Pubs and bars have EPOS requirements that generic retail systems can’t handle. Tab management, split bills, age verification prompts, and integration with draught beer systems are daily necessities – not optional extras.
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The right EPOS system for a pub depends on your operation: a quiet village local has different needs to a high-volume city bar or a gastropub with a full kitchen. Some free systems cover the basics; dedicated hospitality EPOS such as Lightspeed Restaurant starts from £79/month.
We’ve compared the best EPOS systems for UK pubs and bars in 2026, covering pricing, features, and which type of venue each suits best.
- Square for Restaurants (free plan) covers open bills, table management and kitchen tickets at £0/month - the best starting point for small independent pubs, with in-person card payments at 1.75%
- Lightspeed Restaurant from ~£79/month suits gastropubs with complex kitchen operations - advanced menu management, table mapping, and course-firing for venues where food is a large part of revenue
- Epos Now (Countertop 2 bundle from £299) offers centralised management for pub groups with 3+ sites - multi-location stock control, cross-site reporting, and kitchen display systems in one platform, with software quoted separately
- Tab management and split-bill functionality are essential features that basic card machines lack - any pub EPOS must handle running tabs, splitting by item or equally, and adding gratuity at close
- Start with Square’s free plan and upgrade only when your operation outgrows it - see our EPOS comparison guide for side-by-side details or hospitality EPOS picks for restaurant-specific features
Best EPOS Systems for Pubs Compared
The best pub EPOS depends on your venue type: Square for small pubs wanting free software, Epos Now for managed pub groups, and Lightspeed Restaurant for gastropubs with complex food menus.
| Provider | Monthly Fee | Transaction Fee | Tab Management | Best For |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Square for Restaurants | £0 (Free plan) | 1.75% | ✓ Yes | Small pubs, low volume |
| SumUp POS Plus | £39/month | 1.69% | ✓ Basic | Budget-conscious bars |
| Epos Now | Quote only | From 0.8% | ✓ Yes | Multi-site pub groups |
| Lightspeed Restaurant | From £79/month | Custom quote | ✓ Advanced | Gastropubs with food service |
| Zonal | Quote only | Custom quote | ✓ Enterprise | Managed pub estates |
Note: Zonal targets large managed pub groups (16,000+ UK clients), not independents. For most single-site pubs, Square, SumUp, or Epos Now are more practical and affordable choices.
What Pubs Actually Need From an EPOS
Pub EPOS must handle tab management (open tabs on card pre-auth), split bills by item or equal share, age verification prompts for alcohol sales, and fast drink-first workflows with minimal taps per order.
Standard retail EPOS misses several pub-specific requirements:
Tab management. Customers open a tab, order multiple rounds, then settle at the end. Your EPOS needs to hold open tabs (ideally with card pre-authorisation), add items throughout the session, and close out cleanly. Square for Restaurants and Epos Now both handle this. Basic POS apps (SumUp PAYG, Zettle) don’t.
Split bills. Groups want to split by item (“I had the burger, she had the fish”) or equally. This needs to be fast – 2-3 taps maximum. Slow split-bill workflows cause queues at the bar, which costs you money.
Speed of service. Pubs need minimal taps per transaction. A pint of lager should be one tap on a favourites grid, not a search through categories. Customisable quick-access buttons for your top 10-15 drinks are essential.
Age verification prompts. Your EPOS should trigger an age check prompt when staff ring up alcohol. This protects your licence and creates an audit trail for compliance. Most hospitality EPOS systems include this; basic retail POS doesn’t.
Kitchen integration. If you serve food, orders need to route from the bar POS to a kitchen display or printer. Hospitality EPOS systems handle this natively. Retail POS systems don’t.
Best Free Option: Square for Restaurants
Square for Restaurants offers a free plan with open bills, table management, kitchen ticket routing and equal bill splitting – making it the best no-cost EPOS for small UK pubs serving food.
Square’s restaurant-specific product includes features that the standard Square POS doesn’t: table management, open bills, service charges and kitchen ticket routing, with coursing (starters before mains) and floor plan customisation reserved for the paid Plus plan. The free plan covers unlimited devices and unlimited locations.
For a small pub, the free plan handles drink orders, food service, tabs, and card payments at 1.75% per transaction. The Reader costs £19 ex. VAT. Square’s mobile POS for table-side ordering is listed under the Plus plan rather than the free plan, so confirm the devices you need before relying on it during busy periods.
The free plan’s main limitations for pubs are basic reporting, no course management and no item-level bill splitting. Square for Restaurants Plus (£69/month per location) adds course management, item and seat bill splitting, live sales tracking, and section-based reporting – worthwhile for gastropubs but overkill for drink-only locals.
For detailed Square pricing and features, see our Square UK review.
Best for Pub Groups: Epos Now
Epos Now suits multi-site pub groups with its centralised reporting across locations, dedicated UK support, and all-in-one hardware bundles from £299 – though contract length is set in your quote.
Epos Now is a widely used UK EPOS system with a hospitality setup that suits pubs. Its Countertop 2 hardware bundle starts from £299, with software quoted separately. The system handles tabs, split bills, and kitchen orders out of the box.
For pub groups, the main advantage is centralised management. View sales across all sites from one dashboard, push menu changes to every location simultaneously, and compare performance between venues. Staff clock-in tracking and role-based permissions help manage larger teams.
The trade-off is contract commitment (the length is set in your quote, so get it in writing) and proprietary hardware. If you’re an established pub group with predictable revenue, the managed approach works well. For a new venue testing the waters, the contract risk is harder to justify versus no-contract free alternatives.
Features Checklist by Pub Type
Drink-only locals need fast ordering and tab management. Gastropubs need kitchen display integration and coursing. Late-night bars need age verification and staff security controls. Pub groups need centralised multi-site reporting.
| Feature | Village Local | Gastropub | Late-Night Bar | Pub Group |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tab management | ✓ Essential | ✓ Essential | ✓ Essential | ✓ Essential |
| Split bills | ✓ Nice to have | ✓ Essential | ✓ Essential | ✓ Essential |
| Kitchen display/printer | ✗ Not needed | ✓ Essential | ✗ Not needed | ✓ Most sites |
| Age verification | ✓ Required | ✓ Required | ✓ Critical | ✓ Required |
| Multi-site reporting | ✗ N/A | ✗ N/A | ✗ N/A | ✓ Essential |
| QR code ordering | ✗ Optional | ✓ Useful | ✗ Not practical | ✓ Useful |
| Recommended system | Square (free) | Lightspeed (~£79) | Epos Now (quote) | Epos Now / Zonal |
Costs for a Typical Pub Setup
A single-till pub EPOS setup costs £19-299 for hardware plus £0-79/month for software. A two-till gastropub starts from about £598 for hardware (two Countertop 2 bundles) before a kitchen printer or display, with software quoted by Epos Now or from £79/month on Lightspeed Restaurant.
Budget setup (village local): Square Reader (£19 ex. VAT) + free Square for Restaurants app + your own iPad. Total: £19 + cost of iPad. Monthly: £0 (just 1.75% per transaction).
Mid-range setup (gastropub): Epos Now Countertop 2 bundle (£299) for the bar, plus a kitchen printer. Monthly: software quoted by Epos Now, with card processing advertised from 0.8%. Add your first-year software quote to the hardware cost.
Premium setup (pub group): Epos Now or Zonal across multiple sites. Epos Now’s Countertop 2 bundle starts from £299 per site, with software quoted per site. Zonal does not publish prices: its packages are tailored to the size of your estate and quoted, so ask for the monthly fee, upfront costs and minimum term in writing.
For full pricing details across all providers, see our EPOS system costs guide. For provider comparisons, check our 7 best EPOS systems.
