5 Best iPad POS Systems for Small Businesses

• Monthly software subscription fee: $0 to $69
  • Custom plans and add-ons available
  • Custom pricing for businesses processing over $250,000
• Payment processing options: Must use built-in Square Payment processing
• Processing fees:
  • In-person: 2.6% + 10 cents
  • Manually keyed: 3.5% + 15 cents
  • Online: 2.9% + 30 cents
• Mobile card reader: First free (swipe only); $49 per additional reader
• iPad hardware cost: Square Stand $149 or $14 per month for 12 months

• Free native online store: Square lets you build an online store for your business even if you stick to the free plan. It is simple to set up, highly customizable, and comes with features like pre-ordering and discounts. While you can get a better online store with Shopify, Square’s is perfectly serviceable.
• Square Subscriptions: You can create custom billing models to get paid on the schedule that is most convenient for you and offer free trials to entice customers to sign up for full subscriptions.
• Square Teams: With this employee management module, you can track staff hours, create and publish shift schedules, build databases of employee names and job titles, set and track commissions per team member (plus, integrate these into payroll), and assign permissions for each employee—all from one dashboard.
• Marketing: Square offers both email and text message marketing tools, letting you choose from among several pre-built campaigns.

• Software subscription fee: $0 per month for the basic POS including Kitchen Display and Customer Display
• Optional Add-ons (paid monthly):
  • Advanced inventory: $25
  • Employee management: $5 per employee; annual pricing $50 per year per employee
  • Integrations: $9 per store
  • 14-day free trial for add-ons
• Available payment processors: Integrates directly with SumUp, Worldpay, Zettle, and others. Supports countless unintegrated payment processors.
• Processing fees: Varies based on processor
• iPad hardware cost: Varies based on third-party seller; Loyverse itself does not sell hardware

• Loyalty rewards program: You can convert customers’ accumulated points into discounts the next time they purchase something. Customers who are enrolled in the loyalty program will be able to receive these rewards across all of your store branches.
• Employee management: You’ll get the standard options of setting access rights based on staff roles, setting up employee lists, and monitoring individual sales performance. To get the full functionality of the employee management system, you’ll need to pay for an add-on module. You can start with a 14-day free trial.

• Software subscription fee:
  • Ecommerce subscription (required): $39 to $399 per month
• POS: $0 per month
• POS Pro: $89 per month per location
• Available payment processors:
  • Integrates with more than 100 global gateways for ecommerce sales (for additional fee)
  • Must use Shopify Payments for POS
  • Processing fees: 2.4% to 2.7% for in-person transactions; 2.4% + 30 cents to 2.9% + 30 cents for online transactions
• Mobile card reader: $49+
• iPad accessories cost: $99+

• Online store: Shopify POS offers you tools to build an online store as long as you are logged into your Shopify account on the website. In addition to the online store, you can also sync your product catalog with social media sites such as Facebook and Instagram. The Shopify ecommerce store will run you anywhere from $39 to $399 per month, depending on your Shopify plan.
• Inventory management: Maintain a stock library to which you can upload inventory and keep track of items as well as generate and view sales reports. The Stocky app (available via subscription to Shopify Pro) gives you additional features such as demand forecasting; more detailed reports, counts, and analysis; and low stock reports.

• Software subscription fee:
  • $69 to $199 per month (Lightspeed Retail)
  • Custom plans available
  • Additional terminals at $59 each per month
• Available Payment Processors: Lightspeed Payments, 2Accept, Sunday, Stripe, TSYS, Vantiv, and Worldpay
• Lightspeed Payments processing fees:
  • 2.6% + 10 cents for in-person tapped, dipped, or swiped transactions
  • 2.6% + 30 cents for card-not-present transactions
  • Rates for other processors are custom-quoted
• iPad Hardware Cost: Call Lightspeed for custom quote

• Inventory management: The cloud-based inventory management system is designed to handle large quantities of stock, with customizable matrix inventory and variant control. You can track inventory levels across all your store locations, import product lists, adjust pricing individually or in bulk, and assign unique serial numbers for easier searching. Finally, you’ll have Lightspeed’s B2B supplier network at your fingertips.
• Reporting and analytics: With the basic POS plan, you’ll have the standard options of sales tracking, demand and trend forecasting, customer purchase history, and staff performance. Lightspeed’s most expensive Advanced plan ($199 per month) will give you customizable reports, data analysis and suggestions, A/B testing capabilities, and more.

If you operate a specialized business like a golf course or a restaurant, Lightspeed also offers customized solutions: Lightspeed Golf and Lightspeed Restaurant, the latter of which has several series. Lightspeed Retail also has multiple versions, such as the X-Series, which was previously Vend.

• Software subscription fee: $69+ per terminal monthly
• Add-ons (billed monthly):
  • Online ordering: $50
  • Loyalty: $99
  • Marketing: $99
  • Gift cards: $25
  • Reservations: $229
• Available payment processors: TouchBistro Payments, Square, Moneris, Worldpay, TSYS, and Chase
• Processing fees: Varies based on your chosen processor; contact TouchBistro for a custom quote
• iPad hardware cost: Custom-quoted

• Tableside ordering: Servers can bring an iPad to take the orders of customers who are out on a patio or other outdoor seating. Staff will also receive critical prompts and reminders on their tablets, as well as being able to split bills, seats, and items.
• Online ordering add-on: For $50 per month, you can accept delivery and pickup orders via your POS, through your establishment’s website, Google business profile, and social media channels. You can also integrate with TouchBistro Marketing to send promotions, marketing materials, and loyalty rewards to customers.

An iPad POS system is simply a POS system that will work on an iPad. This means you don’t need to buy a special register but can download the software onto any compatible iPad. Most iPad POS providers offer support hardware, including stands, card readers, and accessories like barcode scanners. But it’s possible to run the entire system only on your tablet or smartphone.

These systems typically operate by backing up your business data to the cloud, so you can monitor your sales costs and key business metrics from anywhere. An iPad POS system also costs a lot less than a traditional, locally installed POS. In most cases, you can install an iPad POS yourself. Plus, the iPad interface is familiar to anyone who has used a smartphone, so your staff will learn the system quickly. Because iPads are highly mobile, your iPad POS tablets can operate curbside, tableside, or even as self-service kiosks easily.

iPad POS systems differ from traditional POS systems because the former are typically more affordable with a lower startup cost, greater flexibility, and they can be used for multiple functions. They are also mobile by nature, meaning you can accept payments at a checkout counter, on the sales floor, or on the go. Because iPad POS software is typically an app that you download, it’s usually incredibly easy to use, especially for people that are accustomed to operating iPhones or iPads.

At a minimum, you’ll need an iPad, which retails for $329-plus new. iPad POS software is typically free to install and has a monthly fee of $0 to $200. Finally, you’ll want a card reader and/or iPad stand, which can cost $50 to $200. Accessories like barcode scanners, receipt printers, and cash drawers will have additional fees. Some POS systems, like Shopify, Square, and Lightspeed offer starter hardware kits.

First, determine what features you need, how many registers you need, and how much you are willing to pay—not only for your monthly fees, but also for any additional hardware or accessories. Then, decide what kind of payment processing you need. This may be affected by how much you process in sales, whether you have a high-risk business, or other factors. Finally, read articles like ours to research and compare the different systems. Also, ask fellow business owners; you can’t beat real-world experience.