Restaurant POS System Cost in South Africa:
The Total Price of a Reliable Till

A reliable POS system for a South African restaurant costs from R995 per month excluding VAT to rent from TimeWorks, with the hardware, software and support included, so the restaurant POS system cost for one till is R11,940 excluding VAT in the first year. Buying instead costs R12,995 to R24,995 excluding VAT for a commercial touch terminal, plus R350 or R500 per month excluding VAT for the software, before card fees.

Total cost is the right question for a South African restaurant, because the cheapest quote is rarely the cheapest year. A till that freezes on a Friday night, or a card machine that drops off the network in the dinner rush, costs covers you cannot win back. This guide adds up the total POS cost for a restaurant: hardware, software, card fees, support and what reliability costs. Every price comes from the provider's own page, checked on 3 October 2026.

TL;DR: Rent a complete restaurant till from R995 per month excluding VAT, which is R11,940 in the first year. Buy one from R15,575 excluding VAT for the terminal, receipt printer and cash drawer, plus R500 a month for software with kitchen displays: R21,575 in the first year. Pilot, a hospitality POS, publishes R1,100 to R2,800 per terminal per month. Card fees come on top: 2.30% to 2.75% excluding VAT on the entry plans of Yoco and iKhokha.

How much does a reliable POS system for a South African restaurant cost?

The cheapest line is not the cheapest restaurant. Yoco's Counter plus its Pro plan costs the least up front, but Yoco takes its card fee on every sale, so your turnover decides its real total. Pilot's Pro package costs the most because it bundles a kitchen display with each till. The TimeWorks rental sits between them and includes a loaner unit while yours is repaired.

What makes a restaurant POS reliable, and what does that cost?

Restaurants run on thin margins, so one lost service hurts. Statistics South Africa's food and beverages survey puts the profit margin of restaurants and coffee shops at 4,2% for 2022. FEDHASA, the national hospitality association, says restaurants now generally need annual revenue growth of between 10% and 15% simply to keep the same profitability. Income at restaurants and coffee shops, at constant prices, grew 2,9% in the first quarter of 2026 compared with a year earlier, according to Stats SA's March 2026 food and beverages release.

On those numbers, reliability is part of the price. Four things decide it, and each has a cost you can check before you sign:

• wifi_off
  It keeps selling offline When the fibre drops, the till should keep ringing up orders and sync later. TimeWorks POS keeps processing transactions locally and syncs them to the central database automatically when the connection returns.
• bolt
  It survives the power going off Eskom ended winter 2025 with 26 hours of load shedding across four evenings, supplying electricity 97% of the time. The risk is lower, not gone. Put each till on a UPS and read our load shedding POS guide for sizing.
• point_of_sale
  The hardware is built for a kitchen A fan pulls kitchen grease and dust through the electronics, and drinks get spilled. The Toshiba TCx 810E and TCx 820 terminals we supply are fanless and rated IP53 against dust and splashes (the 810E is IP52 with peripherals installed).
• support_agent
  Someone fixes it fast All the hardware we supply carries the full manufacturer warranty, and our service team provides on-site repair and replacement support across the Cape Town area. On a rental, the swap-out warranty puts a configured loaner unit on your counter while yours is repaired.

For the restaurant features themselves (table plans, split bills, kitchen routing and modifiers), see our restaurant and dining POS page.

TimeWorks SA Pricing

From R350/mo
Transparent. No Surprises.

• cloudCloud-Based Entry POS: R350/mo per branch (up to two users)
• starFull Business Solution: R500/mo per branch, with kitchen displays
• point_of_saleFull rental (hardware, software, support): from R995/mo
• swap_horizSwap-out warranty with a loaner unit on rentals
• check_circleMonthly rental is month to month, no long-term lock-in

All prices exclude VAT. Daily event rental: contact us for pricing.

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What does restaurant POS software cost per month?

Restaurant POS software in South Africa runs from R0 a month (Yoco Core, which earns its money on card fees) to R2,800 per terminal a month (Pilot Pro, with hardware and a kitchen display included). The table compares the providers that publish a price for restaurants, sorted from lowest to highest monthly fee. Look at what each price includes, and at who takes the card fee.

"Free" software is worth a closer look. Yoco's Core plan charges no monthly fee but takes 2.30% of local debit and credit card sales up to R50,000 a month. On R40,000 of card sales, that is R920 a month in fees. A subscription system with your own card provider can cost less once your card volume grows, so work out the total for your own turnover before you compare.

Need help deciding which features you need first? Read our guide on how to choose the right POS system.

How much is a POS machine in South Africa?

A card machine costs R699 to R1,499 once-off, and a full restaurant POS system or terminal costs R9,895 to R24,995, depending on who you buy from. The two are different things. A card machine takes payments. A POS terminal runs the till: the menu, the tables, the kitchen orders and the cash-up. Most restaurants need both.

Individual Component Prices

If you are building a till or replacing one part, these are the prices in our current hardware catalogue, all excluding VAT:

• • Touch terminal: Toshiba TCx, R12,995 to R24,995
• • Thermal receipt printer: 80mm with auto-cutter (USB, LAN or RS-232), R1,895
• • Barcode scanner: Zebra LI2208, R1,595
• • Cash drawer: Maken mini drawer, 4 notes and 4 coins, R685

All the hardware we supply carries the full manufacturer warranty. You can browse POS hardware and peripherals on our hardware page.

What are the card fees for a restaurant?

Card fees on the entry plans are 2.30% to 2.75% of each sale, and they fall as your volume grows. iKhokha charges 2.75% excluding VAT up to R40,000 a month, falling to 2.5% between R80,000 and R100,000, and 3.4% excluding VAT on Amex cards, plus a R2.50 payout fee on each daily settlement. Yoco charges 2.30% on local cards up to R50,000 on its Core plan, and 1.95% on local debit cards up to R50,000 on its Pro plan.

What Does the Fee Difference Cost a Restaurant?

Take a restaurant with R40,000 a month in card sales, all on local cards:

• • iKhokha at 2.75%: R1,100 a month, R13,200 a year
• • Yoco Core at 2.30%: R920 a month, R11,040 a year
• • Yoco Pro at 1.95% on debit cards: R780 a month plus the R499 plan, R1,279 a month in total

The gap between 2.75% and 2.30% is R2,160 a year on R40,000 a month, and it grows with your turnover. The plan with the lowest rate is not always the cheapest either: at this volume, Yoco Pro costs more than Core once you add its R499 fee. MangoPOS's percentage is not a card fee at all. It is charged on the sales recorded in MangoPOS, and you still pay your own card provider on top.

Should a restaurant rent or buy its POS system?

Rent if you want a fixed monthly cost with repairs handled; buy if you will keep the same till for more than about two and a half years. Here is the sum with our own prices. Buying one till costs R15,575 up front plus R500 a month for software. Renting costs R995 a month with nothing up front. The rental is R495 a month more, so the R15,575 is paid back after about 32 months. Before that, renting costs less. After it, buying does, as long as nothing breaks outside the manufacturer warranty.

Rental Options and Pricing

• • TimeWorks monthly rental: from R995 per month excluding VAT, hardware, software and support included, month to month.
• • TimeWorks daily rental: contact for pricing, for events and short-term trading.
• • TimeWorks rent-to-own: contact for pricing, with ownership at the end of the contract.
• • Pilot: R2,000 or R2,800 per terminal per month with hardware included (Plus and Pro), or R1,100 on your own hardware (Core).

When to Buy vs When to Rent

Buy if: you have the capital, you expect to trade from the same premises for three years or more, and you want the lowest cost over that time.

Rent if: you are opening a new restaurant, you want to keep cash for stock and staff, you trade seasonally, or you want the swap-out warranty that keeps a loaner on your counter during repairs.

For the full comparison, read our rental vs purchase guide, or see the rental plans and what they include.

What hidden costs should a restaurant budget for?

The quote usually covers the till and the software. Ask about these before you sign, because they are the costs that turn up afterwards.

• sim_card
  Data for the card machine A card machine needs a connection that does not depend on your router. iKhokha charges an optional R75 per month for a dual SIM with unlimited data.
• payments
  Payout and settlement fees Some card providers charge to pay your takings out. iKhokha charges R2.50 for each daily payout, whatever the amount.
• devices
  Per-terminal and per-location fees Pilot charges per terminal, Yoco per location and TimeWorks per branch. A restaurant with a bar till and a floor till pays twice on a per-terminal price.
• receipt_long
  Paper rolls and kitchen slips A thermal printer has no ink, but a busy kitchen goes through receipt and order-slip rolls every week. Price them into your running costs.
• school
  Installation and training Some providers charge for setup and staff training. On a TimeWorks rental our technicians deliver, install and configure the system, and menu setup, payment integration and staff training are included.
• description
  VAT on quotes that exclude it Many POS prices are quoted excluding VAT. Add 15% to compare them with a price that includes it.
• battery_charging_full
  Backup power A UPS on each till and on the router keeps the restaurant trading through a power cut. See our load shedding guide for how to size one.

Which POS system is best for a South African restaurant?

The best POS system for a South African restaurant is the one that keeps trading through an outage, sends orders straight to the kitchen, splits bills at the table and costs a total you can carry on a thin margin. No single brand wins on all four for every restaurant. A small café with one counter can start on a card-machine POS such as Yoco. A sit-down restaurant with a kitchen and a bar needs table management, kitchen printing or displays and a terminal that survives the kitchen.

Restaurant options with published South African prices include hospitality systems such as Pilot, software systems such as MangoPOS and Liquor Logic, card-machine systems such as Yoco and iKhokha, and full-service suppliers such as TimeWorks. Ask each one the same five questions: does it work offline, what does it cost per till and per branch, who takes the card fee, what happens when the hardware breaks, and who answers the phone at 20:00 on a Saturday.

Frequently Asked Questions About Restaurant POS Costs

Getting the Best POS Value for Your Restaurant

The right restaurant POS is not the cheapest or the most expensive. It is the one whose total cost, with card fees, support and the cost of a till going down, fits your margin.

Here's what to remember:

• • Renting a complete till from TimeWorks costs from R995 a month excluding VAT, R11,940 in the first year
• • Buying one costs R15,575 for the hardware plus R350 or R500 a month for software, excluding VAT
• • Hospitality rivals publish R1,100 to R2,800 per terminal per month
• • Card fees of 2.30% to 2.75% on entry plans often cost more than the software
• • Renting costs less for the first 32 months or so; buying costs less after that

Talk to a TimeWorks specialist about the total for your restaurant. We will give you a complete cost breakdown with no obligation, and the consultation is free. Book your free consultation here.