stable price list. Problems appear as the range grows. A till cannot tell you how many of a product are left, so stock is checked by eye. Department totals hide which lines actually sell. A price change means reprogramming keys. And because the figures live on paper, anything you want to analyse has to be typed up first. The table above sets out the differences, and our guide to tills vs EPOS looks at when a till is still enough.

Cloud EPOS and traditional EPOS

Older EPOS systems were installed on a computer in the shop, often on a fixed contract that bundled hardware and support. Cloud EPOS keeps the software and the data online and is paid for by subscription, so you can check the day's sales from home and add a second device without waiting for an engineer.

Each has trade-offs. Cloud EPOS depends on a reliable internet connection, so ask any supplier what happens when it drops. A traditional system can keep working without one, but the data is tied to the machine in the shop and backing it up is your job.

Tip. Whichever you choose, get the contract length, notice period and any exit fee in writing before you sign. Our guide to EPOS system costs explains where the money goes.

Is EPOS right for your shop?

If you sell more than a few dozen products, reorder stock from suppliers or have more than one person on the till, an EPOS system usually repays the effort of setting it up. If you sell a handful of items for cash at a weekend stall, a basic till or a phone app may be all you need for now.

POS2026 is a browser-based EPOS for small shops, available in more than 47 languages and with multi-currency settings. You can start on a free trial, new accounts are covered by a 30-day money-back guarantee on their first payment, and plan prices are shown in the app.