Restaurant POS Software in London
VAT-ready billing, kitchen tickets, inventory and multi-site reports for London food businesses, on the devices you already own, with one flat annual price.
Short answer
TasteIQ is a restaurant EPOS system for London cafés, restaurants, bars and dark kitchens. It handles VAT-ready billing, kitchen tickets by station, split bills, inventory and multi-site reports on devices you already own. It costs $108 per outlet per year after a 14-day free trial with no card, and it does not process payments, so you keep your own card terminal and acquirer.
TasteIQ in London at a glance
| Price | $108 per outlet per year (listed in US dollars) |
|---|---|
| Free trial | 14-day free trial, no card |
| Setup | Remote, about 15 minutes, on devices you already own |
| VAT | 20% standard rate: Restaurant food and drink are standard-rated for VAT, and VAT-registered businesses show their VAT number on invoices. Registration is with HMRC. |
| Licensing bodies | 32 borough councils and the City of London Corporation; FSA; HMRC |
| Support | Monday–Saturday, 10:00 AM – 6:00 PM IST, which is 5:30 AM – 1:30 PM UK time in summer (4:30 AM – 12:30 PM in winter), by phone and WhatsApp |
How London food businesses run, and what that means for an EPOS
London is thirty-three local authority areas pretending to be one city: thirty-two boroughs plus the City of London Corporation for the Square Mile. A small group with a café in the City, a restaurant in Hackney and a kitchen in Croydon deals with three different councils for registration, hygiene inspection and licensing, even though it runs one menu and one brand.
That is why multi-site reporting is the first thing London operators ask for. One menu to maintain, one set of numbers per site and a clear view of which location is carrying the group matter sooner than any till feature, particularly when rents and wages make a weak site expensive to carry.
Footfall is also unusually uneven by postcode: office districts empty at weekends while residential and leisure areas peak, and a theatre or football night rearranges a whole evening. Daily sales and item reports by site show those patterns instead of an average that fits nowhere.
Which council registers and inspects a London food business
In England a food business registers with the local council for its premises and is inspected by that council's food safety team. In London that means the borough for the postcode, or the City of London Corporation inside the Square Mile.
| Where | Who | What to know |
|---|---|---|
| Food business registration | The borough council for the premises, or the City of London Corporation | Registration is free and must reach the council at least 28 days before you start trading. Separate premises are registered separately, and a change of ownership or address needs re-registration. |
| The Square Mile | City of London Corporation | The local authority for hygiene inspection and licensing in the City of London, separate from the boroughs around it. It has acted against businesses displaying ratings they did not earn. |
| Hygiene rating | Food Standards Agency (Food Hygiene Rating Scheme) | Inspections produce a rating from 0 to 5, published by the FSA. Displaying it is voluntary in England and compulsory in Wales and Northern Ireland. |
| Alcohol and late-night entertainment | The council's licensing team, under the Licensing Act 2003 | A premises licence is a separate application from food registration. |
| VAT | HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) | Register for VAT once your taxable turnover reaches the registration threshold; invoices show your VAT number. |
Check which borough covers the exact postcode before applying, and keep the registration confirmation, because licensing and hygiene teams ask for it.
Food business registration, hygiene inspection and any premises licence are handled by the local council, so confirm which council covers the exact postcode. We do not quote fees because they change.
Read the national guide to registration, ratings and allergens: Restaurant EPOS system in the UK.
One brand, several councils: running a London group day to day
A group that spans boroughs has one registration per premises and one inspection history per site, so the useful habit is a single place that records, for each site, its council, registration date and latest rating. A POS does not hold those records, but per-site reports let you line up an inspection outcome with what the site was selling that month.
Dark kitchens and delivery-only sites are common in London and are registered like any other food premises, so check the registration for each one rather than assuming the brand's registration covers it.
Pick the route that matches your London site
Restaurants and cafés
The full guide: billing, KOT by station, split bills, inventory and multi-site reporting.
Hotel F&B
Hotel outlets that want rooms, F&B and channel sync in one system.
Comparing with Square
A fair side-by-side for small counters, including where Square is the easier start.
What you get for $108/yr per outlet
One plan, the same in every city: $108 per outlet per year (listed in US dollars), after a 14-day free trial, no card. There is no setup fee and no AMC, and no hardware you are required to buy. It runs on Android and iOS phones and tablets, plus Windows and Mac, with standard receipt and kitchen printers.
- VAT-ready invoices with configurable tax rates and tax-inclusive or tax-exclusive menu pricing
- Service charge as a percentage, set per outlet
- Kitchen order tickets (KOT) by station
- Split bills, modifiers, discounts and table transfers
- Inventory deduction with low-stock alerts
- Daily sales, item and payment-mode reports
- Multi-outlet dashboard with menu sync
- Branded online ordering
- AI menu setup from photos
How setup works
- Start the free trial. Create your outlet in the app. No card, no setup fee.
- Add your menu. Upload photos of your menu or type items in. AI reads items and prices; you confirm them.
- Connect printers and test. Pair the receipt and kitchen printers you already have and print a test bill and KOT.
- Go live. Train staff on real orders during the trial. Most outlets are billing in about 15 minutes.
Where TasteIQ may not be the right fit
TasteIQ does not process card payments or integrate with payment terminals yet. You keep your existing terminal and acquirer and record the payment mode on each bill. If integrated card payments are essential, confirm that workflow in the free trial before you decide.
Orders from Deliveroo, Uber Eats, Just Eat and similar apps are entered under the delivery or other order type rather than imported automatically. If automatic import is essential, ask us for the current status and test the exact workflow in the free trial first.
Support hours follow India time, which is early morning to early afternoon in the UK. Setup is remote and the app is self-serve.
TasteIQ's hardware partner network supplies hardware in India; elsewhere, plan to use devices and printers you already have or buy locally.
Restaurant POS in London: common questions
The council that covers the premises: one of thirty-two boroughs, or the City of London Corporation inside the Square Mile. The government's food business registration service routes you to the right one, and you register at least 28 days before trading.
About this page
Published by TasteIQ (MPYG Technologies Pvt. Ltd., Bangalore). We sell restaurant POS software, so read this as a vendor's guide rather than independent advice.
Facts and links last checked on . Tax, licensing and e-invoicing rules change by notification: this page points you to the right office and does not replace its advice or legal advice. If something is out of date, email founders@tasteiq.in and we will correct it.
Sources
Start billing in London this week
14-day free trial, no card. Live in about 15 minutes. Keep the hardware you already own.
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