EPOS stands for electronic point of sale. In everyday use the meaning of EPOS is simply a till system, and it is the British term for one: software that holds your products and prices, a screen or tablet to run it on, and usually a printer, a cash drawer and a card terminal alongside. It is priced as software, monthly and per till, which is the main way it differs from a card machine.
EPOS meaning in business, and what the E is doing there
The point of sale is simply where a sale happens. The electronic in EPOS distinguishes a software driven till from a mechanical cash register, a distinction that mattered when the term was coined and now survives mainly in British usage. Internationally the same product is sold as POS, and the two words appear on the same suppliers' pages interchangeably.
EPOS system meaning: what one includes
At minimum: a product catalogue, price and tax handling, a way to take payment, and a day end report. Above that, the things that separate suppliers: stock control, staff permissions and timesheets, table plans and kitchen printing for hospitality, multi site reporting, and integrations to accounting. Which of those sit in the entry tier is the whole basis of comparison.
How an EPOS machine is quoted, and the condition to look for
Two shapes dominate. A monthly software price per till, sometimes with a rolling and a twelve month rate side by side, as storekit prints. Or a discounted hardware bundle whose price is conditional on a subscription of a stated length, as Epos Now prints directly beneath its headline. The second is cheaper on day one and usually dearer over the term.
Questions people ask about EPOS meaning
How would you define EPOS in one line?
Electronic point of sale. The working EPOS definition in the UK is a computerised till system, as opposed to a simple cash register or a card terminal on its own.
Does an EPOS system include a card machine?
Frequently, but not always, and it is worth asking. When it does, the card rate is usually part of the software contract, which means renegotiating one means reopening the other.
Do I need EPOS or just a card reader?
If you only need to take money, a card reader is enough and far cheaper. EPOS earns its monthly fee when you need stock, staff control, table service or reporting that a card app cannot give you.
Is E POS system just another way of writing EPOS?
Yes. EPOS stands for electronic point of sale, and the spacing is only a typing habit. The same product is sold internationally as POS, so a supplier printing one term rather than the other tells you where it sells, not what the software does.
What does EPOS mean to a UK supplier?
The same product a global supplier sells as POS. British suppliers use EPOS on their own pages and their sales teams answer to either, so the word tells you where the company sells rather than what the software does. Compare what each price covers instead of which term appears in the heading.