At a glance

• CubePOS: UK-focused restaurant POS designed for front-of-house table management, kitchen integration, local support and hospitality workflows.
• Square: Flexible, easy-to-use POS with strong payments infrastructure and a free entry-level app. Widely used for many small businesses including cafés and casual dining.

Core restaurant features

Restaurant operations demand tableside ordering, course management, kitchen printing/screens, modifiers, ticket routing and split-bill flexibility. Both systems support many of these functions, but they differ in depth and configurability:

• CubePOS – Built specifically for hospitality: table plans, covers, reservation-aware workflows, kitchen display compatibility, course timing, and tailored menu modifiers. Designed to map to real UK restaurant service patterns, particularly in bars and entertainment venues.
• Square – Covers essentials well: order taking, item modifiers, courses and tables in the Square for Restaurants package. Very approachable for quick setup, but some advanced hospitality workflows may require additional configuration or third-party add-ons.

Payments and hardware

Payments, terminals and offline operation are key for reliability and customer experience in the fast-paced delivery space.

• CubePOS – Often packaged with UK-compatible card terminals and contactless options, with local support for hardware and installation. Offline mode and stable syncing for intermittent connectivity are offered to keep service running.
• Square – Square provides its own terminals and reader hardware with straightforward pricing per transaction. Hardware is polished and easy to use; however, availability, pricing and support in the UK may differ from local suppliers. Square’s ecosystem is strong if you want an all-in-one payments plus POS provider.

Integrations and back-office

Back-office capabilities (menu management, stock, reporting, payroll and accounting) determine how well a POS fits into a restaurant’s wider systems.

• CubePOS – Emphasises integrations relevant to UK hospitality: inventory, supplier management, multi-site reporting, and accounting connections commonly used in the UK market, especially for bars and delivery services. Reporting is designed for hospitality metrics (covers, turnover by seat, service times).
• Square – Strong ecosystem with apps for accounting, payroll and inventory. Easy-to-use analytics and sales reports. For some advanced hospitality-specific integrations you may need third-party apps or developer work to enhance your technology stack.

Pricing & contracts

Pricing matters for restaurant owners with tight margins, especially in the competitive delivery space.

• CubePOS – Typically offers tailored plans for restaurants, often including installation, local support and hardware bundles. You can expect commercial packages that reflect ongoing UK support and customization.
• Square – Known for a low barrier to entry: free or low-cost POS software tiers and per-transaction payment fees that appeal to café owners. Add-on modules (e.g., advanced restaurant features) can increase monthly cost. Transparent per-use pricing is attractive for smaller venues.

Support and localisation

Local support and understanding of UK regulations, tax rules and hospitality practices reduce friction.

• CubePOS – Marketed for UK restaurants, so local telephone support, on-site installs and familiarity with UK tax/VAT and hospitality norms are typical advantages, especially in London where technology adoption is crucial.
• Square – Excellent online resources and community; phone support availability varies by country. Global company strengths include product polish and fast feature rollout, but deep localised services sometimes rely on partners.

Security and compliance

Both platforms prioritise payments security and data protection. Important considerations for UK restaurants include PCI compliance and GDPR-friendly data handling.

• CubePOS – Offered with UK-compliant payment solutions and local policies aligned to GDPR and hospitality needs.
• Square – PCI-compliant payments provider with mature security practices. Square’s privacy and data policies are robust, but check how customer data is stored and what export options are available to enhance your technology capabilities.

Which is best for your UK restaurant?

Choose CubePOS if:

• You want a POS built with UK hospitality workflows and local support.
• You need deep restaurant functions out of the box (table management, kitchen integrations, course timing).
• You prefer bundled hardware, installation and on-site training from a UK supplier to ensure your technology is set up correctly.

Choose Square if:

• You value a low-cost entry point with simple setup and integrated payment processing.
• You run a small café or quick-service site and prefer an easy-to-learn technology system to automate operations.
• You want an ecosystem of apps and don’t need heavily customised hospitality workflows.

Final recommendation

For full-service restaurants, multi-site operators and venues that need UK-tailored support and hospitality-specific features, CubePOS is usually the stronger fit. For single-location cafés, market stalls or small casual venues that prioritise low start-up cost and simple payments, Square is an excellent choice for owners looking to automate processes.

Evaluate both by listing your must-have workflows (tableside ordering, kitchen routing, split bills, inventory, reports) and trialling each system with your staff and peak-service scenarios. The right POS technology is the one that lets your team serve guests reliably and efficiently, creating a better customer experience.