Quick answer: Erply asks more of the terminal than most cloud POS systems, and for a specific reason: it runs a local printing microservice alongside the browser. You are paying for two things on the same box — the POS interface and the Erply Installer2 service behind it.
So do not specify to the bare minimum. The NB-POS750 (15.6″ 1920×1080, 4–8GB, mSATA SSD, Windows 10/11) is the sensible default; the NB-POS420 takes a SO-DIMM slot up to 16GB if you want headroom. Avoid the 2GB, eMMC-storage models for Erply — they are built for lighter workloads than this one.
What Erply actually runs on the terminal
It is easy to assume a cloud POS needs nothing but a browser. Erply is a useful counter-example.
Erply's printing goes through what its documentation calls the Golang Printing Microservices, installed by the Erply Installer2 service on Windows. That is a local process, running continuously, with a status indicator in the POS interface — green when it is running, red when it is not.
So the terminal is hosting:
- The POS interface itself
- The printing microservice, permanently resident
- Windows, plus whatever else the site runs on that machine
None of these is heavy on its own. Together they make the difference between a terminal that feels instant and one that hesitates at the moment a queue is watching.
What to specify, and why
| Component | Specify | Reason |
|---|---|---|
| Memory | 8GB, not 4GB | Browser plus a resident service plus Windows. 4GB works and leaves nothing spare; 8GB is the difference you feel at the counter. |
| Storage | SSD, 128GB or more | Not eMMC. Windows updates alone will fill a 32GB eMMC over a couple of years, and the service restarts after every update. |
| CPU | i3 or better | Celeron-class runs it; i3 stops it feeling slow when several things happen at once. |
| Screen | 1920×1080 | The POS is a web interface. At 1024×768 you scroll for things that should be on screen. |
| Network | Wired where possible | Cloud POS. A dropout is a stopped till, and Wi-Fi in a shop full of people is not the same Wi-Fi you tested at 8am. |
The storage point is the one people get wrong
Terminals with onboard eMMC storage — typically 16GB or 32GB — look like good value on a spec sheet. For a kiosk running one fixed application, they often are.
For a Windows terminal running a cloud POS and a resident service, they are a false economy, and the reason is Windows itself. Feature updates need free space to stage; a 32GB eMMC with Windows on it does not have much. The failure mode is not dramatic — it is a terminal that stops taking updates, then starts refusing them noisily, eighteen months after you bought it, at a site three hours away.
Specify SSD for Erply. The price difference is small next to a site visit.
Windows or Linux?
Erply supports Windows, Linux and macOS. But the printing microservice documentation and the troubleshooting steps — Control Panel, Devices and Printers, Erply Installer2 — are written around Windows, and that is where the well-trodden path is.
Unless you have a specific reason and someone technical on hand, specify Windows for Erply tills. Linux is a legitimate choice for a licence-conscious multi-site rollout with in-house capability; it is not the default we would recommend to a shop.
One terminal or terminal plus separate printer?
Some of our terminals include a built-in printer. It is a genuinely tidy arrangement for a small counter — one power lead, one footprint.
For Erply we would still usually specify a separate printer, for two reasons. First, the integration is documented around a Windows printer with a name and a vendor string, and a standard external unit is the most ordinary version of that. Second, when a printer fails you swap a printer, not a terminal. On a multi-site estate that difference matters.
The built-in-printer models also tend to be the 2GB, eMMC-storage machines — which, per the section above, is not the specification you want for Erply.
NETBYE terminals for Erply
| Model | Screen | Memory | Storage | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| NB-POS750 | 15.6″ 1920×1080 | 4GB / 8GB | mSATA SSD 64–512GB | The default. Specify 8GB and 128GB+. |
| NB-POS750D | 15.6″ 1920×1080 | 4GB / 8GB | mSATA SSD 64–512GB | Same, with a 15.6″ second display for customer-facing use |
| NB-POS420 | 15.1″ 1024×768 | SO-DIMM DDR4, 4 / 8 / 16GB | mSATA SSD 64–512GB | When you want a memory slot you can upgrade later |
All Windows-capable with capacitive touch. Browse all-in-one POS terminals.
Ordering advice for Erply: 8GB and an SSD are the two specifications worth insisting on. If the site is customer-facing and you want a second screen, the 750D saves adding one later. Tell us how many sites and we will quote them consistently configured, so the imaging step is identical everywhere.
The rest of the till
A terminal on its own is not a till. The other three pieces, and the Erply-specific detail for each:
- Receipt printer — must be installed in Windows first; check the microservice status light before suspecting the hardware.
- Cash drawer — wires to the printer, not the terminal. Match the voltage.
- Barcode scanner — USB HID, no driver. Note Erply's stated iOS limitation if any part of the estate is iPad-based.
Frequently asked questions
What are the hardware requirements for Erply POS?
Erply runs a local printing microservice alongside the POS interface, so specify for both: 8GB memory, an SSD rather than eMMC, an i3-class processor and a 1920×1080 screen. Wired networking where the layout allows.
Can I run Erply on a cheap 2GB terminal?
It will start. We would not specify it for a working till — the browser and the resident service leave nothing spare, and eMMC storage causes Windows update problems within a couple of years.
Does Erply need Windows?
It supports Windows, Linux and macOS, but the microservice setup and troubleshooting documentation is written around Windows. Specify Windows unless you have a reason and the skills to do otherwise.
Should the printer be built into the terminal?
Usually not, for Erply. A separate printer matches the documented integration more closely and is easier to swap when one fails.
Do I need a second screen?
Only if you want customer-facing display. The 750D includes one; on other models it is an option.
Wired or Wi-Fi?
Wired where the layout allows. Erply is a cloud POS, and a network dropout is a stopped till rather than a slow one.
A note on this guide. The terminal side above — memory and storage behaviour, eMMC versus SSD, screen resolution, the practical case for wired networking — is what we know from the products we supply, and it holds for any Windows POS. The Erply-specific parts, including the printing microservice, the Erply Installer2 service and the platform support list, are drawn from Erply's published wiki. The sizing recommendations are our engineering judgement rather than published Erply minimums — Erply does not, as far as we found, publish a hardware specification, so treat these as informed advice and confirm against your own workload. If something here did not match your installation, tell us and we will correct this page. We would rather publish something accurate than something impressive.
Get pricing
NETBYE supplies distributors, system integrators and retailers worldwide. Our terminals are built by our partner factories in Shenzhen and sold under our own model range — we handle specification, quality control and support, so you deal with one supplier rather than several factories. Direct wholesale pricing, low MOQ on first orders, and OEM/ODM covering branding, packaging and pre-configuration.
Tell us how many sites, what configuration, what quantity and which country, and you will get an accurate quote in one reply. For a multi-site Erply rollout, ask about consistent pre-configuration — it makes commissioning identical at every location. Request a quote.
Related guides
These guides form a set. If you are specifying a complete till, the other hardware for Erply POS is covered here:
And if you are comparing across POS software, terminals for other systems: