Because of the generally robust nature of a lot of EPOS tills, the general reasons for replacing an older, obsolete system with a new one vary more considerably than with other IT systems.

Most computer systems in business tend to be upgraded roughly every five years, whilst an EPOS system can potentially run for over a decade depending on how it is maintained, taken care of and the nature of the business it is connected to.

However, as with any other piece of business equipment, an EPOS system will eventually need to be replaced, and here are some telltale signs it may need to be replaced sooner rather than later.

It Gets Very Slow

An EPOS system of any type should make your customer service easier, more streamlined and better for the customer. If it is started to become noticeably slow or is beginning to impact your business's ability to provide outstanding customer service.

A slow EPOS system can delay inventory management searches, cause issues with card payments and deal with other issues which can cost you money and reputation. It may be time to consider a new system.

It Is Getting More Expensive To Service

Older hardware, once it reaches the end of its initial support period, starts to get more difficult to repair or replace, requiring a lot more involved searching on the part of service engineers to find other used parts.

This can start to reflect in the cost of maintenance and repairs, and eventually can reach a tipping point where the cost of replacing the system entirely is less than the cost to continue servicing and repairing the old tills and card readers.

Technology Marches On

The widespread adoption of Chip-And-PIN in the mid-2000s forced a lot of SMEs to quickly upgrade their EPOS systems to transition from magnetic swipe cards (sometimes known as Chip-And-Signature) to the machines we are familiar with today.

A similar story happened with the transition to contactless cards and later mobile payment systems such as Apple Pay. It is not clear what the future holds for payments, but it pays to be ready to make the switch.