1. Start with the phone you already own
An Android phone and a Bluetooth thermal printer are a complete billing counter. That is not a compromise setup for a small shop — it works offline, prints receipts, scans barcodes with the camera and syncs to the cloud. Total additional spend is the printer. Buy that first, use it for a month, and then decide what else you actually need rather than what you were told you would need.
2. When a computer earns its place
A computer is worth adding when you are entering a lot of data at once — a long item list, purchase bills in bulk — or when you want a large screen for reports and a keyboard for speed at a busy counter. It does not need to be new or powerful, because with browser-based software the work happens on the server. A machine that was too slow for older installed software is usually perfectly adequate.
3. Which printer to buy
For counter receipts, an 80mm Bluetooth or USB thermal printer. The 58mm is cheaper on paper but wraps long item names onto two lines, which matters in any trade with descriptive item names. For A4 GST invoices — which contractors and company buyers will want — any ordinary inkjet or laser printer works. Many shops end up with both, and that is a sensible arrangement rather than duplication.
4. Barcode scanners, if your trade needs them
Worth it in shops with thousands of small similar items — hardware, electrical, auto parts, stationery, pharmacy. Not worth much to a cement and steel dealer with eight main lines, where typing a name is quicker than reaching for a gun. A standard USB or Bluetooth scanner works without configuration because it behaves like a keyboard. Buy it when the counter is busy enough to justify it, not on day one.
5. Internet, and what happens when it stops
A basic broadband connection is enough for billing, which is not a heavy data activity. What matters more is the fallback: mobile data on the phone, and an app that keeps billing offline when both fail. Do not spend on a premium connection for billing; do spend two minutes checking that your setup keeps working during the outage that will happen this month.
6. What not to spend on
A dedicated billing machine, if you also need a ledger, stock and reports — it prints receipts and holds data you cannot get out. A powerful computer for browser-based software. A high-end scanner when a basic one works identically. And an expensive printer for A4 when you print a handful of invoices a week. The money saved on all of that is better spent on stock, which is the only thing in your shop that earns.