If a ready-made POS that already complies with your country's e-invoicing or e-receipt rules fits the way you sell, it is usually the better and cheaper choice. A custom POS makes sense when selling is tied to your own processes, such as unusual pricing, bookings or subscriptions, central rules across branches, or stock and accounts you want in one system you own. Q Studio builds custom POS systems connected to inventory from $1,500 (about 3 weeks), and multi-module systems from $3,000 (about 5–6 weeks).
A point-of-sale system looks simple from the counter: scan, total, pay, print. Behind it sit harder questions. What happens when the internet drops at 8 pm on a Thursday? Does the card terminal talk to the till, or does the cashier type the amount twice? Who can give a discount, and who closes the drawer at the end of the shift? In Saudi Arabia and Egypt, there's also a tax authority that expects to receive your sales electronically.
We build custom POS systems, and we'll start with an honest point: for many shops and restaurants, a ready-made POS is the right answer. This page helps you decide, then explains what a custom POS from us includes and what it costs.
First, does a ready-made POS already fit?
Established POS products are tested in thousands of stores, come with hardware bundles and support, and the good ones already handle e-invoicing or e-receipts in their markets. Choose one if:
- You sell in a standard way: products or menu items, fixed prices, the usual discounts.
- You have one or a few branches with the same setup.
- Compliance with ZATCA in Saudi Arabia or Egypt's e-receipt system is your main worry, and the product already handles it.
- You want to start this month with little risk.
If that describes you, a monthly subscription will cost far less than building. Keep a list of where it gets in your way; that list is the brief if you ever need more.
When a custom POS is worth it
- Selling is part of a bigger process. A laundry that tags items at drop-off, a workshop that sells parts and labor on one job, a training center that sells seats in classes. The sale is one step in your own workflow.
- Pricing doesn't fit the tool. Sale by weight or length, customer-specific price lists, bundles built at the counter, or prepaid packages that are used up over several visits.
- Branches need central rules. Prices, promotions and permissions set once at head office, with each branch's sales and cash visible the same day.
- Stock and accounts in one system you own. The POS deducts from the same inventory as your warehouse and online store (see custom inventory management systems), with no per-terminal fees growing with every new branch.
- Arabic done properly. Arabic product names on screen and on receipts, bilingual staff, and reports your managers can read.
What a custom POS from us includes
| Part | What it does |
|---|---|
| Sales screen | Fast item search, barcode scanning, categories, quantity, discounts within limits |
| Payments | Cash, card, split payments, change due, refunds and exchanges with a reason |
| Receipts | Printed or sent digitally, Arabic and English, with the details your tax rules require |
| Shifts and cash | Opening float, cash in and out, end-of-shift count, over and short report |
| Roles | Cashier, supervisor, branch manager, owner, each with clear limits |
| Inventory link | Every sale and return updates stock per branch |
| Reports | Sales by item, cashier, branch and hour, Excel exports |
| Restaurant extras (if needed) | Tables, dine-in and takeaway, item modifiers, kitchen order tickets |
Offline mode is not optional
A cashier can't tell a queue to wait for the router. A good POS keeps selling when the connection drops: it stores sales on the device and syncs them when the internet returns, without duplicates. Card payments and real-time tax reporting may still need connectivity, so we design what happens in each case and test it by actually disconnecting.
Hardware: printers, scanners, drawers
You buy the hardware directly; we make the software work with it. Receipt printers, barcode scanners and cash drawers come in many models, and not all of them work well from a browser. Before you buy, we confirm which models we'll support and whether the POS runs as a web app or needs a small desktop or Android app to drive the printer and drawer.
Card terminals and local payments
How cards are accepted depends on your bank or payment provider, not on us.
- Saudi Arabia: most customers pay with mada cards or with phones and wallets at the terminal. Terminals come from banks and licensed payment providers.
- Egypt: cards (including Meeza), mobile wallets and instant transfers such as InstaPay are all common, and cash is still a large share of sales.
There are two ways to connect a terminal. If your provider offers an integration for its terminals, the POS sends the amount and receives the result, so nobody types it twice. If not, the terminal stays standalone and the cashier records the payment method in the POS. The second is simpler and very common; we check what your provider supports before quoting.
E-invoicing and e-receipts
This part is a legal requirement, not a feature, so we set it in the written scope from day one.
- Saudi Arabia (ZATCA): retail sales are issued as simplified tax invoices with a QR code. Businesses brought into the integration phase also need a registered invoicing unit, cryptographically stamped invoices in the required format, and reporting to ZATCA's platform within 24 hours of each sale.
- Egypt (ETA e-receipt): businesses the Egyptian Tax Authority adds to the e-receipt system must connect their POS so each consumer receipt is issued and sent electronically in the authority's format. The system has been rolled out in waves, with more businesses added each phase.
Your obligations depend on your registration, size and the latest decisions, which change. Confirm them with your accountant; we build what is required. A practical option is often to connect the POS to a compliant e-invoicing service through its API rather than building the authority integration from scratch.
How we build it
- Watch the counter. We map a real shift, including returns, voids and end-of-day.
- Agree hardware, payments and compliance before any screens.
- A working preview within 72 hours your cashiers can try.
- Pilot in one branch, fix what the staff find, then roll out to the others.
What we've built, honestly
We haven't published a retail POS yet. What we have built is the money side a POS depends on: On Time Express, a courier operations system for an Egyptian client, records every cash collection, daily settlement and payout in a ledger that the dashboard reconciles on every load, and its staff app works by role. Our own multi-module platforms, PharmaRiwaq and Dawawin HR, have public demos. We'll be clear about which parts of your POS are routine for us and which need extra testing, especially hardware.
Prices and timelines
Prices in USD, a written scope and fixed price before any payment, a 30% down payment to start, then 40% and 30% paid at milestones after each stage works, and the code and data are yours.
| Scope | Starts at | Typical time |
|---|---|---|
| Clickable prototype of the sales screen and main flows | $500 | About 5 days |
| Focused POS: sales, payments, receipts, shifts, roles, inventory link | $1,500 | About 3 weeks |
| Multi-module: POS plus inventory, purchasing, branches, accounting or e-invoicing integration | $3,000 | About 5–6 weeks |
| Full ERP around the POS | Built in phases | Phase by phase |
| A fix or feature on an existing system | $40–$180 | 1–3 days |
Hardware, payment provider fees and any e-invoicing service subscription are paid by you directly. For what moves the price of bigger systems, read how much ERP development costs, and see custom ERP development for how a POS fits a full system. Selling online as well? Our e-commerce development page covers stores that share stock with the counter.
When we're not the right fit
- A compliant ready-made POS fits how you sell. Use it; we'll tell you so.
- You need someone on site to install hardware or train cashiers in person. We work remotely.
- You need a single big launch across dozens of branches. We pilot first, then roll out.
- The business involves alcohol, gambling or anything else that isn't Sharia-compliant. We don't take it.
FAQ
Can the POS work on a tablet or phone?
Yes. A web-based POS runs on tablets, laptops and touch screens. Printing and cash drawers sometimes need a small companion app, which we confirm with your hardware choice.
What happens to sales made while offline?
They're saved on the device with their own numbers and synced when the connection returns. Tax reporting then catches up within the time the rules allow, which is part of the design and testing.
Can it connect to our existing accounting system?
Usually, if the system offers an API. Daily sales, payments and tax figures can be pushed automatically. The custom CRM development page shows the same build-around approach for sales teams.
Do you supply the printers and terminals?
No. You buy hardware and sign with your payment provider directly, in your company's name. We confirm compatible models first so you don't buy twice.
How long does a pilot branch take?
The focused POS usually takes about 3 weeks to build, then we run it in one branch before rolling out. The exact plan is in the written scope.
How do I start?
Tell us your business type, number of branches and tills, the hardware you have, and what your current setup gets wrong. Within 24 hours you'll get a written scope and fixed price, free and with no obligation. The project planner is a quick way to put that together.
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