Last updated: July 17, 2026 · 6 min read

Why We Built JustPOS

We run a small cafe. Every POS system we tried was built for businesses bigger than ours — with features we never used and price tags that didn't make sense. So we built the POS we actually wanted: simple, offline, and $1.99 a month.

What's wrong with most POS systems for small businesses?

Most POS systems are designed for mid-size or enterprise businesses. They include inventory forecasting, employee scheduling, loyalty programs, multi-location sync, and dozens of features that a 5-seat cafe or a market stall will never touch. The problem isn't that these features exist — it's that you're forced to pay for them.

When we opened our cafe, we signed up for a popular cloud POS. It cost $69 per month. In our first year, we used exactly four features: checkout, product menu, daily reports, and receipt printing. We paid $828 for features we ignored. The setup took three days. The interface had more buttons than our espresso machine.

This isn't unusual. Talk to any small business owner and you'll hear the same story: they signed up for a POS that promised everything, and they use a fraction of it.

What does a small business actually need from a POS?

After running our cafe and talking to other small business owners, we found that almost everyone uses the same core features. Everything else is nice-to-have at best.

• Fast checkout: Tap a product, confirm the total, done. Should take under 30 seconds per transaction.
• Product menu: Names, prices, categories. Easy to add and edit. Variations for sizes and add-ons.
• Sales history: Every transaction recorded. Filterable by date.
• Reports: Daily, weekly, and monthly totals. Export to CSV for your accountant.
• Receipt printing: Bluetooth thermal printer support. Digital receipts as backup.
• Offline mode: Works without Wi-Fi. Essential when your internet goes down mid-rush.

That's it. Six things. A POS that does these six things well covers 95% of what a small business needs from day one.

How we evaluated POS options (and why they all fell short)

We tried four different POS systems before building JustPOS. Here's what we found:

The gap was clear. Small businesses need a simple POS, not a business management platform.

The cloud problem

Every POS we tried required an internet connection. This works fine — until it doesn't. Our internet provider had two outages during our first month. Both times, we couldn't process sales for 15–20 minutes. Customers walked out. For a food truck or market stall with no reliable Wi-Fi, this is a dealbreaker.

The price problem

Most POS systems charge $60–$89/month for their basic tier. That's $720–$1,068 per year. Some charge per transaction on top of that (2–3% of every sale). For a small cafe doing $200–$400/day in revenue, that adds up to thousands of dollars per year for features you don't use.

What is JustPOS and how is it different?

JustPOS is the POS we wished existed when we opened our cafe. It does the six things listed above — nothing more, nothing less. Here's how it compares:

JustPOS is not for everyone. If you need built-in payment processing, employee management, or multi-location inventory sync, you need a bigger system. But if you're a small business that just needs to take orders, print receipts, and track sales — JustPOS does exactly that.

How do you set up a POS for a small business?

With JustPOS, setup takes under 5 minutes:

1. Download JustPOS from the App Store.
2. Add your products — name, price, category. Variations (sizes, add-ons) are optional.
3. Set your currency — choose from 10 currencies (HKD, USD, EUR, GBP, JPY, CNY, TWD, SGD, AUD, CAD).
4. Pair a receipt printer (optional) — any Bluetooth thermal printer works.
5. Start selling. No account creation. No server setup. No training required.

The whole process is faster than making a cup of coffee.