Best Till System for Pubs UK: Complete Comparison Guide

When people talk about a till system for pubs, they’re actually talking about two things: the software running it, and the hardware it’s running on. Most pub landlords lump them together as “the till,” and that’s fine for casual conversation. But when you’re choosing and buying, you need to understand what each bit does and what matters.

I’ve bought three different till systems over the years, and I can tell you that getting this right makes a massive difference to how smoothly your pub runs.

Software vs Hardware: What You Actually Need

The software is your EPOS system—the program that handles transactions, stock, reporting. We’ve covered that elsewhere in detail.

The hardware is the physical kit: the till terminals, the card readers, the printers, the drawer, the kitchen display screens if you’re using them. The hardware has to be:

Fast: Processing a transaction in two seconds instead of three doesn’t sound like much, but when you’re ringing up 50 transactions an hour, it adds up.

Reliable: A till going down during service is a nightmare. You need hardware that just works.

Easy to use: Staff are using this thing in high-stress situations. It needs to be intuitive.

Tough: Bar environment is harsh. Hardware gets spilled on, bumped, used roughly. It needs to survive that.

Appropriate to your space: A 24-inch desktop terminal isn’t appropriate for a small bar where space is premium.

Types of Till Hardware

Traditional Fixed Terminals

This is the standard: a desktop terminal, a drawer, a printer, payment terminal. Fixed position. Most reliable because there’s no movement involved. When you’re designing your bar layout, you build around these. They’re robust, they work reliably, and they’re not going to fail in the middle of service.

Cost: £1,500-3,000 per station depending on spec.

Best for: Established operations where you know your bar layout, venues doing serious volume, anywhere you want maximum reliability.

Mobile Tablets (iPad or Android)

More flexible than fixed terminals. You can move them around, take orders at tables, work from different parts of the bar. Hardware is cheap—iPad Plus or equivalent Android tablet, about £500-800. Easier to replace if something breaks.

Downside: Less robust in a high-volume environment, slower processors, Wi-Fi dependence, smaller screen means more taps to do things. Battery life is a consideration. Harder to integrate with traditional bar accessories like label printers.

Cost: £500-800 per tablet plus EPOS software.

Best for: Casual venues, smaller operations, food-led establishments where table ordering is relevant, venues wanting flexibility.

Hybrid: Fixed Terminal with Mobile Options

Some systems let you have one main fixed terminal for taking payments and one or more mobile devices for order entry or bar service. Best of both worlds potentially, though more complexity to manage.

Cost: Main terminal (£1,500-2,000) plus mobile devices (£500 each).

Best for: Larger venues, food-led pubs, anywhere you want some flexibility without sacrificing reliability at the main point of sale.

Payment Terminals and Integration

Most EPOS systems work with multiple payment terminal brands. The integration matters for two reasons:

Security: Integrated payment means card details don’t sit in your till system. They’re tokenised and processed securely through the payment processor. This is important for PCI compliance and keeping your venue secure.

Efficiency: When payments are integrated, they settle into your till transactions automatically. You’re not reconciling payment terminal records against till records. It’s one system, one record.

Most reputable EPOS systems integrate with Sumup, iZettle, Square payments, or dedicated payment companies. Make sure your chosen EPOS integrates with your preferred payment provider.

Printers and Peripherals

Receipt Printers Essential. They need to be quick (print a receipt in under three seconds), reliable, and handle the volume. Thermal printers are standard because they’re fast. Cost: £300-600.

Kitchen Display Systems Only relevant if you’re doing food, but if you are, they’re really valuable. Orders appear on a screen in the kitchen as they come in, and you mark them complete when ready. Reduces shouting, improves accuracy. Cost: £800-1,500 per system depending on spec.

Label Printers For printing shelf labels, stock labels, cask badges. Not essential but very useful if you’re serious about stock management. Cost: £400-800.

Barcode Scanners Make stock counting faster and more accurate. Essential if you’re doing regular stock management. Cost: £150-300.

How Much Hardware Do You Actually Need?

That depends on your throughput and your space.

A small wet-led pub with one bar: one till terminal, one card reader, one receipt printer. You’re fine.

A medium pub with a main bar and a back bar: two till terminals. Each can process transactions independently. Card reader integrates with both. Two printers (one per bar). Kitchen display system if you’re doing food.

A larger pub or nightclub: possibly three or four till terminals distributed around the space, multiple card readers, multiple printers. You want to avoid queues at the till.

Staff handheld devices for table service: Add one iPad per 3-4 staff if you’re doing significant food service. This lets multiple people take orders without queuing at the till.

The rule of thumb: you want enough till capacity that the till itself is never a bottleneck during your busy service. If you’ve got a queue at the till on Friday night, you need more terminals.

Specific Till Systems Worth Considering

Lightspeed Till Hardware Excellent build quality. Professional-grade terminals designed for hospitality. They work reliably in high-volume environments. If you’re using Lightspeed software, their hardware is a good match. Cost is premium but justified. Best for serious venues.

Square Register Hardware Simpler than Lightspeed but solid. Works well with Square software and payments. Less expensive than Lightspeed. Good for venues that don’t need enterprise-grade hardware. Adequate reliability for most pubs.

iPad with Third-Party EPOS Cheap entry point, flexible, but understand the limitations. Works well for casual venues, less good for high-volume pubs. Multiple apps available: Square, Clover, TouchBistro, Lightspeed all have iPad versions.

Traditional Till Hardware from Hospitality Specialists Companies like Impos, Micros (now Oracle), and others sell dedicated hospitality till hardware. Often older technology but very robust. You might pick up used equipment cheaply. Works well if integrated with compatible software.

What Affects Till Reliability

You want a till system that doesn’t go down. What causes till outages?

Internet Dependency: Cloud-based EPOS needs internet to work. Most systems have offline mode now (they buffer transactions and sync when you’re back online), but confirm this. A till that stops working if your internet drops is unacceptable.

Hardware Failure: Physical components fail. The faster you can replace hardware, the better. iPad-based systems are quicker to replace (buy a new iPad, restore from backup, you’re back online). Fixed terminals might take longer if you’re waiting for specialist hardware repair.

Software Stability: This is why your EPOS choice matters. A system that crashes frequently is a nightmare. Test stability during trials.

Payment Processing Failure: If your payment terminal goes down, you can’t take card payments. This is catastrophic. Make sure you have a backup plan (second card reader, ability to process payments manually).

Future-Proofing Your Till

Tech moves fast. Your till hardware will become obsolete eventually. What matters is that it’s still serviceable and that you’re not locked into a dead-end system.

Cloud-based systems with standard hardware (iPad, generic Android tablet) age better than proprietary systems because you’re not dependent on the vendor supporting specific hardware.

Ask vendors: what’s their hardware roadmap? Are they still supporting the hardware you’re buying, or is this being phased out? How easy is it to upgrade when you want to?

Total Cost of Ownership

When you’re evaluating till hardware, think about total cost over three years, not just upfront cost.

Budget for:

Initial hardware purchase: £2,500-7,000 depending on setup.

Monthly software licensing: £150-400.

Maintenance and repairs: £500-2,000 per year depending on complexity.

Replacement hardware as stuff fails: budget £200-500 per year for unexpected replacements.

Upgrades: Every 5-7 years you’ll probably want to refresh your hardware. Budget for this.

A cheap system that breaks constantly is more expensive than a better system that’s reliable.

Integration with Your Suppliers

Your till system should ideally integrate with your beer suppliers, your food suppliers, your accounting software. This reduces manual data entry and means your till data automatically flows into your broader business systems.

Check what integrations are available before you commit.

Staff Training and Usability

Your till hardware has to be intuitive enough that new staff can use it after minimal training. A till system that requires extensive training is a problem when you’ve got high staff turnover (common in hospitality).

Dedicated hospitality till hardware is generally better here than generic systems because it’s designed around bar workflows.

Making Your Decision

For most UK pubs, I’d recommend:

If you have budget and need reliability: Dedicated hospitality hardware (Lightspeed terminals or equivalent) with integrated software and payments. Yes, it’s expensive, but it works reliably.

If you’re on a budget and want flexibility: iPad-based system like Square or TouchBistro. Understand the limitations but know you’re getting a simple, cost-effective solution.

If you want UK-specific: Impos or similar UK specialist with hardware that understands pub environments.

Hardware matters, but it matters less than software. The software (your EPOS system) is what you’ll live with daily. Hardware is important for reliability and speed, but don’t overpay for bells and whistles you won’t use.

Next Steps

Once you’ve got your till system sorted and it’s running properly, you need to actually use the data it’s generating. A great till system is only as good as the insights you draw from it. The Pub Operator Console helps you turn till and EPOS data into actionable business intelligence. Have a look at how we help landlords like you actually use your till data to run a better pub.