Reviewing an EPOS or till system contract

An EPOS contract bundles a software subscription, a hardware lease and card payment processing into one monthly figure, with three sets of terms behind it and, often, three counterparties. The business's sales data, stock records and customer details live on the supplier's platform, and the terms decide whether the business can get them out and take them elsewhere. I review the contract from the customer's side and return it marked up with a written explanation of the changes and which ones a supplier will accept, for a fixed fee of £495 in three working days.

Who this is for

Shops, restaurants, cafes, bars, salons and hospitality groups in England and Wales taking a new EPOS, point of sale or till system with card payments, or renewing one, and want to know what the bundle commits them to and how they get their data out. The customer and the supplier are businesses; consumer law applies to the customer's own sales through the till.

What to look for in an EPOS or till system contract

The bundle: software, hardware and payments on separate terms

The review separates the three elements and checks the term, the counterparty and the termination provisions of each: the software subscription with the EPOS provider, the hardware lease, which may be assigned to a finance company, and the payment processing agreement with an acquirer, which is a regulated payment service under the Payment Services Regulations 2017. It asks for the three terms to be aligned so that ending one does not leave the business paying for the others, and for the finance company to take the lease subject to the customer's rights.

Your sales data, your customers and getting them out

Sales history, stock records, recipes, staff data and customer details are the business's data on the supplier's platform. The review checks that the contract says the data belongs to the customer, that the supplier processes customer personal data as processor under Article 28 of the UK GDPR and the Data Protection Act 2018 and may not use it for its own purposes, that the customer can export the data in a usable format during the term and after termination, and that the supplier deletes it afterwards. It also checks whether the supplier's terms let it use aggregated data or sell insights derived from it.

Uptime, support and the till that stops

A till that stops is a shop that stops, so the contract should commit to availability, to support hours that match the business's trading hours, to response and resolution times by severity, and to an offline mode that keeps taking payments. The review checks the service levels, the credits, the hardware swap-out commitment, and the customer's right to terminate for persistent failure, and asks for the supplier's maintenance windows to fall outside trading hours.

Card payments, fees and the acquirer's terms

Where payment processing is bundled, the review checks the transaction fees, whether they are itemised as the Interchange Fee Regulation (EU) 2015/751 as retained requires or blended at the merchant's written request, the settlement timing, the chargeback procedure, the reserve the acquirer may hold, and the customer's obligation to comply with the card industry's data security standard. It also checks that the customer may change acquirer without ending the software subscription, and reminds the business that it may not surcharge consumers for paying by card under the Consumer Rights (Payment Surcharges) Regulations 2012.

Price rises, feature changes and integrations

EPOS providers change features, retire integrations with accounting, delivery and booking platforms, and raise subscription fees on notice. The review asks for price increases to be capped, for notice of changes that remove functionality the business relies on with a right to terminate, for the integrations the business needs to be listed, and for the supplier's obligation to keep the system compliant with changes in VAT and digital record-keeping rules stated in the contract.

Term, renewal, exit and the hardware

Subscriptions renew for a further term unless notice is given, and hardware leases run to their own end date. The review checks the notice periods, asks for termination on notice after an initial period, checks the early termination charge against the supplier's loss, since a charge out of all proportion to its legitimate interest is unenforceable under Cavendish Square Holding BV v Makdessi [2015] UKSC 67, and checks the position on exit: data export, the return or purchase of the hardware, the wiping of stored data and the customer's continued access to reports. The Late Payment of Commercial Debts (Interest) Act 1998 applies to sums due either way.

What it costs

Standard review, £495. Marked-up document and a written explanation of the changes. Three working days.

Buying online forms the engagement on payment. The scope is what the contract review page describes, you accept the Terms of Service at checkout, and I email you within four working hours to get started. If you would rather ask something first, email me.

What you get

• Your own contract returned with my amendments as tracked changes, plus a clean version with every change accepted, ready to send to the other side
• Comments in the document where a point needs explaining
• A written explanation of what I have changed and why, by email or as an attachment if it is lengthy, marking the points I would hold firm on and the ones that are negotiable
• A view on what is normal market practice and what is the other side pushing their luck
• One round of follow-up questions by email, included

What is not included

• Negotiating directly with the other side, which I quote separately once I know who is on the other side. Where the other side is willing to share a live document, I can work in that document directly
• Drafting a replacement contract from scratch
• Advice on the law of any jurisdiction other than England and Wales
• Tax, accounting or regulatory advice
• Disputes about a contract that is already signed

Questions I am often asked

We want to move to a different EPOS provider. Can we take our sales history and customer list?

Only if the contract gives you an export right in a usable format, and some do not. The review checks the data ownership and export provisions and asks for export during the term and after termination, with deletion confirmed afterwards.

The software subscription is monthly but the hardware lease is for three years. Is that normal?

It is common, and it means cancelling the software leaves you paying for hardware you cannot use. The review asks for the terms to be aligned, or for a right to end the hardware lease when the software subscription ends, and for the settlement to reflect the hardware's value.

Can we use a different card payment provider with the system?

That depends on whether the EPOS provider ties the software to its own payments, and many do. The review checks the tie and asks for a right to change acquirer, so that the payment fees can be renegotiated without changing the till.

Related guidance and services

• Contract review, £495, the service this page describes
• Data protection agreements and privacy terms, £795
• Terms and conditions drafting, £995
• Reviewing a merchant services or card terminal agreement
• Reviewing a SaaS vendor's terms before your business signs up

This page is general guidance for businesses in England and Wales, not advice on your own circumstances. Last reviewed: September 2026. Email geoffrey@caesar.co.uk.