eHopper
Best for: small retail businesses
eHopper free EPOS software on a tablet
eHopper is an established provider offering both subscription
based and “freemium” POS software uk designed with small businesses in
mind. As you would expect, the free version has limited functionality; the
major drawbacks are that you can only install it on one till and you can’t
integrate it with a card reader. Bummer. But as a starting point for fledgling
retail businesses, eHopper is an excellent choice of provider.
✔ Pros:
Versatile and professional EPOS software
Compatible with iPad and Android tablets
X Cons:
No card machine integration with free version
No inventory adjustment with free version
Type
Freemium
Supports Mac
✔
# of free users
1
Expert verdict
At the end of the day, free EPOS software can be a good
place to start. Most businesses, however, will soon outgrow these basic
softwares quite quickly, and will find the paid plans much better value –
especially with prices starting at as little as £9.99 a month, with no fixed
contract.
Expert Market is one of the leading EPOS software comparison
companies and we can help you get the best deal for your business by matching
you with the most suitable providers.
To speak to up to four providers today, and receive free
quotes, simply complete our short form.
This comparison process is free, quick and easy. It’s
guaranteed to save you time, and it could even save you money.
Compare EPOS Software Prices from Leading Suppliers
GET FREE QUOTES
FAQs
1. Is free EPOS software really free?
Yes. Well, kind of.
Take Hiboutik Free POS Software — a company that actually
has “free software” in its name. Hiboutik offers three solutions and the most
basic is indeed free to sign up to. It has all the functionality you need to
process transactions; you can import inventory and organise products into
quick-access menus, print receipts, view stock levels, the list goes on.
It’s ‘freemium’, not ‘free’
The catch comes when you want to operate more than one till
system or access advanced reporting features. In order to do this, you will
need to subscribe to Hiboutik’s “Multi-stores” plan for £9.90 per month. So,
the reality of it is that most providers offer “free EPOS software” with a view
to luring you in and, ultimately, signing you up to a paid plan. Think ‘freemium’
rather than ‘free’.
But is this really such a bad thing? For many small
companies, basic EPOS software will be more than sufficient for day-to-day
operations. And as business booms, business owners can upgrade to a
full-featured software plan with the advantage of already being familiar with
how the thing works.
So yes, free EPOS software really is free. It’s just limited
in functionality and not suited to large businesses.
2. Is free EPOS software right for my business?
A free EPOS software download is the right choice for your
business if:
You operate on a single premises with one till
You have a knowledge of coding
You don’t require advanced analytics functions
You don’t require help installing and updating your system
But if you don’t tick these boxes, it’s worth considering
paying for your software. Because in the long run, free software programs can
prove a false economy when they fail on you at a crucial moment or the
developers withdraw support.
By investing a little money in your EPOS software — either
on a monthly basis or upfront as a lump sum — you can rest assured that your
system will perform for you day after day. Plus, the advanced reporting and
analytics functions that come with paid plans help you to make smarter business
decisions based on data, rather than relying on gut instinct.
You wouldn’t cut corners with the products you sell or
services you provide, so why do it with business-critical equipment such as
EPOS?
The cost of EPOS software is probably a lot lower than you
imagined, and Expert Market can help you get the best deal from providers.
DID YOU KNOW?
Feature-rich EPOS software is available for as little as
£9.99 per month with no fixed term contract.
3. What is open source software?
There is a second type of free software to consider, though,
and that’s open source. Open source software is software where the source code
is available for anyone to inspect and modify. This means that, with a
knowledge of coding, you can tailor an open source program to meet your
specific needs.
The benefit of open source software is that it is,
genuinely, 100% free. In most cases the program has been developed as the
passion project of some kind soul and you can download and install it on as
many systems as you like without paying a penny.
The downside is that support for open source software is
limited. If the developers get bored or distracted by another project and stop
updating the platform then you can be left hanging with an underperforming
system.
You will also require a fair amount of technical knowledge
to get the most out of open source EPOS software, as even minor tweaks to
things like product menus require you to dive into the source code.
No comments:
Post a Comment