Dojo

Overview

Dojo is a payments service with card machines and tools for managing transactions across in-person, online and phone sales. It suits merchants—particularly in hospitality, leisure and services—that need EPOS connections and reconciliation alongside payment acceptance. Its breadth is useful, but choosing a setup means weighing transaction charges, monthly software and device costs.

Sidekick brings payments, refunds, reconciliation and real-time business insights into one place, including for multiple locations. That combination is more compelling for operators managing a busy or multi-site business than for someone who only needs a basic way to take card payments.

Dojo advertises 99.99% uptime. Paymentsense Limited, which trades as Dojo, says it is authorised and regulated by the UK Financial Conduct Authority. Its stated safeguards include PCI DSS compliance for card-processing environments, annual independent assessment, TLS for payment transmissions, and point-to-point encryption and instant fraud detection on its card machines.

Key features

Payments across channels: Dojo supports card-present, online, tableside and mobile payments, as well as taking payments by phone. That range can suit businesses serving customers at a counter, at a table and remotely.

Sidekick and reconciliation: The tools cover payments, refunds, reconciliation and real-time insights across multiple locations. This is a practical advantage for operators who need to keep site-level activity in view, rather than just accept transactions.

Payment options: Listed plan features include payment links, native-currency payments, digital and printed receipts, bill splitting, cashback, tipping and pre-authorisations. That variety is useful for hospitality and service businesses with different payment situations; feature access depends on the plan.

EPOS and developer access: Dojo says it partners with over 450 EPOS providers and syncs card-machine transactions with EPOS for reconciliation. APIs cover online payments and EPOS integrations, with mobile integration documentation and a prebuilt checkout page for development teams.

Integrated payment support: Integrated payments support Pay at Table and Pay at Counter, with technical support seven days a week from 8am to 11pm. Dojo also says customers can reach a UK-based person within minutes and that its team can remotely access a device to help.

Pricing

Dojo has free software options, paid tools, hardware charges and a separate transaction rate. The total cost therefore depends on turnover, locations, device choice and the features a business needs.

Essential: free, billed per month/location. It includes core tools, all major card types, real-time transactions and easy PCI-compliance. This is the no-monthly-fee starting point, but transaction charges still apply.

Tap to Pay on iPhone: free, with no contract. It takes contactless payments using an iPhone and the Dojo app without extra hardware, making it the lowest-cost option for a business already equipped with a compatible payment setup.

Transaction rate below £100,000 annual card turnover: 1.20 % per contact, an all-in blended rate for card transactions. Businesses below that turnover threshold should account for this charge when comparing the free plans.

Plus: £11.99 a month, billed per month/location. The page shows ~~£25~~£11.99* and limits this offer to new customers and new locations of existing customers. It adds customer spend tracking, competitor benchmarking, weekly performance reports and remote refunds; it is aimed at businesses that will use those insights and controls.

Dojo Wired: £15 a month pay monthly, or £179, paid once pay upfront, for a countertop or kiosk card machine. The monthly option avoids a single upfront hardware payment; the one-time option requires more cash at the outset.

Dojo Pocket: £20 a month pay monthly, or £239, paid once pay upfront, for a portable device suited to taking orders and payments away from a fixed counter.

Dojo Go Max: £25 a month pay monthly, or £149, paid once pay upfront for card-machine hardware. The upfront price is shown as a launch offer, with £229 also displayed.

Dojo says sign-up has no fixed contracts, while eligible businesses can choose a custom rate on either a 12-month fixed plan or a 30-day rolling plan. Businesses wanting predictable costs should compare those terms with the separate turnover-based rate and the per-location software and device charges.

Platforms

Dojo supports Android, iOS, web and API access. That combination accommodates mobile payment use and web or developer integration, though the choice of hardware and payment plan still matters to the setup.

Who it's for

Dojo is a strong candidate for cafes and other small businesses that need card machines plus payment management, and for expanding hospitality, leisure and service operators coordinating multiple locations. Its EPOS links and reconciliation tools are especially relevant where sales need to sync with an existing point-of-sale system. A business seeking only a simple reader, or one that needs a settled total cost before evaluating turnover and hardware, may prefer a more straightforward arrangement.

Pros and cons

Pro: Payment acceptance, refunds, reconciliation and insights sit within the same service, which can reduce the need to manage these functions separately.

Pro: More than 450 EPOS partnerships and transaction syncing give businesses a clear route to connecting payment activity with point-of-sale records.

Pro: Free software plans and both monthly and upfront device options provide different ways to manage initial costs.

Con: Software prices do not capture the full cost: transaction charges and hardware can add to the bill, and the relevant total depends on turnover and location count.

Con: Plus's displayed offer is restricted to new customers and new locations of existing customers, so it is not a general price for every account.

Con: Eligible custom-rate plans involve a choice between a 12-month fixed term and a 30-day rolling term, which calls for a decision about commitment as well as price.

Alternatives

For a broader shortlist, see Restaurant Payment Processing Software, Virtual Terminal Software and Payment Link Software.

Paybyrd may suit online sellers comparing a no-monthly-fee Essential option, which covers up to €80K / month and charges per online card transaction, with APMs from €0.20 and chargebacks at €7.50 each.

qlub is an alternative for readers interested in its UAE restaurant membership: qlub+ costs 15 AED a month and offers discounts at participating UAE restaurants.

DISH Payment Solutions is another paid option for businesses comparing payment solutions with long-term hardware rental and transaction fees.

Lightspeed Restaurant may be preferable to readers seeking a paid restaurant POS with a stated Starter price of $69 a month and features including menu management, floor plans and offline mode.

Heartland Retail is worth considering for retail buyers who want a freemium option and a stated starting price of $89 a month for its POS.

PayFacto is another paid payment option, with customized solutions priced by quote.

SpotOn Order is geared toward ordering, with a $55 a month plan covering an ordering menu page, GoTo Place app, Order with Google, analytics and DoorDash Drive integration.

Adyen is another paid payments provider.

Verdict

Choose Dojo if your business needs payment acceptance across channels, reconciliation and EPOS connections in one service, particularly across multiple locations. The principal reason to look elsewhere is cost clarity: transaction charges, per-location software and device choices all shape the final spend.