What is EPOS and how does it work?
EPOS stands for electronic point of sale. It is a digital system that replaces the mechanical cash register: it records every sale, calculates totals, applies discounts and VAT, and keeps a complete record of your transactions.
A traditional EPOS setup is a bundle of hardware: a touchscreen, a receipt printer, a cash drawer, perhaps a barcode scanner and a card terminal. Modern web-based systems like Mini Till run entirely in a browser on a device you already own, which brings EPOS within reach of even the smallest counter without any upfront spend.
When a customer buys something, the system looks up the price, adds it to the transaction, works out discounts and tax, records how it was paid, and stores the completed sale. That data then feeds the reports you use to understand the business and to meet your obligations to HMRC.
Tip: you do not need special hardware to start. A tablet or a smartphone running a web-based till is enough for most market stalls, pop-ups and small shops.
Why a digital till beats a cash register
Accuracy and speed
Products are pre-loaded with their correct prices, so the operator taps an item rather than keying a price. That speeds up the queue and removes the mistakes that creep in when someone is typing prices under pressure.
Automatic record keeping
Every transaction is recorded with a timestamp, an itemised list, the payment method and the total: a complete audit trail for tax returns, VAT submissions and settling disputes. A paper till roll fades, tears and goes missing; a CSV file does not.
Sales reporting
A digital till tells you your daily takings, best sellers, busiest hours and the card-to-cash split. That is the information behind good decisions on stock, staffing and pricing. A mechanical register gives you one number at the end of the day.
Lower cost of entry
Web-based systems run on hardware you already own: a tablet, a laptop, the phone in your pocket. Some, including Mini Till, are free to use.
Common EPOS features, explained
Stock management
Stock tracking counts what you have and reduces it with every sale, so you know when to reorder and never sell what you have run out of. It matters most for perishable goods and for businesses trading from more than one place. Mini Till's Pro stock system handles this across multiple locations with a central store.
Sales reporting
Reports summarise trading over any period: revenue, transaction counts, average sale, payment split, and product-level detail. You will lean on these for tax returns as much as for decisions.
Barcode scanning
Useful for retail with large catalogues. USB scanners start at around £20 and work with most systems; some tills scan with a phone camera instead. For a short menu (a coffee van, a cake stall), buttons are quicker than barcodes.
Discounts and promotions
Percentage or fixed-amount discounts applied to a sale, with the maths done for you. More elaborate systems add multi-buy offers and loyalty pricing; most small counters need far less than they are sold.
Product categories
Grouping products (food, drink, retail) keeps a longer list manageable and, on systems that report by category, shows which lines actually make the money.
HMRC records and Making Tax Digital
Every UK business must keep records of its sales and expenses, and a till's sales history counts as part of that record. What to keep, how long to keep it, how VAT changes things and where Making Tax Digital fits are on a page of their own: what HMRC expects from your till records, with every rule sourced to GOV.UK.
The short version is to keep every sale, keep the daily totals, and export your sales as CSV so they can be loaded into accounting software.
Note: Mini Till exports your full sales history as CSV from the Sales history section of the till, ready for accounting software that supports Making Tax Digital.
Setting up your first till
A tablet or phone is plenty of hardware. Enter every product with a clear name and price, put your fastest sellers first, and run a few practice sales before your first trading day, clearing the test data afterwards. Whoever is on the till should be able to ring up a sale, take each payment type and clear a mistake before the first queue forms.
The step-by-step till manual covers each of those in order, and starting a market stall in the UK covers the licences and costs around them.
Cash handling done properly
Card has overtaken cash, but notes and coins still matter at markets and fairs. Good cash habits protect you from theft, error and argument. There is more in cash handling for small businesses.
Opening
Start every day or shift with a counted float, typically £50 to £150 depending on your prices. Count it, write it down, and have a second person check it if you can.
During trading
- Leave the customer's note on top of the till while you count change, so there's no dispute about what they handed over
- Count change back out loud
- Keep the drawer or tin closed between transactions
- Drop excess cash to a safe during busy spells
- Never leave the till unattended with the drawer open
Closing
Count the drawer, subtract the float, and compare against the till's recorded cash sales. Investigate and note any difference. A few pence either way is normal; a pattern of shortfalls is a problem worth catching early.
Tip: keep a cash-up sheet recording the float, cash sales, counted cash and any variance. It creates a paper trail and shows up patterns.
Card payments
Card now accounts for well over half of UK retail transactions, and many customers carry no cash at all. A till and a card reader are usually two separate things: the reader takes the payment and the till records that it happened.
Readers differ on price, fees, how they cope without a signal and how quickly the money reaches your account, and providers change their rates. Rather than print figures that go out of date, we cover how to choose in taking card payments on a market stall, with links to each provider's own pricing page.
Organising products and prices
Naming
Use short names anyone on the till can recognise at a glance. Put sizes in the name, so "Latte regular" and "Latte large" rather than inventing extra categories.
Categories
Keep the structure simple; four to eight categories covers most small businesses. A café might use hot drinks, cold drinks, food and snacks; a market stall might need nothing more than main products and offers.
Pricing
Review prices at least quarterly against supplier costs. Psychological pricing (£2.99) earns its keep in retail; round numbers (£3.00) are faster where speed and change-giving matter: food, drink and busy stalls.
End-of-day reconciliation
Reconciliation is checking that the money you hold matches what the till says you took. Count the cash, subtract the opening float, compare it with the till's cash figure, compare the card reader's total with the till's card figure, and write down any difference. Do it daily, including on quiet days, because the habit is what catches problems while they are small.
The steps are set out in the cashing-up part of the till manual, and there is a free end of day cash up sheet to print and fill in.
VAT and your till
If your taxable turnover passes the registration threshold (currently £90,000 a year) you must register for VAT; below it, you may register voluntarily. Your till is where VAT gets recorded correctly, or not.
The UK's VAT rates
- Standard (20%): most goods and services
- Reduced (5%): certain items such as children's car seats and domestic energy
- Zero (0%): most cold takeaway food, children's clothing, books and newspapers
Getting it right at the counter
Mixed businesses need care: eat-in food is standard-rated while most cold takeaway food is zero-rated, so a café selling both must record them differently. Mistakes here are a compliance problem, not just an accounting one. If this applies to you, an accountant's hour is money well spent.
Reporting
Your till's export gives you total sales with the VAT portion shown, which feeds your quarterly MTD return. Keep the exports: they are your digital record.
Choosing the right system for your business
The right system depends on where you trade and how many staff touch the till. A market stall or pop-up wants something portable, simple and tolerant of patchy signal: see a till for market stalls and mobile traders. A coffee or food van needs speed in a queue: see a till for a food van. A small counter indoors has its own needs: see a free till for a small café. Small shops with large catalogues benefit from barcode scanning and stock tracking, which a minimal till does not offer.
What each option costs, and what gets upsold, is covered in what a till system costs. For a smaller counter, mini EPOS explained separates the hardware meaning from the software one.
Disclaimer: this guide is general information, not tax advice. VAT thresholds and rates change: check GOV.UK or ask an accountant for the current position.