It’s never been more important for pizzerias to choose a good electronic point of sale (EPOS). Not only does it need functions for serving customers face to face, it will also (most likely) need to connect to takeaway, click-and-collect or delivery features.
Most restaurant POS should suit a pizza business, but the unique nature of pizza orders makes some options better. We’ve assessed the leading hospitality POS systems and chosen the superior options for a small pizzeria specifically.
Best pizza POS systems in the UK:
- Revel Systems – Complete POS packages ideal for busy pizza shops
- Lightspeed Restaurant – Good balance of features with simple interface
- Square for Restaurants – Easy and affordable with payments and ordering
- Epos Now – Popular, expandable software with selection of hardware setups
- Simphony POS (Oracle) – The most scalable, premium solution
What should you look for in a pizza POS system?
When you sell pizza, you should be looking at restaurant POS systems. These are tailored to meet the demands of full- and quick-service restaurants, whether they serve takeaway or not.
Features particularly important for pizzerias include:
- Modifiers that enable you to select pizza toppings, sauces, type of crust etc.
- Inventory management for tracking raw ingredients, stock and allergens
- Order management to track preparations, payments, delivery status etc.
- Pizza delivery system connected to the kitchen and till
- Click & Collect that lets customers order pizzas online for pickup
- Kitchen display system (KDS) so cooks can prep orders as received in real time
We’ll address these as we talk about the different POS systems below.
Revel Systems is a solid system for busy pizza bars – but it comes at a price. The EPOS works on iPad only, but has all the customisable menu features a pizzeria needs. For example, multiple levels of modifiers can be added, unique promotions timed, and ingredient-tracking and stock levels are updated in real time to smoothen operations.
The system works online and offline, thanks to an on-site installation of a Revel server intended to keep your registers and kitchen screens working even if the internet fails. The downside of this hardware setup is the high setup cost: $674 USD excluding VAT. Pricing is listed in USD because the company is based in the US, though it serves many UK businesses too.
Revel has many add-on products, such as a customer-facing display, self-service kiosks for customers, online ordering and an advanced delivery system for your own pizza delivery couriers. So Revel is ideal if you have an in-house team of drivers and want the smoothest connection between couriers and the point of sale.
Each till costs at least $99 USD (about £73 at the time of writing) excluding VAT, which is steep compared to small-business alternatives. But then you get a decent iPad setup that’s more stable than cloud-only EPOS, advanced reporting and a custom interface in tune with your processes.
Advantages
Disadvantages
Lightspeed Restaurant is one of the more popular till apps for iPad only. It is highly customisable, with a professional backend account where most settings and data are accessed. At the frontend, you have a simple (right- or left-handed) interface of buttons where pizza options, orders, tables, customers and more can be displayed.
A kitchen display system can be added, so orders form the till are swiftly communicated to the kitchen. The software also times courses, so for example desserts are prepared after the main pizza. Another bonus is its offline functionality, so you can keep going during an internet outage.
As a downside, there’s no ingredient-tracking, meaning you’ll need to integrate the software with MarketMan or a similar extension. Click and collect can be added alongside table-side QR code ordering with the Lightspeed Order Anywhere module from £19 + VAT per month.
If you need a pizza delivery POS system, you’ll need an additional Lightspeed Delivery module to connect with Uber Eats or Deliveroo (these platforms also have their own costs).
Whereas the core pizza POS software is £26 + VAT monthly for the first register (£29 + VAT if paying monthly), you’ll need a ‘Pro’ subscription from £72 + VAT monthly for table-side, gift card and loyalty features.
Advantages
Disadvantages
If you’d rather have a simple, all-in-one system with EPOS, card payments and online ordering features built in, Square for Restaurants fits the bill. Not only do you get an efficient POS app for iPad, you also have a kitchen display system, free online ordering page and QR code payments built in.
A big appeal of Square is its lack of contract lock-in or monthly fees (for many of the tools). The full restaurant POS costs £69 + VAT per month for one pizzeria with unlimited registers – and this includes a kitchen display system.
There is a free version of Square for Restaurants, but it has fewer features. The paid ‘Plus’ subscription adds 24/7 support, advanced staff permissions, the kitchen display system, end-of-day reports, and the course, seat and floor management functions.
The POS app interface can be customised, complete with table plans for managing open orders. Service charges, tips and discounts can be added, as well as the all-important modifiers for pizza toppings.
The Square platform integrates with many different apps such as Deliverect that connects you with the big takeaway delivery platforms. You can also add food inventory management, loyalty and specialist ordering apps.
To accept cards, you only need to buy one of Square’s card machines, charging a fixed 1.75% per chip and tap transaction.
Advantages
Disadvantages
Epos Now is a popular POS system for small and busy hospitality businesses in the UK. It offers complete software and hardware solutions with EPOS available for PCs, Mac, iPad and Android tablets. The best option for pizza bars is the industry-grade touchscreen monitor purchased directly from Epos Now, either at an upfront cost or monthly fee.
Pizza vendors would need to subscribe to the Hospitality software, and opt for the Order and Pay add-on for click-and-collect, deliveries and table-side ordering. There is also a kitchen display system and Epos Pocket device with a simplified version of the POS software for waiters taking orders at tables.
The main downside of this company, however, is that they’ll try to lock you into a contract of up to 5 years. We recommend trialling the POS app or asking for a demo first, before you commit to a plan.
Exact pricing is only revealed by talking to an Epos Now representative. A basic POS licence used to start at £25 + VAT per month, but this excludes specialised functions and phone support. To access customer support, you need to pay an extra fee per month.
The system works both online and offline and integrates with card machines from e.g. Paymentsense, Worldpay and Retail Merchant Services. There is also a fully integrated Epos Now Payments system that charges a fixed rate for card payments, but it has a monthly fee as well.
Oracle is a general software and technology company that also offers hospitality POS. Many of its solutions are geared towards enterprises like hotels and restaurant chains, but its Simphony POS system can be affordable for a small pizzeria too.
The POS system only works online, but can be set up with a variety of hardware setups including custom-built, hard-wearing register touchscreens. The till software has pretty much everything including advanced functions like recipe management, customisable reports, daily menu specials and personalised promotions.
The system is highly scalable, with various software extensions for customer loyalty, online ordering, staff management as well as third-party integrations with external apps. It is therefore a good choice for fast-growing, high-volume pizza restaurants that want the very best setup without having to change provider later on.
As a downside, pricing is very individual – you have to request a quote. The cheapest ‘Essentials’ plan starts at $55 USD monthly (excl. VAT), but you can expect to pay for setting up, hardware, service and things like online ordering. Contractual lock-in will likely be required, and there is no free trial to put your mind at ease before committing to the solution.
Others that didn’t make the cut
Having looked through dozens of POS systems, we can honestly say our top five above are the best selection for small pizza places. Nevertheless, these other options could suit certain pizzerias.
Clover – pricey all-in-one POS terminals with modular add-ons
SumUp Point of Sale/Goodtill – low-cost, maybe too simple online ordering
iiko – good features, but limited user base in the UK
Just Eat POS – only integrates with Just Eat takeaway platform
Nobly – maybe too simple and undergoing changes since acquisition by Revolut
Tabology – might suit, but better for bars and pubs
Tevalis – premium solution geared towards larger pizza chains
TouchBistro – limited features for UK businesses
Zonal – premium solution, but very expensive for a small business
Summary
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