Integrated EPOS and Payments Options
Square: Best All-in-One for Small Businesses
Square offers the most complete out-of-the-box integration: its EPOS software and payment hardware are designed as a single system. The free Point of Sale app covers basic retail, the Square for Retail plan (from £49/month) adds inventory management and purchase orders, and Square for Restaurants (from £69/month) adds table management and course-based ordering.
All Square transactions use Square’s own payment processing at 1.75% per card-present transaction. Online card payments run at 1.4% + 25p, and cards issued outside the UK add a further 1.5% in person. There is no choice of acquirer: you accept Square’s rate or you use a different system. For businesses processing under £20,000 per month, the flat rate is straightforward and competitive. Above that threshold, we would compare a negotiated-rate acquirer, because the saving on volume starts to outrun the convenience of one supplier.
Hardware runs from the £19 Square Reader (Bluetooth, pairs with a phone) up to the Square Register (a dual-screen countertop unit at around £600). All hardware is purchased, not rented.
Lightspeed: Best for Multi-Location and Complex Operations
Lightspeed offers deep EPOS functionality for retail and restaurants, with native integrated payments via Lightspeed Payments (where available) and semi-integration with Dojo, Stripe Terminal, and other providers. Multi-site stock management, purchase orders, and centralised reporting across locations are standard on paid plans.
Software starts at £79 per month. Hardware is iPad-based, with compatible stands, cash drawers, receipt printers, and card readers available from Lightspeed. For a business with two or more sites that needs centralised inventory visibility, we rate Lightspeed’s multi-location architecture the hardest to match among the options here.
Epos Now: Best for Existing Terminals and Flexibility
Epos Now provides EPOS software that semi-integrates with a range of payment terminals including Dojo, SumUp, and Paymentsense devices. If you already have a card terminal you are happy with, Epos Now can connect to it without forcing you to change acquirer. Note that on Epos Now Payments, American Express, JCB and UnionPay cards carry an extra 2.5% on top of the standard UK rate. Software starts at around £25 per month.
Epos Now’s app marketplace has over 100 integrations covering accounting (Xero, QuickBooks), loyalty, online ordering, and delivery platforms. If you already have a terminal you trust and want EPOS software that stays payment-agnostic, we rate it the natural choice; you keep the kit that works and add the software around it.
Dojo Go: Best for Adding Fast Terminals to Existing EPOS
Dojo Go semi-integrates with Lightspeed, Epos Now, and several other EPOS platforms. It is not a standalone EPOS; it is a payment terminal that connects to an existing system. The terminal receives the bill total from the EPOS, the customer pays, and the result returns to the EPOS automatically. No re-keying required.
Dojo’s transaction processing is fast (under one second for contactless) and the terminal is built for sustained high-volume use. Monthly rental is around £20–£25; transaction rates start around 1.2% for businesses processing £10,000 or more per month. For a restaurant or retailer already running a good EPOS that just wants faster terminals, we rate Dojo integration one of the lowest-disruption options: you change the device on the counter, not the system behind it.
Clover: Best for US-Familiar Merchants and Flexible Hardware
Clover is a full integrated EPOS and payments platform from Fiserv, widely used in the US and available in the UK. Hardware ranges from the Clover Go (a Bluetooth reader) to the Clover Station (a full countertop unit with customer display). Software plans start at £9.99 per month, with a card-reading device included. Payment processing is through Clover’s acquiring partner; rates are quoted based on business type and volume.
Clover’s app market provides additional functionality including loyalty programmes, advanced reporting, and inventory tools. We rate it a solid option, but it is less prominent in the UK than Square or Lightspeed, so you will find fewer third-party integrations and thinner support resources than those two enjoy.
Do You Need Integrated EPOS and Payments?
We would not push integration on every business, but it adds genuine value in specific scenarios. It removes the risk of keying errors at the terminal (a significant source of reconciliation problems for busy counters), speeds up the payment process, and makes end-of-day reporting cleaner because every transaction is logged in one system.
The scenarios where it matters most:
- High transaction volume. A coffee shop taking 200 payments a day cannot afford staff keying wrong amounts into a standalone terminal. Integration eliminates that risk.
- Stock management. If you need inventory to update in real time when a sale is made, you need your EPOS and payments connected.
- Multi-tender splits. If customers sometimes pay part by card and part by cash, voucher, or gift card, an integrated system manages the split automatically.
- Detailed reporting. Integrated systems give you a single data source for sales, payments, and stock, making VAT returns and management reporting significantly easier.
Where it matters less:
- Low volume. A market stall taking 20 payments a week can manage with a standalone reader and a manual till. The cost and complexity of integration outweighs the benefit.
- Service businesses. A plumber or decorator invoicing clients remotely does not need a card machine at all, let alone an integrated EPOS.
Semi-Integration vs Full Integration: What Is the Difference?
Full integration means the EPOS software and payment processing run on the same hardware or are designed by the same vendor. Square and Clover are examples. The advantage is simplicity: one system, one support number, one price. The disadvantage is you cannot mix and match: you accept the vendor’s payment rates, and you are locked into their hardware ecosystem.
Semi-integration means the EPOS software sends a payment request to a separate terminal via an API. Dojo with Lightspeed or Epos Now is a typical example. The advantage is flexibility: you can choose your EPOS and your acquirer independently, potentially getting better rates by negotiating with the acquiring bank separately. The disadvantage is more complexity: two vendors, two support relationships, and more configuration to get right initially.
For most small businesses, we would take full integration: simpler, cheaper overall, and one support number when something goes wrong mid-service. For businesses processing over £20,000 per month, the ability to negotiate payment rates separately via semi-integration can generate savings that justify the extra moving parts.
Integrated EPOS and Payments: Costs to Consider
EPOS software. Ranges from free (Square basic POS) to £200+ per month for enterprise Lightspeed plans. Most mid-tier plans covering stock management and reporting fall in the £49–£100 per month range.
Hardware. A basic setup (tablet, stand, receipt printer, card reader) from Square costs around £300–£500 purchased outright. A full Clover or Lightspeed countertop setup with customer display and cash drawer runs £700–£1,500. Dojo Go is rented at £20–£25 per month.
Payment processing. Flat-rate providers (Square, SumUp) are easiest to budget. Acquirer-based providers (Dojo, Paymentsense) offer negotiated rates that may be lower at volume but harder to predict.
Integration fees. Some EPOS vendors charge for third-party payment integrations as an add-on. Check whether your chosen EPOS includes the payment terminal integration you need in the standard plan or as a paid extra.
Our Verdict
For most small UK businesses, Square’s all-in-one is the simplest way to integrate till and payments. The EPOS software and card hardware are one system, so there is nothing to wire together: a free POS tier, 1.75% in person (1.4% + 25p online), and no contract. Under about £20,000 a month, the flat rate is competitive and you avoid running two vendors and two support lines.
Scale or specialise from there. Lightspeed is the one to beat for multi-site retail and restaurants that need centralised stock and reporting (from £79/month). Epos Now keeps you payment-agnostic if you already have a terminal you trust — just budget for the 2.5% surcharge on Amex, JCB and UnionPay through its own payments. Clover is a credible full-integration alternative from £9.99/month with a device included, though it has thinner UK support and fewer integrations than Square or Lightspeed.
If your EPOS is already good, do not replace it — add Dojo. Semi-integrating a fast Dojo terminal is the lowest-disruption upgrade: you change the device on the counter, not the system behind it. And once you are processing over roughly £20,000 a month, the ability to negotiate acquiring rates separately via semi-integration can outweigh the simplicity of a single all-in-one supplier — model both before you commit.
Frequently Asked Questions
Not necessarily. Full integration (Square, Clover) requires the provider’s own hardware. Semi-integration requires a specific API connection between the EPOS and the terminal; not every EPOS works with every terminal. Check the integration documentation before purchasing. Epos Now, Lightspeed, and most major EPOS platforms publish lists of compatible payment terminals.
In many cases, yes: the upfront hardware and software costs are higher. But reconciliation time, keying errors, and the labour cost of manual stock management all have a real value. For businesses taking more than 50 transactions per day, the operational savings typically outweigh the extra cost within the first year. For lower-volume businesses, separate systems may be the better value choice.
It depends on what EPOS you have. Modern cloud-based EPOS systems (Lightspeed, Epos Now, Square) actively maintain integration partnerships with payment terminal providers. Older legacy EPOS systems may not support semi-integration at all, or may require a costly bespoke development. Contact your EPOS provider and your intended terminal provider to confirm compatibility before committing.
With full integration systems (Square, Clover), switching payment provider means switching EPOS too, as the two are inseparable. With semi-integration, you can switch the payment terminal without changing your EPOS, provided the new terminal is compatible. Your EPOS data (products, stock, sales history) stays in the EPOS system regardless. Always export a data backup before switching any component of an integrated system.
Methodology & Disclosure
How we reviewed these systems. We compared each option on what actually decides whether integration pays off: the integration model (full single-vendor versus semi-integration via API), monthly software cost, the transaction rate and any card-type surcharges, hardware approach (bought outright versus rented), and how each fits a defined type and size of business. We weighed the convenience of a single all-in-one supplier against the flexibility — and potential rate savings — of choosing EPOS and acquirer separately. Figures were checked against each provider’s published UK pricing in June 2026; Lightspeed’s payment rate, and Clover’s and Epos Now’s acquiring rates, are negotiated on plan or volume, so we flag those as quote-based and recommend getting them in writing. We do not run a live integration on every system first-hand; this is a desk review of published pricing, specifications, and product fit.
Disclosure. BusinessExpert is reader-supported and editorially independent. Square and Epos Now are affiliate partners, and the links to them are affiliate links that may earn us a commission at no extra cost to you. Lightspeed is a tracked partner link. Dojo and Clover are not affiliate partners — those are standard outbound links that earn us nothing. Commissions never affect which systems we recommend or how we rank them; our recommendations are based on verified pricing, integration capability, and product fit, not on commercial relationships.