4 Best Retail POS Systems & Software for 2023

• Checkout tools: Barcode-based user interface comes with advanced product search, save carts for later, and return and exchange processing. Online orders automatically appear in the POS registers. There are options for mobile, contactless, QR codes, gift cards, and online payments.
• Inventory management: Perform variant tracking and control, set up low stock alerts, create and print barcodes, receive stock from the app in bulk, create and track purchase orders as they come in, manage vendors, and perform stock counts and COGS tracking.
• Sophisticated hardware: In addition to running on iPads, Square for Retail operates on Square Register, a countertop POS with a detachable customer-facing display with built-in chip, swipe, and contactless payments.
• Omnichannel features: Every account comes with a free online store, features to sell on Instagram, an innovative website builder, automatic inventory sync, and omnichannel tools, like in-store pickup and local delivery.
• CRM tools: Automatically generate customer profiles based on the payment method, create and segment customer groups, add shopper details, and send digital receipts with feedback surveys.
• Square ecosystem: One of the most significant benefits of using Square is having seamless integration with all of its additional business tools, like payroll, team management, appointments, loyalty, invoicing, and an online store. You can add and remove software at any time to build a solution customized for your business.
• Employee management: Square for Retail Plus includes advanced team management features like shift scheduling and swapping, custom permission settings, activity logs, and advanced reporting.

• Omnichannel sales: Customers can browse in-store and have items emailed to them, scan QR codes to open product pages on your website, and get real-time shipping updates. You can offer curbside pickup, accept returns and exchanges for online purchases in-store, and ship in-store purchases to customers’ homes. All data seamlessly syncs between ecommerce and in-store.
• Checkout: Customize the register screen, add shortcuts, sell on mobile, customize receipts, and save carts.
• Products and inventory management: Create collections and item variants, manage multiple locations, track stock levels, manage purchase orders, receive vendor shipments, set up low stock alerts, forecast product demands, and get suggestions for items to discount. These tools, along with the ability to integrate with consignment software, make it our top pick for consignment store POS systems.
• Reporting: View stats at-a-glance, see cash flows, review finance reports, and track cash and daily sales.
• Staff management: Assign individual PINs, set custom permissions, and attribute sales to award commissions.
• Customer management: Create customer profiles, segment customers, add notes to profiles and individual orders, set marketing preferences, and build loyalty programs.
• Marketing: Collect product reviews, create email marketing campaigns, integrate social media accounts, and create Google Ad campaigns.

• Inventory management: Manage custom orders from shoppers, bundle items for gift baskets, and anticipate inventory needs. This forecasting tool and ability to predict shopping trends are part of what sets Lightspeed apart from the competition.

• Supplier market: Lightspeed POS comes with over 8 million products loaded in the supplier directory, so you can create, manage, and submit purchase orders from within the system and easily import accurate product information. View updates on orders in real time.
• Customer management: Create customer profiles, track transactions, assign VIP status, manage promo codes, and sell and redeem gift cards. Automated loyalty program available with Standard and Advanced plans.
• Reporting and analytics: Lightspeed includes more than 40 built-in reports that cover inventory, sales, employee performance, and more in one analytics dashboard. What sets it apart is it translates data into actionable business tips. For example, Lightspeed can take sales and traffic data and translate that into staffing and inventory reports to help you prepare for peak hours.
• Ecommerce and omnichannel tools: Lightspeed eCom integrates seamlessly with the POS software. Choose from several mobile-responsive and customizable online store templates and manage inventory, product pages, shipping, returns and exchanges, marketing, and reports. Lightspeed eCom is available in multiple languages and currencies, with international shipping options. Boost traffic by connecting your social accounts, utilizing its SEO tools, and sending newsletters and notification emails.

• Checkout: Customize the POS app with shortcuts, add notes and line items to transactions and customer receipts, save transactions to complete later, manage gift cards, and set up layaway and on-account payments.
• Payment processing: While Vend by Lightspeed automatically comes integrated with Lightspeed Payments, it can also integrate with CardConnect (First Data), Chase, Elavon, Klarna, PayPal, Square, Worldpay, and others so you can shop around for the lowest rates. Vend also offers lots of flexibility with features like store credit and layaway payments. You should note, however, that your Vend monthly rate will go up if you don’t use Lightspeed Payments, so weigh that cost when you are comparing merchant account options.
• Inventory: Track inventory across multiple stores, create a centralized product catalog, edit products in bulk, automate purchase orders, create variants and composites, and print labels and barcodes. It has a unique scanner mobile app to look up products by barcode, perform inventory counts, update stock counts, and add new products to the catalog.
• Customer management: Create customer profiles, import existing customer lists, sell and redeem gift cards, segment customer groups, export customers to email marketing software, issue store credit, and create a custom loyalty program.
• Add-ons and integrations: MailSync syncs Vend POS data to Mailchimp, Constant Contact, and other email software. Connect with other marketing tools like Yotpo and Perkville, inventory tools like Orderhive and Sku IQ, accounting tools like QuickBooks and Gusto, ecommerce platforms BigCommerce and Shopify, and more.
• Employee management: Create customized user logins and permissions for staff, require employee passwords for each sale to track performance, and get register and shift reports. One unique feature of Vend is setting individual employee and team sales goals and average basket sizes.
• Reporting: Customize reports and adjust filters and variables to view data on customers, inventory, and employees. View real-time stock levels, gift card data, and team performance from anywhere with its mobile-friendly web-based dashboard.

A POS or point-of-sale system is the software and hardware that businesses use to process transactions and track business activities, like inventory, sales data, your staff, and more.

Learn more: What is a POS System

There are several POS system providers that offer completely free accounts. Our top pick for a free POS system is Square POS, as all the basic POS features are free for a single location, and there are affordable plans to support you as you grow.

Learn more: Best Free POS Systems

In our evaluation, Square offers the best POS system not only for retailers, but across the board for all types of small businesses.

Learn more: Best POS Systems for Small Businesses

Square offers the best POS system for retailers, with a free plan, tons of great tools, an included ecommerce site, and integrated payment processing.

Learn more: Square for Retail review