EPOS Anytime looks to future after rapid growth during pandemic

EPOS Anytime is a software company which develops and sells electronic point of sale and e-commerce mobile apps to the hospitality industry to allow restaurants to process in-store and online orders.

EPOS Anytime used to have smaller premises on a Coventry industrial estate. Over the years, it has built up clients from all over the country – from Bognor Regis all the way to Inverness.

EPOS Anytime found its ideal space when they moved into Binley Innovation Centre at the University of Warwick Science Park at the end of 2020. This was down to a boom in sales thanks to the pandemic forcing restaurants and cafes to offer takeaways and needing better software to process and manage orders.

After a period of rapid growth thanks in part to UWSP’s support and help, EPOS Anytime was able to take on more staff and is looking to refine its products as the business heads into 2022.

 

Boom during pandemic

While EPOS Anytime had enjoyed steady success before the pandemic hit, its services were in incredibly high demand when the restrictions kicked in.

Ahmed Sadeeq, technology delivery lead at EPOS Anytime, realised how valuable its software was going to be when hundreds of restaurants and cafes needed to provide click & collect and delivery services if they were to survive.

He said: “A lot of our existing customers who had been using us for in-store ePOS solutions, suddenly needed our e-commerce services to have more of an online approach rather than the typical shop-front approach.

“Also, many businesses needed improved methods of card payment processing in which we supported them with our integrated and stand-alone card terminals.”

“What really helped us with our success was that our EPOS software supported an integrated online channel for the restaurant to advertise their menu online, and in a matter of hours their online ordering system was up and running.

“We also embarked on marketing campaigns to promote our services to attract new customers, which proved very useful in gaining new clients.

“It was important to stay adaptable too – when restrictions eased slightly last year, people could go back to restaurants but many hospitality businesses did not have systems which allowed customers to easily order from their table or in a COVID friendly environment.

“We were able to give those businesses the software they needed to implement contactless table ordering, which made their lives much easier as they adjusted to the new rules.”

It also meant EPOS Anytime needed a bigger base to work from – and the University of Warwick Science Park was the company’s choice.

 

Science Park support

EPOS Anytime moved into the Business Innovation Centre in Binley in November 2020, and was won over by the quality of the building and the companies nearby.

“The Innovation Centre in Binley ticked so many boxes. The unit they had for us was bright and spacious, it’s in a great spot in Coventry, and there are already lots of tech businesses working there that we can speak to for ideas and inspiration.”

Since the company moved in, the Science Park has been there all the way to support its growth, from connecting the business with the right people to helping with day-to-day admin.

Ahmed added: “The Science Park has been very helpful in connecting us with like-minded businesses, but it’s actually the little things I’ve been most impressed with.

“Sometimes, we’d have to take deliveries of up to 15 large EPOS systems while we were away, but the Science Park was able to handle it in our absence which enabled us to focus on other things.

“And when we recorded a video for our marketing campaign, they were very helpful in securing us a room to film in. Although it doesn’t seem like much, we really appreciated it.

“We’ve seen the success of businesses that have used Business Ready and Ignite, and now we are in a phase of transition after our fast growth, we will be looking to use these services in the near future.”

 

Future

Although EPOS Anytime’s growth hasn’t been as dramatic since the height of the pandemic, the team now has more time to assess what worked and what didn’t, and refine its products.

The team is also looking towards new innovations, such as allowing its existing caller ID module (automatic customer number and address detection) – to be compatible with VoIP telephony systems which many businesses are now moving towards.

“We didn’t really have time to assess any feedback we received for our software during the height of the pandemic,” Ahmed added.

“We essentially had tunnel vision for a while – but now we’re in a position to improve our solution even further to our existing and new customers.”

“For business growth, we’re aiming to make it easier by simply allowing a customer to visit our website, download a trial piece of software and see how they get on, which we believe will improve our volume of sales.”

“Alongside this, we’re also in process of developing additional versions of our existing POS software but for different markets other than hospitality. We’re extremely excited for this opportunity.”

“We’ll be looking to work closely with the Science Park to see what opportunities are there for us too. We’ve had great success in the last year and we’re looking forward to seeing what the new year brings.”