EPOS Systems Compared for Indian Restaurants

Beyond the Till: Why Your EPOS Choice Matters

There was a time when running a curry restaurant required three things for transactions: a cash register, a pen, and a pad of carbon-copy order slips. Those days are firmly gone. Today's EPOS (Electronic Point of Sale) systems do far more than process payments — they manage orders, track stock, integrate with delivery platforms, generate sales reports, and provide the data you need to make informed business decisions. Choosing the right one can genuinely transform your operation. Choosing the wrong one can cost you thousands in wasted subscriptions, lost efficiency, and missed opportunities.

What to Look For

Before comparing specific systems, let's establish what matters most for an Indian restaurant. Your needs differ from a café or a pub, and not every EPOS system handles these differences well.

Order Management

Indian restaurant menus are complex. A single dish might have multiple variations (chicken, lamb, prawn, vegetable), heat levels (mild, medium, hot), and sides. Your EPOS needs to handle this complexity without slowing down the ordering process. Look for systems that support modifiers, nested options, and customisable menu layouts that reflect how your staff actually think about orders.

Kitchen Display System (KDS)

A screen in the kitchen that displays orders as they're placed, replacing paper tickets. This reduces errors, improves timing, and allows the kitchen to prioritise and manage workflow. For a curry house running multiple sections (tandoor, curry station, rice/bread), the ability to route different items to different screens is invaluable.

Delivery Integration

If you use Deliveroo, Just Eat, or Uber Eats — and most curry restaurants do — seamless integration is non-negotiable. Without it, delivery orders arrive on a separate tablet, must be manually entered into your EPOS, and create a parallel order stream that's ripe for errors. Integrated systems pull delivery orders directly into your main order flow, print them on the same kitchen tickets, and track them through the same reporting.

Stock and Inventory

Tracking ingredient usage against sales helps you manage food costs, reduce waste, and reorder at the right time. This is particularly valuable for spices and speciality ingredients with long lead times. Not all systems handle this equally well — some require significant manual setup to be useful.

The Systems Compared

Square

Square has become enormously popular with small to medium restaurants thanks to its transparent pricing and ease of setup. The hardware is sleek, the software is intuitive, and the free tier covers basic functionality.

Pricing: Software from £0/month (basic) to £69/month (Plus). Hardware from £19 (reader) to £699 (full terminal). Transaction fees: 1.75% in person, 2.5% online.

Pros: Easy to set up, excellent reporting, good online ordering tools, no long-term contract.

Cons: Limited delivery platform integration, KDS requires the Plus plan, stock management is basic.

Zettle (formerly iZettle)

PayPal's entry into the EPOS market, Zettle is popular for its simplicity and competitive transaction rates. It's best suited to smaller operations that don't need complex order management.

Pricing: Software free. Reader £29, dock £39. Transaction fees: 1.75%.

Pros: Very affordable, simple interface, integrates with PayPal ecosystem.

Cons: Limited restaurant-specific features, no native KDS, no delivery platform integration, not ideal for complex menus.

Lightspeed Restaurant

Lightspeed is a more robust option aimed at established restaurants. It offers strong table management, detailed reporting, and good integration options. It's well-suited to restaurants with 50+ covers and complex operational needs.

Pricing: From £69/month. Hardware quoted separately. Transaction fees vary by plan.

Pros: Excellent floor plan management, strong reporting and analytics, good integrations (including Deliveroo and Uber Eats), multi-location support.

Cons: More expensive, steeper learning curve, annual contracts on some plans. Our POS buying guide covers the negotiation process.

TouchBistro

Designed specifically for restaurants, TouchBistro runs on iPad and offers a purpose-built interface for food service. It's strong on table management and has good kitchen printing/display options.

Pricing: From £56/month. Hardware additional. Various add-on modules (online ordering, reservations, loyalty) at extra cost.

Pros: Restaurant-focused design, intuitive interface, good KDS, tableside ordering capability.

Cons: Add-ons increase cost quickly, delivery integration requires third-party middleware, UK support can be slower than US.

Epos Now

A UK-based company, Epos Now offers competitive all-in-one packages and has a strong presence in the British hospitality sector. Their understanding of UK-specific requirements (VAT handling, Deliveroo integration, UK payment processors) is a genuine advantage.

Pricing: From £25/month or one-off hardware purchase from £399. Transaction fees depend on payment provider.

Pros: UK-based support, good value all-in-one packages, integrates with most UK delivery platforms, decent stock management.

Cons: Interface feels less polished than some competitors, reporting could be more detailed, contract terms need careful reading.

Integration with Delivery Platforms

For most curry restaurants, this is the decisive factor. Here's the current state of direct integration with the major UK delivery platforms:

• Deliveroo: Lightspeed, Epos Now (direct); others via middleware like Deliverect or Otter
• Just Eat: Epos Now (direct); others via middleware
• Uber Eats: Lightspeed, Epos Now (direct); others via middleware

If direct integration matters to you — and it should — Lightspeed and Epos Now currently offer the best native coverage. Other systems can achieve similar results through middleware platforms (Deliverect, Otter, Hubrise), but these add £30-100/month to your costs and introduce another layer of complexity.

Making Your Decision

The right EPOS system depends on your size, budget, and priorities. For a small takeaway, Zettle or Square's free tier may be sufficient. For a mid-size restaurant with delivery, Epos Now offers strong UK-specific value. For a larger operation wanting premium features and analytics, Lightspeed justifies its higher price. Whatever you choose, look beyond the initial cost — consider the total monthly expense including transaction fees, add-ons, and any middleware. The technology trends shaping the industry suggest that integration capabilities will only become more important.