5 Questions to Ask Any EPOS Vendor Before You Sign

Every EPOS demo looks good. The screen is fast, the till flow is smooth, and the salesperson has done this a hundred times. What separates a good long-term decision from a painful one usually isn't visible in the demo at all — it's in the answers to questions most operators never think to ask until something's already gone wrong.

1What happens if the system goes down mid-service?

Every EPOS system fails occasionally — the question is what happens next. Ask specifically: does the till keep taking orders and payments if the internet drops, or does service stop dead? What's the actual guaranteed uptime, in writing, not just marketing copy? And if something does go wrong, is support a 24/7 phone line to a real person, or a ticket queue you'll be waiting on during a Saturday night rush?

This matters more than almost anything else on this list, because downtime during service doesn't just cost you the sale in front of you — it costs you every order behind it too. We've written in more detail about the real cost of EPOS downtime if you want the numbers behind why this is worth pressing hard on.

2Is my payment provider locked in, or can I choose my own?

Some EPOS vendors bundle a single in-house payment provider and make switching either impossible or expensive. Others let you bring your existing provider or choose from a panel of options. Neither approach is automatically wrong, but you need to know which one you're signing up for — and what the card processing rate actually is, since that's often where the real margin gets taken, not in the EPOS subscription fee itself.

If a vendor can't clearly explain how payments are separated from the till software, or gets vague about switching providers later, that's worth pushing on. We've covered this in more depth in the hidden cost of splitting your EPOS and payments.

3What's the real, all-in cost?

The headline monthly price is rarely the whole story. Ask directly about hardware costs — is it included, rented, or a large upfront purchase? Is installation and staff training extra? What happens to the price after year one? And critically: what does it cost to leave, if you need to, before the contract ends?

• Hardware: included, rented monthly, or a big day-one purchase?
• Support: included in the price, or a separate paid tier?
• Contract length: and what's the early termination cost?
• Price rises: is there a cap, or can it increase at renewal without warning?

A vendor who answers all four clearly and in writing is a good sign. A vendor who keeps redirecting back to "it depends, let's talk" is worth a harder look.

4How long does onboarding actually take, and who does the work?

Migrating your menu, staff logins, pricing and historical reporting into a new system takes real effort — the question is whose effort. Some vendors hand you a blank system and a login. Others do the data migration, on-site installation and staff training for you, end to end. Ask specifically how long a typical go-live takes for a business your size, and what you'll be expected to do yourself versus what they'll handle.

If you're switching from an existing system rather than starting fresh, this is the point where deals most commonly go wrong. We've written a full walkthrough on how to switch EPOS systems without losing data or causing downtime.

5Can it grow with me?

A system that's perfect for one site today needs to still make sense if you open a second, add mobile ordering next year, or want AI-driven reporting down the line. Ask whether new modules can be switched on within the same platform, or whether growth means a painful re-platform to a different product entirely. Ask, too, whether multi-site reporting is a genuine built-in feature or an awkward workaround.

The cheapest system today isn't necessarily the cheapest system in three years, once you factor in what it costs to outgrow it.