Free on your first location
POS software for a small business, priced like one
A till one person can set up in an afternoon and run alone. No percentage of your takings, no card machine contract attached to the software, and a free plan that stays free.
What a small shop actually needs from a till
Not a feature list — the six things that decide whether the software saves you time or costs you it.
A till that runs on what you own
It is a website, so it runs on the laptop, tablet or phone already behind your counter. There is nothing to install and no minimum hardware spend to start.
- Works on Android, Windows, iPad and Mac
- Install it to the home screen like an app
- No licence per device
Stock you can actually trust
Count a shelf at a time instead of closing for a day. Every adjustment records who made it and why, which is what turns a variance into information.
- Counts with a variance reason
- Wastage recorded separately
- Low-stock visibility
The day's takings, before you lock up
Cash-up counts what should be in the drawer against what is, shows the difference, and keeps the record. No spreadsheet at home afterwards.
- Cash-up with variance
- Daily sales summary
- Full history, exportable
Records your accountant will accept
Receipt numbers that never repeat, VAT handled properly once you register, and exports of your own data whenever you want them — including on the free plan.
- Unique receipt numbering
- VAT-ready receipts
- Export products, sales and customers
Staff who can only do their job
A cashier rings up sales. Giving a discount or cancelling a sale can be restricted, and every one of those is recorded with a reason and a name.
- PIN switch between staff
- Permissions by role
- Discounts and voids logged
Receipts without a printer
Send the slip to the customer on your own WhatsApp Business number. Cheaper than a till roll, they cannot lose it, and anyone who has replied STOP is never messaged again.
- Your own WhatsApp number
- Opt-out honoured automatically
- No printer needed to start
Why we do not take a cut of your sales
It is the single biggest difference in what you pay, and it is worth doing the arithmetic yourself.
The bundled-software model
Free till software attached to a card machine is paid for out of your transaction rate. You do not see a software invoice, so it feels free — but the cost scales with every sale you make, and it never stops growing.
A fixed subscription
R449 per location per month, whatever you turn over. You keep your own merchant deal and can negotiate your own rate — which you cannot do when the rate is what pays for the software.
Where the two cross over
At around R60,000 of monthly card turnover, on the illustrative rates above. Below it, bundled software is cheaper. Above it, a fixed subscription is — and the gap widens the more you sell. The number to check is the rate you are actually paying: ask your acquirer.
Both plans
Starter is free forever on one location. Business is everything.
Starter
Freefor one location
A real till, free for as long as you like. Ring up sales, take cash, record card and EFT payments, print or WhatsApp a receipt from your own phone, keep stock counts, and cash up at the end of the day.
- One location, one till, you plus one staff member
- Up to 100 products
- As many sales as you like — we never cap selling
- Cash, EFT and card recorded by hand
- Stock on hand and low-stock alerts
- Daily summary, sales history, and your own data exportable at any time
- Locations
- 1
- Staff (plus owner)
- 1
- Tills per location
- 1
- Active products
- 100
Business
Everything includedR 449.00/ month per location
Everything BAG has built. Unlimited locations, staff and tills; tables and recipe-level food cost; the full report set including margin and exception reporting; stock counts, movements and wastage; loyalty, promotions, WhatsApp receipts and messaging; API access; and support from a person — within published fair-use limits. Integrated card acceptance is included as soon as it goes live, at no extra cost.
- Everything in Starter, with no product, till or staff squeeze
- Integrated card machines — the till sends the amount, the outcome comes back
- Table service, kitchen and bar routing, split bills
- Every report, including margin, voids, discounts and staff performance
- Stock counts, purchase orders, transfers between locations and recipes
- Loyalty and promotions
- WhatsApp receipts, payment links and customer messages, from your own number
- Several locations managed from one place, each billed separately
- Email support from a person, not a help page
- Locations
- 100
- Staff (plus owner)
- 50
- Tills per location
- 8
- Active products
- 20 000
Questions small business owners ask
Is there really a free POS plan?
Yes. Starter covers one trading location, the owner plus one staff member, one till and 100 active products, with no time limit and no card needed to sign up. There is no cap on how many sales you ring up, and you can export your own records from the free plan.
What does POS software cost for a small business in South Africa?
With BAG it is either nothing on one location, or R449 a month per trading location for everything. The figure worth comparing is the total: a provider that bundles free software usually recovers it in the card transaction rate, so at 2.95% a card turnover of R100,000 a month costs R2,950 in fees against R2,200 at 2.20% plus R449 to us.
Do I need a card machine to use it?
No. Cash and manually recorded EFT work on every plan including the free one, which is enough to run a shop. A card machine is a separate purchase from a separate provider, and any standalone machine can be used alongside the till.
What hardware do I need?
Whatever you already have that opens a website — a laptop, an Android tablet, an iPad or a phone. A receipt printer and a barcode scanner are useful in a shop but not required to start; a customer can be sent their receipt on WhatsApp instead.
Do I need a receipt printer?
No. You can send the receipt to the customer on your own WhatsApp Business number instead, which costs less than a till roll and cannot be lost. A printer is useful in a busy shop but it is not needed to start trading.
If your business is more specific than this
Retail and shops
Barcodes, stock counts that reconcile, and margin by product for shops, bottle stores and hardware.
Restaurants and takeaways
Tables, split bills, kitchen tickets and tips, for restaurants, cafés, bars and takeaways.
How to choose a POS system
The questions that decide it, and the costs that are easy to miss until the first invoice.
Everything it does
The full list, including what is not built yet.
One location, free, no card
Set it up this afternoon. Add locations and staff when the business needs them, not before.