What is becoming apparent through continued research into EPOS systems is that although much of the EPOS hardware is much the same, it's the software that has the capability to make a good system a great one.
With that in mind I contacted a company that specialises in software solutions for advice.
I had met one of their guys a few months back at a event that took place in their offices. It was an evening devoted to like-minded people with an interest in using the internet to promote their businesses.
I had taken one of their cards and added them to my facebook contacts and exchanged virtual banter so when I got round to giving them a call it was like contacting an old friend even though we had only met once before.
After a face to face meeting the guys were keen to help as they were trying to get a foothold in the EPOS bar and pub market. I told them in all fairness that with our current finances our purchase would more than likely be price led.
I left it with them and they said they would get back in a couple of days and see what they could do. Although I was hoping that we would like to do business with them I had it in the back of my mind that the price they would come back with would be out of our range.
A couple of days later I received an email from them asking me to call as they had put together an EPOS package for us. I gave them a quick call again expecting the call to be a short one with me hanging up the phone when they told me the price. We exchanged pleasantries and they explained what they were offering, two brand new EPOS terminals with their own Microsoft embedded software including till drawers and receipt printers. I asked the obvious question and the response surprised me. As they were trying to break into the market, and because they new that we weren't major "players" trying to coax them out of a few quid in the way of discount they were able to offer a very good price. I put the phone down had a quick conflab with my business partner and we decided to go for it.
When people come through for you, especially when you are just starting out and are being blinded by this that and the other its great that there are some companies out there who can give the small independent a break. When we eventually sign our lease and are able to go public, we hope to identify the individuals and companies that have come up with the goods. There are plenty out there that haven't but we are in the business of being positive and not naming and shaming the negative. They know who they are and that's good enough for me.