The simplest answer to answering “what is an EPOS system?” is to give a list of the things the software can do.
An important note – there’s a blurry edge to what an EPOS can do, because software can be programmed to do *anything.* We’d also recommend you use cloud software, for reasons unpacked in this article.
Here’s a list of some of the features you might need for your business. If you’re about to buy, we’d recommend going through this with a pen and paper, and writing down what you think you’ll need in these features – then ask us for the right system on the phone.
Chapter 1: Front of House
At the front-of-house, EPOS software in Uk such as SelectedEpos is designed so that you press buttons and sell items.
With EPOS software, you should be able to easily “return items” and ring through discounts. You might need your software to “translate” between your output (e.g. quiche) and your input (e.g. eggs) via recipe creation, which means your EPOS will continue deducting items from your inventory when you’re selling things in different formats to how you bought them. If you sell items by weight, look out for software which is capable of handling the input/output mismatch.
The toughest demands of an EPOS system on the front-end generally come from the kind of places which have table service. Here, EPOS systems which are set up to handle table service generally have a map of tables which is visible on-screen. You might need “courses” which send through tickets to your kitchen printers with a delay instruction; or which send each part of the docket to a different kitchen workstation. You may then need to override course defaults as people ask for starters as mains. You’re likely to want modifiers such as “gluten free” to be clearly labelled so they can’t be overlooked by the kitchen. There’s also things like “mixed tenders” (cash and card) which cheaper POS software finds difficult; and the stitching of complex journeys from the bar, to a table, and perhaps pushing two tables together.
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Feature name EPOS provider level
Product Library Very Basic
Product Categories Very Basic
Product Modifier/Variant Basic
Product search by SKU or barcode Basic
Discount by percentage Basic
Stock availability checks Basic
Invoicing Basic
Easy refunds Basic
Sell products by weight Intermediate
Front-end product creation Intermediate
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Feature EPOS provider required
Touch button to sell Very Basic
Product Categories Very Basic
Product Library Very Basic
Product Modifier/Variant Basic
Order notes Basic
Clear allergen labelling Basic
Order routed to kitchen printer Basic
Product Search by SKU or barcode Basic
Tip Management Intermediate
Cash Management Intermediate
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Chapter 2: Reporting
chapter 2: reporting
The “reporting” functions are designed to help you analyse your business. Read chapter 2: reporting.
Reporting can get really interesting – so it depends how nerdy you want to get about what’s making your business successful. Every EPOS, including “freepos” software, should show you a simple log of what products you’ve sold and when. That said, you might find the cheaper software flexible with how it presents the reports, and it won’t break down what factors affect your product performance. Better software will.
Let’s take a look at those factors. The most important lens through which software can report your performance is the sales data of the business. That means, in addition to price scheduling, it needs to be able to dig into how the price scheduling affects individual performance of individual items so that you can determine how profitable the sales are.
Equally, time of day obviously affects your business – but to what extent? How late would it be profitable to stay open for is the kind of question you can answer with a good EPOS system; and how peak is “peak”, really? When will you need extra staff based on the last time this festival was in town, last year? What kind of surge did you experience?
Reporting features Level of software you required
Sales by... product basic +
Sales by... custom category (e.g. brand) basic +
Sales by... employee mid-level +
Sales by... time of day mid-level +
Sales by... area/table/shelf sophisticated / enterprise
Rigid timeframes very basic +
Flexible timeframes mid-level +
Throughput analysis sophisticated / enterprise
Comparison (month on month) basic +
CSV export very basic +
budgeting tools sophisticated / enterprise
smart suggestions sophisticated / enterprise
Aggregated reporting Integrate with analytics software
Chapter 3: Inventory Management
Chapter 3: Inventory Management
If you have an inventory, you’ll need inventory management. The basic Freepos systems include a “count” of how many simple items you have sold, and how many items you have left in your inventory. Read chapter 3: inventory management.
At its most basic, it should be able to tell a front-of-house staff member whether something is “in stock” or not.
You’ll need a slightly better system to handle inventory mapping, however. That should help you identify not just which items are on what shelves in your basement (essential, for anyone who’s ever had to maintain a basement) but also, which items are available in which of your stores, or your warehouse, with staff permissions such that a staff member can redirect a customer to the other store, or request a transfer.
Also, a good inventory management system manages incoming stock. That could include creating a purchase order, for example, or in some cases, automatically reordering stock back to par stock level. Your system should notify you of any stock price increases – so that you can start looking for a different supplier immediately. You can sometimes schedule deliveries on a good EPOS system.
Then, your system should help you reduce stock shrinkage, which is basically the unexplained disappearance of stock. This will include things like making it very easy for you to make a stock count – because you can use barcode scanners for example, or because it doesn’t force you to do things like input stock automatically.
Inventory Management Feature List Level of software required
Quick and practical view of the state of your inventory Mid-level +
Import from and export to .csv / .xlsx very basic +
Product categorisation and tagging "depth" very basic - enterprise
Translation between in / out sophisticated / enterprise
Inventory Mapping mid-level +
Inventory search across stores mid-level +
E-commerce integration basic +
Create purchase order basic +
Low stock notifications mid-level +
Automatic reorder to par stock levels mid-level +
Cost of goods analysis mid-level +
Supplier management mid-level +
Stock count – manual very basic +
Stock count – scanner basic +
Stock count discrepancies report mid-level +
Constant updating (cloud) all StoreKit systems
Multisite stock transfer mid-level +
Warehouse / Logistics management integrate with vertical software
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