Equipment
Choosing your till equipment: the guide
· 7 min read
The hardware isn’t the heart of the matter — the software and the service are — but a bad choice wears on your nerves every single day. A few pointers.
Touchscreen PC or tablet?
An “all-in-one” touchscreen PC is sturdy, stable, and suited to a fixed workstation and heavy daily use. A tablet is mobile and cheaper, handy for taking an order at the table or as an add-on device, but more fragile and dependent on battery life.
For a main counter workstation, the touchscreen PC remains the safe bet.
The receipt printer
Get a thermal printer (no cartridge, fast, quiet), with automatic paper cutting. Check the paper width (80 mm is the standard) and how easy it is to change the roll one-handed in the middle of service.
The cash drawer
A metal drawer with a removable coin tray, which opens when the receipt prints. Nothing more is needed. The lock is mainly useful overnight.
Customer display, barcode scanner
The customer display (showing the amount on the customer’s side) is useful, and sometimes expected by customers. The barcode scanner becomes essential as soon as you carry a lot of product references: night shop, grocery store, boutique.
Reusing what you already have
If you already have a decent PC or tablet, a receipt printer, and a drawer, a good installer will reuse them. At VELKA, this brings the installation cost down from €449 to €299.
Buy, or rent?
Renting (around €29/month, including maintenance and replacement) avoids the upfront investment and covers breakdowns. Buying works out cheaper over time if the equipment holds up. It’s a call to make based on your cash flow.