A point-of-sale (POS) system is a hardware and software bundle that serves as the nerve center of brick and mortar businesses by centralizing payment processing, automating stock tracking and sales reports, and streamlining customer relationship management. Some POS software is available for free, while other systems cost up to $200 per month for one station.
The best POS systems are:
- Square: Best free, mobile, and all-purpose POS system
- Shopify: Best for multichannel retailers
- Lightspeed Retail: Best for large retailers or retailers with complex inventories
- Vend: Best for growing brick and mortar retailers
- Toast: Best POS for most restaurants
- Upserve by Lightspeed: Best iPad restaurant POS
- Revel Systems: Best POS for high-volume restaurants and grocery stores
- IT Retail: Best for small markets and grocers that need a POS with scale integration
- POS Nation: Best for convenience stores and liquor stores
If you’re not sure which POS system is best for you, take this three-question quiz. It takes less than a minute and will provide a result without redirecting you to another page.
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How We Evaluated POS Systems
I’ve spent the past two and a half years evaluating POS systems for Fit Small Business. Before that, I spent years working in and with small businesses using POS software every day. Based on my personal experience and time evaluating dozens of POS systems, Square is the best all-purpose POS system for most individuals and small businesses.
Click through the tabs below to see my full evaluation criteria:
30% of Overall Score
We prioritized POS systems that include a free plan or free trial, affordable subscriptions, and additional plans so you won’t grow out of the system. We also awarded points to systems with affordable integrated payment processing, flexible hardware options, and no restrictions on the number of users, inventory, or transactions. Finally, we penalized systems that require long-term contracts and hefty installation fees.
15% of Overall Score
Businesses need speedy and customizable checkout tools, easy customer management, mobility to sell anywhere, a process to track orders, and a way to process online orders. Because the way businesses operate has changed so much in the last year, we also emphasize contactless payments, integrated online ordering, and online store features.
15% of Overall Score
The most important feature we considered was inventory tracking. We also considered how sophisticated and user-friendly the reporting dashboard of each system is and what marketing and employee management tools are available.
20% of Overall Score
We prioritized POS systems with 24/7 phone support. We also considered help tickets and email or chat support, installation processes, and whether or not the system has an offline mode or hybrid installation so you can continue operations when you lose internet. Finally, we also considered if the system has an online knowledge base, training videos, or a training mode to help bring new employees up to speed.
20% of Overall Score
We considered the overall quality of each system’s features, along with system stability, security, and ease of use. We evaluated whether or not it offers a good value for its price point, any stand-out features. Finally, we accounted for our personal experience using each system and interacting with customer service representatives, its reviews, and the personal experience of other small business owners.
Square: Best Overall & Free POS System for Small Businesses
Square
What We Like
- Free POS, best value for small businesses
- Easy to use, fast set-up
- Can grow with your business
What's Missing
- Limited inventory control
- Not suitable for high-risk businesses
- Limited phone support
Square Pricing
- Point-of-sale app: Free—no startup or monthly fees.
- Card-present processing fee: 2.6% + 10 cents per transaction
- Card readers: From $49
- Terminals: From $299. Interest-free payment plans available
- Operates on iOS, Android, and Square hardware
- 30-day free trial for Plus plans
Square is the best POS system for most small businesses because of its affordable price point and easy-to-use software with options designed for general purpose, retail, restaurants, and appointment-based businesses. Each option has a free plan that includes unlimited sales and products, an online store, and a $50 to $60 monthly plan with additional features. This makes Square our top-scoring all-around POS system and our top choice for free POS and mobile POS solutions. Square for Retail is also our top choice for all-purpose retail POS, and Square Appointments is the highest-scoring POS system for salons and spas.
Modular add-ons including payroll processing and marketing, and flexible hardware options are also available. Scroll through the images below to see Square’s interface and hardware options.
Square Register includes a detachable customer-facing display for contactless payments. Swipe to see more Square POS features. (Source: Square)
Square Terminal and Reader can be used on-the-go to process payments anywhere, including curbside. Swipe to see more Square POS features. (Source: Square)
Square POS has a customizable checkout so businesses can set up modifiers, add-ons, taxes, discounts, and more. Swipe to see more Square POS features. (Source: Square)
Square Appointments POS is a full version of Square POS, with appointment booking capabilities added on, including an online booking portal and full calendar management. Swipe to see more Square POS features. (Source: Square)
Square for Retail helps businesses manage in-store, online, and social sales in one centralized software. Customers can place orders for pick-up and store associates will get notified on the in-store POS to prep and package orders. Swipe to see more Square POS features. (Source: Square)
Square for Restaurants includes conversational ordering, a kitchen display system, centralized management for online orders, tableside ordering and contactless payments, and more. Swipe to see more Square POS features. (Source: Square)
View real-time reports, manage customers and orders, and manage all Square products from Square Dashboard, which can be accessed from anywhere. Swipe to see more Square POS features. (Source: Square)
Create free, professional websites, online ordering pages, and ecommerce shops with Square Online. Swipe to see more Square POS features. (Source: Square)
Square POS Features
- Built-in payment processing: Accept credit and debit card payments in-person, online, invoice, recurring or subscription billing, contactless payments, or over the phone with next-day deposits.
- Square Appointments: Manage multiple appointment calendars, set up online booking, allow customers to book and manage appointments with an online portal, send automatic SMS and email reminders, and require credit cards upon booking for no-show and cancellation fees.
- Square for Retail: Barcode-based interface with omnichannel sale tools and inventory management features like barcode creation, vendor management, purchase orders, and detailed sales reports.
- Square for Restaurants: Integrated online ordering, order management system, kitchen display system, conversational ordering, table, and seat management, firing and coursing options, and menu reporting and management.
- Square Dashboard: Process transactions, track product sales, view reports, manage teams, taxes, payroll, and more in one centralized cloud-based dashboard.
- Customer relationship management: Create customer profiles and collect and respond to customer feedback. Square Marketing Assistant can identify marketing campaign opportunities, suggest email campaigns based on your customer list and activities, analyze performance, and identify best practices.
- Online store: Build a free website and online store to sell online for pickup, shipping, or delivery. Create simple online ordering pages or add shoppable posts to your existing website or social media accounts.
Shopify: Best Multichannel POS
Shopify
What We Like
- Good value for small businesses
- Omnichannel sales tools
- Easy to use, intuitive interface
What's Missing
- Glitchy offline mode
- Free POS app has limited features
- Requires ecommerce subscription
Shopify POS Pricing
- Monthly ecommerce software fees: $9–$299
- Monthly POS software fees: $0 for basic POS app, $89 for Shopify POS Pro
- In-person processing fees: 2.4%–2.7% with built-in Shopify Payments
- Tap and chip card reader: $49
- Operates on iPads and desktops
- 14-day free trial
Shopify is an ecommerce platform that comes with a free POS software for selling products at events or on-the-go, plus features to sell on social media and third-party marketplaces. For brick and mortar retailers, Shopify has a POS Pro plan with omnichannel selling tools, sophisticated inventory management, and more detailed analytics. With all Shopify plans, sales, inventory, and customer data are stored in one place, making Shopify the best POS for multichannel sellers.
Shopify POS and POS Pro can be used on tablets for a countertop solution, or on mobile devices to meet your customers where they are. Swipe to see more Shopify POS features. (Source: Shopify)
Shopify's contactless and chip reader is portable and has a smartphone case option for market and curbside sales. Swipe to see more Shopify POS features. (Source: Shopify)
Shopify POS has a checkout screen with customizable tiles so you can put whatever products, policies, information, or actions are most important to you at the front and center. Swipe to see more Shopify POS features. (Source: Shopify)
Shopify POS also works on mobile (along with the contactless reader). Swipe to see more Shopify POS features. (Source: Shopify)
Shopify's mobile app alerts you to new sales, shows what orders need fulfilling, and show you general sales data. Swipe to see more Shopify POS features. (Source: Shopify)
Shopify's web-based dashboard provides deeper insights into sales, customers, and online store traffic. Swipe to see more Shopify POS features. (Source: Shopify)
Shopify is also one of the most popular ecommerce platforms, so you can create a fully integrated online store. Swipe to see more Shopify POS features. (Source: Shopify)
Shopify POS Features
- Omnichannel selling: Offer frictionless shopping experiences with buy online, pick up or return in-store; buy in-store, ship to the customer; and browse in-store, buy online with email carts and QR product codes.
- Products: Add unlimited products, categories, and collections including multiple variants.
- 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.
- Online sales: Shopify is the leading small business ecommerce platform, but it also offers features to sell on social media and third-party marketplaces and to add “Buy” buttons to blogs.
Lightspeed Retail: Best POS for Inventory Management
Lightspeed Retail
What We Like
- Detailed inventory and analytics tools
- Robust ecommerce platform
- 24/7 support and onboarding
What's Missing
- Expensive for small businesses
- User interface hard to navigate
Lightspeed Retail Pricing
- Monthly software fees: $69–$229
- Additional registers: $29 per month
- Payment processing: 2.6% + 10 cents per transaction
- Operates on iPads and desktops
- 14-day free trial
Lightspeed Retail is the best POS system for product management, especially for businesses with large or complex inventories and specialty shops needing to manage custom orders. The software lets retailers create product bundles, categorize with multiple variants, and manage purchase orders with a built-in catalog. Lightspeed also offers one of the most sophisticated analytics platforms for small businesses.
In the News: Lightspeed Acquisitions
Within the last year, Lightspeed POS has acquired ShopKeep (Nov. 5, 2020), Upserve (Dec. 1, 2020), and Vend POS systems (March 11, 2021).
Lightspeed Retail offers a powerful POS for managing in-store and online sales. Swipe to see more Lightspeed Retail features. (Source: Lightspeed)
Build an ecommerce website that's integrated with your POS system, including synced stock control and order management. Swipe to see more Lightspeed Retail features. (Source: Lightspeed)
Lightspeed offers some of the most powerful analytics available to small shops. Swipe to see more Lightspeed Retail features. (Source: Lightspeed)
Run Lightspeed on a tablet, laptop, or desktop computer. Lightspeed's integrated payment processing with contactless options and wireless Bluetooth barcode scanner makes checkout a breeze. Swipe to see more Lightspeed Retail features. (Source: Lightspeed)
Design and manage your ecommerce website from your Lightspeed dashboard. Choose from mobile-responsive themes and upload inventory in one-click. Swipe to see more Lightspeed Retail features. (Source: Lightspeed)
Lightspeed's granular inventory control is ideal for businesses with lots of SKUs, varients, bundled products, or custom orders. Swipe to see more Lightspeed Retail features.(Source: Lightspeed)
Lightspeed Retail Features
- Inventory management: Bulk upload up to 10,000 SKUs at once, manage variants, create bundles, and track unit costs, layaways, and special orders. Streamline purchase orders with built-in product catalog and low-stock alerts.
- Supplier Network: Retailers can discover products, submit purchase orders, and track stock shipments from within Lightspeed POS.
- Reporting and analytics: Lightspeed offers the most powerful analytics platform available at a small-business-friendly price. Includes over 40 built-in reports, allows retailers to build custom reports and view data in visual forms like graphs and charts, and offers tips on how to interpret the data.
- Marketing: Lightspeed has a built-in loyalty program. 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.
- Ecommerce: Lightspeed Ecommerce syncs with POS data, offers over 50 professional themes, and includes full shipping and order management tools, marketing, CRM, and SEO features.
Vend: Best POS for Growing Brick and Mortar Stores
Vend
What We Like
- Flexible checkout features - built-in loyalty, store credit, layaway
- User-friendly system - runs on all operating systems
- 24/7 phone support
What's Missing
- Weak ecommerce integration
- Basic reporting tools
- Lack of integrated email marketing
Vend Pricing
- Monthly software fees: $99 ($20,000 turnover limit) or $129 (unlimited turnover)*
- Additional registers: $49 per month each*
- Payment processing: Varies; Vend integrates with more than eight different processors
- Operates on Mac, PC, and iPad
- 14-day free trial
*Based on annual billing. Month-to-month rates are higher.
Vend is an iPad and web-based POS designed strictly for brick and mortar retailers. It is one of the few POS systems that come with built-in loyalty programs, store credit, layaway tools, offline processing, and easy product catalog management. Vend integrates with many different payment processors so businesses can shop around for the lowest rates, and offer multiple payment options like PayPal.
Vend is a cloud-based POS system that provides retailers all the tools they need to sell in-store and online. Swipe to see more Vend POS features. (Source: Vend)
Vend's iPad POS system has a clean interface that's easy to use. Swipe to see more Vend POS features. (Source: Vend)
Collect customer email addresses and send receipts right from the checkout screen. Swipe to see more Vend POS features. (Source: Vend)
Vend has detailed customer management with an integrated loyalty program. Swipe to see more Vend POS features. (Source: Vend)
Vend integrates with Shopify, BigCommerce, and WooCommerce for seamless online sales. Swipe to see more Vend POS features. (Source: Vend)
View sales, inventory, and customer reports on desktop or mobile. Swipe to see more Vend POS features. (Source: Vend)
Vend has a handy barcode scanning app designed for taking quick stock counts. This makes it easier to reconcile inventory reports and reduces the need for manual inventory adjustments. Swipe to see more Vend POS features. (Source: Vend)
Vend Features
- Register: User-friendly cloud system with offline processing, staff logins, flexible configurations including layaway and on-account sales, store credit, gift cards, and partial payment.
- Detailed inventory tools: Track variants and bundles, create, import, and print barcodes, build a centralized product catalog, set custom low-stock alerts, and manage tax rates.
- Mobile barcode scanning app: Vend has a free iOS app for scanning barcodes to perform quick inventory counts, receive shipments, or lookup product details from the sales floor. Any changes made in the app can sync to Vend’s reporting data.
- Add-ons and growth tools: Vend comes with a native loyalty program and integrates with third-party tools for ecommerce, accounting, employee scheduling, and multichannel inventory management.
Toast: Best Restaurant POS System
Toast
What We Like
- Easy to use, all-in-one system
- Flexible hardware, software, and pricing configurations
- 24/7 support
What's Missing
- Can be expensive with add-ons
- Android only - not compatible with Apple iOS
- No free trial
Toast Pricing
- Monthly software fee: $0 – $340
- Additional registers: Custom
- Payment processing: Varies depending on plan
- Operates on Toast Android hardware
- No free trial
- 2-year contract
Toast is a restaurant POS software specifically designed for the foodservice industry. It combines front-of-house features like table mapping, menu management, and real-time feedback collection with back-of-house features like kitchen displays and ingredient-level inventory tracking. Toast also offers online ordering and delivery features, along with payroll tools and a wide array of industry-specific hardware, making it the best POS system for most restaurants.
Toast is an Android-based POS system built specifically for the foodservice industry to accommodate cafes, sit-down, quick service, takeout, and delivery operations. Swipe to see more Toast features. (Source: Toast)
Toast's touchscreen countertop POS is easy to use. Swipe to see more Toast features. (Source: Toast)
Mobile ordering and payment solutions allow for tableside, line-busting, and curbside payments. Swipe to see more Toast features. (Source: Toast)
Toast has QR codes for menus and payments for a completely contactless dining experience. Swipe to see more Toast features. (Source: Toast)
Toast's integrated online ordering allows for seamless menu management, with online orders being sent directly to your kitchen. Plus, Toast Online Ordering is commission-free. Swipe to see more Toast features. (Source: Toast)
Toast POS Features
- Payment processing: Toast offers tons of contactless solutions including online menus, mobile ordering and payments, self-order kiosks, tap and mobile wallet payments, and QR codes. Mobile pocket-size terminals also available for tableside ordering and payments.
- Front-of-house features: Table mapping and management, real-time customer feedback collection, tickets automatically sent to kitchen display, order notifications.
- Reporting and back-office: Detailed menu management with ingredient-level tracking, recipe costing, waste and COGS reports, payroll administration, sales, and performance data, all with real-time data.
- Online ordering and delivery: Integrated online ordering (no third-party commissions) with customizable mobile-responsive site, real-time ingredient and menu updates, and configurable hours and delivery settings.
- Workforce management: Automated payroll, easy new-hire onboarding including HR paperwork, employee scheduling, in-depth labor reports, and a benefits platform for offering healthcare.
Upserve by Lightspeed: Best iPad Restaurant POS
Upserve by Lightspeed
What We Like
- Built-in guest logbook, marketing campaigns, and reputation management
- Menu intelligence reporting, recipe costing, and automated inventory tracking
- Shift prep, scheduling, and communication tools
What's Missing
- Upserve by Lightspeed Cons
- Can be expensive
- Limited hardware options
Upserve by Lightspeed Pricing
- Monthly software fees: From $59
- Registers: $40–$60 each
- Payment processing: Quote-based
- Operates on iPads and Android tablets
- No free trial
- 3-year contract
Upserve is a POS system and restaurant management software designed to function as an all-in-one platform for point-of-sale, payments, inventory customer management, marketing, online ordering, workforce management, and reporting. Upserve’s tablet-based POS is incredibly easy to use, and the browser-based back office offers some of the most robust inventory, customer management, and employee management tools available in a small business restaurant POS.
This makes it our top choice for iPad restaurant POS systems, particularly for full-service restaurants, fine dining restaurants, and craft cocktail bars.
Sidebar navigation lets servers generate orders in just a few taps. Customize modifiers, and void, comp, or discount items. (Source: Upserve)
Split and transfer checks a number of ways, set automatic gratuities, track tip pools, and send digital receipts. (Source: Upserve)
Training Mode lets new servers practice on your actual system without recording payments or sending real orders. (Source: Upserve)
Upserve by Lightspeed Features
- Marketing and CRM: Build customer profiles including visit and order history, create filtered guest lists for targeted promotions, easily pair servers with guests who have tipped them well in the past, track and respond to online reviews, create a loyalty program that recognizes customer payment cards, and view reports by customer segments.
- Ingredient management: Automated inventory management with real-time tracking and deductions as dishes are sold, one-click purchase ordering, automatic purchase order receiving, scanner app for performing in-app inventory counts and scanning deliveries, menu and recipe reports to see how each menu item impacts your bottom line.
- Reporting: Basic sales, labor, product mix, profit and loss, marketing reports, daily logs, reputation management, and live mobile reporting app are included at all subscription tiers. Pro plans include custom reporting, server insights, menu insights, and recipe costing.
- Workforce management: Customizable tip pooling, real-time labor cost alerts, and clock-in controls available on all plans. Build and manage employee schedules in-app, then distribute them via text or email.
Revel Systems: Best for High-volume Restaurants and Grocers
Revel Systems
What We Like
- Robust, customizable system
- Granular reporting tools
- Back office management accessible through registers
What's Missing
- Complex cost and setup
- Expensive system with no free trials
- Not as user-friendly as other systems
Revel Systems Pricing
- Monthly software fee: Starts at $99 per month per terminal.
- Payment processing: Flat transaction fee—specific rates not disclosed.
- Installation and onboarding fee: Starts at $664.
- Operates on iPads. Lots of peripherals available
- No free trial
- 3-year contract
Revel Systems is a cloud-based foodservice POS that has configurable features for self-order kiosks, customer-facing displays, mobile and tableside ordering, and online ordering. This makes Revel a good fit for large, high-volume, or chain restaurants such as pizza shops.
Lots of scanner and scale integrations, self-checkout features, perishable inventory tracking, and SNAP EBT payment processing also make Revel the best grocery POS for larger markets.
Revel POS can be customized with different modifier types for easy ordering. Swipe to see more Revel POS features. (Source: Revel Systems)
Revel offers integrated online ordering. Swipe to see more Revel POS features.(Source: Revel Systems)
Revel's touchscreen kitchen display systems keep line items in order and tracks how quickly orders are being cooked. Swipe to see more Revel POS features.(Source: Revel Systems)
Revel's inventory management features let's you track on-hand inventory down to the ingredient level. Also monitor costs and markup pricing, food waste, and easily receive stock. Swipe to see more Revel POS features. (Source: Revel Systems)
Revel's reporting shows you which menu items are most popular and most profitable. Swipe to see more Revel POS features. (Source: Revel Systems)
Revel Systems Features
- Restaurant features: Detailed table mapping and management, menu-building tools, integrated kitchen display communication, and integrated online ordering.
- Reporting: Revel Insights reporting offers real-time ingredient-level inventory tracking, FIFO inventory management, performance metrics, and sales reports.
- Back office: Centralized multi-location management and an open API allow businesses to build a setup that meets their needs.
- Customer-facing features: Revel has features for customer display systems, self-order kiosks, and mobile ordering for speedy and contactless service, plus loyalty, gift card, and discount tools for customer retention.
IT Retail: Best POS for Small Markets
IT Retail
What We Like
- Grocery and market-specific features
- Scale integration and strong loyalty features
- 24/7 support
What's Missing
- No fuel pump or deli/cafe features
- High hardware costs
- Not a lot of available pricing information
IT Retail Pricing
- Monthly software fee: From $79
- Payment processing: Custom
- Operates on IT Retail hardware (quote-based pricing)
- No free trial
IT Retail’s Market POS is a specific system that includes hard-to-find features like scale integration for selling goods by weight, bottle deposit management, automated shopper rewards program, and self-checkout options. The POS comes packaged in rugged hardware necessary in a grocery environment and allows markets to sell online and connect with a network of delivery drivers.
IT Retail is designed specifically for grocery stores and markets, so it has specialized features like scale integration, easy-access manager functions, and quick product lookup. Swipe to see more IT Retail features. (Source: IT Retail)
IT Retail offers integrated payment processing with durable pin terminals. Swipe to see more IT Retail features. (Source: IT Retail)
Loyalty rewards are an important feature for markets, so IT Retail has this functionality built-in. Swipe to see more IT Retail features. (Source: IT Retail)
See real-time sales, transaction, employee, and inventory reports from anywhere. Swipe to see more IT Retail features. (Source: IT Retail)
Create and manage employee accounts including access and permission levels, timesheets, and performance reports. Swipe to see more IT Retail features. (Source: IT Retail)
IT Retail also offers specialty hardware solutions like self-checkouts, so markets and grocers of all sizes can build checkouts to suit business needs. Swipe to see more IT Retail features. (Source: IT Retail)
IT Retail POS Features
- Checkout: Flexible checkout options for produce and bulk goods, scale integration for selling goods by weight, customer-display, and self-checkout setups. Accept all major credit and debit cards, EBT food and cash payments, gift cards, eWIC, and contactless payments such as Apple Pay.
- Inventory management: Create, print, and scan barcode labels, generate purchase orders, receive and count stock using a mobile app, generate purchase orders, and generate shelf tags. Mobile reporting available on any device.
- CRM tools: Issue scannable loyalty cards, create a custom loyalty program, POS automatically tracks available rewards at checkout.
- Online grocery: Enable online ordering and delivery, including specialty and fresh items, with Mercato integration.
POS Nation: Best POS for Convenience and Liquor Stores
POS Nation
What We Like
What's Missing
POS Nation Pricing
POS Nation is a retail POS designed for liquor, grocery, convenience, and hardware stores. Hard-to-find features including age verification tools, scale integrations, lotto ticket sales, case-break inventory tracking, carton-pack inventory tracking, and rental management make POS Nation a top choice for convenience, liquor, and other corner or mom and pop stores.
POS Nation has built-in ID scanning and age verification prompts, ideal for liquor, tobacco, vape, and lotto sales. (Source: POS Nation)
Customizable hotkeys let you ring up high-volume products or specials in just one tap. (Source: POS Nation)
Easy stock counts, automated on-hand tracking, and tools to account for carton and case-break sales simplify inventory tracking. (Source: POS Nation)
Over 55 built-in reports, custom reports, and data visualizations are all available on your POS. For an additional monthly fee, view reports from any computer or mobile device. (Source: POS Nation)
POS Nation Features
- Register tools: POS Nation has multiple interface layouts that are all customizable with hot-keys and graphical buttons to optimize the checkout screen for your needs.
- Specialty product handling: Built-in age verification, mobile checkout, scale integrations, integrated lotto ticket sales, and cigar label printing.
- Inventory management: Mix and match pricing, case-break and carton-pack tracking, auto-generate purchase orders, mobile in-app stock counts, layaway, barcoding, rental management, and matrix inventory.
- Shrinkage protection: Exception reporting to track excessive voids and unusual register activity, forced register counts, and blind register counts.
- Reporting: Over 55 pre-built reports including sales, customers, employees, accounts receivable, and special reports to comply with product and state-specific requirements including 1014 reporting for Pennsylvania beer distributors.
Bottom Line
The best POS systems provide business owners more than a simple way to accept payments. POS trends such as mobile-first technology mean businesses can sell products and services anywhere, anytime. Artificial intelligence (AI) developments in POS software mean that instead of telling businesses how much product they have on-hand, POS systems can tell businesses exactly what they need to order and in what quantities. The best POS software combines analytics and ease of use at a price point that is accessible for small businesses.
Square POS is free to use, and its core features are powerful enough on their own that you may not even need the optional add-ons to build out the POS system. If you do opt to include the loyalty program, staff management features, or payroll, you’ll still likely pay less than some other POS systems. Get a free account today.
Denis
Hi,
For a business having products with variant like T-Shirts with colors and sizes, Lightspeed is really NOT the right POS for you because that features has been added late in the software development and it makes that feature so complicated. Try another one.
Krista Fabregas
Hi Denis,
We used that feature for years in a motorcycle shop and it wasn’t difficult to manage. I’d love to know what you found to be the hangup in the process so I can check it out. Look forward to hearing back.
Cheers!
Krista
Deb
This is a great tool. I am opening a new home decor and gift shop this summer and am overwhelmed by the POS decision. The store is around 1300 sq ft, so inventory will not be massive, however inventory mgmt is important to me. The shop will have 3-5 total employees at any given time. I would like an integrated online platform as I will be selling some of the shops private label goods online. Next year I plan to open an outdoor patio at the shop that will seed a separate register. I’ve narrowed down my focus to Square, Shopify and ShopKeep by Lightspeed. Can you provide advice or direction? Than you
Krista Fabregas
Hi Deb,
Square is going to be the least expensive solution that ticks all of the bells whistles for you. Shopify is going to run you additional monthly fees to add the full retail management portal. Both are all-in-ones that combine credit card solutions with your POS capabilities and the credit card processing fees are similar. ShopKeep by Lightspeed is a great system but you’ll have to add third-party payroll and ecommerce capabilities, Square has great ecommerce capabilities and integrations to other platforms built in, and even payroll is available in most states. That’s how I’d break it down if I were making the choice for my own shop. Hope this helps, good luck!
Cheers,
Krista
Michael
Have you had a chance to review NCR Silver, if so, how do you think it compares? I am in the process of selecting a system and think I need something a bit more robust than Square. Lightspeed seemed overpriced, so I have narrowed it down to ShopKeep by Lightspeed and NCR Silver. NCR Silver seems to have a slightly better customer contact/tracking tool and is slightly cheaper per month. Any reason I should avoid it?
Thanks!
Krista Fabregas
Hi Michael,
It has good user reviews and documentation and it’s on our list to review for upcoming articles. I’d consider it and do a free trial first if it seems to meet your needs and budget.
Cheers!
Krista
Alice
Is there any easy way to sync Shopify inventory counts with Square?
Krista Fabregas
Yes, but it’s not free. Squarify.io uploads and links products between your Square dashboard and your Shopify store inventory for free, but to add count updates, you need the paid version which starts at $49/mo. It is a pretty simple solution, though, so the time it saves can easily be worth the monthly fee. Hope this helps!
Cheers,
Krista
Tina Hogoboom
Your article is very informative, thank you. I am currently trying to decide on a POS system & credit card processing system. I am leaning towards Square. My concern is, I am not an Ipad user. Can I use Square with a standard Android tablet? I am also confused trying to match up equipment. Android tablet, cash drawer and printer. Any advise on the equipment end of things? Thanks, Tina
Krista Fabregas
Hi Tina,
Square’s mobile card reader and POS system work on both Apple and Android devices, but the Square stand that connects to cash drawers and receipt printers only works with an iPad. It is an extra cost if you don’t already have one, but the iPad stand register is very slick and runs well. You might consider making the switch. Even with buying an iPad, the overall Square solution is much less expensive than other POS cash register setups. Good luck!
Cheers,
Krista