11 Best Point-of-Sale (POS) Systems & Software for 2023

Square’s standout features include:

• Speedy payments: Once your bank account is verified, you can start accepting payments the same day you open your Square account. Processing fees are a low flat rate, and many businesses qualify for next-day deposits, although two-day deposits are more standard. As of May 2022, Square POS users can accept buy now, pay later (BNPL) payments in-store and online through Afterpay.

• Square Appointments: Manage multiple appointment calendars, set up online booking, allow customers to book and manage appointments with an online portal, send automatic short message service (SMS) and email reminders, and require credit cards upon booking for no-show and cancellation fees.
• Square for Retail: If your business needs retail-supporting tools like inventory tracking and the ability to process refunds and exchanges, you’ll prefer Square for Retail. Like basic Square, Square for Retail offers a free baseline subscription with no long-term contracts. You’ll also get barcode printing tools, detailed sales reports, and easy purchase order (PO) and stock management.
• Square for Restaurants: Food and beverage businesses, from food trucks to full-service, restaurants will find restaurant-specific tools in the Square for Restaurants POS. This system includes table and check management, check splitting, online ordering and delivery integrations, and tip tracking.
• Free Square Online store: Every Square POS account comes with a free, integrated online store.

Shopify’s standout features include:

• Omnichannel sales: Shopify POS can seamlessly facilitate and manage sales and inventory from all channels—in-store, online, and curbside.
• Online integrations: Shopify’s online store chat functions let your customers start a conversation with you from any page on your website. Shopify also integrates with Apple Business Chat, so iPhone users can send messages to you directly from their smartphones. A Facebook integration lets customers shop directly from Facebook and Instagram posts. You can also easily place “Buy” buttons on blog posts and other web content.

• Inventory management: POS Pro includes Stocky, a smart inventory app for performing inventory counts, receiving products with a barcode scanner, generating low-stock alerts and detailed inventory reports, forecasting demand, performing inventory analysis, and viewing sale item suggestions.
• Customer management: All Shopify plans include tools to generate customer profiles with contact information and shopping habits, add customer tags (such as VIP designations), track special requests, generate targeted promotions, create marketing content, and optimize social media campaigns.

Lightspeed’s standout features include:

• Inventory management: Retailers can bulk upload up to 10,000 stock-keeping units (SKUs) at once, manage variants, create bundles, and track unit costs, layaways, and special orders. Built-in product catalogs streamline orders, and low-stock alerts let you know when to place them. Lightspeed has the most sophisticated integrated product ordering on this list, largely because of the built-in supplier network.
• Supplier network: Retailers can discover products, submit POs, and track stock shipments from within Lightspeed POS. The only other system on this list that comes close to matching this tool is KORONA.
• Reporting and analytics: Lightspeed includes over 40 built-in reports and allows retailers to build custom reports that show data in easy-to-scan charts and graphs. Restaurant users can access basic reporting with the Essentials POS package and gain advanced reporting capabilities at the higher-level subscription tiers. While this may cramp some operations, it also ensures that small operations don’t pay for features they don’t use.
• Ecommerce: Lightspeed ecommerce syncs with POS data, offers more than 50 professional themes, and includes full shipping and order management tools and marketing, customer relationship management (CRM), and search engine optimization (SEO) features. Restaurant ecommerce functions are equally robust, including options for online ordering and reservation functions.
• Marketing: Lightspeed has a built-in loyalty program in higher-level subscription tiers. You can create a tiered rewards system for both in-store and online purchases, send one-time deals for birthdays or to VIP customers, and design emails with templates or a drag-and-drop builder. If you need marketing tools in your baseline POS, consider Revel.

Toast has every tool a restaurant owner could dream of. You get essential restaurant functions like QR code ordering and payments, online ordering and delivery management, ingredient-level inventory, and employee scheduling. However, Toast also supports niche tools like pocket-sized, handheld order and payment terminals, tip pool management, and in-POS messaging to alert managers when there is an issue or alert customers when their orders are ready.

Toast’s additional standout features include:

• Front-of-house features: Toast includes table, course, and seat management; easy check splitting; and credit card pre-authorizations for bar tabs. You’ll also get table management, order management, and even direct messaging from the POS screen, so your team can hail a manager directly from the POS when needed.
• Reporting and back office: Toast includes comprehensive, customizable reports for everything from staff management to menu assessments. You can track inventory in real time at the ingredient level, receive low stock alerts, and generate POs from the back office.
• Workforce management: Like Square, Toast includes optional workforce management tools to draft and communicate employee schedules and streamline timekeeping and payroll. Toast goes a big step further, including tip-pool management and access to restaurant-tailored human resources (HR) documents like handbook templates and alerts for new, local regulations.
• Online ordering and delivery: With Toast, you can create an integrated online ordering site to receive online orders or integrate with third-party platforms like Uber Eats and DoorDash. Toast also includes full, maps-based driver dispatch if you want to support a team of in-house delivery drivers. You can also use Toast Delivery Services to hail on-demand third-party drivers to deliver orders for a flat, per-order fee with no commissions.

Vend’s retail management tools are designed to be scalable, with options for small operations like gift shops up to multilocation boutiques. It is a user-friendly cloud system with offline processing, staff logins, and flexible configurations, including layaway and on-account sales, store credit, gift cards, and partial payment. You can scan new shipments to add them to your inventory and print custom barcode labels to get the new products onto the sales floor quickly.

Its standout features include:

• Detailed inventory tools: Vend allows retailers to track variants and bundles easily and create, import, and print barcodes from the POS dashboard. You can also build a centralized product catalog, set custom low-stock alerts, and manage multiple tax rates.
• Mobile barcode scanning app: Vend has a free iOS app for scanning barcodes to perform quick inventory counts, receive shipments, or look up product details from the sales floor. Any changes made in the app can sync to Vend’s reporting data, so you can update your inventory without spending hours in the back office.
• Add-ons and growth tools: As your business grows, Vend has the tools to expand your operation. The platform comes with a native loyalty program and integrates with third-party tools for ecommerce, accounting, employee scheduling, and multichannel inventory management.
• High-risk tools: Vend has built-in age verification tools that prompt your cashiers to scan and verify customer age. This is a great fit for shops that sell tobacco or alcohol products.

The biggest ace up TouchBistro’s sleeve is how easy the system is to install and use. Like Square and Lightspeed, users can quickly self-install it following its detailed instructions. Though, like Toast, TouchBistro also offers one-on-one installation assistance for a fee if users want it.

TouchBistro’s standout features include:

• Flexible hardware: Like several systems on this list, TouchBistro operates on iPads. With TouchBistro, these iPads can be configured as POS terminals, kitchen display system (KDS) screens, or tableside order and payment devices. There are some additional fees for KDS screens; you’ll need to contact TouchBistro for a custom quote.
• Support and training: TouchBistro maintains a detailed knowledge base with training videos. You can also request one-on-one or in-person training with a TouchBistro representative for custom-quoted fees.
• Straightforward pricing: Where other systems have multiple subscription tiers, TouchBistro has a single per-terminal price. You pay additional monthly software fees to add features like integrated online ordering ($50 per/month), gift cards ($25 per month), loyalty ($99 per month), or reservations ($229 per month). While this can make your costs add up, small cafes, coffee shops, and breweries won’t pay for tools they don’t use.
• Flexible payment processing: TouchBistro offers the best of both worlds when it comes to payment processing. Like competitors Lightspeed, Revel Systems, and Lavu, TouchBistro offers users the choice between a built-in processor or a third-party payment processor. Unlike those other systems, however, TouchBistro users do not pay higher software fees for using a compatible third-party processor.

Features

The KORONA POS is a Swiss army knife for small businesses of all types. This system specializes in providing detailed tools for niche businesses, from event venues that need ticketing functions to liquor stores and vape shops that require additional product controls and high-risk processors.

KORONA’s standout features include:

• Payments agnostic: KORONA integrates with any major payment processor, making KORONA the most flexible POS on this list. You can bring virtually any processor you like, including high-risk processors or processors that include cash discounting tools. This one simple setting can save small businesses money in the long run, as you can shop around for the lowest available rates, and switch processors at any time.
• Flexible integrations: KORONA focuses on building integrations with niche applications that support specific business types. So while it lacks popular integrations with well-known tools like QuickBooks, it contains specific integrations for liquor stores (ecommerce tools Bottlecapps and City Hive), dispensaries (traceability apps Metrc, BioTrack, and Leak Data; ecommerce tools Dutchie, Leafly, Olla) wineries (bLoyal for wine club management), and more.
• Installation and training: Many systems on this list have $0 installation fees because you can self-install them. KORONA includes guided installation and training with every POS account. This is great if you don’t have the time or bandwidth to wade through tutorial videos and installation manuals.
• Inventory tools: KORONA’s inventory management tools allow you to break cases and set different prices for items—like beers sold by the bottle, six-pack, or case—that have the same Universal Product Codes (UPCs). You can scan new items with a barcode scanner to update inventory levels and print price labels from stock receipts, so your prices are always in line with your actual costs. You’ll also get low-stock alerts and shipment alerts, so you know exactly when to expect new items. KORONA is one of two systems on this list with shipment tracking; Lightspeed Retail is the other.
• Ticketing: KORONA also has built-in ticketing functionality, including time-sensitive, membership, group rates, and even turnstile integration. This also makes KORONA a great option for museums, amusement parks, stadiums, and events as it can handle ticketing, retail, and basic concession sales all in one POS.

Hike has a lot to offer in the features department, with tools perfect for brick-and-mortar and omnichannel retailers (note, however, that ecommerce integrations are only available in Hike’s Plus plan, which comes in at $119 per month).

• Mobility: Hike can run on any internet-enabled device, including your phone or tablet. This, plus its offline selling capabilities, makes it perfect for mobile sales.
• Inventory management: Perform full and partial counts, get real-time updates, manage stock down to variant, track stock levels, transfer inventory between stores and sales channels, and manage POs all from your Hike POS dashboard.
• Store management: Take control of your store with tools for managing your cash float, staff access and PINs, a built-in cash drawer calculator, and daily transaction reports.
• Reporting: Hike has tons of reporting tools, including customer reports and data, shift reports, sales and transaction reports, and category reports where you can look at specific products or categories to see how they are performing.

Lavu is a highly customizable iPad POS, with several cost-saving features. Like Lightspeed, TouchBistro, and Revel, Lavu supports both built-in payment processing and integrated third-party processors, so users can shop for the lowest processing rates. Though with Lavu, you will need to pay an additional $25 per month per terminal to use a third-party processor.

Its standout features include:

• Cash discount: Cash discounting allows you to charge one price for card payments and a different, lower price for cash payments. So, you build the price of processing into the price you charge for your products, then apply a discount—such as 4%—to checks that are paid in cash. This way, Lavu’s cash discounting tool helps small food businesses avoid the cost of credit card processing fees. This is especially attractive if the cost of processing has kept you from growing your business beyond cash-only sales.
• Transparent pricing: Like most of the systems on this list, Lavu has several software subscription tiers. Like TouchBistro, Lavu lists the monthly fees for additional features from loyalty ($50 per month) to KDS software ($30 per month) clearly. Small restaurants can choose which tools are important to them and only pay for what they need.
• API access: Lavu supports an open API that allows you to build custom software integrations with your POS. This feature costs an additional $30 per month, but if you want to connect your accounting program, delivery software, or other tools, it will be well worth it for the administrative time you can save.
• Accounts payable (A/P) automation: Lavu also owns A/P automation software Sourcery. It allows you to generate a central database of your vendors to create, place, receive, and pay for orders through the app. These are similar to the tools supported by Lightspeed Retail’s top-rated inventory functions. Sourcery costs an additional $99 per month, putting it more in the budget range of high-volume or multi-location restaurants. But, Lavu frequently offers deals with up to three months free if you want to try it.

When you look beyond the price, you’ll see that Revel includes a wealth of insightful POS features that many cloud-based systems lack. The reports are endlessly customizable, as are menu and order screens, and you can track every bit of sales and performance data imaginable.

It also includes a slew of free smartphone apps for reporting, inventory counting, and delivery drivers—extending the POS system’s functions. You can also commission a custom commerce app from Revel that allows customers to shop your store directly from their iOS and Android devices.

Revel Systems’ standout features include:

• Grocery features: Revel’s POS screens are highly customizable, and the system integrates with scales and barcode scanners to support all types of markets. You can prompt for age verification to sell alcohol or tobacco products and also process bottle deposits. You’ll also find integrated CRM, loyalty, gift card, and discount tools to encourage customer retention.
• Restaurant features: Detailed table mapping and management, menu-building tools, integrated kitchen display communication, and integrated online ordering form the foundation of Revel’s restaurant tools. Tip tracking, preauthorized bar tabs, and employee scheduling are also included.
• Inventory and vendor management: Revel’s inventory module is strong enough to compete with the best retail inventory tools and offers the strongest built-in restaurant inventory tools on this list. In addition to real-time inventory updates with low-stock alerts, users get vendor and PO management. You can also perform physical counts using Revel’s free inventory app for smartphones.
• Delivery management: If your restaurant or market wants to offer local delivery, Revel has you covered there, too. You can manage a team of in-house drivers with maps-based driver dispatch. Your dispatch dashboard tracks driver locations in real time and includes a free driver app, so you can send drivers turn-by-turn directions and delivery information. If you prefer to use third-party drivers, you can hail them on-demand using Revel’s integration with DoorDash Drive.
• Flexible hardware: Revel’s iPad-based POS terminals tend to be less expensive than the custom-built hardware required by IT Retail. The setup is also more straightforward than KORONA, where the sheer number of hardware options might be daunting. Revel includes the barcode scanners and integrated scales that grocers need, alongside customer display systems, self-order kiosks, and mobile ordering for speedy and contactless service.

IT Retail has all the tools an independent grocery or specialty market needs—from checkout lanes enabled with scanners and scales to smart inventory management and ecommerce tools. This incredibly flexible system can support markets with only a few checkout lanes, but it excels with markets that have several lanes, including self-checkout stands.

Its standout features include:

• Flexible checkout: Integrated scales make it easy to sell produce and bulk goods and goods by weight. You can accept all major credit and debit cards, EBT food and cash payments, gift cards, eWIC, and contactless payments, such as Apple Pay. IT Retail also offers a slew of self-checkout options, including digitized, mobile in-person checkout via FutureProof, allowing customers to checkout via their smartphones.
• Inventory management: You can generate POs from your IT Retail back office and track products by case, six-pack, or bottle. When supplies arrive, you can receive and count stock using a mobile app and generate new shelf tags as needed. These seemingly small functions can save you labor hours when it comes to receiving and restocking. As with other systems on this list, your IT Retail POS will alert you to low stock, so you never forget to reorder.
• CRM tools: You can create a custom loyalty program and issue scannable loyalty cards—giving your small market the same feel as a larger brand. Your IT Retail POS automatically tracks available rewards at checkout and prompts your cashiers to ask customers if they would like to redeem accrued rewards.
• Ecommerce integration: Market owners can enable online ordering and delivery, including specialty and fresh items, with several ecommerce integrations, such as Local Express, Mercato, Freshop, My Cloud Grocer, and Instacart. So, you can find the best solution for your market.
• Age verification: Like Vend by Lightspeed, IT Retail includes built-in tools for scanning IDs for age-restricted purchases. This is a great fit for markets that sell alcohol and tobacco products.

The best POS system for you depends on your business type and what functions you need the machine to perform. However, the best POS systems for small businesses offer decent functionality at a low price and can grow with your business.

According to our evaluations, the best POS systems are:

• Square: Best overall
• Shopify: Best for ecommerce and multichannel retail
• Lightspeed: Best for complex inventories
• Toast: Best for restaurants

The cheapest POS systems tend to be those that offer their POS software for only the cost of payment processing. Popular systems that follow this model include Square and Toast—though you can also find systems that offer free POS software without any integrated payment processing, like Loyverse (see our full Loyverse review).

However, software and processing fees won’t be your only POS costs. You’ll also need to consider hardware like touch screens and card readers. If you’re on a budget, iPad-based POS systems like Lightspeed and TouchBistro are good options.

Related: Best Free POS Systems for Small Businesses

Many people use the terms “POS” and “terminal” interchangeably. A POS (or “point-of-sale”) system is a combination of hardware and software that allow businesses to track inventory, enter sales, process payments, and log business performance data. A terminal is one part of a POS system; it is the hardware component where you enter sales and process payments.

A terminal can be stationary or mobile, as large as a desktop computer or small enough to fit in your hand. You can see more POS components by reading our guide to POS hardware or how to use a POS.

Retailers use a variety of POS systems depending on their business type. Multi-location national chain stores often design their own POS systems so they can quickly respond to POS technology trends. Independent retailers tend to rely on commercially available cloud-based systems like Square (which has more than 2 million active sellers), Shopify, Vend, and NCR.

Related: Best Retail POS Systems