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 an array of transaction types, including custom orders, rentals, repairs, and trade-ins. In addition to these features specific to bike shops,…
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 an array of transaction 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.
Runners-up (which we’ll discuss more below), which didn’t stand out as much as the options above, but are still decent choices, include:
Clover: Best Overall & Best for POS Customizations
Lightspeed Retail: Best for Inventory Management
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Shopify: Best for Omnichannel Sales
Square for Retail: Best for Small & Startup Bike Shops
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Bike Shop POS Runners-up
While they did not make our list of the very best, these providers also offer noteworthy bike-shop POS systems:
Hike: Best Specialty Bike Store POS System
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 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. 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. However, 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 a non-cloud-based POS that’s ideal for bike shop owners who are more comfortable with their data stored in-house. However, this standalone POS is only compatible with Windows OS and will require you to purchase a license outright. Client support is also available for a monthly fee. Even so, real-world users give it an average score of 4.77 out of 5—the highest user rating on our list.
Alice POS: Best for Bike Shops That Take Used Bikes
Alice lacks some of the advanced POS tools I looked for. However, I was impressed with the features it offers for handling used inventory. Consignments, marking used items, buy-backs, and trade-ins are all standard in every POS system. Many on our list have workarounds for these tools.
For this buyer’s guide, I prioritized POS systems that can support bike-shop-specific activities while providing the best value for money. Aside from the general business management features, I 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. Click through the tabs below for our in-depth evaluation criteria:
Methodology weights
Pricing 25%
Register Features 15%
Management Features 15%
Bike Shop Features 25%
Ease of Use 10%
Expert Score 10%
Our ultimate priority is to find the system with the best value for money. We looked for options with a free plan, as well as paid options that cost less than $75 in monthly fees, grading them according to the value of features included in each. We also considered hardware options and the availability of volume discounts while docking points for limited transactions and inventory volumes. Only Square had a perfect score.
We wanted to identify which systems provide the most customization to its interface, with the end goal of streamlining the checkout process. We awarded top marks for speedy checkout tools, integrated loyalty management features, return management, and in-store sales mobility. We also gave plus points to expanded payment methods such as store credit, layaway, and BNPL options. Despite being ecommerce-first, Shopify had the top score with 4.75 out of 5.
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. Lightspeed took the lead with 4.63 out of 5.
This section lists the different bike-shop-specific activities, like rentals, used inventory, consignments, warranties, and even event ticket sales for bike tours. We also awarded extra points for systems that include bike shop third-party integrations. Lightspeed led with 4.75, while Square had the lowest score with 2.5 out of 5.
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. Square and Clover tied here with 4.38 out of 5; Clover has better service hours, while Square has better online learning tools.
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. Shopify earned a perfect score.
Bottom Line
Investing in a strong point-of-sale system that can meet the needs of your bike shop can help reduce time spent at the till, doing inventory, and reaching out to customers. This can improve your bottom line. 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.
Clover is our most recommended solution, offering bike shops a range of pricing plans and proprietary hardware that can scale with your business as it grows. Visit Clover for a free trial.
David Rivera is a retail writer focusing on point-of-sale systems. Since 2016, he has produced and optimized content for a variety of industries including ecommerce and luxury retail. For the past couple of years he has focused more closely on ecommerce and retail topics as well as point-of-sale systems.
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