5 Best Bike Shop POS for Small Businesses
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.
Anna is a retail expert writer for Fit Small Business with over six years of evaluating dozens of software for small business. She holds a double degree in Accountancy and Financial Management and is currently pursuing further education in financial and payment technology.
This article is part of a larger series on POS Systems.
The best bike shop point-of-sale (POS) systems have advanced inventory management features to handle a diverse category of items including parts, warranty tracking, used items, and consignments. They should also be able to manage a wide range of revenue types, including custom orders, rentals, repairs, and trade-ins.
In addition to these features specific to bike shops, the POS should also have reliable integrated payment processing and business management tools in an affordable package.
Based on our evaluation of 12 systems across 35 data points, the best bike shop POS are:
- Lightspeed Retail: Best overall bike shop POS for small businesses
- Square for Retail: Best for small or startup bike shops
- Clover: Best for bike shops with a preferred payment processor
- Shopify: Best for omnichannel sales
- Vend by Lightspeed: Best for bike shops with multiple locations
Best Bike Shop POS Systems Compared
 |  |  |  |  | |
Monthly subscription fees | $69–$269 | $0–$60 | $0–$54.90 | $0–$89 + Ecommerce plan ($29–$299) | $99–$299 |
Integrated payments | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ |
Layaway/ BNPL payments | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ |
Offline payment processing | ✖ | ✔ | ✔ | Cash payments only | Cash payments only |
Ecommerce tools | Plan upgrade | ✔ | Add-on | ✔ | Third-party integration |
Track rentals, repairs and trade-ins | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ |
Track custom orders | ✔ | ✖ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ |
Warranty tracking | ✔ | ✖ | ✖ | ✔ | ✔ |
Track used-item inventory | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ |
Consignment management | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ |
Lightspeed Retail: Best Overall Bike Shop POS
Overall Score:
4.12 / 5
What We Like
- Customizable matrix inventory in all plans
- Built-in purchase and work order management tools
- Integrated ecommerce tools
- Customizable reports and advanced analytics
What's Missing
- Ecommerce and loyalty tools require a plan upgrade
- No offline payment processing
- Not available for Android
Lightspeed Deciding Factors
- Monthly fee: $69–$199/mo (paid annually), or $89–$269/mo (paid monthly)
- Integrated payment processing: 2.6% + 10 cents (tap, dip, and swipe), 2.6% + 30 cents (keyed-in) with Lightspeed Payments
- Volume discount for payment processing: Over $250,000
- Available bike shop-specific integrations: Bike Rent Manager
- Expanded payment methods: BNPL, layaways, store credits
- Can handle bike shop-specific activities: Rentals, spare parts, used-item sales, custom build/work orders, trade-ins, consignment, warranty tracking
- Higher transaction fees if not using Lightspeed Payments
Lightspeed Retail leads our list of the best bike shop POS systems. It offers a customizable matrix inventory system, granular work order management tools, and smart pricing feature, built into competitive subscription plans. This makes Lightspeed ideal for niche retailers like bike shops handling diverse inventory and sales. Hence, it is also our top pick for the best retail inventory POS systems in the market.
Unlike its competitors, all of Lightspeed’s advanced inventory management tools are available in every subscription plan. You can start tracking unique stocks such as rental units and used items, and accept custom work orders for as low as $69 per month. Lightspeed also comes with a built-in consignment, warranty tracking, and purchase order management feature, so while it does not offer a free plan, you won’t need to purchase upgrades to manage both your products and sales efficiently.
Lightspeed earned an overall score of 4.12 out of 5, gaining near-perfect marks for bike-specific features, as well as extra points for offering expanded payment options such as layaways, store credits, and buy-now-pay-later (BNPL) options. However, because we favored affordable pricing for this evaluation, Lightspeed’s lack of a free plan and hardware affected its otherwise impressive scores.
Lightspeed Retail Hardware
 |  |  |
iPad Hardware Kit | Desktop Hardware Kit | Mobile Tap and Chip Reader, Wise Handheld Terminals |
Contact Lightspeed Retail for pricing
Lightspeed Retail Standout Features
- Customizable matrix inventory: Probably the standout feature of Lightspeed is its advanced and customizable matrix inventory available in every plan. This allows you to handle large volumes of inventory with multiple variations, add detailed product descriptions, and create and track custom product codes. This serialized inventory approach lets you track product warranties for every unit.
- Work-order management: Add new customers to your database using Lightspeed’s detailed customer profile. This includes a work order section that allows you to schedule and track repairs or custom-build requests.
- POS checkout: Lightspeed offers expanded payment options including BNPL, store credits, and layaway methods. The checkout screen also features a search function, which you can use before and while ringing up a sale without hassle.
- Ecommerce tools: A fully integrated website builder is available with Lightspeed’s mid-range plans. It comes with mobile-responsive themes, and SEO and marketing tools. Omnichannel features sync your ecommerce and storefront data, allowing you to offer buy online, pick up in-store (BOPIS) options and track inventory levels in real time.
- Reporting and analytics: Lightspeed’s basic reporting tool comes with 50+ customizable, built-in reports. Advanced analytics features include identifying key factors for sales performance and making actionable tips such as suggesting stock reorder and staffing levels.
What Lightspeed Is Missing
Lightspeed is an iPad- and desktop-compatible software, which means, you won’t be able to run your POS system on an Android device. And, while you get the full version of the inventory management software, the ecommerce features are only available with the mid-range subscription plans. Lightspeed also does not support offline payment processing for its retail software.
If your business is new, consider Square for Retail for a more affordable solution with built-in ecommerce and offline payment processing.
Square for Retail: Best for Small & Startup Bike Shops
Overall Score:
4.09 / 5
What We Like
- Free plan and free magstripe card reader
- Affordable upgrades with advanced inventory and reporting tools
- Competitive payment processing fees
- Free integrated ecommerce tools
What's Missing
- Limited customer support hours
- Limited inventory tools in free plan
- Locked into using Square for payment processing
Square for Retail Deciding Factors
- Monthly fee: $0–$60
- Integrated payment processing: 2.5%–2.6% + 10 cents (card-present), 3.5% + 15 cents (keyed-in), 2.9% + 30 cents (online) with Square Payments
- Volume discount for payment processing: Over $250,000/ year
- Available bike shop-specific integrations: Rentrax
- Expanded payment methods: BNPL, layaways, store credits
- Can handle bike shop-specific activities: Rentals, spare parts, used-item sales, custom build/work orders, trade-ins, consignment.
- Can process card payments while offline
Square for Retail is an all-in-one POS system that offers payment processing, ecommerce tools, and a range of hardware options to match your business. While the standard Square POS software provides you with just the right features to run your store, Square for Retail gives you access to more inventory features to track and manage a more diverse range of products, which is crucial for a growing bike shop business.
Like Lightspeed, Square comes with integrated payment processing, although Lightspeed gives you the option to use a different payment processor in exchange for higher monthly fees. With Square for Retail, you don’t need to pay extra to access ecommerce tools and omnichannel features. It also allows you to accept card payments while offline. Square for Retail also tops our list for best retail POS systems while its standard POS software consistently leads our list of best POS systems in the industry.
We gave it an overall score of 4.09 out of 5 as a bike shop POS. It earned impressive marks for its register features while also getting a perfect score in pricing for offering a free plan, free hardware, and a lower mid-range subscription fee. However, most of the inventory features needed to run a bike shop will require a plan upgrade, which prevented Square from scoring higher in our evaluation.
Square for Retail Hardware
 |  |  |  |
$299 or $27/mo over 12 months | $149 or $14/mo for 12 months | $799 or $39/mo over 24 months |
Square for Retail Standout Features
- Built-in integrated ecommerce tools: Square’s ecommerce and omnichannel tools are available to all subscription plans. All online orders will also automatically appear on your dashboard. Using the smart drag-and-drop website builder, you can build your free online store, which automatically syncs to your inventory. Get alerts for online sales (particularly useful for in-store or curbside pickups) on your POS terminal.
- Customizable catalog tools: One of Square for Retail’s latest software upgrades provides a better user experience at the register with customizable catalogs. This allows you to create and sort tiles according to the most frequently used and lets you organize your catalog according to your workflow.
- Wide range of checkout options: Square lets you customize your hotkeys and look up products through barcode scanning or advanced product search without disrupting sales. You can streamline the process for rentals, trade-ins, custom work orders, and even returns for faster transactions.
- Scalable inventory management: Square provides you with subscription plans based on your level of inventory management requirements. This option to scale allows Square to offer better pricing compared to Lightspeed. A free plan can support small or new bike shops with a narrower product selection. Those that carry a wider range of products and variants can subscribe to an advanced inventory management feature that provides more control such as inventory counting, stock forecasting, COGS tracking, vendor/ purchase order management, and bulk updating.
- Affordable proprietary hardware: With Square, users have a choice between running on iPads or countertop registers, with mobile card readers and handheld terminals for added mobile options. Each hardware option is equipped with swipe, chip, and NFC payment technology and can be purchased in low installment plans.
- CRM tools: Square’s CRM tools allow you to automatically create detailed customer profiles right at checkout. You can keep a record of your customer’s contact details (for digital receipts), preferred payment method (for recurring payment options), and transaction history (to customize loyalty rewards).
What Square for Retail Is Missing
While it does provide advanced inventory management tools, bike retailers would not be able to accept custom work orders or track product warranties with Square for Retail. Purchase order/ vendor management and advanced reporting tools are also only available in paid plans. Consider Lightspeed if you need all these additional features to effectively manage your business.
Clover: Best for Bike Shops With a Preferred Payment Processor
Overall Score:
4.00 / 5
What We Like
- Affordable plans with access to proprietary hardware
- Can process card payments while offline
- $100,000 in liability protection in case of a data breach
- Insights on your sales activities vs your competitors
What's Missing
- No built-in vendor management tools
- BNPL and layaways through third-party integrations
- Cost extra for website builder tools
Clover Deciding Factors
- Monthly fee: $0–$54.90
- Integrated payment processing: 2.3%–2.6% + 10 cents (card-present), 3.5% + 10 cents (keyed-in) with Fiserv
- Volume discount for payment processing: Depends on vendor
- Available bike shop-specific integrations: None
- Expanded payment methods: BNPL, layaways, store credits
- Can handle bike shop-specific activities: Rentals, spare parts, used-item sales, custom build/work orders, trade-ins, consignment
- Can be programmed to your preferred payment processor (cannot be reprogrammed afterwards)
Clover is an all-in-one POS solution for retailers and restaurants. Often compared to Square, it has top-of-the-line proprietary hardware, multilevel inventory management, and integrated payments, among other features. It is also compatible with multiple payment processors and can be reprogrammed to suit your preference. The most recent software update added an invoice management feature to Clover, which will allow bike shops to offer custom work orders.
Although it does not support all bike shop-specific activities, bike shop retailers will benefit from Clover’s level of POS customization and affordable subscription plans that come with hardware included (very much like Square). And, while both Square and Clover offer integrated payments, Clover’s hardware can be programmed to work with other payment processors (which we highly recommend). In fact, Clover authorizes third-party resellers. This makes Clover a particularly good option for bike shops that already have a payment processor, as you may be able to purchase Clover from your merchant account provider.
Based on our evaluation, Clover earned a total score of 4.0 out of 5. It received near-perfect points for its register features and top marks for ease of use. The lack of event management and warranty tracking tools, plus the need to upgrade to a higher plan in order to access key business management functions, prevented Clover from getting a perfect score.
Clover Hardware
 |  |  |  |  |
$49 | $499 or $166/mo. x3 | $749 or $250/mo. x3 | $1,399 or $466/mo. x3 | $1,649 or $549/mo. x3 |
Clover Standout Features
- Inventory management: This feature allows you to efficiently handle large volumes of inventory with tools such as bulk editing, enhanced filtering, and multi-location stock transfers. Meanwhile, smart reporting tools can generate demand forecasting and other analytics. This helps you gain insights on which products are fast-moving, which ones are not getting bought, and what items should be put on sale.
- Ecommerce and omnichannel selling: Clover’s ecommerce features give you a choice between integrating with an existing website or creating your own with its website builder. The omnichannel tools ensure that both your online and in-store sales are synced in real time while also allowing you to offer online ordering, curbside pick-up, and delivery services to your customers.
- Checkout options: Like all of the other providers in our roundup, Clover offers a number of payment options including expanded payments such as layaway, store credits, and BNPL. It also allows you to set up tax rates and accept card payments even without internet connection.
- Tracking and reporting: The tracking and reporting functionality allows you to receive end-of-day reports, real-time sale tracking, and tax reporting. Cost-tracking by item is available with a plan upgrade. It also includes a built-in accounting integration with QuickBooks and Xero.
- Customer-facing loyalty app: Clover’s customer loyalty program is available to all subscription plans. It includes a free customer-facing loyalty app that makes for faster purchases, with options for order ahead, auto-pay, and BOPIS transactions.
What Clover Is Missing
For small businesses working on a budget, Clover might not be a good fit. Note that most inventory and bike-specific features require an upgraded plan, and at times, specific hardware in order to use. So, while the monthly fees are low, the upgrades can drive the cost considerably higher. Consider Lightspeed as an alternative to get the most inventory features with a basic subscription, plus the option to use your existing iPad to minimize hardware cost.
Shopify: Best for Omnichannel Sales
Overall Score:
3.96 / 5
What We Like
- Best-in-class omnichannel solution
- Customizable mobile checkout
- Wide range of payment options
- User-friendly mobile app
What's Missing
- No offline payment processing
- Limited inventory in basic plan
- Requires a Shopify ecommerce account
Shopify Deciding Factors
- Monthly fee: $0–$89 + Ecommerce plan ($29–$299)
- Integrated payment processing: 2.4%–2.7% (in-person), 2.4%–2.9% + 30 cents (online) with Shopify Payments
- Volume discount for payment processing: Shopify Plus
- Available bike shop-specific integrations: None
- Expanded payment methods: BNPL, layaways, deposits, store credits
- Can handle bike shop-specific activities: Rentals, spare parts, used-item sales, custom build/work orders, trade-ins, consignment, warranty tracking
- Supports B2B sales and pricing
As the leading ecommerce and omnichannel platform, Shopify POS is ideal for specialty shops that primarily sell online. It includes features to buy online and pickup in-store or curbside, plus customizable inventory functions that can manage large product quantities with multiple variants. Shopify even has tools for offering wholesale pricing if your bike shop sells parts or full bikes to other retailers.
Aside from Lightspeed, Shopify POS is the only other provider on our list that supports all the bike-shop-specific activities that we were looking for. And, as a leading multichannel POS system, Shopify also offers a more competitive price point compared to Vend. Shopify’s purchase order management tools are even available in Shopify’s basic plan (like Lightspeed).
All things considered, Shopify occupies a unique niche in our roundup of best POS systems for bike shops. It earned a total score of 3.96 out of 5, earning perfect marks for its register features (plus extra points for offering a variety of expanded payment methods) and expert score evaluation. However, factors such as the lack of a free plan (since all Shopify users are required to sign up for an ecommerce account) and offline payment processing prevented Shopify from landing higher in our rankings.
Shopify Hardware
 |  |  |
$49 | $49 | Contact Shopify for pricing |
Shopify Standout Features
- Smart inventory management: Like other advanced inventory management tools in this roundup, Shopify’s smart inventory management feature allows you to create unlimited products with multiple variants. It automatically adjusts inventory levels for every online and storefront transaction. You can set low stock limits for each and create a workflow to reorder through the purchase order management feature. To add specialized information like product warranty, use the metafield functionality.
- Omnichannel tools: Shopify’s advanced omnichannel tools allow your customers to purchase online and receive their products either via delivery or curbside/in-store pick-up. Alternatively, you can have customers browse in-store and complete their purchases on your website.
- Seamless checkout process: Both Shopify’s mobile and desktop apps are quick to learn and easy to use. Like Square for Retail, you can also customize your dashboard with hotkeys, tiles, and menus to help improve your checkout workflow.
- Customer management: Shopify allows you to create detailed customer profiles. You can add notes, tags, and set preferences that your sales staff can refer to and give your customers a better shopping experience.
- Reporting and analytics: Each subscription level has access to different reporting tools. The basic Shopify plan includes basic report functions such as generating standard reports for cash flow, sales, and inventory levels. More features are unlocked as you upgrade your plan. The Stocky App is available for Shopify Pro users—this includes insights into sales, cost of goods sold, inventory analysis, demand forecasting, and sale item suggestions.
What Shopify Is Missing
Like Vend, Shopify does not support card payment processing while offline. You can update your records and accept cash payments without internet connection. It is also not the ideal POS solution if your main source of revenue is from your storefront. Signing up for a Shopify account will set you back at least $29 since it requires an ecommerce account.
For small bike shops, consider Square for Retail, which comes with a free plan plus a free ecommerce store. For busier bike shops, consider Clover or Lightspeed.
Vend by Lightspeed: Best for Bike Shops With Multiple Locations
Overall Score:
3.87 / 5
What We Like
- Flexible payment processing options (No additional fees)
- Includes a scanner app
- Built-in accounting feature
- 24/7 customer support
What's Missing
- Most expensive subscription plans
- Ecommerce and loyalty management requires upgrade
- Not compatible with Android device
Vend by Lightspeed Deciding Factors
- Monthly fee: $99–$229/mo (paid annually), or $119–$299/mo (paid monthly)
- Integrated payment processing: 2.6% + 10 cents (tap, dip, and swipe), 2.6% + 30 cents (keyed-in) with Lightspeed Payments
- Volume discount for payment processing: Over 250,000
- Available bike shop-specific integrations: Hubtiger
- Expanded payment methods: BNPL, layaways, store credits
- Can handle bike shop-specific activities: Rentals, spare parts, used-item sales, custom build/work orders, trade-ins, consignment, warranty tracking
- Multistore feature available in all plans
Vend by Lightspeed completes our roundup of the best bike shop POS systems. This software is designed to handle massive inventories for multilocation retail stores. It also provides retailers with the ability to use multiple payment processing services, generate advanced analytics to improve business performance, and customize workflow with API.
Similar to Lightspeed, Vend supports a serial number feature that enables warranty tracking for specialty shops.
In the News:
Vend’s website is slowly (but steadily) rebranding into Lightspeed Retail (X-Series). Vend now also has Lightspeed Payments as an integrated payment option. Subscription fees have changed and no longer imposes a transaction volume limit in its basic plan.
While Vend now runs under the Lightspeed banner, you don’t get charged more in monthly fees if you opt for a different payment processor other than Lightspeed payments. On the other hand, ecommerce tools and most of Vend’s advanced inventory features are gated in its higher paid plans. So, if you do not need multi-store or robust register functionality, you may want to consider a different POS software.
That said, Vend by Lightspeed earned a respectable 3.87 out of 5, earning near-perfect scores for register features alongside Square for Retail (only Shopify scored higher for this criterion). While it offers a wider range of bike-specific features than Clover or Square, the steep pricing users need in order to have all the functionalities needed by a bike shop affected Vend by Lightspeed’s overall evaluation.
Vend by Lightspeed Hardware
 |  |  |
$730.00 or $36.50/mo | $499 or $21.51/mo. | $807.00 or $38.10/mo |
Vend by Lightspeed Standout Features
- Advanced cloud-based inventory: Part of the latest Vend update, the new platform called Retail POS (X-Series) includes inventory management tools such as automated inventory level adjustment and interlocation stock transfer that provides you with efficient stock control across multiple sales channels and locations. The serial number feature makes it easier to track and organize a massive number of products and variants.
- Mobile barcode scanner app: Worth mentioning is Vend’s mobile barcode scanner app that comes in handy for performing inventory counts, searching for item records, and adding new products to the catalog.
- Ecommerce and omnichannel solution: Vend integrates with popular ecommerce platforms such as BigCommerce, WooCommerce, and Shopify which allows you to sell your products online while managing it from your platform. It also comes with omnichannel tools so you get updates of your inventory levels in real time and fulfill online orders such as BOPIS efficiently.
- Customizable reports and actionable insights: The Retail POS (X-Series) includes real-time inventory updates, daily report summaries of your business performance, and customizable filters you can use to manipulate data. Meanwhile, a higher Vend subscription plan gives you access to powerful analytics to help you break down report metrics, set goals, and forecast inventory demand.
What Vend by Lightspeed Is Missing
Unlike Lightspeed, Vend does not support either built-in or third-party event management features. And, while you can still accept cash payments, you won’t be able to process card transactions offline, effectively putting your business to a standstill without internet connection. Clover is the most viable alternative of all the providers on our list if you require all these features.
Bike Shop POS Runners-Up
While they did not make our list, these providers also offer noteworthy bike-shop POS systems:
Hike: Best POS System for Specialty Bike Shops
Hike is specifically designed for bike shops and comes with all the tools to support its unique inventory and sales requirements, such as custom orders, rentals, repairs, and consignment management. It scored a 3.86 out of 5 in our evaluation, with high marks for bike shop-specific functionality. Most of its inventory management and work order management features will require a plan upgrade, and while it does offer integrated payments, Hike users will be subjected to the terms and conditions of its payment processing partners.
KORONA POS: Best for Small Bike Shops Earning Regularly From Ticket Sales
KORONA comes with a built-in ticket sales feature and affordable subscriptions. This makes KORONA a good fit for bike shops that host regular events like group rides. It earned a 3.49 out of 5 in our evaluation. However, most bike shop-specific and management features require an upgrade to a higher plan. The lack of necessary features in KORONA’s base plan prevented it from making our list. Though, note that generally speaking, KORONA’s pricing is affordable, with its most expensive plan costing $89 per month.
Retail Edge: Best for Bike Shops That Prefer a Locally Hosted POS Solution
Retail Edge is ideal for bike shop owners who are more comfortable with their data stored in-house. However, it is only compatible with Windows OS and will require you to purchase a license outright. Client support is also available for a monthly fee. Because of this, Retail Edge earned a 3.43 out of 5 in our evaluation.
How We Evaluated Bike Shop POS Systems
For this buyer’s guide, we prioritized POS systems that can support bike-shop-specific activities while providing the best value for money. Aside from the general business management features, we considered inventory, customer, and sales management tools that fit in with the unique requirements of bike retailers. Other key factors that affected our evaluations include payment processing options, reporting and accounting tools, customer support hours, and ease of use. Most of all, we put every one of these products’ claims to the test by using the software ourselves, assessing its performance based on our real-life experiences.
After careful consideration, our evaluation showed that Lightspeed is the best overall bike shop POS system, earning a total score of 4.12 out of 5.
Click through the tabs below for our in-depth evaluation criteria:
25%
Pricing
15%
Register Features
15%
Management Features
25%
Bike Shop-Specific Features
10%
Ease of use
10%
Expert Score
25% of Overall Score
15% of Overall Score
15% of Overall Score
Advanced inventory management features take a big slice of the score for this category. We then considered the system’s ability to handle purchase orders and stock counts. Other features included in this section are CRM tools, reporting functions, employee, omnichannel, and invoice management.
25% of Overall Score
This section lists the different bike-shop-specific activities and awards points for each. We also awarded extra points for systems that include bike shop third-party integrations.
10% of Overall Score
We wanted to emphasize that systems, while ideally advanced, should also be easy to use. Easy installation, touch-screen function, supported with detailed training materials, and 24/7 customer support are the key factors in this category. We also recognized systems that are cloud-based and offer hybrid installation or an offline mode.
10% of Overall Score
Finally, we evaluated each system’s overall performance against its comprehensive feature set. We also considered value-for-money, popularity, user reviews, and the overall experience of navigating the system’s interface.
*Percentages of overall score
Bottom Line
With consumer interest in cycling on the rise, bike retailers should consider upgrading their point-of-sale system to meet the increasing demand without sacrificing efficiency. Our roundup includes alternatives that suit bike shop businesses of all sizes and with tools that can match every possible revenue stream for bike retailers.
Lightspeed is our most recommended solution, offering bike shops a well-rounded combination of tools and pricing that can scale with your business as it grows. Visit Lightspeed for a free trial.
