7 Best POS Inventory Systems in 2023
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Meaghan has provided content and guidance for indie retailers as the editor for a number of retail publications and a speaker at trade shows. She is Fit Small Business’s authority on retail and ecommerce.
With more than a decade of hospitality experience, Mary has worked in some of the most celebrated restaurants in the world. Her expertise is featured across Fit Small Business in restaurant, retail, and starting a business content.
This article is part of a larger series on POS Systems.
Point-of-sale (POS) inventory systems are software tools used by retailers and restaurants to process customer sales and track product or ingredient stock levels. Most POS inventory software has tools to count inventory, track sales, and provide basic reports. They allow businesses to streamline back-office management by providing central access to track across multiple channels and locations. The best POS systems also streamline product purchasing at prices starting at less than $100 per month.
The POS systems with the best inventory management for small businesses are:
- Lightspeed Retail: Best overall POS for inventory management
- Shopify: Best for multichannel sellers
- IT Retail: Best inventory tracking for shops that need to track expiration dates
- Square: Best free inventory management for new and small businesses
- Revel Systems: Best for high-volume restaurants and independent markets
- Lightspeed Restaurant: Best inventory POS for growing restaurants
- KORONA: Best for specialty and high-risk retailers like vape shops
Do you need more than inventory management? Many of the inventory systems on this list are also some of the best POS systems for small businesses.
Top POS Inventory Systems Compared
Monthly Software Fee | Payment Processing Fee | Matrix Inventory | Multichannel Management | Purchase Ordering | Vendor Management | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | $69 to $269+ | From 2.6% + 10 cents ** | ✓ | With upgrade | ✓ | ✓ |
 | $0 to $89* | From 2.4% | ✓ | ✓ | With upgrade | With upgrade |
 | $99+ | Custom-quoted | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
 | $0 to $69 | 2.6% + 10 cents | ✓ | ✓ | With upgrade | With upgrade |
 | $99+ | Varies by processor | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| $69 to $399+ | From 2.6% + 10 cents ** | ✓ | ✓ | With upgrade | With upgrade |
 | $59 to $89+ | Varies by processor | With upgrade | With upgrade | With upgrade | With upgrade |
*Separate ecommerce subscription required
**Also integrates with third-party processors; rates vary by processor
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Which POS Inventory System Is Right for You?
Since our last update:
- Lightspeed Restaurant joined the rankings with its updated, automated, ingredient-level inventory tracking tools, displacing previous restaurant recommendation Toast (which now requires an integration with xtraChef by Toast for inventory tools).
- Vend by Lightspeed is now Lightspeed Retail POS X-series, so it is no longer ranked as standalone system. Vend’s best features are now part of the top-ranked Lightspeed Retail POS.
- KORONA has raised their prices slightly, from $49 -$79 monthly to $59 – 89 monthly.
- Shopify ecommerce subscription prices have increased from $29 – $299 per month to $39 – $399 monthly. It also launched a new customer-facing returns portal so shoppers can initiate return requests from your online store.
Lightspeed Retail: Best Overall POS Inventory System
Overall Score:
4.73 / 5
Pros
- Customizable matrix inventory
- Built-in purchase ordering and vendor catalogs
- Granular control for variants, assembled products, and work orders
- 14-day free trial
Cons
- Can get pricey
- Complex interface
- No free plan
Lightspeed Deciding Factors:
- Lightspeed Retail POS:
- Lean: $69*
- Standard: $119*
- Advanced: $199*
- Enterprise: Custom Quote
*These prices are if paid annually and using Lightspeed Payments.
- Installation fee: $0
- Chip, tap and swipe payments: 2.6% + 10 cents
- Keyed-in payments: 2.6% + 30 cents
- Volume discount: For retailers processing more than $250,000
- Third-party payment processing: Higher monthly software fees when using a third-party payment processor instead of Lightspeed payments
Lightspeed is a cloud-based POS system designed for growing small businesses with massive inventories that need to be categorized by multiple variants. Its detailed inventory features are a great fit for retailers and its sister POS—Lightspeed Restaurant (featured below)—offers excellent tools for restaurants. Paired with a sophisticated custom reporting tool for a starting price of less than $100 per month, Lightspeed Retail is the best overall POS inventory system for small businesses.
In our evaluation, Lightspeed received a 4.73 out of 5. Granular inventory tracking, built-in purchase ordering, and the most sophisticated analytics platform earned the system a high score. However, unlike competitor Square, Lightspeed does not have a free plan (though it offers a 14-day free trial).
Take a deeper look at this system in our full Lightspeed Retail review, learn how to use it in our guide on Lightspeed inventory management software and our retail expert Brigitte Hodge’s video walkthrough of the Lightspeed Retail Inventory dashboard.
Shopify: Best Multichannel POS Inventory System
Overall Score:
4.40 / 5
Pros
- User-friendly mobile app
- Sync stock with Amazon, Facebook, and Walmart
- Many add-ons and integrations available
Cons
- Pricey, requires a Shopify ecommerce account
- No automation features
- Lacks back-office customization options
Shopify POS Deciding Factors
- Shopify Ecommerce (required)*: $39–$399 monthly
- Shopify POS: $0–$89 monthly
- Shopify Payments:
- Online Transaction Fees: 2.4%–2.9% + 30 cents
- In-person Transaction Fees: 2.4%–2.7%
*A Shopify ecommerce account is required to access POS features.
Shopify is an ecommerce platform with an equally detailed POS app that has tools to manage inventory across all sales channels. If you sell online and in person, Shopify is the best POS inventory system because you can track all customer orders and on-hand stock in a centralized system. It includes integrated barcode scanners, detailed inventory reporting, and stock monitoring tools.
Based on our criteria, Shopify’s POS inventory system received a score of 4.40 out of 5, leading popular competitors like Square and Lightspeed in cross-channel inventory management features. It earned high marks for the system’s granular, multichannel inventory control, along with purchase ordering tools, mobile apps, and a user-friendly interface.
Read our guide to setting up a Shopify store. Or, if you want to dive deeper into Shopify POS’s features and capabilities, read our detailed Shopify POS review or watch our retail expert Brigitte’s video walkthrough of the Shopify POS.
IT Retail: Best for Tracking Expiration Dates
Overall Score:
4.37 / 5
Pros
- Industry-grade hardware stands up to high-volume use
- Tracks expiration dates of perishable items
- Supports case-breaking for case and individual bottle sales
Cons
- Hardware prices are not listed publicly
- Higher subscription tiers require a custom rate quote
- No free trial
IT Retail Deciding Factors:
- IT Retail POS: Starts at $99 per month
- Installation fee: Optional, custom-quoted
- Payment processing: IT Retail includes built-in payment processing; rates vary by business type, sales volume, and card mix. Flat and interchange-plus rates are available.
IT Retail is a comprehensive POS designed for markets and supermarkets. It includes essential grocery features like electronic benefits transfer (EBT) and Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children (WIC) compliance and scale integration. On the inventory side, it also includes the ability to track products by lots and expiration dates. This is crucial for businesses like markets that sell perishable items and are sometimes bound by food safety laws to retain records of product’s origins in case of recalls or foodborne illness outbreaks.
IT Retail earned a 4.37 out of 5 on our POS inventory scoring criteria. It earned massive points for its niche inventory functions like the expiration date tracking mentioned above. It also scored well for ease of use. Like competitor Revel, IT Retail stumbled a bit when it comes to price. Starting at $99 per month, it can’t compete price-wise with others on this list that start at $0 or at least offer a free trial. But if you are a high-volume market that needs to track product expiration dates, IT Retail’s cost is well worth it.
Explore features by reading our full IT Retail review.
Square: Best Free POS Inventory System for New & Small Businesses
Overall Score:
4.30 / 5
Pros
- Baseline POS is free to use
- No long-term contracts
- Multiple POS formats support all types of businesses, from retail to restaurants to service businesses
Cons
- Advanced inventory features require third-party integrations
- Few customization options
- Live customer support is limited
Square Deciding Factors:
- Square POS: Free
- Square for Retail: $0 to $60 per month
- Square for Restaurants: $0 to $60 per month
- Square Appointments: $0 to $69 per month
- Flat-rate transaction fee: 2.6% + 10 cents
- Keyed-in payments: 3.5% + 15 cents
- Volume discounts: Custom pricing available for business processing more than $250,000 annually.
See our guide on Square Pricing and Fees for detailed pricing information.
Square is a free POS system that includes features to manage payments, customers, orders, and products. You can create a product catalog with a few clicks in the browser-based Square dashboard and track inventory count based on sales. Square offers an unbeatable value for new businesses and businesses such as salons and coffee shops with few item variations. Square’s Pro POS plans offer additional inventory management tools, and you can expand the inventory functions with several third-party integrations, such as Yellow Dog inventory, for example, which supports expiration date tracking and vendor management.
In our evaluation of POS inventory systems, Square earned a 4.30 out of 5. Aside from its forever-free plan, its Pro-level tiers are priced at just $60 to $69 per month, making it the most cost-effective choice for startups. Square has basic inventory features like variant tracking and low-stock alerts. However, a lack of detailed purchase ordering, vendor management, customizable reporting, and unlimited phone support prevented Square from earning a higher score.
See our guide to using Square’s inventory tools to get started or learn more about the different versions of the POS by reading our full reviews of Square for Retail, Square for Restaurants, and Square Appointments.
Revel Systems: Best Inventory for High-volume Restaurants & Independent Markets
Overall Score:
4.25 / 5
Pros
- Ingredient-level inventory included in baseline POS
- Includes vendor and PO management
- Smartphone StockTake app speeds physical counts
Cons
- Pricey
- Requires three-year contract
- Expiration date tracking requires third-party integration
Revel Deciding Factors:
- Revel POS: $99 per month for first terminal; two-terminal minimum
Custom-pricing for additional terminals; contact Revel for full price quote
- Installation fee: Starts at $674
- Payment processing: Varies by processor; choose from Revel Advantage, First Data, Heartland, TSYS, Worldpay, Chase Paymentech, and Elavon.
Revel was the first iPad POS developed for restaurants. Like Lightspeed and Square, Revel also has features for retail businesses. The inventory management features come standard with any restaurant or retail POS subscription and include matrix and ingredient-level inventory tracking, vendor management, PO management, and unlimited inventory items. With POS hardware that supports integrated scales and restaurant-specific needs like kitchen display systems, Revel is a great fit for both high-volume restaurants and independent grocers that don’t want to pay extra for inventory tools.
Revel earned a 4.25 out of 5 on our inventory POS ranking criteria, putting it just on Square’s heels. Revel earned a perfect 5 out of 5 on inventory functions―the baseline inventory has virtually everything small businesses need―but it stumbled on price. At $99 per month for a single terminal and a steep $674 installation fee, Revel (along with IT Retail) is one of the priciest systems on this list.
Take a deeper look at this massively functional POS by reading our full Revel POS review, or watch our restaurant and retail expert’s video walkthrough of the Revel POS.
Lightspeed Restaurant: Best for Growing Foodservice Businesses
Overall Score:
4.18 / 5
Pros
- 14-day free trial
- Vendor and PO management
- 1-click re-ordering
Cons
- Advanced Inventory is only available at highest subscription tiers
- Advanced reporting is an extra cost
- Offline functionality is not as strong as other systems
Lightspeed Restaurant Deciding Factors:
- Lightspeed Restaurant POS monthly software fees:
- Essentials: $69
- Plus: $189
- Pro: $399
- Enterprise: Custom-quoted
- Installation fee: $0
- Chip, tap and swipe payments: 2.6% + 10 cents
- Keyed-in payments: 2.6% + 30 cents
- Volume discount: For retailers processing more than $250,000
- Third-party payment processing: Higher monthly software fees when using a third-party payment processor instead of Lightspeed payments
Lightspeed Restaurant, like its sibling POS Lightspeed Retail, is a user-friendly cloud POS. The restaurant system’s inventory tools have always been ingredient-level, but with Lightspeed’s acquisition of Upserve, the restaurant inventory tools became even more automated. If you want a POS to automatically generate suggested orders when you run low on ingredients, Lightspeed restaurant is your solution.
This system earned a competitive 4.18 out of 5 on our scoring criteria. With a perfect 5 out of 5 for ease of use and a 4.75 out of 5 for general inventory features (the highest score on this list), Lightspeed Restaurant has a lot of bases covered. The only real drawback is the price. Advanced inventory tools and the accompanying advanced reporting are only included in the two highest subscription levels. Essentials and Plus users need to get a quote for adding these tools to their subscription.
See why we love this POS for growing restaurants by reading our full Lightspeed Restaurant review.
KORONA POS: Best Inventory for High-risk & Specialty Retailers
Overall Score:
3.75 / 5
Pros
- Free trial has no time limit
- Supports high-risk businesses
- Includes shipment tracking so you know when to expect new stock
Cons
- Does not track expiration dates
- Item entries could be more customizable
- Inventory tools require higher-tier subscriptions
KORONA Deciding Factors:
- KORONA POS: $59 to $89 per month
- Installation fee: $0
- Payment processing: Varies by processor; KORONA is payments agnostic, so you can shop for the lowest rates and use your preferred processor.
KORONA is a cloud POS that serves a wide variety of industries. It regularly appears on our rankings for the best POS systems for liquor stores, convenience stores, vape shops, and bakeries. In addition to being affordable, operating on a wide variety of hardware, and integrating with high-risk payment processors, KORONA includes detailed inventory with case-breaking tools, vendor management, and shipment tracking. So, specialty retailers of all kinds can know exactly when to expect their supplies.
KORONA earned a 3.75 out of 5 on our POS inventory ranking. It earned points for its free trial subscription that has no time limits, and it is well-reviewed by real-world users. Where it stumbled is in the lack of a few niche functions like allowing custom fields and tracking expirations dates of perishable items.
Take a deeper look at this system by reading our full KORONA POS review.
How We Evaluated
We considered dozens of popular and top-rated POS systems before narrowing down our list of software with standout inventory features and/or affordable price points. We evaluated each system based on monthly fees, general features (including reporting), and inventory features (including low-stock alerts and purchase ordering). We also covered ease of use (such as whether or not the system is cloud-based). Finally, we looked at the overall value each software provides for its price point and considered popularity and user reviews.
Click through the tabs below for a full breakdown of how we evaluated POS systems with inventory management:
10%
Pricing
30%
General Features
30%
Inventory Features
10%
Ease of Use
20%
Expert Score
10% of Overall Score
30% of Overall Score
30% of Overall Score
Here we looked at harder-to-find features including a mobile app for counting inventory and/or receiving orders, built-in barcoding, purchase ordering, vendor management, and customizable fields. We also awarded bonus points for specialized tracking such as perishable goods, expiration dates, and case-breaking.
10% of Overall Score
Busy retailers need a POS system that is functional offline and has 24/7 customer support. We also awarded points to touch-screen systems because they are easy for employees to learn and use. Cloud-based systems earn points as they allow businesses to access data anywhere.
20% of Overall Score
*Percentages of overall score
Meet our Experts
The POS systems that appear in this article were selected and rated by our retail and restaurant experts. Learn more about their experience.
 | Mary King With more than 14 years of hospitality experience, Mary has used POS systems in coffee shops, food trucks, full-service restaurants, quick-service restaurants, bars, hotels, coworking spaces, event spaces, and retail stores. She has several years of experience advising bar and restaurant owners, and three-plus years evaluating POS systems. |
 | Brigitte Hodge is a retail specialist with several years of retail management experience. Before joining Fit Small Business, Brigitte worked on a variety of POS systems to run a store in downtown Denver. Brigitte has since been writing as a retail expert, evaluating POS systems and working with them firsthand to learn their ins and outs. |
 | Meaghan Brophy has 10-plus years of retail experience, during which she has operated a variety of cash registers and POS systems in different settings and applications. Since working in retail, Meaghan has seven-plus years of experience writing for retailers and four-plus years of experience evaluating POS systems. |
POS Inventory System Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
What is the difference between a POS and inventory system?
A POS is a complete software and hardware package that processes sales and payments. An inventory system simply tracks stock as it arrives onsite and is sold. An inventory system may be integrated or built into your POS, or it may be a manual system (like spreadsheets) that you run alongside your POS. Whatever inventory system you use, it won’t have the ability to process sales and payments like a POS does.
Can a POS track inventory?
Many POS systems include built-in inventory tracking or integrate with third-party inventory systems. Most POS systems offer both options. Since POS systems handle sales transactions, even a basic POS can track whole items as you sell them. But businesses like liquor stores, grocers, restaurants, and large retailers need more than basic tracking. Depending on your business type, you might need to track expiration dates bulk ingredients, or various sizes and colors of the same item. If you need specialized tools like this , look for a POS or inventory tracking system designed specifically for your industry.
Bottom Line
Every retail and restaurant business needs to process sales and reorder supplies and products. A POS inventory system allows businesses to handle all of those needs in one place—you can ring sales, track products, analyze data, and reorder products easily.
Lightspeed includes standard features like payment processing, inventory tracking, and low stock alerts. It also offers unparalleled reporting and analytics with customizable reports, graphs and visual data, and tutorials on how to use reports. It’s the only POS system with inventory management on our list to come preloaded with more than 3,000 product catalogs for easy product ordering. Visit Lightspeed for a free trial.
