Which ePOS provider is right for my business?

When it comes to ePOS and eCommerce solutions, there are so many options that it’s often difficult to know which way to turn. That’s why we have drawn up a list of the most popular solutions, along with the pros and cons of their features and functionality to help you make the right decision for your business.

In this blog we’ll be looking at the following solutions in detail:

• Vend
• Shopify POS
• Lightspeed
• Epos Now
• Saledock

You’ll discover the benefits and drawbacks to each of these solutions, and understand how they could impact on your business performance so you can select the option that is best for you and your future success.

Vend

Acquired by Lightspeed in 2021, Vend is a cloud-based POS system for retail and includes sales, inventory, and customer data management functionality. Vend operates on both iOS and Windows devices and includes an iOS app. Vend software also supports the use of standard retail peripheral devices such as receipt printers, barcode scanners and cash drawers.

With an offline mode, retailers can continue to trade if internet connectivity is lost and shoppers with PayPal accounts and the Vend mobile app can pay for items from their mobile phones.

While an established brand, users report the back office is somewhat outdated in comparison to the app. Vend does not offer eCommerce, instead offers integrations to 3rd party eCommerce solutions such as Shopify.

Features

• POS
• Inventory Management
• Reporting
• Payments
• Apps
• eCommerce
• Customer Management
• Marketing
• Loyalty

Integrations

• Payments
• Lightspeed
• PayPal
• Klarna
• Zettle
• Paymentsense
• Square
• Sumup

Support

24/7 phone support

Pricing

Vend are known for their straightforward monthly pricing starting at £49 per month for the Lean Plan which is suitable for single store retailers and includes 1 register license. Extra features are typically charged at £29 each per month.

Free Trial

Free trial available.

Capterra rating

4.2 stars

Shopify POS

Shopify is a solution for retailers who need eCommerce functionality but wish to take a DIY approach and create their own eCommerce website. For larger businesses, Shopify can recommend approved partners who can develop custom sites for a fee.

Shopify is known for its simplicity, with many customers choosing to integrate their Shopify eCommerce website with an alternative POS solution over their simple POS solution to achieve the in-store functionality they require. This option is increasingly popular for smaller businesses who already have separate eCommerce and POS and desire a single system but falls short of a truly unified solution.

Features

• Inventory Management
• Staff Management
• Customer Management
• Product Management
• Reports and Analytics
• Payments
• Marketing

Integrations

Shopify POS comes with an API, which allows businesses to integrate the platform with several third-party solutions and is available as part of their monthly subscription.

Retailers can use Shopify’s own payment solution which is charged at up to 2.2% + 20p, or choose to use their own payment provider for a charge of 2% on top of all transactions.

Support

Support is provided by email, phone, documentation, and a community forum.

Pricing

Shopify’s basic plan starts at £19 per month, with their regular plan priced at £49 per month and their advanced plan at £259 per month. Shopify POS Pro is an additional $89 per month, plus $5 per month to sell on social.

Free Trial

Free trial available.

Capterra rating

4.6 stars

Lightspeed

Lightspeed have over 25,000 customers globally but are yet to become well established in the UK, although their recent acquisition of Vend has enabled them to expand quickly in this market. Their target customer is a large, established business.

Lightspeed’s eCommerce features include an online store builder where customers can choose a template to use to create their own eCommerce website. They also integrate with 3rd party eCommerce providers.

Lightspeed is a cloud-based POS solution which integrates with standard peripheral hardware such as barcode scanner and receipt printers and uses consumer-grade iPads as their POS hardware.

Lightspeed users have access to a supplier marketplace which allows retailers to add product details and images direct from the supplier straight into their system. Advanced analytics are available on the premium plan although users report a clunky, outdated back office experience.

Features

• POS
• eCommerce
• Inventory Management
• Customer Management
• Reporting
• Payments
• Accounts
• Marketing and Loyalty

Integrations

• Deputy
• Homebase Employee Scheduling
• Hubtiger
• Ikeno
• NearSt
• Obenan
• Perkville
• Pipe17
• Pointy
• SameSystem
• skuIQ
• MailChimp
• TapMango
• Ticket-IT
• Zettle

Support

Support is provided via an online help centre and community forum.

Pricing

Lightspeed’s retail plans include £39 per month for Lean, £59 per month for standard and £99 per month for Advanced.

Free Trial

A 14 day free trial is available.

Capterra rating

4.2 stars

Epos Now

Epos Now is a popular choice for small businesses as hardware is included in the monthly subscription although this is typically entry-level technology. Recent developments include mobile POS via an app for use on tablets and smartphones.

Epos now is cloud-based and can be used Windows, iOS and Android devices and the POS module can be integrated with electronic scales, barcode and credit card scanners, a staff time clock, and age verification. Users report that the system is not intuitive, can be difficult to use, and lacks quality support.

Features

• POS
• Stock Management
• Customer Management
• eCommerce Management
• Analytics
• Payments

Integrations

• LoyalZoo
• Xero
• Appointedd
• Quickbooks
• Sage Business Cloud
• Takepayments
• Worldpay
• Bulk import
• Multi-Site Manager
• NearSt
• Workforce.com

Support

Support is provided via an online support centre, live chat and a community forum.

Pricing

Plans start at £25 per month but this is only available to start-up businesses and incurs a 3-5 year contract and does not include a mandatory £39 per month support add-on. While loyalty and multi-store features are supported, they use 3rd party apps and other add-ons incur additional charges.

Free Trial

No free trial directly available on the website.

Capterra rating

3.7 stars

Saledock

Saledock is a cloud-based, all-in-one ePOS, eCommerce and inventory solution and is ideal for all retailers, from small independents to large chains and is built on the Android platform.

Saledock offers single and multi-store inventory management, stock take and purchase order tooling as well as customer profiles, a loyalty programme, promotions, gift cards, sales history, and real-time analytics to boost productivity and enable business growth.

With Saledock, retailers can create single and variant products and print barcoded variant labels using generated or existing barcodes. Inventory and product updates are synced in real-time across all store locations and your eCommerce site. Users can process sales, manage refunds and exchanges and accept cash, card, and gift card payments in one or multiple transactions in store and includes a deposit and layby function. Customers can apply discounts and promotions, check loyalty points and stock alerts, and process click and click orders straight from the ePOS system.

Customers can choose integrated payments for a seamless checkout experience and Saledock’s offline capability means your staff can continue selling even when your internet is down.

Users can choose from a range of the latest hardware including fixed terminals, mobile tablets and handheld options with built in scanners which can be used to receive purchase orders and perform stock takes.

Saledock also offers bespoke eCommerce sites which are designed in-house using our proprietary platform so you can sell in-store and online with a truly unified solution. Our eCommerce sites are designed and built to meet your business’ unique and individual needs and are responsive, A+ security rated and performance optimised with SEO tooling and bespoke integrations.

Saledock is a UK-based business with local developers and support staff, and we encourage our customers to contribute to the ongoing development and evolution of our solution.

Features

• POS
• eCommerce
• Single and Multi-Store
• Inventory Management
• Stock Control
• Advanced Analytics
• Customer Management
• Loyalty
• Accounting
• Integrated Payments
• Hardware

Integrations

• Dojo
• Paymentsense
• Sumup
• NearSt (coming soon)
• Hubspot
• Xero

Support

UK-based support is provided by telephone, email, online help centre and live chat.

Pricing

eCommerce sites start from £1995 to £8995+ depending on requirements. Saledock's ePOS and eCommerce solution can be paid through a monthly subscription or by a one-off annual payment. Cloud hosting, SSL certificate and domain email included. Training and support is included in all plans.

The Essential Plan is £59 per month, Pro Plan is £79 per month and Unified Plan is £129 per month. A bespoke Enterprise Plan is available for 6 or more stores, and tailored to your exact requirements.

Free Trial

A 14-day free Pro Plan trial is available and no credit card is required.

Capterra rating

5 stars.

Key Takeaways

Before making a purchasing decision, it’s vital that you receive a live demo from any prospective supplier which is tailored to your exact business needs so that you can see in real-time how a solution will perform for your business. Follow this with a free trial so that you can see for yourself how intuitive and easy-to-use the solution is in your own time and without the pressure of a salesperson.

While core features and functionality are incredibly important, it’s also important that you assess the integrations available. And remember, if a solution has a long list of integrations, it’s likely that their core functionality is limited and that these integrations are not only making up for gaps in software performance, but that they are also likely to incur additional fees.

When it comes to support, it’s important to ask where this support is based and how it is accessed. While a large community forum might sound great, it’s always better to be able to speak to a technically competent person rather than search for help in a library of FAQs.

Be sure to ask for a detailed quote which includes all the integrations and functionality you need when speaking to any perspective provider. Many vendors advertise their lowest monthly fee but fail to detail the costs of add-ons and integrations up front so before you know it you’re affordable monthly solution could double in price. And, it’s always best to purchase your hardware and software from the same provider; that way whatever issues you encounter you only have one provider to deal with.

Finally, check out any potential provider’s Capterra score and reviews – it’s like the Trustpilot of software so if they’re not listed then you should ask them why.