Touch Screen POS Terminal for High-Traffic Use
POS terminals suitable for continuous high-traffic use are commercial, retail-hardened touch screen terminals, such as the Toshiba TCx 810E and TCx 820 we install: fanless, sealed against dust and spills to a published IP rating, and built on business-grade processors and solid-state drives. TimeWorks sets them up on our own POS software and supports them from our offices in Cape Town and Johannesburg, pre-configured for your industry.
To buy, excluding VAT. Or rent a complete POS from R995 per month excluding VAT, with the hardware, software and support included.
Which POS terminals are suitable for
continuous high-traffic use?
POS terminals suitable for continuous high-traffic use are commercial all-in-one terminals built and tested for the counter, not office PCs or consumer tablets on a stand. Look for four things on the manufacturer's spec sheet: a published IP rating against dust and spills, a fanless design, a solid-state drive, and ports for the scanner, printer and cash drawer. The Toshiba TCx 810E and TCx 820 we supply tick all four, and we also supply commercial terminals from Poslab and others.
A POS terminal here means the countertop till: the touch screen computer your staff ring sales up on all day. It is not the card machine. The card machine, or PIN pad, plugs into the terminal and takes the payment.
What makes a terminal last on a busy counter
Sealing against dust and spills. An IP rating tells you how well the case keeps out dust and water. Under the IP code defined in IEC 60529, a first digit of 5 means dust is not entirely kept out but cannot get in in a quantity that interferes with safe operation. A second digit of 3 means water sprayed at any angle up to 60° from the vertical has no harmful effect. Toshiba's TCx 820 technical specifications list an IP53 rating, and the TCx 810E technical specifications list IP53, or IP52 with peripherals installed. That is splash protection, not waterproofing, so a spilled drink gets wiped up, not left to pool.
No fan. A fan pulls kitchen grease, flour and shop dust through the electronics. Toshiba's TCx 810E product page lists a fanless design with no moving parts to improve durability, and its TCx 820 product page says the 820 is built "Retail Tough" and has a fanless design.
Tested like a till, not a laptop. Toshiba's own white paper on retail-hardened POS systems (February 2024) describes them as "engineered to deliver high uptime and long-term reliability". Its tests on the earlier TCx 810 cycled the terminal between 0 ºC and 45 ºC at 38% to 80% humidity, ran electrostatic discharge tests based on IEC 61000-4-2, and poured 32 ounces of dyed water over a powered-off unit before a full systems check. It is the manufacturer's paper, so read it as Toshiba's case for its own kit, but the tests are a useful checklist for any terminal you compare.
Business-grade internals. Both Toshiba spec sheets list NVMe solid-state drives and 10-point PCAP multi-touch screens. The TCx 810E runs an Intel Celeron 4305UE or Core i5 8365UE with 8 GB or 16 GB of memory. The TCx 820 runs Intel Core Series 1 processors with 8 GB, 16 GB or 32 GB, and supports up to two SSDs.
Ports for the whole counter. A busy till drives a scanner, a receipt printer, a cash drawer and often a customer display. The TCx 810E spec sheet lists two powered RS-232 ports, a cash drawer port, powered USB at 12V and 24V, two USB 3.0 and four USB 2.0 ports. Pair the terminal with a Zebra barcode scanner and an 80mm thermal receipt printer, or see the full hardware package for how the parts fit together.
What that means in South Africa
Power. A terminal that never stops still stops when the power does. Eskom's load-shedding page shows the current status and the schedule for your area. Put every terminal that has to keep trading on a UPS battery backup sized to the terminal and printer it carries, and we size it with you.
Rand pricing and VAT. We quote in rand. The prices on this page, to buy and to rent, exclude VAT, which SARS levies at the standard rate of 15%, so budget for it on top. TimeWorks POS software handles VAT on every slip.
Local support. We set up the terminal on our own POS software, install it on site and support it from our offices in Cape Town and Johannesburg. Every terminal comes with the full manufacturer warranty. For the rest of the counter, see our POS hardware for 24/7 trading.
Buy it or rent it
To buy, the Toshiba TCx touch terminal is listed from R12,995 to R24,995 excluding VAT, depending on the configuration. To rent, a complete POS from TimeWorks starts from R995 per month excluding VAT, and that includes the hardware, the software and support. Daily rentals for events are contact for pricing. Our monthly and event rental plans set out the terms.
From Toshiba's TCx 810E (revised June 2022) and TCx 820 (revised February 2024) technical specification sheets. Your quote names the exact model and configuration.
- check_circle Projected capacitive (PCAP) touchscreen with 10-point multi-touch
- check_circle Fanless design for silent, low-maintenance operation
- check_circle IP-rated case against dust and splashes
- check_circle Optional customer display mounted on top
- check_circle Pre-loaded and configured for TimeWorks POS software
Built for South African Business
Every product TimeWorks supplies is configured and tested for the specific demands of South African trading conditions, including load shedding resilience, rand pricing, and SARS compliance.
SARS-Ready Out of the Box
All TCx terminals arrive pre-configured for TimeWorks POS with built-in SARS VAT reporting. Tax tables, receipt formatting, and audit logs are set up before delivery so you are trading-ready from day one.
Load Shedding Resilience
TimeWorks pairs TCx terminals with UPS units sized to your trading hours, and transaction data is preserved through outages via Microsoft SQL.
On-Site Cape Town Support
TimeWorks technicians carry spare TCx units and components for swap-outs, to keep downtime short during your busiest trading periods.
Ideal for These South African Industries
The touch screen POS terminal works directly with TimeWorks POS across these industry sectors. Click through to see full industry-specific solutions.
Common Questions About the Touch Screen POS Terminal
What is a POS terminal? expand_more
A POS terminal is the computer at the till where a sale is rung up: a touch screen, a processor and storage in one unit, running the POS software. Here it means the countertop terminal, not the card machine. The barcode scanner, receipt printer, cash drawer and card machine all connect to it. The Toshiba TCx terminals we supply are all-in-one units, with the screen and the computer in one case on a stand.
How much is a POS terminal? expand_more
To buy, the Toshiba TCx touch terminal is listed from R12,995 to R24,995 excluding VAT, depending on the configuration. The scanner, printer, cash drawer and software are priced separately. To rent instead, a complete POS from TimeWorks starts from R995 per month excluding VAT, and that includes the hardware, the software and support. Ask for a quote and we will price the configuration your counter needs.
What is a POS monthly fee? expand_more
A POS monthly fee is what you pay each month to use the system. At TimeWorks, renting a complete POS starts from R995 per month excluding VAT, and that includes the hardware, the software and support. If you already own your hardware, the software on its own is R350 or R500 per month excluding VAT. Daily rentals for events are contact for pricing.
What is the cheapest POS terminal? expand_more
The cheapest way into a TimeWorks POS is our 10-inch Android POS tablet, listed from R4,995 to R12,995. It suits markets, pop-ups and small counters. For a counter that trades at high volume all day, a commercial terminal such as the Toshiba TCx 810E or TCx 820 is the better buy, because both are fanless and rated against dust and spills. Renting from R995 per month excluding VAT avoids the upfront cost altogether.
What screen sizes does the POS terminal come in? expand_more
Toshiba's spec sheets list the TCx 810E with a 15-inch 4:3 screen, and the TCx 820 with a 15-inch 4:3, a 15.6-inch or 19.5-inch widescreen, or a 23.8-inch portrait screen. A 15-inch screen suits compact countertops in coffee shops, delis and smaller retail setups. A larger screen helps in busy restaurants and supermarkets where staff need to see more menu categories or product lines at once without scrolling. TimeWorks consultants will assess your layout before recommending a screen size.
Can a POS terminal handle spills? expand_more
Splashes, yes. A soaking, no. Toshiba rates the TCx 820 IP53, and the TCx 810E IP53, or IP52 with peripherals installed. Under the IP code, a first digit of 5 means dust cannot get in in a quantity that interferes with safe operation, and a second digit of 3 means water sprayed at any angle up to 60 degrees from the vertical has no harmful effect. That is splash protection, not waterproofing, so wipe spills up straight away.
Can the POS terminal work during load shedding? expand_more
Yes, with a UPS. TimeWorks supplies APC or Mecer UPS units sized for your terminal and printer, so the till keeps trading during an outage for as long as the battery lasts. All transaction data is stored locally on an SSD and synced to the SQL server when power returns. For businesses with extended outages, TimeWorks can configure offline mode so sales continue uninterrupted and reconcile automatically once connectivity is restored.
How long does installation take for a POS touch terminal? expand_more
A single-terminal installation typically takes 3 to 5 hours on site. This includes mounting the terminal, connecting peripherals, configuring the TimeWorks software with your product catalogue, pricing, and tax settings, and running staff training. Multi-terminal installations are scheduled over a full day or across two days depending on the number of stations. TimeWorks provides a pre-installation checklist so your team can prepare product data and pricing in advance to speed up commissioning.
Ready to Add a Touch Screen POS Terminal to Your Setup?
TimeWorks will assess your current setup, recommend the right configuration, and handle full installation and staff training. No guesswork, no wasted spend.