Is an Internet connection required for an Epos system?

One of the characteristics of Electronic Points of Sale systems, as opposed to traditional points of sale systems, is that they are essentially connected. To many, this means that Epos systems are necessarily connected to the Internet, and therefore require an internet connection to operate.

This is not necessarily true. There are certain conditions when an Epos system can operate without an internet connection, and certain setups which require an internet connection.

But remember that when a connection is indeed needed, high bandwidth, broadband connections will be the norm.

An Epos system might be a locally connected system, and therefore not need any internet connection. In this case, the several parts of the system like the till, barcode reader, scale, printer and terminal are all connected with each other, and with the Epos server. The server itself can then be connected to the inventory management system, the CRM and the accounting software, within a Local Area Network setup.

Systems requiring remote access or multiple site connectivity will require an internet connection to operate. A pool of static IP address will be needed for each site, and specific IP addresses for each hardware installed within these sites.

Systems accepting credit card machines, unless they use really old technologies or expensive ones like full-cellular PDQ terminals, will need an internet connection. And finally, “virtual” Epos systems used on e-commerce websites will of course require an internet connection.