Guide · Point of sale
What does a POS system cost in Singapore? Transaction fees, rental and owning your hardware
The four costs inside every POS
- Hardware: the POS terminal (often dual-screen, so customers see their bill), a cash drawer, a receipt printer, and sometimes a kitchen printer or barcode scanner
- Software: the till itself, the back office (menu, stock, reports, staff) and add-ons such as QR ordering
- Payment processing: what card, wallet or QR payments cost — charged by the payment provider, and sometimes marked up by the POS company
- Support and updates: who fixes it at 7pm on a Friday, and whether updates cost extra
Three ways POS systems are sold
Most offers are a mix of the same parts. What changes is who owns the hardware and whether the POS company takes a share of your sales.
| Commission plan | Rental plan | Own the hardware | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Upfront | Little or nothing | Little or nothing | A one-time hardware fee |
| Every month | A percentage of each sale | Terminal rental plus software | A fixed software maintenance fee |
| Payments | Their processor and rates | Often their processor | Your choice of provider, or straight to your own bank |
| Who owns the terminal | The provider | The provider | You |
| When sales grow | Your bill grows with them | Rental continues for as long as you use it | Your costs stay flat |
A worked example: what 1% really costs
Say an outlet takes S$40,000 a month through card and QR payments. A plan that keeps 1% of those sales costs S$400 a month — S$4,800 a year and S$14,400 over three years — on top of the payment provider's own fees, and before any terminal rental.
Run the same sum with your own takings and the rate you're offered, then compare it with the one-time cost of owning the hardware plus a fixed maintenance fee. For a busy outlet, the percentage can be the biggest number on the page.
PayNow QR: getting paid without a middleman
PayNow is Singapore's instant bank-transfer service, launched by the participating banks in July 2017. Businesses receive PayNow through PayNow Corporate, by linking their UEN to a business bank account — so customers pay from their banking app straight into yours, with no card network in between. The PayNow QR is part of SGQR, Singapore's unified payment QR code.
PayNow is free for retail customers, and businesses may not add a surcharge for paying by PayNow. Ask your bank whether it charges for receiving PayNow Corporate payments.
Questions to ask before you sign
- Do you take a percentage of my sales — on every payment method, or only some?
- Who owns the terminal, cash drawer and printer, and what happens to them if I leave?
- Can I use my own payment provider, and PayNow QR straight to my own bank account?
- What is in the monthly fee, and which modules (QR ordering, stock, reports) cost extra?
- How long is the contract, and what does it cost to leave?
- Who supports us, in which hours, and how fast — locally?
- Can we export our sales data, and keep it for five years?
- If we sell to GST-registered businesses, can sales become InvoiceNow e-invoices?
Keep your sales records
Singapore companies must keep business records — invoices, receipts, bank statements, payroll and supporting documents — for at least five years: under the Companies Act from the end of the financial year, and under the Income Tax and GST Acts from the relevant Year of Assessment. Keeping them until the later date satisfies both.
Your POS is where most of those records start, so make sure you can export them in full.
Sources
- The Association of Banks in Singapore — PayNow
- MAS — SGQR
- IRAS — Records that your company must keep
- IRAS — Keeping proper records and accounts
Checked 8 October 2026. Rules change — confirm what applies to your business with the official source.
FAQ
Common questions.
How much does a POS system cost in Singapore?
It depends on how it is sold. Commission plans cost little upfront but keep a percentage of every sale; rental plans charge a monthly fee for the terminal and software; with an own-the-hardware model you pay once for the terminal, cash drawer and printer, then a fixed software maintenance fee. Compare the three-year total with your own takings.
Do POS systems charge transaction fees?
Many do. Some POS plans keep a percentage of each card or QR sale on top of the payment provider's fees. Others, such as HeySheep's HeyPOS, take no transaction fee at all — you pay a one-time hardware fee and a fixed software maintenance fee.
Is it better to rent or buy a POS system?
Renting costs less upfront, but the payments never stop and the terminal is never yours. Buying costs more on day one and less every month after. For an outlet that plans to trade for years, owning the hardware usually costs less over three years — run the numbers with your own sales.
Can customers pay by PayNow at my counter?
Yes. With PayNow Corporate, your business receives payments to its UEN-linked bank account. A POS can show a PayNow QR for customers to scan with their banking app, and the money goes straight to your account. Ask your bank about its PayNow Corporate terms.
What is HeySheep's POS system?
HeyPOS is HeySheep's point-of-sale system for cafés, restaurants and shops in Singapore. It takes no transaction fees and rents out no devices: you pay a one-time fee for the hardware you own and a software maintenance fee. It handles counter and table-QR orders, kitchen printing, cash and shifts on a dual-screen terminal, and is built for busy service.