Best takeaway POS systems for SMEs right now Discover our pick of the best takeaway POS systems out there, and easily compare quotes from leading providers. Written by Alec Hawley Updated on 26 February 2024 Our Research When judging the best POS systems, our writers work with expert researchers to focus on key features that matter most to small businesses. These include value for money – setup, hardware and transaction fees – help and support, plus the till, stock, and business management tools available. Written and reviewed by: Alec Hawley Startups.co.uk is reader supported – we may earn a commission from our recommendations, at no extra cost to you and without impacting our editorial impartiality. Choosing a POS system can be pivotal for a successful takeaway business. With a busy market, including free POS systems to pick from, it’s understandable to feel unsure of which to choose. Our in-depth research identified Square as the best overall POS system for takeaway businesses, thanks to its low costs, streamlined order management, and real-time reporting features.However, Square won’t suit every takeaway or restaurant business, and EPOS Now, Iiko, Goodtill and TouchBistro all have plenty to offer. Here’s our pick of the top providers to consider: Best Takeaway POS Systems at a glance Square — Best for overall takeaway POS systemEpos Now – Best for advanced POS featuresIiko — Best for time-saving automationGoodtill – Best for ease of useTouchBistro – Best pizza restaurant POS systemClick any of the links above to begin comparing costs on a POS system for your own business needs For some expert assistance (and to save hours of research time) finding the right POS system for your takeaway business, check out our free POS cost comparison tool. It takes just a minute to answer a few quick questions, and you’ll receive no-obligation quotes from some of the UK’s leading POS providers: How many POS terminals does your takeaway business need? Just 1 2-3 Over 3 Unsure Compare Costs Read on to learn more about our top picks for takeaway POS systems.What are the best POS systems for takeaways?Our top five picks for takeaway POS systems are Square, EPOS Now, Iiko, Goodtill and TouchBistro, each of which best suits different types of takeaway businesses with different needs.Here’s all the vital info on each. Swipe right to see more 0 out of 0 backward forward BEST OVERALL Square Epos Now Iiko Goodtill Touchbistro Best for Takeaway businesses with low transaction volumes Best for Established takeaway businesses that want advanced POS features Best for Busy takeaway businesses that want time-saving automation features Best for Takeaway businesses that want a colourful and easy to learn POS system Best for Pubs and bars Overall Score Based on our in-depth research and user testing 4.7 Overall Score Based on our in-depth research and user testing 4.2 Overall Score Based on our in-depth research and user testing Not yet rated Overall Score Based on our in-depth research and user testing 4.2 Overall Score Based on our in-depth research and user testing 4.4 Pricing from No monthly cost£16 – Square reader Pricing from Hardware: From £225Monthly subscriptions: From £25 per month Pricing from £49 per month (excl. VAT) Pricing from £29 per month (excl. VAT) Pricing from $69 per month Key benefits Manage all your orders on one deviceReal time in-depth reportsPay team members with team management tools Key benefits Easily connect to delivery appsInventory tracking24/7 support Key benefits End-to-end automation saves timeAI-driven sales forecastingCost control tools Key benefits Specialist click and collect serviceWorks offline or via 4GColourful, accesible interface Key benefits Staff management softwareUpselling tools to increase salesIn-depth reporting feautures 1. Square — Best for businesses with low transaction volumes 2. Epos Now – Best for advanced POS features 3. Iiko — Best for time-saving automation 4. Goodtill – Best for ease of use 5. TouchBistro – Best pizza restaurant POS system How much do takeaway POS systems cost? What’s the best free takeaway POS software? How to choose the right POS system for your takeaway business Methodology: how our POS research was conducted Need a takeaway POS quote? Best takeaway POS systems FAQs 1. Square — Best for businesses with low transaction volumes Pros Easily manage all your orders on one device Get real-time insight into what is and isn't selling Team management tools let you easily track hours worked, time off, and employee performance Cons Not suitable for takeaway businesses with high transaction volumes Pricing: No monthly fee, transaction fees of 1.75%-2.5%, card reader is £16, add-ons availableWith no monthly fees, omnichannel order management and powerful reporting features, Square is our top choice for takeaway businesses with low transaction volumes. You simply pay £16 for the card reader, then 1.75% on card payments and 2.5% on virtual terminal and invoice transactions — a great model for takeaway startups. In our testing, Square scored particularly highly on business development, helped by a central dashboard that updates in realtime and lets you instantly see which dishes are loved by your customers and which might need a nudge to get things going. It also performed strongly on price and help and support — even the base plan includes 9am-5pm Monday-to-Friday phone support — as well as stock management and usability.To learn more about Square, head to our Square POS review.Square’s chief rival when it comes to POS systems with no monthly fees is Zettle, so take a look at our Zettle review to see how the two compare. We can help you find your perfect POS system Tell us what you're looking for and compare leading POS providers Get free quotes It only takes a minute 2. Epos Now – Best for advanced POS features Pros Epos Now Delivery sets your business up on the major delivery platforms First-class inventory tracking lets you easily manage stock levels 24/7 support is perfect for late-night takeaway businesses Cons Premium price No inbuilt CRM features Pricing: Hardware: From £225. Monthly subscriptions: From £25 per monthIf you’re looking for an elite POS solution for your takeaway business, then EPOS Now could be the perfect fit. For around £25 a month (exact pricing depends on your company finances), you’ll get a mighty POS system that includes 24/7 support, integration with over 100 apps, and a Kitchen Display System (KDS) that lets you electronically send orders straight to the kitchen. Moreover, Epos Now Delivery quickly sets your business up on all the major food ordering apps (including Just Eat, Uber Eats and Deliveroo), and makes it easy to keep track of all the orders flying in from these platforms. When it came to our testing, Epos Now scored highly on business management, stock management, and usability, and its impressive range of app integrations includes Xero accounting software and Mailchimp for email marketing campaigns.Our Epos Now review breaks down in detail what Epos Now has to offer and what type of businesses it’s best suited to. 3. Iiko — Best for time-saving automation Pros End-to-end automation saves time through innovative features like purchase suggestions Customisable AI-driven sales forecasts let you get a much better handle on the future of your business Advanced cost control tools make it easy to track your profit and loss Cons Expensive Pricing: £49 per month (excl. VAT)If you’re running a takeaway business, you’ll know the one thing you never have enough of is time. To help, Iiko uses state-of-the-art technology to increase the efficiency of your operations, and helps you plan and work better. How? By harnessing the power of AI and intelligently tracking your stock levels, suggesting when you need to purchase more ingredients and even automatically creating and sending purchase orders. AI improves your sales forecasts too, intelligently interpreting your sales data to give a much better idea of your business’ future. When it comes to takeaway and delivery, Iiko’s clever tech means your customers can order by phone, online or via Deliveroo and Uber Eats, and then track their orders via GPS. It’s expensive, but Iiko can make a huge difference to your takeaway business. Save by comparing POS costs Does your business use a POS system already? Yes No 4. Goodtill – Best for ease of use Pros A colourful interface that makes it easy to onboard new staff members Goodeats is a simple way to receive and manage takeaway/delivery orders Runs off iPads and works via 4G/WiFi, as well as an offline mode Cons Using multiple add-on modules can get expensive There are few POS systems that are as easy to use as Goodtill. The whole system pops with colour, and you can add images to make it really easy for new employees to learn the ropes. There’s more to Goodtill than just great visuals though. The Goodeats service costs extra (2.7% plus 12p per transaction) but lets takeaway businesses easily manage takeaway and delivery orders through a customised and branded online presence. Moreover, Goodtill runs off iPads so, if you’ve got the hardware already, it can be a very cost effective option for small takeaway businesses. In our rigorous testing, Goodtill impressed on business management, stock management and usability, but was a relatively weak performer on price and help and support. 5. TouchBistro – Best pizza restaurant POS system Pros In-depth reporting so you can see which pizzas are the most popular and which are the most profitable Upselling tools that prompt your staff to suggest complementary pizza purchases such as dips Staff management tools so you can identify top performers and reduce theft Cons Expensive Pricing: $69 per month (approx. £55 per month plus VAT)Hospitality POS specialist TouchBistro is our top pick for the best pizza restaurant POS system, with its reporting options and upselling tools particularly impressive. In total, you can access over 50 business reports, including options that let you really drill down into the details and track sales by menu item or monitor dish and ingredient costs so you know how much you should be charging for your pizzas. On top of this, TouchBistro has an excellent online ordering system that’s a quick-and-easy way to receive and manage online takeaway and delivery orders. In our testing, TouchBistro’s best-in-class reporting helped it record a very high business management score, and it also performed impressively in stock management, usability and help and support.For some other top contenders, check out our rundown of the best restaurant POS systems. How much do takeaway POS systems cost?The cost of your takeaway POS system will depend on exactly what features you need and the complexity of your system. A basic takeaway POS like Square has no monthly fees and you just pay a small fee on each transaction, while advanced takeaway POS systems like Iiko cost around £50 a month. We can help you find your perfect POS system Tell us what you're looking for and compare leading POS providers Get free quotes It only takes a minute What’s the best free takeaway POS software?No takeaway POS software is entirely free — processing payments always costs money, as do card readers.However, the closest you can get to the best free takeaway POS software is Square. This provider charges no monthly fees, and you only need to pay a small fee on each transaction, plus a modest one-off cost for the card reader. How to choose the right POS system for your takeaway businessChoosing the right takeaway POS system for your business is always going to depend on three things — your budget, the size of your business and your needs.A key factor underpinning which system is the best value for your business will be the volume of transactions you process. If this is relatively low, then a solution where you pay no monthly fees but instead pay a small fee on each transaction is likely to be the best fit.However, if you run a thriving business that processes high volumes of transactions every day, then you might be better off with a system that includes payment processing within its monthly fees and offers more advanced features. How we test EPOS (Electronic Point of Sale) systems for small businessesWe tested 16 EPOS systems to evaluate them in terms of functionality, usability, price, help and support, and more so we can make the most useful recommendations to small UK-based businesses.Our rigorous testing process means these products have been scored and rated in nine main categories of investigation and 45 subcategories – in fact, we covered 61 areas of investigation in total. We then gave each category score a ‘relevance weighting' to ensure the product's final score perfectly reflects the needs of our Startups.co.uk readers.Our main testing categories for EPOS systems are:Till: the core functionality of the EPOS system, which includes the processing of sales transactions.Business Management: the features and tools provided by the EPOS system to support various aspects of running a business.Stock Management: the EPOS system's capabilities to manage inventory and track stock levels, such as inventory tracking, stock alerts, and stock transfers.Business Development: the features and tools provided by the EPOS system to help businesses grow and improve their operations, such as marketing integrations and sales forecasting.Usability: how easily and intuitively the EPOS system can be used by the staff. It includes factors such as user interface design, navigation, and ease of training.Price: the cost associated with acquiring and using the EPOS system, including purchase cost, licensing fees, and subscription plans.Help and Support: the assistance and resources available to users when they encounter issues or need guidance while using the EPOS system.Features: the functionalities and capabilities provided by the EPOS product. This can include a dedicated restaurant and retail functionality.The Startups product testing process Need a takeaway POS quote?Let’s be frank. It’s not much fun choosing a POS system, ringing around companies to get quotes can take hours that would be better spent running your business. Luckily, we can help, and our free EPOS comparison tool has been designed by industry experts to help you get quotes fast. Just take a minute to answer a few questions and you’ll receive quotes from some of the UK’s top POS providers, tailored to the needs of your business. Save by comparing POS costs Does your business use a POS system already? Yes No Best takeaway POS systems FAQs Frequently Asked Questions What is a takeaway POS system? A takeaway POS system is a point of sale system that is specially designed to meet the needs of takeaway businesses. It will generally have bespoke features that let businesses receive and manage takeaway or delivery orders. Why do I need a POS system? Using a modern system with your takeaway business makes things much easier, allowing you to juggle orders from different platforms and locations from one compact device. How much is an EPOS system? While the top takeaway EPOS systems can cost around £50 a month, basic systems like Square have no monthly fees and you simply pay a small fee on each transaction. We can help you find your perfect POS system Tell us what you're looking for and compare leading POS providers Get free quotes It only takes a minute Startups.co.uk is reader-supported. If you make a purchase through the links on our site, we may earn a commission from the retailers of the products we have reviewed. This helps Startups.co.uk to provide free reviews for our readers. It has no additional cost to you, and never affects the editorial independence of our reviews. Share this post facebook twitter linkedin Written by: Alec Hawley Alec is Startups’ resident expert on politics and finance. He’s provided live updates on the budget, written guides on investing and property development, and demystified topics like corporation tax, accounting software, and invoice discounting. Before joining, he worked in the media for over a decade, conducting media analysis at Kantar Media and YouGov, and writing a wide variety of freelance pieces.