Your dream is starting to look real. The name is chosen, your products are ready, and the first customers are on their way. It’s an exciting moment — but there’s one question every new business has to answer early on:
How are you going to take money?
It sounds simple. But for small business owners — especially those trading in person — the way you accept payments can make or break a day’s takings. So let’s break it down in plain English, trader to trader.
First Things First: What Are You Selling, Who To, and Where?
By the time you open your doors (or your stall, or your laptop), you’ve already figured out:
- WHAT you’re selling
- WHO you’re selling it to
- WHERE you plan to trade
But the moment you get to HOW, you’re talking about your Point of Sale — the moment a customer says “yes” and is ready to part with their money.
That moment should feel smooth, simple, and stress-free. Because the easier it is to pay you, the more sales you keep — and happy customers come back.
POS, E-commerce, and How It All Fits Together
If you sell online, you need an e-commerce system.
If you sell physical products face-to-face, you’ll almost certainly need a POS (Point of Sale) system.
It’s the bit of kit that helps you take payments, track stock, manage receipts, and see what’s actually selling. Think of it as the beating heart of the transaction.
And trust us — when things get busy, or the WiFi drops, or queues start forming — you’ll want one that won’t let you down.
Cash or Card? (And What Nobody Tells You About Cash)
There are two main ways customers pay you:
CASH
Yes, it’s immediate. But it’s not free.
To run a cash float, you need:
- Cash on hand to give change
- Access to withdraw change from your business bank (usually charged)
- The ability to pay cash back into your account (also charged)
Example:
One popular business account lets you deposit £3,000 in cash per year for free — after that, you pay 95p per £100 deposited. Withdraw change? 90p per £100.
It adds up. And many customers simply don’t carry cash anymore.
When someone says “I’ll come back later with cash,” it often translates to:
“You won’t see me again.”
CARD
Card payments are the modern expectation — but setting them up is where the headaches begin.
To take cards, you need:
- A chip & PIN card reader
- POS software that talks to the reader
- A provider you can trust
The market is huge, and providers love to make things look simple. But look closer and every single one has three unavoidable costs:
- The cost of the card reader
- The software subscription
- The transaction fees
And that’s before you even get into:
- Introductory rates that jump later
- Per-terminal fees
- Add-on charges
- Complex pricing tables
- Money held for 48–72 hours (common!)
It’s a minefield — especially when you’re just starting out.
What You Really Need to Consider
Before choosing anything, look at:
- Set-up costs
- Ongoing costs
- How long they hold your money
- The cost of adding more terminals
- How you’ll cope with breakdowns
- What happens when you grow
Most POS systems make their money on scaling. Add a terminal? Pay more. Want to hire staff? Pay more. Getting busy? Pay more.
Which is… well, the opposite of what small businesses need.
Why We Built POSable (And Why It’s Different)
We built POSable because we were tired of losing money — literally — when the card machine froze mid-queue at a festival or the fees stacked up in the summer peak.
We’ve been festival traders.
We’ve run market stalls.
We’ve run a beach shop in Cornwall for over a decade.
And we were fed up of being squeezed.
So we built something better — a POS that works the way small businesses actually trade.
Here’s what makes POSable different:
1. Up to 5 terminals. ZERO extra fees.
Most providers charge per terminal.
We don’t.
£20/month covers up to five.
2. Offline mode as standard
WiFi drops?
POSable doesn’t.
Every sale is saved and syncs when you’re back online.
3. Use affordable hardware
Any 13” Android tablet.
About £130 on Amazon.
Replaceable. Practical. Trader-friendly.
4. Low-fee card readers
We pair with myPOS and Stripe, both of which pay out daily.
myPOS even pays out on weekends for free.
5. No contracts, no surprises
£20/month or £200/year.
That’s it.
6. Built by real traders who’ve lived the pain
POSable wasn’t dreamed up in a boardroom.
It was built because the existing systems weren’t good enough for the way we trade.
Why This Matters for Your New Business
When you’re starting out, every penny counts.
Every customer matters.
Every sale is the difference between staying afloat and scaling up.
You shouldn’t have to gamble your biggest trading days on whether a card reader decides to behave.
You shouldn’t have to pay for hardware tied to one provider.
You shouldn’t have to choose between reliability and affordability.
And you absolutely shouldn’t miss out on sales because the WiFi dropped.
The Bottom Line
Taking payments should be the easy part of running a business.
It should feel good — that moment when someone chooses your product and hands over their money. That’s your reward. It shouldn’t come with panic, confusion, or endless fees.
We built POSable to give small business owners the confidence to trade without fear — and the freedom to grow without being punished for it.
Because small business is the backbone of the UK economy.
Because every sale counts.
And because with the right tools — everything is POSable.
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