Epos Now vs. Vend: which POS system is best for your retail business?

Vend and Epos Now are two popular POS systems in the UK with clear differences that set them apart.

Firstly, Vend is for retailers only while Epos Now caters to any kind of business such as shops and hospitality. Consequently, Vend positions itself as an expert in retail while Epos Now aims to be more of a jack of all trades – but that doesn’t mean Epos Now doesn’t beat Vend on some retail aspects.

Let us compare the POS systems to find out which is better for your retail business.

Vend’s prices are clear, Epos Now not so much

Vend wins the prize of most transparent software costs, even though Epos Now makes an attempt to show prices upfront. How so?

Each has a standard and premium plan, where Epos Now appears cheap compared to Vend: £25 per month for Epos Now Standard versus £49 (annual billing) or £59 (monthly billing) per month for Vend Lite, and £50 a month for Epos Now Premium versus £69 (annual billing) or £89 (monthly billing) a month for Vend Pro (all excluding VAT).

Epos Now doesn’t state if their pricing is for annual or monthly payments, but POS providers often display the annual cost which is lower than monthly subscriptions. With both providers, any upfront costs are non-refundable and you can cancel the software subscriptions any time.

An Enterprise package with premium service options are available from both POS providers, but this is typically reserved for high-volume businesses or those requiring a more tailored service.

A free 30-day trial of the software is offered by Epos Now and a 14-day free trial is offered by Vend, but beware that many features accessible in Epos Now’s trial are actually add-on functions that you pay extra for on top of the paid subscription (costs of add-ons are not disclosed until you ask Epos Now). So if you do make use of the trial – and this can also apply for Vend – make sure you check that required features are included on the plan you will be paying for.

Another thing to be wary of is your monthly turnover. The Vend Lite plan is for retailers with a monthly turnover of less than £15,000, while Vend Pro allows an unlimited turnover. There is no such limit on Epos Now plans.

Both providers have a good range of hardware bundles, Epos Now with curated retail bundles ranging between £399 and £1199 + VAT for a PC touchscreen, iPad or Android tablet together with a tablet holder (if relevant), cash drawer, receipt printer and optional barcode scanner. If you rent the Epos Now equipment, you bind yourself to a monthly contract period that cannot be cancelled without an early termination fee.

Vend actively encourages you to use your existing till hardware or purchase any compatible iPad, iPad stands, computers, cash drawers, receipt printers, barcode scanners and so on. This means you have a lot of control of your setup and can save money by finding the best prices online, so the upfront cost can be low. In contrast, Epos Now will try to sell you their curated hardware bundles.

Point-of-sale software features

Retail POS features are where it gets interesting. When looking at any POS system, you should always ask yourself what functions are required in your shop. Vend and Epos Now both have in-depth inventory management features for serious retailers, so most shops can find all they need – the question is how much you pay for it.

You get all of Vend’s retail features on the Pro plan except for these that are exclusive to the Enterprise plan:

• Premium API access for tailoring work flows
• A dedicated account manager
• Customised onboarding

Vend Lite has certain limitations that nevertheless make it feature-rich for single-location shops. A multi-location POS system requires the Vend Pro plan. The differences in features between those plans are reflective of that.

Epos Now, on the other hand, does not openly distinguish the software features on Standard and Premium plans, making it harder to make a like-for-like comparison of Vend and Epos Now. POS features you’d think were standard may turn out to require an additional module costing extra on top of even the “Premium” subscription. The following are examples of such add-on modules:

• Bulk import of products into the inventory library
• Accounting features
• Email marketing integration

Let us compare some other differences and similarities between the Vend and Epos Now Retail software:

Although the Epos Now Retail software can seriously compete with Vend’s, the fact that Vend specialises in retail comes across in the more detailed inventory features on even the Lite subscription (Epos Now doesn’t have the same amount of features on the Standard plan). Vend’s software is very user-friendly for those used to retail – the interface is pleasant, and you can intuitively work out where the desired retail functions are. Epos Now is also well-designed, but may take a little longer to work out intuitively.

Epos Now’s web portal gives you standard sales analytics for retailers.

Sales analytics and end-of-day reports are detailed on Vend Lite and even more advanced on Vend Pro, while Epos Now has a vaguer distinction between reporting on Standard and Premium plans. Integrations with accounting programs, ecommerce and other apps are only available on Vend Pro. It’s unclear whether Epos Now requires a Premium subscription for integrations, but customer complaints seem to indicate it does.

Vend’s inventory features are comprehensive for a small- or medium-sized shop.

Both Vend and Epos Now include automatic ordering of inventory that’s low on stock, unlimited products, customer loyalty tools, use of barcodes, promotions, employee permissions and most other things expected in a retail POS system. The problem with Epos Now is you don’t know which features you need to pay extra for on top of the subscription, but you can be confident Vend Pro gives you all the retail features the POS system has.

Card machines and ecommerce integrations

Where card payments are concerned, both POS systems can connect with several card payment systems, but there are more limitations with Epos Now.

Vend integrates smoothly with Worldpay, Barclaycard, Elavon, iZettle, Klarna, Paymentsense, Square, SumUp, Windcave and more. New Vend users can in some cases get a special deal with some integrations. Some of the payment companies offer contract-free card readers, so you can set up an entirely commitment-free POS system and payment solution with Vend.

Epos Now, on the other hand, integrates only with five payment providers: Barclaycard, Global Payments, Paymentsense, Retail Merchant Services and Worldpay. You commit to a contract term with all of these payment companies, but if you already have an existing contract with them, it will be possible to link it with the Epos Now system.

What about ecommerce? Vend integrates fully with Shopify, and can also connect with BigCommerce, Ecwid and WooCommerce directly. Epos Now only advertises a direct integration with Shopify, but the POS system can be connected with other ecommerce platforms with a connector app to mediate the integration (this can work out more expensive than a direct integration). In most cases, an ecommerce integration means that sales data and stock levels are updated in real time across all sales channels.

Purpose-built till screens only possible with Epos Now

Small retail shops with another POS system may be able to use their old equipment with Vend POS as it is compatible with iPad, PC and Mac computers, though not Android tablets.

The best till setup is with an iPad, as Vend’s compatibility with Macs and PCs only stretches to consumer-grade computers without a touchscreen. If using a laptop, for example, you will need to use it with a mouse or touchpad, which is slower than tapping a touchscreen at the point of sale.