The Best Pub and Bar EPOS Systems

We tested several hospitality EPOS providers and found that Square is the best EPOS system for pubs and bars. It’s affordable, with a functional free plan that includes open tabs and free QR code ordering, plus it offers a variety of compact and portable hardware options.

However, larger pubs or chains, especially those with extensive menus, might prefer a system that offers them better organisational and financial oversight, such as Clover or Toast.

A good bar POS system allows for quick order processing, comes with discount tools for easy happy hour setup, and preferably offers staff management tools, whether built-in or integrations.

1. Square for Restaurants: Best Overall System for Pubs and Bars

Square for Restaurants is the best overall EPOS system for pubs and bars. It offers a comprehensive free software plan suitable for small bars, as well as affordable paid plans that can handle larger pubs. Plus, its ecosystem of tools, which includes online ordering and marketing, makes it easy for bars to maximise profits.

Why do we recommend Square for pubs and bars?

Square’s free EPOS software is highly functional, allowing small pubs and bars to do a lot for a low price. For example, on the free plan, you’ll get access to bar tabs, scheduled discounts (such as for recurring happy hours), auto gratuity and even floor plan management. For an extra £15 per month, you can integrate with Square’s KDS, which comes at no extra cost on paid plans.

The free plan also allows you to create an online ordering website and give customers the possibility to order drinks and food from the table via a QR code, speeding up service and cutting down on long lines at the bar.

Upgrading is also relatively cheap, with Square’s £69 per month Plus plan cheaper than competitor Toast’s starting plan. You’ll get access to extra features such as the ability to reopen closed bills (a must on busy Sundays), customise your floor plan and split checks.

You’ll also get access to Square’s full suite of reporting features, which includes reports by shifts, time of day, section (tables versus bar, for example) and menu item.

Square also has an array of add-on products that you can access regardless of whether you’re on the free or paid version of the EPOS software. The one we recommend most to pubs and bars is Square Shifts.

It’s free for up to five employees, and beyond that costs just £3 per month, per employee. With this, you can schedule and track shifts breaks and overtime, access labour costs reports, and even automate tip pooling.

If you already own an iPad, you don’t need to invest in much hardware and can get the Square Reader for £19. We do, however, recommend that pubs and bars purchase the £99 iPad stand (2nd gen), with a built-in card reader and a swivel stand to allow customer-facing transactions or Square’s £149-£169 handheld EPOS devices and card machines. These lightweight options give you the most flexibility to take orders on the go or from anywhere at the bar.

Our experience testing Square

We found Square generally very easy to use. The backend was quite intuitive, and we had no trouble creating menus or listing items. We also appreciated the search function, which helped us find tools quickly.

However, we did run into a few glitches. For example, the table plan didn’t appear in the backend, and we found the process of cancelling orders and adding staff accounts overly complicated.

When it comes to hardware, we tested the £149 Square Terminal and its portable EPOS device and card machine. While it was easy to access inventory and process payments from the device, we did have issues with the physical design. The card machine was quite wide, so it wasn’t easy to hold in one hand, making it better suited to serving customers at the bar rather than table service.

Luckily, Square has released a new handheld POS device, the £169 Square Handheld, which is designed for table service.

Where could Square improve?

Square is missing a few tools that are vital for large pubs and chains, such as ingredient tracking or cost versus profit management. If those are the tools you need, we recommend Toast or Epos Now instead.

Square also doesn’t have a training mode for staff, which can slow down onboarding new recruits. Square’s software is quite easy to use, so this isn’t a huge issue, but, if a training mode is a must for your business, competitors Clover, SumUp and Toast all offer it.

2. Clover: Best for Professional and Sleek Hardware

Clover is a great option for large pubs that serve food, since it has some of the best hardware on the market, from full countertop systems with a fingerprint login system, to portable devices with built-in receipt printers. All its devices have a sleek, modern appearance that can elevate the look of your establishment.

Why do we recommend Clover for pubs and bars?

Clover offers tailored EPOS solutions for a variety of hospitality businesses, including pubs and bars.

You can take orders from the bar, table, in the crowd, or even outside, with its Clover Flex device, a portable card machine that syncs with the main EPOS system and from which you can access Clover’s full EPOS dashboard. Clover’s main countertop solution, the Clover Station Pro comes with a fingerprint login, enabling easy access to staff during busy times, and speeding up order taking.

Your ability to take orders from anywhere is enhanced by the fact that Clover works offline, so even orders logged in the furthest corner of your pub’s garden will get logged.

When it comes to software features, Clover is especially suited to large, busy bars. Its tools include live table status tracking, transferable bar tabs, and bill splitting.

Also included at no extra cost is QR code ordering, a must for busy pubs looking to reduce lines. Marketing features such as scheduled discounts, which you can display and promote on customer-facing screens, can boost sales.

You’ll also get access to in-depth reporting, including reports by staff, shift, menu items and even discounts. Plus, Clover offers cost versus profit tracking and management, a feature missing from Square, which allows large bars to cut down on waste.

Clover’s EPOS system is designed to be built to fit your unique needs, so it has a large app store that includes not just third-party integrations, but Clover’s own products too, many of which are available for free.

Ones we particularly recommend to pubs and bars are Clover Happy Hour, which lets you schedule discounts on drinks for certain hours and days, and Clover Shifts, which lets you manage staff hours and cash tips. Both apps are available for free.

Our experience testing Clover

Clover has remained consistently easy to use in our testing, despite offering advanced features. We particularly like Clover’s frontend, which is highly intuitive and makes great use of colour to highlight features. The drag-and-drop design of Clover’s table planner is also a nice touch for bars that change their floor plan a lot.

That said, it wasn’t quite smooth sailing when it came to certain backend features. For example, we had trouble finding where to set up discounts and loyalty programmes, and real-time syncing issues disrupted the overall smoothness of the experience.

When it comes to hardware, we were particularly impressed by how light the Clover Flex, Clover’s handheld EPOS device/card machine, was. Despite its size, it fitted easily in our hand and didn’t feel awkward to hold, making it great for table service.

Where could Clover improve?

Clover’s software only runs on Clover hardware, which means the initial cost can be fairly expensive. While Clover doesn’t advertise prices in the UK, it does in other regions, and based off those prices, we can tell you that its hardware comes at a premium. The fact that Clover’s pricing is opaque might put off some business owners. So, if you’re looking for affordable hardware and crystal-clear pricing, we’d recommend Square.

Clover also doesn’t offer automated tip management, even with its Shift add-on app, so if that’s a necessity for your staff, we’d recommend choosing Square again , and getting Square’s Shift add-on, which is more comprehensive than Clover’s.

3. Toast: Best For Managing Complex Operations

Toast is the best option for large, established pubs with complex operations, for example, with multiple floors or an extensive menu. Its built-in inventory and profit management tools, and add-on marketing features can help busy pubs and bars stay organised.

Why do we recommend Toast for pubs and bars?

Toast may be one of the most expensive EPOS systems on this list, but it’s worth it for the features you get access to.

One of Toast’s most useful tools for busy pubs and bars is its Mobile Order & Pay feature. With this feature, bars can enable QR code ordering and payment for customers, reducing lines at the bar and speeding up service. However, this is a paid add-on and, as with most Toast add-ons, the cost isn’t specified.

Other useful add-on tools include advanced inventory management, which features food and recipe cost management, as well as low-stock alerts. With this, large, busy establishments have all the tools they need to cut down on waste and maximise profits.

Other useful add-ons include customer engagement tools, like loyalty program building (set spending and create a points system), email marketing and gift card creation, including physical gift cards, a feature SumUp is missing.

When it comes to hardware, Toast offers a compact handheld POS device, allowing servers to take orders easily at tables or from anywhere around the bar. All Toast hardware is also spill and heat-resistant, so it can withstand a few accidents.

Our experience testing Toast

We found Toast easy to use. The backend was particularly intuitive and easy to navigate, and the setup tutorial offered a clear step-by-step guide that helped us find our way around the platform.

The only task we struggled with a little was setting up a discount on an order, which is something we had trouble with on a lot of other EPOS platforms we tested. In this case, we found Toast’s wording a little confusing, since you have to click on an “update” button to find the discount button. Square clearly labels this option on the checkout screen.

Where could Toast improve?

Toast is an expensive option, since most of its best tools, such as marketing, and advanced profit and inventory management tools, come as paid add-ons. It doesn’t help that, unlike Square or SumUp, Toast doesn’t advertise how much add-ons cost. Small pubs and bars with tighter budgets might prefer providers that are more transparent with prices.

Additionally, Toast offers both countertop terminals and an EPOS app that works on tablets; its app is only compatible with Android tablets. If you already use iPad-based EPOS hardware and want to spare yourself the expense of replacing it, we recommend Square.

4. SumUp: Best for Small Local Pubs

SumUp is the best EPOS system for small pubs and bars. It has a completely free software plan, its paid plan has cheaper monthly fees than all competitors and it has integrated loyalty tools.

Why do we recommend SumUp for pubs and bars?

Like Square, SumUp offers free EPOS software, although personally we wouldn’t recommend it to pubs and bars, since, unlike Square, we don’t think it has enough features to be a viable system. Instead, we recommend the £49 per month POS Pro plan. It’s SumUp’s most expensive pricing tier and it’s cheaper than both Square’s £69 paid plan and most competitors’ starting plans.

Plus, there’s plenty included in SumUp’s paid plan that typically comes at an extra cost with competitors. One example is marketing and loyalty tools. You’ll be able to create customised loyalty programmes for regulars, and create digital gift cards and vouchers. Also included as standard with SumUp is staff shift tracking, so you can know exactly how many hours each employee has worked.

When it comes to core pub and bar features, SumUp has an open tab function as well as discount scheduling for happy hour and QR code ordering. Plus, it has extremely light and compact card readers, offering your staff a lot of mobility.

Pubs that are big on serving food will also appreciate SumUp’s built-in menu allergen warnings. These let you easily add allergens to menu items in the backend, which then appear in the frontend, simplifying allergy risks for staff and customers.

Our experience testing SumUp

The frontend of SumUp’s EPOS system is very user-friendly, allowing for speedy service, but the backend remains hard to navigate.

SumUp’s frontend has a simple, clear and responsive interface, with a minimalist design making finding features, such as table management, and order cancellation and editing, easy. We especially like the “park order” function, which allowed us to quickly adjust items mid-transaction.

However, the backend consistently frustrated us, since its design was much clunkier, and we ran into a lot of slow loading when trying to access reports, bulk imports and user settings. The sidebar menu would also often cover up other navigation elements, which made completing tasks difficult.

Where could SumUp improve?

Although SumUp has some great features, large establishments will find it a little limiting. You’ll find a larger variety of tools with competitors Clover and Lightspeed, who both have EPOS systems targeted at larger businesses.

SumUp also doesn’t have any built-in reservation tools and only integrates with one third-party reservation app, simpleERB. If you’re a reservation-based business, we recommend Toast.

Finally, SumUp doesn’t have an automatic offline function – it needs to be enabled, unlike the equivalent feature in Clover. This could be an issue for pubs with large gardens or ones with unreliable connectivity.

5. Epos Now: Best for Managing a Large Inventory

Epos Now is the best EPOS system for pubs and bars with large inventories, such as chains, or large establishments with multiple floors. It has advanced reporting and expense management features, plus great menu and floorplan management tools.

Why do we recommend Epos Now for pubs and bars?

Epos Now offers dedicated pub and bar EPOS software which, much like TouchBistro, comes with a one-tap ordering function to speed up service.

It’s a great system for large or multi-location establishments thanks to its advanced stock control features, which include ingredient tracking and real-time inventory updates. You can also generate cost versus profit reports, monitor sales in real time, and view employee performance.

Floor plans can also be fully customised and edited from the frontend of the software, making it easy for staff to adapt to customers’ needs. And, like all pub and bar POS systems worth their salt, Epos Now has flexible billing features, including tab openings, bill splitting and even bill combining.

On the marketing side, Epos Now lets you build a customer base and create loyalty programs and special offers, such as free food or drinks. This is a key tool to engage regulars. It also integrates with a large number of third-party apps, like Loyalzoo.

On the hardware front, Epos Now offers bundles that include a spill-resistant touchscreen terminal and the Air card reader, a portable device that syncs with the main POS system.

Our experience testing Epos Now

Epos Now isn’t the easiest system to use, mainly because the more advanced a system’s features are, the less intuitive it tends to be.

One example is when we tried to set up price scheduling, so prices would change depending on the time of service. It was difficult to find these functions since there were so many tabs and buttons to sift through. We had a much easier time finding this on Square.

During testing, we found that the frontend was slightly easier to use than the backend, although we had no issue with basic tasks, such as creating floor plans and assigning ingredients to menu items to facilitate stock tracking. However, sifting through all the reporting and tracking options was a little overwhelming.

Since Epos Now can be tricky, and it doesn’t have a training mode, it’s not a system we would recommend to restaurants that have inexperienced teams.

Where could Epos Now improve?

Epos Now doesn’t have an automated tip-sharing function and doesn’t have integrations that can fill in this gap. So, if your pub or bar has a tip-sharing policy, you might want to go for Square.

As we’ve noted above, it’s also not the easiest system to use. Epos Now was the system we struggled with the most during testing, especially when it came to the backend. That’s something to keep in mind if you or your staff don’t have much experience using an EPOS. We’d recommend Square or SumUp if you’re looking for a simple solution.

Buying Guide: How to Choose an EPOS System

When choosing an EPOS system for your pub or bar, you should first define your specific needs. These will vary depending on the size of your establishment, if and how you serve food (whether you do table service, if you are a gastro pub, if you just offer a few bar snacks, and so on) and the number of locations you have.

Here’s what to consider when evaluating your choices:

Pricing

Consider the upfront costs of an EPOS system, its monthly fees, as well as what’s included in them. Is it both software and hardware, or one and not the other? Make sure to include the added cost of integration, training and transaction fees in your budgeting.

Realistically plan for any projected growth as well. Choosing a system that can accommodate your expected future needs will prevent you from having to switch systems later down the line.

Software

Make a list of must-have and nice-to-have features based on your pub or bar’s operations to get a clear picture of what kind of system you genuinely need.

These could include:

• Inventory management: To help you keep on top of your ingredients and prevent you from running out of something unexpectedly.
• Inventory and ingredients management: This can help you track usage and help you plan ahead for busy times, so you never run out of your regulars’ favourite drinks.
• Reservation management: If you serve sit-down meals, like a roast, or are a bar that does table bookings, this feature will make managing customers easier, and is also a useful tool to gather customer data.
• Staff management: So you can stay on top of employee shifts, reward your best employees and identify those that need further training.
• Online and QR code ordering: Letting your customers order food or non-alcoholic drinks independently can free up your staff to focus on customers at the bar.
• Analytics and reporting: So you can learn which meals are most popular, which staff members are processing the most transactions and more.
• Customer loyalty programmes: Rewarding your regulars shouldn’t be overlooked since they’re the old faithfuls that keep your business running.

It’s also worth being aware that if you prioritise features that help automate your workflows and prevent manual work, you may be able to reduce your labour costs.

Hardware

Think about the important pieces of hardware that your business needs and how many of them you need – from EPOS terminals and card machines to receipt printers, kitchen printers and cash drawers.

Not all providers automatically provide you with card machines, for example. They’re sometimes replaced with a tablet or terminal that can take payments. However, if you need your staff to do table service, you’ll need an EPOS provider that can supply you with mobile card readers.

If you have existing hardware and want to save yourself from having to buy everything new, find an EPOS system that’s compatible with your existing equipment. Most EPOS providers appreciate that you might be switching to them from another supplier and that you won’t necessarily want a complete overhaul of all your hardware.

Add-ons and integrations

You should also pay attention to the software that your chosen EPOS system can integrate with.

If you already use software, such as accounting software, make sure the EPOS system you choose has a ready-made integration for it, as this will help you streamline operations.

It’s also a good idea to check what other add-ons or apps are available via an EPOS system. Some providers offer advanced marketing or reporting features as add-ons, usually for an extra fee – but, if these seem particularly valuable to your business, they could be worth the extra spend.

Our Methodology: How We Test Pub and Bar EPOS Systems