How to Choose a Point-of-Sale System for Your Retail Business
by POSable Support Team | January 5, 2026 10:32 am
A point of sale (POS) system is the hardware and software a business uses to sell: ring up items, take payment, print a receipt, and record every sale. It replaces the traditional cash register. A modern POS also runs much of the business behind the counter: stock control, staff, customer loyalty, reporting and accounting exports, all in one system.
POSable is a cloud POS for independent shops, cafés, market traders and seasonal businesses. It includes features usually found in enterprise systems as standard, from £20 a month for up to 5 tills.
How does a POS system work?
Every sale follows the same basic flow:
Ring up the sale. Scan a barcode or tap a product on the till screen.
Take payment. Cash, card on a connected terminal, or a split between the two.
Print or skip the receipt, and send food orders to the kitchen printer if needed.
Update everything automatically. Stock levels, sales reports, loyalty points and VAT records update in the cloud dashboard.
The parts of a POS system
Part
What it does
With POSable
Till device
Runs the POS app your staff use
An Android tablet (10 inches or larger) or a Windows PC you already own
Card terminal
Takes card and contactless payments
Dojo, Teya, myPOS or Gravity Payments (US)
Receipt printer
Prints customer receipts and kitchen tickets
USB or Bluetooth
Barcode scanner
Speeds up checkout and stock counts
USB or Bluetooth
Cash drawer
Stores cash securely
Opens from the receipt printer
Back office
Manages products, stock, staff and reports
The POSable cloud dashboard, in any web browser
Types of POS system
Traditional (on-premise) POS. Software is installed on dedicated terminals, often with long contracts and bundled hardware.
Cloud POS. Data is stored securely online, so you can manage your business from anywhere. Many cloud systems stop working when the internet drops.
Mobile POS (mPOS or ePOS). It runs on tablets, so it suits pop-ups, markets and events.
POSable combines all three: a cloud dashboard, tablet and PC tills, and offline-first selling, so you keep trading when the connection fails.
What does a modern POS system do?
Sales and payments: fast checkout, cash, card, split payments, refunds and receipts
Stock control: real-time stock levels, low-stock alerts and supplier ordering
Staff management: individual logins, permissions and rotas
Customer loyalty: points and offers that bring customers back
Reporting: live sales, best-sellers, staff performance and end-of-day (Z) reports
Accounting: VAT records and exports for your accountant
POSable: enterprise features as standard
Large retailers pay for enterprise POS platforms with offline resilience, role-based security, warehouse tools and compliance features. Smaller businesses are usually offered cut-down versions, or have to pay extra for each add-on. POSable includes all of this on every plan.
1. Resilience: keep trading when the internet fails
Offline-first design. The till switches to offline mode automatically, so staff keep selling, printing receipts and taking sales.
Automatic sync. Sales, refunds, till floats and staff sessions queue on the device and upload as soon as the connection is back.
Offline staff sign-in keeps working during an outage.
Secure cloud backups: incremental backups at regular intervals, stored with several off-site backup services
2. Payments: your choice of provider
Several card providers: Dojo, Teya and myPOS in the UK and EU, and Gravity Payments in the US. You’re not locked into one payment company.
No POSable transaction fees. You keep your negotiating power with your provider.
Split payments across cash and card
A card terminal assigned per till in Device Management
For Gravity Payments customers in the US: tip prompts, partial approvals and credit card surcharge notices
3. Security and control
Role-based access for administrators, managers and staff
Manager authorisation. Refunds, till floats and cash deposits need a manager’s or assistant manager’s PIN.
Individual staff PINs on the till, so every sale is recorded against a named person
Two-factor authentication (2FA) for dashboard sign-in
Device management. Tills register themselves automatically, and you can rename or remove them centrally.
UK GDPR compliance, with a Data Processing Agreement available on request
4. Stock, warehouse and supply chain
Real-time stock control across all tills, with low-stock alerts by Telegram
Product variants such as sizes and colours, plus barcodes and bulk price control
Supplier management and ordering, with reminders before each supplier’s order cut-off time
Warehouse goods-in with case barcodes and master products
Ingredients and recipes:
batch production
FEFO stock rotation
stocktakes and wastage tracking
Shelf label printing with barcodes
The Shop Floor web app. Staff can count stock, adjust it and receive deliveries on their phones, even offline, with no extra till licences.
5. Compliance
A Health & Safety toolkit for temperature logs, cleaning, hygiene and damage records, with audit exports
Allergen management synced from the dashboard to the till. It helps you meet UK food information rules, including Natasha’s Law.
VAT handling:
standard, reduced, zero-rated and exempt products
the VAT rate is recorded at the time of each sale, so past records stay correct if a rate changes later
6. Reporting and finance
Live sales tracking as sales happen across your tills
Z reports (end-of-day reports), which can be emailed
Sales, product, staff and payment reports
Accountant-ready exports in CSV and Excel
Till float and cash management
7. Customer engagement
A loyalty programme:
points and Bronze, Silver, Gold and Platinum tiers
7 offer types, including percentage off, Buy X Get Y, free items, points multipliers, bonus points and cashback
QR code sign-up and push notifications to loyalty members
Loyalty reports that show which offers work
8. AI and digital signage (AI plans)
AI.MEE business reports: daily, monthly, quarterly and yearly analysis with recommendations
Demand forecasting using machine learning, with weather and holiday signals
AI loyalty offer suggestions
A digital display and menu board creator
Voice commands on the till
Also included on every plan
Android and Windows tills, with layouts for different screen sizes and Light and Dark themes
Kitchen printing, with a backup kitchen printer used automatically if the first one fails
25 languages
Staff rota scheduling
CSV import for moving from another POS
All updates and support, with no paid upgrades
Often a paid add-on elsewhere
Feature
POSable
Elsewhere
Full inventory tools and low-stock alerts
Included
Some platforms need a higher-tier POS plan
Customer loyalty
Included
Often needs apps or a higher plan
Kitchen printing
Included
Often a hospitality or kitchen display add-on
Health & Safety checks
Included
Rarely part of a POS
Choice of card provider
Included
Often steered to the POS company’s own payments
Offline card and cash sales
At any time
Sometimes limited, or must be enabled in advance
Based on our POS comparison[1] of epos Now, Shopify POS and Lightspeed Retail. Competitor features and prices change, so always check with each vendor.
POSable in practice
Café. Staff tap colour-coded products and Hot Products for fast service. Food orders print straight to the kitchen, and allergens show at the till. The weekly best-seller report guides ordering, and loyalty offers bring regulars back more often.
Pop-up shop and market stall. Two tablets on one Plan 1 subscription keep queues short at busy events. When the venue’s Wi‑Fi fails, sales carry on offline and sync afterwards.
Butcher or deli. Recipes and batch production track ingredient stock. FEFO rotation and temperature logs support food safety checks, and case barcodes speed up deliveries.
Seasonal shop. Run one or two tills in the quiet season, move to a larger plan for the summer, then move back down. There’s no contract.
What should I look for in a POS system?
Question to ask
POSable
Is it easy to use?
Colour-coded categories and products, a Hot Products panel, and staff PIN sign-in
Does it work offline?
Yes. Offline-first, with automatic sync.
Can I choose my card provider?
Yes: Dojo, Teya, myPOS or Gravity (US), with no POS transaction fees
What does it really cost?
From £20 a month for up to 5 tills, with no setup fee
Am I tied into a contract?
No. Cancel any time.
Can I use my own hardware?
Yes: Android tablets and Windows PCs
Does it grow with me?
Up to 10 tills per account, stock and warehouse tools, and AI plans
What support is there?
A help centre, the POS BOT chatbot and YouTube guides at any time, plus email and phone support from our team
Can I try it first?
Yes. A live demo with no sign-up, and a 15-day free trial.