Point of sale is simply where the sale happens, and POS is the software and hardware that runs it. In the UK the same three letters appear on invoices for a till licence, a screen, and sometimes the card terminal. Knowing which one is being sold is the difference between comparing like with like and comparing a monthly fee with a percentage.
Three things the same word covers
The software licence, priced monthly per till. The hardware, priced once or rented. And the payment acceptance, priced as a percentage of everything you take. A supplier who sells all three will often quote one monthly figure. Ask for the three lines, because only the percentage compounds with your growth and it is the one worth negotiating hardest.
Tablet POS as the whole system
For most single site UK businesses the point of sale is now a tablet with the supplier's app, a printer and a card reader. That collapses hardware to a few hundred pounds and puts the whole decision in the software tier and the card rate. It also means the till is a consumer device, so keep a spare and know how the system behaves when the network drops.
What point of sale payments should cost
Whatever your acquirer charges, and it need not be the software supplier. Published in-person rates on this shelf run from 0.79% to 1.75%. A bundled POS rate above that range is buying you something, and the supplier should be able to say what. A bundled rate inside it is a good deal and worth keeping.
Questions people ask about pos point of sale
What does point of sale mean on an invoice?
Usually the till software or the hardware it runs on. If the line carries a percentage it is card acceptance instead. Ask for the split whenever one monthly figure covers more than one of the three.
Is tablet POS good enough for a real shop?
For most single site shops, yes, and it is what nearly all current UK suppliers sell. Plan for a spare device and check how the system behaves offline before you commit.
Should the POS supplier also be my card provider?
Only if their rate stands up against the published shelf. Bundling is convenient and ties two negotiations together; keeping them separate costs a little more and keeps both renewals independent.