How to choose a POS system: a guide for hospitality, retail and services

Start with how you sell today

Before you compare offers, describe your sales on a single page. How many outlets and tills do you have? How many people serve customers in the busiest hour? How do customers pay: cash, card, BLIK? Do you issue invoices or only receipts?

This description rules out systems built for a different scale. A full system for chains is overkill for a single venue, and the simplest app won't do if you plan to open more outlets.

Fiscal printer: keep it or replace it?

In Poland, receipts are printed by a fiscal printer or a fiscal till. If your printer works, ask the vendor whether the system supports your model. Popular brands include Posnet, Novitus and Elzab.

Replacing the printer means paying for hardware, fiscalisation and service. A system that works with the device you already have lowers your entry cost noticeably.

Features your team uses every day

• Adding products to a bill quickly: categories, search, best-selling items.
• Cash, card and BLIK payments, and splitting the bill.
• Discounts, refunds and voids, with a record of who made them.
• Staff accounts with different permissions.
• Daily and shift reports without manual counting.

Ask for a demo with your real products. Selling a typical bill should take a few clicks, because every second at the till makes the queue longer.

Hardware: what you need at the till

Cloud systems run on devices with a browser, so the hardware you already have is often enough. A typical till setup is:

• a computer, laptop or tablet with a browser,
• a fiscal printer or an online fiscal till,
• a card terminal,
• optionally a cash drawer and a barcode scanner, useful especially in a shop.

In hospitality, a second device for waiting staff or a kitchen screen also helps. Ask the vendor which of these devices it supports and whether you can add them later.

Integrations: payments, accounting, online shop

Check which systems it exchanges data with: the card terminal, accounting software, your online shop and stock. If you issue invoices, ask about integration with KSeF, the Polish National e-Invoicing System, which more groups of companies start using in 2026.

A system with an API lets you add new tools later without replacing the whole till.

Cloud or installed software

A cloud (SaaS) system runs in the browser and the data sits on the vendor's servers. You don't buy a server, updates arrive automatically and you can check reports from home.

Installed software works without the internet, but updates, backups and service are on you. When choosing a cloud system, ask what happens when the venue loses its connection, and consider a backup link such as an LTE modem.

Costs: count the whole year

Compare costs over a year. On top of the subscription or licence, add:

• hardware: a computer or tablet, a fiscal printer, a card terminal,
• setup and staff training,
• fiscal printer servicing,
• card payment fees.

With SaaS most costs are fixed and predictable. With a licence you usually pay more upfront and then for later updates.

Setup step by step

1. Prepare a list of products with prices and VAT rates, ideally in a spreadsheet.
2. Check with the vendor that the system supports your fiscal printer and card terminal.
3. Create staff accounts and decide who can give discounts and make refunds.
4. Run one trial day outside opening hours: a few bills, a refund and a report.
5. Go live on a quieter day of the week, not right before the weekend.

The most common mistakes when choosing

• Choosing the lowest subscription without counting hardware and fees.
• Buying a new fiscal printer before checking whether the current one will do.
• Skipping the question about working without the internet.
• Not testing with real products before signing.
• No plan for who on the team will teach the others to use the system.

Questions for vendors

1. Will the system work with my fiscal printer and card terminal?
2. What happens when the venue has no internet?
3. What does setup look like, and who moves my products and prices?
4. Where is the data stored, who makes backups and how fast can you restore them?
5. What does a year of use cost, including add-ons?
6. How fast does support reply, and during what hours?