This is a capability by capability POS system comparison of Impos and Allvio across 43 things an Australian venue asks its software to do. Impos covers 15 outright, does part of the job on 4 more at no extra cost, and has 1 row that means a separate product to buy and set up. The other 23 are not what the product is for. That is not a criticism, and this page will say so twice: Impos is a point of sale system, and a booking diary was never on its list. Allvio covers 34 rows outright and does part of the job on the other 9. The question is not who has more rows. It is who buys, sets up and runs the other 23 at your venue.
What Impos does well, and it is not a short list
Impos is a yes on the touchscreen till for counter and table service, cards and cash and split and part payments, the table plan and open tabs, kitchen screens or dockets, discounts and happy hour pricing, gift cards, refunds and voids and exchanges, and cash up and end of day. Pickup and takeaway from your own site, the menu in one place, and online orders landing in the kitchen are covered too. Its inventory module does part of the job on stock counts and low stock alerts, including physical counts and purchase orders raised when an item hits its par level, which is further than Allvio goes at the register today.
It also answers the phone. Australian support around the clock, surcharging set by the day of the week so Sundays behave, and strong Tyro and delivery integrations. Visit and spend history and loyalty are both yes rows through its membership module, and reporting is a yes on the desktop and on a phone through its cloud platform. For a venue that wants a solid local till and a number to ring at 9pm, that is a coherent product.
The full 43, including the 23
Capability | Impos | Allvio |
|---|---|---|
Selling and taking payment | ||
Touchscreen till for counter and table service | Yes | Yes |
Card, cash, split and part payments | Yes | Yes |
Table plan and open tabs | Yes | Yes |
Kitchen screens or dockets | Yes | Yes |
Stock counts and low stock alerts | Part of it, inventory module | Part of it, no stocktake at the register yet |
Discounts, happy hour and price levels | Yes | Yes |
Gift cards | Yes | Yes |
Refunds, voids and exchanges | Yes | Yes |
Cash up and end of day | Yes | Yes |
Online ordering | ||
QR ordering at the table | Another product, its Cinch ordering | Yes |
Pickup and takeaway from your own site | Yes | Yes |
Menu built and changed in one place | Yes | Yes |
Modifiers, sizes and dietary flags | Part of it, modifiers and sizes | Part of it, no nested modifiers yet |
Online payment and split bills | Part of it, online payment yes | Part of it, no online bill splitting yet |
Upsells and promo codes | Part of it, upsells and promotions | Part of it, no automatic upsell prompts yet |
Orders land straight in the kitchen | Yes | Yes |
Bookings and reservations | ||
Booking diary | Not what it does | Yes |
Floor plan and table assignment | Not what it does | Part of it, no visual floor plan designer yet |
Bookings from your own website | Not what it does | Yes |
Deposits and no show protection | Not what it does | Part of it, no automatic no show fee yet |
Waitlist and walk ins | Not what it does | Yes |
Confirmations and reminders to guests | Not what it does | Yes |
Ticketed events and set menus | Not what it does | Part of it, no ticket pricing tiers yet |
Availability rules and trading hours | Not what it does | Yes |
Knowing your customers | ||
One customer record | Not what it does | Yes |
Visit and spend history | Yes | Yes |
Notes, preferences and allergies | Not what it does | Yes |
Segments such as regulars and lapsed | Not what it does | Yes |
Loyalty and rewards | Yes | Yes |
Marketing | ||
Email campaigns | Not what it does | Yes |
SMS campaigns | Not what it does | Yes |
Automated messages such as birthday and win back | Not what it does | Yes |
Campaign results tied back to spend | Not what it does | Yes |
Your team | ||
Rostering | Not what it does | Yes |
Clock in and out | Not what it does | Yes |
Timesheets ready for pay | Not what it does | Yes |
Leave and availability | Not what it does | Yes |
Staff app on their own phone | Not what it does | Part of it, phone browser, no native app yet |
Back office | ||
Invoices and quotes | Not what it does | Yes |
Payroll and payslips | Not what it does | Yes |
GST and BAS figures | Not what it does | Yes |
Seeing how you are doing | ||
Sales and end of day reporting | Yes | Yes |
Reporting on your phone | Yes | Part of it, phone browser, no native app yet |
The rows that decide it
The bookings block is first. Eight rows: the diary, table assignment, bookings from your own website, deposits, waitlist and walk ins, guest confirmations and reminders, set menus and events, and availability rules. None of them are what Impos does, so if you take bookings you buy a reservation product and run it beside the till. That is a second signup, another setup, another bill, and two places that each hold their own version of tonight. The diary knows a deposit was paid. The till does not, so somebody charges the full amount and you refund it on Monday.
Then the customer and marketing rows: one customer record, notes and preferences and allergies, segments such as regulars and lapsed, email, SMS, automated birthday and win back messages, and campaign results tied back to spend. Seven rows outside what a till does. Impos does hold spend history and run a membership scheme, more than many tills of its generation. What it does not do is join the guest who ordered online, the guest who booked and the guest who paid at the counter into one person. On Allvio those three write to the same record, and the note about the nut allergy is on it.
Third, the five team rows. Rostering, clock in and out, timesheets ready for pay, leave and availability, and a staff app all sit outside the product. Most venues answer that with a rostering tool, and then a new casual is typed into the roster and into the till separately, and somebody matches hours against a roster on a Sunday night. Allvio runs all four off one staff record.
Fourth, a smaller row that catches people out. QR ordering at the table is not part of the till: it arrives through its own ordering product, bought and set up separately. Orders do print in the kitchen, but it is another product with its own menu to keep current, which is what goes wrong when the special sells out at 7.15 and nobody hides it online.
What 23 rows really means
Again, and this matters: a till showing 23 not what it does rows is not a worse product. It is a narrower one, and narrow is a legitimate way to build software. Plenty of good venues run a specialist till, a specialist diary and a bookkeeper they trust, and they are happy with all three. The cost is not the licence. It is the buying, the setting up, the training and the small edits made twice forever, unpaid and after close. So count how many of the 23 you need. If the answer is two, Impos plus two products is a fine answer. If it is fifteen, you are looking at very different weekends.
Who should still choose Impos
A high volume pub or a cafe group across several sites that wants an Australian till, phone support at any hour, surcharging by day of the week that behaves and Tyro at the counter, and that already has a booking platform it likes, should call Impos. If the till is genuinely the only part of the business you want software for, buying something wide means paying for rows you never open.
If instead you keep saying you will sort the bookings out later, or that the marketing never gets done, look at what one restaurant POS system subscription covers. Allvio Complete, the all in one business software plan, is $399 per month ex GST for one location and $299 per month for each extra location, with every app switched on, no per app or per user charge, and invoicing, pay runs and the books included. The trial is 30 days with no card.
FAQs
Is Impos a good POS system for Australian venues?
Yes. Impos covers 15 of the 43 capabilities in this comparison outright, including the till, payments, table plan, kitchen screens, gift cards and end of day. It also offers Australian support around the clock, surcharging by day of the week and strong Tyro integration. It suits venues that want a dedicated till and already have tools for bookings, marketing and rostering.
Does Impos include table bookings and rostering?
Not in the published material we checked in August 2026. The booking diary, deposits, waitlist, guest reminders, rostering, timesheets and payroll all sit outside the Impos product, so most venues add a separate reservation product and a rostering tool. Confirm current capability with Impos directly before deciding.
What is the best Impos alternative for a venue that takes bookings?
If you need bookings, one customer record, marketing and rostering alongside the till, Allvio covers 34 of the 43 rows outright and does part of the job on the other 9. Allvio Complete is $399 per month ex GST for one location and $299 per month for each extra location, with every app included and a 30 day trial with no card.
Can venues still add a Sunday surcharge after 1 October 2026?
Yes. From 1 October 2026, surcharges for paying by card on eftpos, Mastercard and Visa are removed, but weekend and public holiday surcharges are not affected by that change. A till that sets surcharges by day of the week can still apply a Sunday surcharge, though it can no longer add a separate card payment fee.
Every cell above comes from each vendor's own published material, checked in August 2026. Products change constantly: always confirm current capability directly with each vendor before deciding.