How to compare a hospitality POS
Comparing POS systems is hard because every vendor counts differently: some publish prices excluding VAT, some charge for installation separately, some take a percentage per transaction and some publish nothing at all. This page explains where to look, with the real ranges of the Spanish market as at 31 July 2026.
No card, no lock-in and no installation cost.
The headline is not the price
Installation, transaction commission and hardware decide the first year's cost far more than the monthly fee does.
With VAT on the same basis
Much of the trade publishes excluding VAT. Comparing an ex-VAT price against an inc-VAT one invents a 21 % difference.
And with compliance verified
The program being registered as guarantor software is not an extra: if it is not, you are the one fined, not the vendor.
What the Spanish market charges per month
Entry plans for hospitality software in Spain currently run between about €34 and €120 a month per venue. It is a wide range because they do not all include the same things: the cheapest usually cover the POS and tax compliance and leave out the menu with ordering and payment from the guest's phone.
A good share of those figures are published excluding VAT. With 21 % applied, a €34 plan is €41.14 and a €50 one is €60.50. Levelling the basis is the first thing to do before comparing anything.
- Entry plans in the trade: roughly €34 to €120 a month per venue.
- Many are published ex-VAT. Add 21 % before comparing.
- Some vendors publish no rates at all: you have to request a quote.
- Ordeli: from €79 a month with VAT included on an annual plan.
The three items that never make the headline
This is where the real price separates from the advertised one, and where it pays to ask before signing.
- Installation or setup: a one-off charge is common in the trade and can reach €500 plus VAT, whatever the plan.
- Transaction commission: some vendors take a percentage — we have seen 1.5 % — on every order placed through a QR code, on top of the payment gateway's own fee.
- Hardware: a closed terminal adds hundreds or thousands to the entry cost and ties your renewal to one supplier.
Why a percentage weighs more than the monthly fee
A transaction commission grows with your turnover while the fee stays still, which is why it misleads so badly when comparing. A venue turning over €15,000 a month through the QR code pays €225 a month at 1.5 %: four times the fee of an entry plan.
The sum changes with your numbers, so what is useful is not the result but the method. Ask for the percentage, multiply it by what you expect to turn over through that channel, and add it to the fee. That is the price.
What Ordeli charges, so you can do the sum
From €79 a month with VAT included on an annual plan, or €99 with no annual commitment. No installation, no setup fee and no minimum term.
On sales we take 0.5 % on Starter, 0.3 % on Pro and 0.1 % on Enterprise, on top of the payment gateway's fee, which goes to the gateway and not to us. Both are itemised on every plan so you can do the sum yourself.
Five questions any honest vendor will answer
They work on any supplier, us included. If any of them has no clear answer in writing, push before you sign.
- Is the software registered as guarantor with the Tax Agency, or with the provincial authority that applies to me?
- Is there an installation, setup or training cost, and is it one-off or recurring?
- Is any percentage taken per transaction, separate from the payment gateway?
- How many terminals are in the plan and what does the next one cost?
- Is there a minimum term, and what do I take with me if I leave: my menu, my history, my invoices?
When Ordeli is not your option
If your business lives off home delivery and you need the platforms integrated into one screen, there is Spanish software that has solved that and we have not.
If you need recipe costing by ingredient, likewise: you can store a cost per portion and see the margin, but the calculation with wastage you do elsewhere. And if you work heavily with an external booking engine, we have no integration with any of them today. We would rather say it here than in the second week of your trial.
Frequently asked questions
Are these prices for Spain or for the UK?
Spain. The ranges come from the public pricing pages of five Spanish vendors, and the venue you are comparing for is presumably in Spain too, since VeriFactu and a Spanish tax number are what make this software relevant at all.
Why do you not name vendors?
Because we would rather you decided on criteria than on a table written by one of the parties. The ranges on this page come from the public pricing pages of five Spanish vendors consulted on 31 July 2026, and you can verify them yourself with the questions above.
Why compare including VAT when the trade publishes ex-VAT?
Because that is what leaves your bank account. Comparing an ex-VAT price against an inc-VAT one invents a 21 % difference, and with small fees that reorders the list entirely.
Is Ordeli the cheapest?
No. There are entry plans on the market below ours. What that difference buys is the QR menu with ordering and payment from the phone, splitting the bill between several people, and tax compliance, with no separate modules and no installation.
What does it mean if a vendor publishes no prices?
Usually that they sell through a rep or a reseller, with the price negotiated per venue. Not bad in itself, but it means you cannot compare without asking for a quote and that what you pay will depend on how you negotiate.
How often do you review these prices?
Every quarter, by going back to each vendor's public pages. The date of the last review is at the top of the page.
Besides price, what should I be asking?
Three things: whether there is a minimum term and how long, what happens to your data if you leave, and whether the published price is per venue or per account. They change the real cost more than the fee does.
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