Best Retail EPOS Systems UK 2026: Costs, Stock Control and Top Options

Updated August 2026. A good retail EPOS system should make the shop easier to run, not just replace the cash register. The useful systems connect checkout, stock, products, returns, staff and reporting so the owner can see what is selling without spending Sunday evening updating spreadsheets.

For most independent UK retailers, we would begin by comparing Square for Retail, Shopify POS, SumUp Register and Epos Now. The best option depends heavily on whether you also sell online, how many products you carry and how complex your stock management has become.

What makes a retail EPOS system different?

A shop needs more than a quick payment screen. Stock is the core issue. Every sale should reduce inventory automatically, returns should put the right item back into stock, and staff should be able to find products quickly even when the owner is not there.

Useful retail functions include:

• SKU and barcode support;
• real-time stock counts;
• purchase orders;
• supplier information;
• stock transfers between locations;
• returns and exchanges;
• product variants such as size and colour;
• customer profiles;
• staff permissions;
• online and in-store stock synchronisation;
• margin and product-performance reporting.

Square for Retail Free

Square for Retail’s Free plan currently costs £0 per month. It includes the retail POS app, free online shop, basic inventory tools, exchanges and unlimited items.

Standard in-person card processing is 1.75%. UK-card online payments are currently 1.4% + 25p and manually keyed transactions are 2.5%.

For a small boutique, gift shop, pop-up or specialist store with fairly simple stock, this is one of the strongest places to start because there is no software subscription to justify.

See Square

Square for Retail Plus

Retail Plus costs £49 per month per location after the current 30-day free trial. It adds advanced inventory tools and reports, automatic purchase orders, barcode label printing, item bundling and unlimited employee time tracking.

The current eligible in-person rate also falls to 1.6% when payments are processed while signed into the Retail Plus account on the Square POS app.

For a retailer processing £30,000 a month in qualifying in-person card sales, the difference between 1.75% and 1.6% is about £45 a month. That almost covers the £49 subscription before valuing any of the advanced retail tools.

This is why the Plus plan becomes more interesting as both card turnover and inventory complexity grow.

Shopify POS

Shopify POS is strongest when your physical shop and online store are really one retail business.

Current annual-billing Shopify plans start at:

• Basic: £19 per month;
• Grow: £49 per month;
• Advanced: £259 per month.

Monthly billing is higher, with Basic currently £25, Grow £65 and Advanced £344.

Basic in-person sales functionality is included with paid plans. POS Pro costs another £69 per month per location and adds deeper staff permissions, advanced inventory workflows, richer customer profiles, professional retail reports and more flexible returns and exchanges.

The reason to pay for Shopify is not simply the till. It is keeping online orders, products, customers and physical store stock inside the same commerce platform.

Read our Shopify POS review.

SumUp Register

SumUp Register currently costs £399 before VAT for the dual-screen register. SumUp also sells a Retail POS Kit for £649 before VAT, adding a receipt printer, cash drawer and barcode scanner.

The basic POS software has a £0 monthly cost. SumUp’s current comparison material lists POS Plus at £29 per month and POS Pro at £49 per month.

Standard in-person card processing is currently 1.69%, or 0.99% for eligible domestic consumer cards with the separate £19-per-month Payments Plus plan.

This suits a retailer that likes the idea of buying the core hardware rather than renting a traditional till package.

Epos Now

Epos Now remains a major UK-focused EPOS option for retailers wanting a more conventional package. Its current store advertises retail systems at promotional upfront prices, while its current 2026 buying information highlights the importance of software, support and add-ons in the long-term cost.

The main thing to watch is bundled subscription cost. Discounted complete systems can require a 12-month payments, care and support subscription starting at £54 per month.

That can still be reasonable if the support and full system are valuable to your store. Just do not compare the promotional hardware price with Square or SumUp without including the recurring charge.

How much stock control do you actually need?

A shop with 80 products can often manage comfortably with basic real-time inventory and low-stock alerts. A clothing retailer carrying 80 styles in five sizes and four colours effectively has far more stock-keeping units and benefits much more from barcode labels, purchase orders and variant reporting.

Ask yourself:

• How many SKUs do we have?
• Do products have size, colour or other variants?
• Do we reorder from several suppliers?
• Do we need purchase orders?
• Do we transfer stock between locations?
• Do we sell the same inventory online?
• How often do we process exchanges?

If most answers are no, paying for enterprise-style stock tools is probably unnecessary.

Barcode scanners and labels

Barcode scanning becomes valuable when staff regularly search through a large catalogue or when similar products are easy to confuse.

Before buying scanners, check whether they are included, supported via USB or Bluetooth, and whether the POS can create and print barcode labels itself. Square Retail Plus includes barcode label printing. SumUp’s retail kit includes a scanner in the current package.

Returns and exchanges

Returns are where weak retail systems become obvious. Staff need to find the original transaction, refund the right payment, put the correct product back into inventory and handle an exchange without creating a stock discrepancy.

If your business has a high return rate, test the actual returns workflow during the demo. Do not just ask whether returns are “supported”.

Online and in-store inventory

If you sell online and in-store, stock synchronisation should be near the top of your requirements.

The nightmare scenario is selling the final unit in your shop while the website still shows it available. Shopify is naturally strong here because online commerce is the core platform. Square also combines physical selling with Square Online.

For other providers, ask whether ecommerce integration is native, an add-on or a third-party app with its own subscription.

Staff and permissions

Do not give every employee the owner’s login. A good retail POS should allow sales staff to process normal transactions while limiting access to refunds, reports, price changes and settings.

As the team grows, also look at clock-in, shift data and sales by employee. These features matter far more to a seven-person shop than to an owner-operated boutique.

Worked cost example

Take a shop processing £40,000 a month in eligible in-person card transactions.

• At 1.75%, the simple processing cost is £700 a month.
• At 1.60%, it is £640.
• The simple difference is £60 a month.

In that scenario, a £49 Retail Plus subscription could theoretically be offset by the lower eligible payment rate alone, before counting inventory tools. At lower turnover, the free plan may be better value.

Real businesses take different card types and channels, so always use your actual statements when possible.

Hardware checklist for a shop

• Touchscreen or tablet
• Card reader or integrated terminal
• Barcode scanner
• Receipt printer
• Cash drawer if you accept cash
• Customer-facing display if useful
• Label printer for stock-heavy retail
• Reliable router and backup internet option

Our verdict

Square for Retail is the best starting benchmark for many independent UK shops. The Free plan is genuinely low commitment, while Plus gives a clear path to stronger stock management.

Shopify POS is the better strategic choice when ecommerce is central to the business. SumUp Register is attractive if you want owned countertop hardware, while Epos Now is worth a quote when you want a complete system with supplier-led support.

The right retail EPOS system is the one that keeps stock accurate and checkout simple without forcing you to pay for complexity you do not need.

More retail guides

See our EPOS system guide, Square POS review, Shopify POS review and affordable cash register guide.