Per-terminal vs per-location POS pricing: what you will actually pay

The monthly price on a POS vendor's website is rarely the number you end up paying. What you actually pay depends on how the vendor counts: by user, by till, by location, or some mix of all three. The same business can face very different bills under different models.

This guide explains the three common models, shows worked examples, and lists the questions that reveal the real cost before you sign.

A note on numbers: where we use PalletPOS figures, they are our published prices in GBP. On the pricing page prices are shown in your local currency. Where we describe other pricing models, the figures are assumptions for the sake of the example, not any vendor's real prices.

The three common pricing models

Per user

You pay for each person who logs in. It sounds fair until you count. Cashiers, a manager, someone in the office doing statements, the owner checking reports at night, a part-timer on Saturdays. Each is a user.

The hidden cost is behavioural. When logins cost money, staff share them. Once two people use the same login, you lose any record of who made a sale, who issued a refund or who changed a price.

Per terminal

You pay for each till that takes sales. This is easier to predict, because the number of tills changes less often than the number of staff. The cost rises when you add a second till for busy periods, a till on the trade counter, or a handheld for the warehouse.

The key question is what counts as a terminal. Some vendors count any device that logs in. Others count only devices that take payments.

Per location

You pay for each shop, branch or site, with a number of tills included. This is the simplest to budget for: open a new branch, add one location. Within a location, extra tills may carry a smaller add-on charge.

PalletPOS uses this model. Pricing is per location, terminals are included, every plan has unlimited users, and extra terminals are £15 a month each.

What PalletPOS counts as a terminal

A terminal is a registered till that takes sales. Back Office logins and stock-take handhelds are free.

So a manager reviewing reports, an office administrator sending statements, and a member of staff counting stock with a handheld do not add to the bill. Only devices taking sales do.

The published plans

Extra terminals: £15 a month each. Annual billing: two months free. Unlimited users on every plan.

Worked example 1: a single shop with two tills

A convenience store with two tills, five staff including part-timers, and an owner who checks reports from home.

Assumed per-user model. Suppose a vendor charges £20 per user per month and the store has six logins (five staff plus the owner). That is £120 a month. In practice the owner may cut it to two shared logins to save money, and lose the audit trail.

Assumed per-terminal model. Suppose a vendor charges £45 per terminal per month. Two tills cost £90 a month.

PalletPOS Retail plan. £49 a month for the location, with 2 terminals included and unlimited users. Total: £49 a month, plus a one-off £10 activation.

Worked example 2: a trade counter with retail customers

A cash & carry with three tills at the counter, two office staff handling trade accounts and statements, a warehouse team with two stock-take handhelds, and around twelve people who need a login.

Assumed per-user model. At an assumed £20 per user per month, twelve users cost £240 a month.

Assumed per-terminal model. At an assumed £45 per device per month, with a vendor that counts every logged-in device, three tills and two handhelds are five devices: £225 a month. If the vendor only counts tills, it is £135.

PalletPOS Wholesale plan. £129 a month for the location, with 3 terminals included. The two handhelds are free because they are used for stock-take, not sales. Office logins are free. Total: £129 a month, plus a one-off £150 activation that covers assisted setup and data import.

The Wholesale plan adds trade accounts, tier, customer and case pricing, On Account, statements, invoices and the quick-order screen. See wholesale features.

Worked example 3: two locations, both retail and trade

A business with two sites, each serving retail and trade customers. Site A runs 5 tills, Site B runs 7.

PalletPOS Complete plan. £199 a month per location includes 5 terminals.

Total: £428 a month across both locations, with unlimited users at both. Activation is £150 per location.

On annual billing with two months free, the same setup costs ten months' worth of fees for twelve months: £4,280 a year instead of £5,136.

The Complete plan adds both modes on one till, multi-location central stock, API access and priority support.

The costs that are not on the price card

Whatever model a vendor uses, ask about these:

• Activation or setup fees. What do they cover? Is data import included, or charged separately? On PalletPOS, the £150 activation on Wholesale and Complete covers assisted setup and data import.
• Payment processing. Card fees often cost more than the software. Ask for the rate in writing for your country and your plan. PalletPOS publishes card rates per country on the pricing page, with lower rates on higher plans.
• Hardware lock-in. Does the software only run on the vendor's own devices? PalletPOS runs natively on Android and Windows, so you can use hardware you already own. See retail POS.
• Add-ons. Are reporting, an online store, a custom domain or customer-specific pricing included or extra? On PalletPOS, the Retail plan and above include a custom domain and online store. See online store and domains.
• Messaging and ordering allowances. If the system takes orders through WhatsApp or voice, how much is included each month and what happens above it? PalletPOS includes a monthly WhatsApp and Voice ordering allowance on the Wholesale plan and a larger one on Complete, then charges overage.
• Annual vs monthly. What is the saving, and can you leave?

How to compare quotes properly

Use the same inputs for every vendor:

1. Number of locations.
2. Number of tills that take sales, per location.
3. Number of other devices (handhelds, office PCs, tablets).
4. Number of people who need their own login.
5. Card volume per month, to estimate processing fees.
6. Any modules you need: trade accounts, statements, online store, multi-location stock.

Then calculate the twelve-month cost, including activation, for each vendor. Put them side by side.

If one vendor's quote changes sharply when you add a till or a person, you have found the variable that will drive your future bill.

Our view

We run a wholesale business ourselves, and we have been on the paying side of these models. We chose per-location pricing with unlimited users because it rewards the behaviour you want: everyone has their own login, so every action is traceable, and adding a till for a busy period does not need a meeting.

Next steps

Use the terminal calculator on the pricing page to work out your monthly total in your own currency, then start a trial on the plan that fits.

Start trialSee pricing