# EPOS for takeaways: what Square, SumUp and Zettle are actually built for

> The three systems most takeaways look at first came out of card readers, not kitchens. What that means in a rush, and what to compare before you commit.

Canonical: https://storekit.com/blog/epos-systems-for-takeaways-square-vs-sumup-vs-zettle-compared-but-is-there-a-better-option  
Last updated: 2026-08-23

By Harry Soar. Published 2026-08-23.

Most takeaways shopping for an EPOS look at Square, SumUp and Zettle
 first, and there is a good reason for it: they are the easiest to buy. A
 reader arrives in the post, you plug it in, you take money that afternoon.
 No install, no contract, no salesperson.

The thing worth understanding before you commit is what each of them grew
 out of. All three began as card payment companies. The point of sale software
 came afterwards, built outwards from the reader. That origin is not a
 criticism, it is a description of where the product is strongest - and a
 takeaway's hardest problem is not taking a card.

## A takeaway's hardest problem is throughput

Friday at eight, the pressure is not the payment. It is:

- Orders arriving from four places at once - the counter, the phone, your
 own location, and each delivery marketplace - and needing to become one queue.
- A kitchen that can read a ticket at a glance, with modifiers and
 allergens on the right line.
- Prep times that stretch as the queue grows, and quoted collection times
 that have to stretch with them.
- An item selling out and disappearing everywhere at once, before the next
 person orders it.

A reader-first system handles the money end of that well. The order end is
 the part to test hard.

## What to compare, rather than what to believe

Pricing and features move, so rather than quote numbers that go stale,
 these are the five things to put to any of them - and to us - in writing:

1. **What is the card rate, and is it negotiable at your volume?**
 Flat-rate pricing is simple and it stops being the cheapest option somewhere
 above a certain monthly take. Ask where that line is.
2. **Does online ordering cost a commission or a fee?** A
 percentage of every direct order is a marketplace charge by another name.
3. **How do delivery marketplaces arrive?** Natively into the
 same queue, through a middleware integration you pay for separately, or on a
 second tablet by the window.
4. **Is there a kitchen display, or only a printer?** Printers
 are fine until a ticket is lost, and then they are the whole problem.
5. **What happens to your data if you leave?** Menu, sales
 history, customer records - in what format, at what cost.

## Where a takeaway usually lands

Two shapes work. Either one system does the till and the ordering, and you
 accept that whichever half is weaker is the half you live with. Or the till
 stays the till and the ordering is bought separately from someone whose whole
 product is order flow.

The second is why [a
 direct takeaway storefront](https://storekit.com/products/takeaway-system-for-restaurants) tends to sit alongside an existing EPOS rather
 than replacing it. Orders from your own site, your own app and the
 marketplaces land in one queue, the menu is priced per channel from one place,
 and there is no commission on your direct orders because they are yours.

If you want the head-to-head rather than the category view, we keep one for
 [Square](https://storekit.com/compare/square), and
 [the integrations list](https://storekit.com/integrations) is the honest answer to what
 connects to what.

## Questions

### What is the best EPOS system for a takeaway?

It depends on which half of the job matters more to you. Reader-first systems like Square, SumUp and Zettle are the fastest to set up and strongest at payments. A takeaway's harder problem is order throughput - marketplaces, kitchen tickets and prep times in one queue - so test that end before you commit.

### Do Square, SumUp and Zettle charge commission on online orders?

Charging models differ and change, so get it in writing. The distinction to ask about is a flat fee versus a percentage of each order: a percentage on your own direct orders is a marketplace charge under a different name.

### Can a takeaway EPOS take Deliveroo, Just Eat and Uber Eats orders?

Some do natively, some need paid middleware, and some leave you with a tablet per marketplace. Ask which of the three it is, because it decides whether your staff work one queue or four.

### Do I need an EPOS to take online orders?

No. Online ordering can run alongside whatever till you already have, which is how most takeaways add a direct channel without replacing the system their staff already know.