If you are opening a café, bar or food truck, you will soon meet the traditional EPOS pitch: "free" software, as long as you take the provider's own touchscreen terminal, their card machine and a contract that runs for three years. The hardware alone can come to well over £1,000, and leaving early can be expensive.
There is another way. A browser-based POS runs on a tablet you may already own. You open it in the browser, sign in and start selling. No proprietary terminal, no long lease, and you can see the full price before you speak to anyone.
Traditional EPOS bundles vs browser-based tablet POS
Here is a rough first-year comparison for a small café with one till. Traditional bundle figures vary widely, so treat them as the kind of quote to check for, and always ask for the total in writing.
| First-year cost | Traditional EPOS bundle | Browser-based tablet POS (Café QR) |
|---|---|---|
| Till hardware | Proprietary terminal, often bought or leased | A tablet you already own, or any new iPad or Android tablet |
| Software | Licence or monthly fee, sometimes tied to the hardware | £39 a month on the POS plan (£390 a year if paid yearly) |
| Card reader | Often the provider's own, with their processing rate | Optional Stripe reader from £229 + VAT, or your existing card machine |
| Extra boxes and installation | Sometimes a hub, server or engineer visit | None; it runs in the browser |
| Contract | Often 24 to 36 months | No contract; cancel any time |
For every cost line to compare, read How Much Does a Café POS System Cost in the UK?.
What hardware do you actually need to open a café?
1. The counter till: any iPad, Android tablet or laptop
Café QR runs in a modern web browser, so an iPad, Android tablet or laptop all work. Each device can remember which screen it is for: choose "Remember on this device" and the counter tablet opens straight onto the till, the kitchen tablet onto the kitchen screen.
2. Taking payments: Stripe Terminal or your existing card machine
You have two choices in the UK. Link a Stripe card reader to the till so the amount is sent to the reader automatically and the payment is recorded for you. Or keep a standalone card machine you already have, such as Dojo, SumUp or Zettle, take payment on it, and record the sale on the till as a card payment. Either way, Café QR adds a 0% platform fee.
3. The kitchen: a tablet screen or a ticket printer
Put a tablet on the wall as a kitchen display, or print tickets to a supported Star or Epson network printer. Some cafés use both. If you're not sure which suits you, see Kitchen Screen or Printed Tickets for a Small Café?.
4. Table service: waiter ordering on any staff phone
On the POS plan, staff can take orders at the table on their own phones with the waiter app. They pick the table, add items and send the order to the kitchen, and it stays on an open tab until the table pays.
When a browser POS works best, and when it doesn't
Browser-based tills aren't right for everyone, and it's better to know that before you buy.
Best for: independent cafés, bars, food trucks and small groups
A browser POS suits venues that want to start quickly, keep costs predictable and avoid being locked into hardware. It also suits groups with more than one site, because every venue's till, menu and reports sit in one account; see Running Two Café Sites: What Your POS Needs.
The trade-offs: internet connection and cash drawers
Two honest limits to weigh up:
- Internet. If the connection drops, Café QR's till keeps selling for cash and your own payment types, and uploads those sales when it's back. Card payments, tabs and table QR ordering wait for the connection. If your Wi-Fi is unreliable, plan a backup such as a 4G or 5G router or a phone hotspot. Read more in Does a POS System Need Internet?.
- Cash drawers. Café QR does not open a cash drawer automatically. If you take a lot of cash, you'll open the drawer by hand. Many UK cafés now take most payments by card and contactless, so for them this rarely matters, but check your own takings first.
How to try a full café till on your phone or tablet now
You don't need to book a sales call to see whether this works for you. Open the live demo on the tablet or phone you'd actually use. Ring up a flat white with oat milk, add a pastry, split the bill and watch the order arrive on the kitchen screen, all in your browser.
Frequently asked questions
Can I use an Android tablet instead of an iPad for my café POS?
Yes. Café QR runs in the browser, so any reasonably recent Android tablet works just as well as an iPad. A laptop works too.
What happens if my café Wi-Fi drops?
The till keeps taking cash and your own payment types, and syncs those sales once the connection is back. Card payments wait for the connection, so a tablet with a 4G or 5G SIM, or a phone hotspot, is a sensible backup.
Related reading
- How to Choose a POS System for a Small Café
- What Is an EPOS System? EPOS vs Till vs POS
- Cash Register vs EPOS System
More on the till: the café POS system, restaurant POS system and SumUp Order & Pay alternative pages.
Don't buy a till until you've tried one on the tablet in your hand. Open our live demo in your browser now, or start your free month, with no card or hardware purchase needed.