Your liquor store needs POS software that can help you stay within the law, manage your inventory, and still provide excellent service and quick checkout for your customers. We looked at multiple POS systems and chose the five best for 2021.
The best liquor store POS systems are:
- POS Nation: Best overall POS system for liquor stores
- KORONA: Best for accommodating seasonality and heavy promotions
- IT Retail: Best for small liquor stores or mom and pops that sell alcohol
- mPower Beverage: Best cashier tools for speedy checkout and customer service
- Square for Retail: Best free liquor POS for online and in-person sales
How We Evaluated Liquor Store POS Systems
Liquor stores have specific needs, particularly when it comes to legal issues. Therefore, we looked for POS software systems that address specific needs of age verification, inventory control that looked at individual units and cases, and other functions that make ringing up alcohol sales and tracking inventory easier. All of the systems we list have reports for inventory and sales that help you meet regulations.
Overall, POS Nation proved to be the best POS system for liquor stores. In our evaluation, POS Nation scored a 4.5 out of 5. It has robust age-verification tools, CRM tools to track buying patterns and create targeted promotions, plus out-of-the-box reports to meet varying state requirements. However, POS Nation only offers three months of free customer support and does not have any email marketing tools, which prevented the system from earning a perfect score.
10% of Overall Score
Affordability, discounts for more than one register or location, payment processing
30% of Overall Score
Payment times, especially contactless; gift cards & loyalty programs; age verification prompts or ID scans
35% of Overall Score
Bottle & case inventory, customer management, marketing, employee management (time tracking and permissions), payroll reporting, and inventory and sales reports
5% of Overall Score
Customer support hours and venues, installation assistance
20% of Overall Score
Value for the money when comparing features and ease-of-use, plus user input through reviews on our website as well as other sites like G2, Capterra, Softwareadvice.com, and more
POS Nation
PROS
- Hardware included
- 24/7 support and training included
- Scan IDs for age verification
CONS
- Worldpay processing agreement required
- No email marketing capability
- 24/7 technical support is only for first three months
| RATING CRITERIA | Pricing & Payment Processing | 3.5 | OUT OF | 5 |
| Checkout Features | 5 | OUT OF | 5 | |
| Management Features | 4.13 | OUT OF | 5 | |
| Ease of Use | 3.75 | OUT OF | 5 | |
| Expert Score | 5 | OUT OF | 5 |
POS Nation is a highly praised software for liquor stores. It has strong inventory features, including tracking for individual items or cases, plus loyalty programs and programmable discounts. Its monthly pricing is competitive, especially since it comes with hardware and 24/7 support for your first few months. It’s great software overall for liquor stores.
It scored a 4.48 out of 5, ranking at the top for checkout features, especially with the ability to scan customer IDs to verify ages. Another plus is the payroll reporting, something many POS systems lack. The CRM allows you to track customer buying habits and customize promotions, but it does not have email marketing capabilities.
POS Nation Pricing
- Software fees: $99 per month or $999 one-time fee; support is free for the first three months; then $39.99 for premium support
- Hardware costs: PC, receipt printer, scanner, cash drawer, chip card reader included in monthly fee
- Processing fees: Must use Worldpay
POS Nation Standout Features:
- Scan IDs for age verification or have the cashier manually verify age.
- Run reports specific to state regulations, such as 1014 reporting for Pennsylvania beer distributors.
- Users highly praise the features and ease of use.
- Product variants include container volumes and vintages.
- Built-in discounting for cash purchases if desired
What POS Nation is Missing
POS Nation does not have email marketing, and it requires you to use Worldpay for payment processing. Also, for priority support after the third month, you need to pay an additional monthly service fee.
KORONA POS
PROS
- Flat rate pricing at $49 per month, per terminal
- 24/7 phone support
- Automatic calculation of order levels according to sales history, season
CONS
- No email marketing functions
- No payroll reporting
| RATING CRITERIA | Pricing & Payment Processing | 3.5 | OUT OF | 5 |
| Checkout Features | 5 | OUT OF | 5 | |
| Management Features | 3.75 | OUT OF | 5 | |
| Ease of Use | 3.75 | OUT OF | 5 | |
| Expert Score | 4.69 | OUT OF | 5 |
KORONA makes an excellent POS system for budget-minded liquor stores. Its flat-rate pricing includes service, installation, and hardware. It offers strong inventory features, including product sales tracking, which it translates into demand forecasting and applies to vendor reorders.
KORONA is a highly-rated POS system with lots of positive user reviews. However, it lacks some of the functions POS Nation includes, such as payroll reporting. But, KORONA can handle promotions and seasonal sales, age verification, customer management, and more, which earned it a 4.29 out of 5 in our evaluation.
KORONA POS Pricing
- Software and hardware fees: $49 per month, per terminal
- Additional Features: $59 per month includes advanced inventory
- Processing fees: Choose your own payment processor; KORONA integrates with almost every popular merchant service account
KORONA POS Standout Features:
- Promotion sales and season history are automatically considered when calculating reorder levels to help you ensure you don’t run out of stock.
- Installation and 24/7 support included.
- Inventory features include bar code scanning and creation, product breakdowns and mix-and-matching, low stock alerts, shelf tag printing, bulk import, vendor shipment tracking, and easy shipment receiving.
- Internal loss-prevention tools, including customizable back office access, void restrictions, forced drawer closing, blind balance drops, and more.
What KORONA POS is Missing
KORONA cannot run payroll reports, nor does it have email marketing capabilities. It also does not have on-location installation help but assists remotely.
IT Retail
PROS
- Automatic customer rewards detection
- Sell and track inventory by bottle, six-pack, or case
- Age verification
CONS
- On-site help cost extra
- No email marketing
| RATING CRITERIA | Pricing & Payment Processing | 4.25 | OUT OF | 5 |
| Checkout Features | 5 | OUT OF | 5 | |
| Management Features | 3.5 | OUT OF | 5 | |
| Ease of Use | 4.38 | OUT OF | 5 | |
| Expert Score | 4.31 | OUT OF | 5 |
IT Retail was built with small markets or grocery stores in mind and has an excellent POS system specifically for liquor stores. It offers a feature-rich inventory system, age verification, and a customizable touchscreen to make sales quick and easy.
In our evaluation, IT Retail earned a 4.23 out of 5. While there are not many user reviews available for IT Retail, the ones it has are very positive. The system can track customers, manage loyalty programs, and even alert the cashier if the customer should get a promotion or discount. IT Retail does not offer email marketing or payroll reporting, but few of the POS systems we examined do.
IT Retail Pricing
- Software fees: Call for quote. (For comparison: IT Retail for grocery stores starts at $79 per month)
- Hardware costs: Call for quote; may be able to use existing hardware.
- Processing fees: Choose your own payment processor.
IT Retail Standout Features:
- Inventory breakdown and product variations, plus low-stock alerts
- Set up promotions and have the system calculate them automatically.
- Ecommerce capability for online ordering
- For an additional fee, IT Retail will send a technician to your store to train managers and staff on using the software.
What IT Retail is Missing
Like many of the POS systems on our list, IT Retail does not offer payroll reporting or email marketing functions. Installation is done remotely, but if you need on-site assistance, you can get it for a fee.
mPower Beverage
PROS
- Coordinate inventory, promotions, and sales across all locations
- Manage a wine club
- Easy item look-up for stock or special orders
CONS
- Windows devices only
- Expensive system
| RATING CRITERIA | Pricing & Payment Processing | 3.75 | OUT OF | 5 |
| Checkout Features | 5 | OUT OF | 5 | |
| Management Features | 3.5 | OUT OF | 5 | |
| Ease of Use | 3.13 | OUT OF | 5 | |
| Expert Score | 4.69 | OUT OF | 5 |
mPower Beverage offers a lot of strong features for enabling your cashiers to provide great customer service. Cashiers can look up items from the register, find item location in the store, verify ages in multiple ways, track customer loyalty, and even give spontaneous discounts if the situation calls for it.
This system is the most expensive on the list but has good user reviews for ease of use. Its inventory and promotions sync across all your locations, making it easier to manage multiple stores. These features earned mPower Beverage a 4.19 out of 5. Limited customer support, mixed reviews on mPower’s integrated payment processing, and pricey software prevented mPower from earning a higher score.
mPower Beverage Pricing
- Software fees: $1,000 for one register, one location upfront, then $120 per month. Additional registers are $250 upfront and $120 per month.
- Hardware costs: Can call for a quote, use third-party hardware (Windows OS), or use your existing hardware.
- Processing fees: Must use from its list of approved payment processors.
mPower Beverage Standout Features:
- Several options for age verification, including scanning IDs and adding verification to the customer profile
- Inventory includes product variants and sizes, stock monitoring, and the ability to examine sales history when reordering.
- Automatically creates separate purchase orders for each vendor from an orders list.
- Look up items on the register to see how many are on hand and where they are located.
What mPower Beverage is Missing
The biggest hit on reviews from users was about being limited to mPower’s list of approved payment processors. The system also does not have payroll reports or email marketing.
Square for Retail
PROS
- Free plan
- Employee management, including time clocks
- Popular and easy-to-use
CONS
- No age verification
- Loyalty program costs extra
| RATING CRITERIA | Pricing & Payment Processing | 2.75 | OUT OF | 5 |
| Checkout Features | 2.25 | OUT OF | 5 | |
| Management Features | 3.38 | OUT OF | 5 | |
| Ease of Use | 3.75 | OUT OF | 5 | |
| Expert Score | 4.38 | OUT OF | 5 |
Square for Retail is a highly popular point-of-sale system that works great for online and on-location retailers, whether solopreneurs selling items at a fair or small businesses with a website and store. While it has a paid plan, its free plan offers a robust POS and inventory system. Although it lacks some features, the free plan is a great choice for businesses on a tight budget or those who sell alcohol on a limited basis, such as events.
Square is among the most intuitive of POS systems and has customer and employee management tools. In fact, we rated the Square ecosystem as the best overall POS for small businesses, and Square for Retail specifically as one of the best retail POS systems. In this evaluation, Square’s free user-friendly software earned Square for Retail a 3.19 out of 5.
However, it lacks age verification, even in the paid plans. The free plan also does not include loyalty programs. You need to pay for credit card processing, which may be a higher rate than you’ll find with a paid POS system.
Square for Retail Pricing
- Software fees: Unlimited Free Plan or the Plus plan with more features at $60 per month plus processing fees.
- Hardware costs: Use your own or purchase from Square. Your first stripe card reader is free. Square offers interest-free payment plans on hardware like Square Register.
- Processing fees:
- Free Plan: 2.6% + 10 cents per in-person transaction and 2.9% + 30 cents per online transaction
- Plus Plan: 2.5% + 10 cents per in-person transaction and 2.9% + 30 cents per online transaction
Square for Retail Standout Features:
- Set up an online store or use Square to let customers order ahead and pick up at your location.
- You can use it on your phone or tablet or take advantage of a complete POS system, even scan bar codes with an iPad camera.
- Create customer profiles, set low-stock alerts, and program discounts, all with the free system.
What Square for Retail Is Missing
The most important feature Square is missing is age verification, although no free plan we examined included this function. The free plan also does not include the ability to make exchanges, bulk transfer products across locations, print bar codes, or manage vendors. However, Square for Retail Plus does come with additional features like bar coding and stock receiving.
Bottom Line
When looking for the best POS for your liquor store, be sure to look for standard features like age verification and reports that make it easy to keep up with liquor laws. It should also allow you to track inventory across individual bottles, as well as six-packs and cases. Loyalty programs, wine clubs, and promotions are a plus.
We found POS Nation the best overall point-of-sale software for liquor stores because it has reports specific to state laws, a function that lets cashiers scan IDs for age verification, and other customer and inventory features.
You May Also Like…
- Step-by-step guide on how to get a liquor license
- Learn what kind of liquor liability insurance you need for your store.
- If you need to track pourers for tastings or other liquor consumption, learn how to do bar and liquor inventory.
