How to choose a POS system: 9 questions to ask

By the EBS team · Updated 25 October 2026

1. What happens when the internet fails?

Not "does it have an offline mode" — ask which specific tasks stop and for how long. A good vendor lists them. Test it in the demo: disconnect, make a sale, reconnect, and check that the sale is still there and has not been duplicated.

2. Where does the database live?

On your machine, or on the vendor's servers? If it is on your machine, can you take a copy? If it is in the cloud, what happens to your data and your access when you stop paying? The answer should be a sentence, not a paragraph of terms.

3. Can it handle your units and your price tiers?

Bring your own units and price list to the demo. If stock is stored in one base unit and sold in bags, visses, pyis or kilograms, the conversion has to stay accurate through sales, purchases, returns and transfers. Retail, wholesale and customer-specific prices should be editable without touching the till.

4. Does it understand credit sales?

Most distribution and wholesale businesses sell on account and are paid later, sometimes in parts. The system needs a running balance per customer, due dates, part payments, statements and an ageing report. If credit lives in a notebook, so does your cash flow.

5. What does the receipt and the document set look like?

Ask for a sample of every document you will actually hand over: receipt, invoice, delivery note, statement, stock count sheet. Check that they print on the hardware you own, at the size you use (58 mm thermal or A4), and that the totals reconcile.

6. How does migration work?

Products, units, customers, opening balances and stock all have to come across. Who does the mapping, who checks the totals, and what happens when the numbers do not match? Migration is where most projects quietly go wrong; a written plan is part of the purchase.

7. Who answers when something breaks at 9 pm?

A support channel is not the same as a resolution process. Ask what the response time is, whether support is included or separate, and how remote sessions work if the shop's internet is down. Then ask for the escalation path in writing.

8. What does it cost over three years?

Compare setup, monthly platform, support, hardware, migration and the cost of leaving. A lower monthly fee with a large migration and no export path is not cheaper. Ask for the year-one and year-three totals in writing.

9. How do I leave?

This is the question vendors least like. What do I take with me — data, documents, configuration? How long does it take, and is there a fee? A clean exit path is a sign the vendor expects to keep you by being useful, not by holding the data.

How EBS answers them

EBS runs as a local server on your premises, sells offline-first, and keeps the database file on your machine. The solutions overview lists what is included, pricing shows list prices, and live demos let you test the workflow before a call.

Frequently asked

What should I bring to a POS demo?

Your own unit list, a sample price list, a recent stock count and two or three real customer balances. Testing your data is more useful than watching sample data.

Is a cloud POS always worse?

No. Cloud can be a good fit when internet is reliable and you do not want to run a server. The questions above simply apply to both models.

How long does migration usually take?

It depends on how clean the starting data is and how many branches are involved. It is scoped during discovery and quoted with the plan.