A History of EPOS Systems – Part 1

EPOS Systems – A Definition

EPOS (often referred to as point-of-sale or POS) in the context of this article refers to the hardware and software systems used at checkouts – these systems can commonly be found in retail stores, bars, restaurants, hotels, football stadiums and the like….

This article aims to provide a brief introduction and history of EPOS systems.

EPOS Technology – The Early Days

EPOS systems have come a long way since the introduction of mechanical cash registers in the early 20^th century. Long gone are the days of crank or lever operated machines from the likes of Burroughs or NCR. Early cash registers were cumbersome and recorded transaction data on to paper tape - this information had to be manually transcribed into an organisation’s accounting system.

EPOS Systems – The Digital Revolution

In 1973 IBM brought EPOS hardware into the Digital Age with the introduction of machines such as the IBM 3650 store system – these bulky mainframe machines could control up to 128 IBM EPOS point of sale cash registers. This cutting edge system (for it’s time) was the first to implement features such as LAN simultaneous backup, client server technology and remote initialisation. In 1974 the very first UPC barcode readers were introduced further enhancing point of sale hardware capabilities. The first item ever scanned was allegedly a 10 pack of Wrigley’s Juicy Fruit chewing gum.

Early EPOS Software

Proprietary EPOS software found on the likes of the IBM 3650 store system had many limitations, offering few functions and limited communications capacity. In 1979 an innovative restaurateur by the name of Gene Mosher implemented his own customised POS software installed on an Apple II computer. The software allowed Mosher to take customer orders at the entrance to his restaurant and have them printed in the kitchen for super fast service – customers often found their meals ready by the time they had reached their table.