4 questions to ask before choosing an EPOS partner

The right EPOS helps your team deliver great service, shift after shift. But choose the wrong one, and small frustrations can quickly become service problems. Extra trips to the till, orders taking longer to reach the kitchen, mistakes that need fixing, and guests left waiting.

The tricky part is that most restaurant EPOS looks similar on paper. Table management, kitchen printing, reporting – most providers offer some version of the same features. So how do you work out which is the right system for your restaurant? 

It often comes down to looking past the feature list, to service and support. Here are four questions worth asking before you sign a contract.

Are they experienced in your sector?

Hospitality isn’t one-size-fits-all, so the tech that supports it shouldn’t be either. A traditional restaurant might need handhelds that let servers take orders at the table, while a gastropub may be better served by a simple fixed till. A provider that knows hospitality understands why those differences matter and can build a setup around your business, your service and the way your team works.

An EPOS built for restaurants should also be able to keep up when service gets busy. Orders sent to the kitchen in a tap. Bills split in seconds. A new starter able to pick it up on their first shift. The right system should make service easier, not add another thing for your team to think about.

What happens when things go wrong?

Even the most reliable EPOS system doesn’t run perfectly all the time. The real test is what happens when something goes wrong.

If you trade evenings, weekends or bank holidays, does support cover those times, or are you left waiting until Monday morning? And when you do get in touch, how quickly can you speak to someone who can actually help? When a till goes down mid-service, waiting hours for a response isn’t much use.

The right EPOS partner understands how disruptive issues are when you’re in the middle of service, and is on hand when your team needs help.

What happens after you sign?

Some providers ship you the hardware and leave you to get on with it. Others take a more hands-on approach – setting up your system, building your menus, training your team, and staying involved to help you get more from it over time.

Neither is automatically right or wrong, but it’s worth knowing which one you’re signing up for. If you want a partner who’s genuinely invested in how your business runs, ask what onboarding and training actually look like.

The right onboarding gets you up and running quickly, so day one on a new system feels like business as usual.

Can they scale with you?

Restaurants change. Menus evolve, new sites open, and the way you serve guests can change too. Your EPOS partner should be able to flex with you, not lock you into a setup that no longer fits how your business runs.

Before you sign, ask what happens if you open another site, add a new till or change how you take orders. Is it straightforward to adapt the system, and what will it cost?

Choose the partner, not just the system

Choosing an EPOS partner is about more than comparing features. It’s about finding a system – and a team – that understands what your restaurant needs, both during a busy Saturday night and as your business changes.

That’s what we’ve built TISSL around. We’ve spent more than 20 years working with hospitality businesses, building technology specifically for the way restaurants operate. From getting your system up and running and training your team, to having hospitality specialists available 365 days a year when you need support, we’re here to help your service flow better. 

If you’re choosing your next EPOS partner, we’d be happy to talk. Start a conversation with our team here.