4 Best Bike Shop POS for Small Businesses for 2023
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:
- Best overall bike shop POS for small businesses: Lightspeed Retail
- Best for small or startup bike shops: Square for Retail
- Best for bike shops with a preferred payment processor: Clover
- Best for omnichannel sales: Shopify
Bike Shop POS Compared
Free plan | Minimum monthly pricing* | Payment processing | Ecommerce | Custom orders | Track warranties | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | 14-day trial | $89 | 2.6% + 10 cents | Standard and higher plans | ✓ | ✓ |
 | ✓ | $60 | 2.6% + 10 cents | ✓ | ✕ | ✕ |
 | ✕ | $14.95 ($60 if you rent hardware) | Varies by vendor | ✓ | ✓ | ✕ |
 | Must purchase ecommerce plan, but free POS | $89 + $39 for ecommerce | 2.4% | Purchase first ($39+ monthly) | ✓ | ✓ |
*Not counting discounts for annual subscriptions
Lightspeed: Best Overall Bike Shop POS
Overall Score:
4.27 / 5
Pros
- Customizable matrix inventory in all plans
- Built-in purchase and work order management tools
- Integrated ecommerce tools
- Customizable reports and advanced analytics
Cons
- Ecommerce and loyalty tools require a plan upgrade
- No offline payment processing in Series R (available in Series X)
- Not available for Android
What we like:
Lightspeed Retail offers a customizable matrix inventory system to handle rentals, as well as granular work order management tools and smart pricing feature, built into competitive subscription plans. It also comes with built-in consignment, warranty tracking, and purchase order management features. This makes Lightspeed ideal for niche retailers like bike shops handling diverse inventory and sales. It’s also our top pick for the best retail inventory POS systems.
With an overall score of 4.27 out of 5, Lightspeed earned excellent marks for bike-specific features (the top score in our guide) and great scores for inventory and sales management tools. However, Lightspeed’s lack of a free plan, offline mode, and included hardware affected its otherwise impressive scores.
Lightspeed Pricing
Lightspeed has a 14-day free trial, but no free plan. Like Shopify, it charges for an ecommerce plan, but Shopify offers a free plan. Lightspeed, like Square, has its own payment processor with discounts for high-volume sales, but it also allows third-party payment processors for an additional fee.
- Retail software subscription plans:*
- Lean ($89 per register, month): POS system, dedicated account manager, 24/7 support
- Standard ($149 per register, per month): Lean plus accounting and ecommerce,
- Advanced ($269 per register, per month): Standard plus omnichannel loyalty, advanced reporting, and one-on-one onboarding
- Enterprise (Custom pricing): Advanced plus unlimited personalized onboarding, consultation, premium support, reduced Lightspeed payment rated, more
- Additional registers cost $29 per month
- Restaurant software: Runs $69–$399+ per month and includes takeout and delivery, order at the table, multiple revenue center support, and more
- Ecommerce: Runs $0–$82.50 and includes an online store, social selling, automated taxes, discounts, wholesale prices, subscriptions, abandoned cart saver, and more
- Hardware cost: Runs on iPad and iMac. Custom-quoted hardware kits available. Card readers and peripherals are bought separately.
- Processing fees:
- Chip, tap, and swipe payments: 2.6% + 10 cents per transaction
- Keyed-in payments: 2.6% + 30 cents per transaction
- Volume discount: Available for businesses processing over $250,000
*Pricing is based on a monthly subscription and requires Lightspeed Payments. Plans cost more if you choose a third-party provider. Lower rates are available with annual billing.
Lightspeed Features
- Customizable matrix inventory: Lightspeed stands out from the rest with 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. Square lacks work order management tools.
- POS checkout: Lightspeed offers expanded payment options including buy now, pay later (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 midrange 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. Shopify’s ecommerce tool is more robust, but it charges extra for it.
- Reporting and analytics: Lightspeed’s basic reporting tool comes with 50+ customizable, built-in reports—the most of the POS systems on our list. Advanced analytics features include identifying key factors for sales performance and making actionable tips, such as suggesting stock reorder and staffing levels.
Vend is now Lightspeed X-Series: Lightspeed has fully rebranded Vend, which was previously on our list, as Lightspeed X Series to set it apart from its Lightspeed Retail R Series. Series X differs in that it can process payments offline. However, it has standardized pricing across its products, and when you sign up, Lightspeed will direct you to the best product for your needs.
Square for Retail: Best for Small & Startup Bike Shops
Overall Score:
4.13 / 5
Pros
- Free plan and free magstripe card reader
- Affordable upgrades with advanced inventory and reporting tools
- Competitive payment processing fees
- Free integrated ecommerce tools
Cons
- Limited customer support hours
- Limited inventory tools in free plan
- Locked into using Square for payment processing
- Minimal bike-shop-specific tools
What we like:
Square for Retail is our top-recommended retail POS system, while its standard POS software consistently leads our list of best POS systems in the industry. However, it doesn’t have many of the tools some bike shops need, like work order management or consignment tools. Thus, it’s best for smaller or startup bike shops that just need the basics. It does offer excellent add-ons, even payroll, and has integrations that work for bike shop management.
We gave it an overall score of 4.13 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 midrange subscription fee. Lightspeed beats it for consignment, warranty, and work order management.
Square for Retail Pricing
Square is the only POS system on our list to have a perfect score for pricing. The free plan has all the tools you need to run a store, but the advanced plans offer better inventory and sales tools. Unlike others on our list, you need to pay for loyalty programs.
- POS software plans:
- Free ($0): Unlimited items, low stock alerts, saved carts, discounts, online store, time tracking, sell on Facebook & Google, invoices, eGift cards, customer profiles, sales reports
- Plus ($60 per month): Free plus exchanges, vendor management, advanced reports, multiple wage rates
- Premium (Custom pricing): Plus, plus gift cards, custom pricing on add-ons
- Hardware costs:
- Square Stand: $149 (iPad not included)
- Square Terminal: $299
- Square Register: $799
- Card readers: Start at $49 (first magstripe card reader free)
- Processing fees:
- Flat-rate transactions: 2.6% + 10 cents per transaction (2.5% + 10 cents with Plus plan)
- Invoices: 2.9% + 30 cents per transaction
- Ecommerce sales: 2.9% + 30 cents per transaction
- Recurring billing and card-on-file transactions: 3.5% + 15 cents per transaction
- Keyed-in payments: 3.5% + 15 cents per transaction
- AfterPay (Buy Now Pay Later): 6% + 30 cents per transaction
- Volume discounts: Available for businesses processing over $250,000 in credit card sales
Square for Retail Features
- Built-in integrated ecommerce tools: Unlike the others on our list, Square’s ecommerce and omnichannel tools are available to all subscription plans, including the free plan. All online orders will also automatically appear on your dashboard. Get alerts for online sales (particularly useful for in-store or curbside pickups) on your POS terminal.
- Inventory management: Square’s inventory management feature provides more control, such as inventory counting, stock forecasting, COGS tracking, vendor/ purchase order management, and bulk updating. Its customizable catalogs include categories, variants, and modifiers. You can create and sort tiles according to the most frequently used and organize your catalog according to your workflow. While it lacks some inventory tools that Lightspeed has, it’s in-depth and easy to use.
- 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.
- Fully usable free plan: Square has one of the best free POS systems on the market. You get a completely functioning POS system that you can use on a mobile phone or tablet, with unlimited items and sales, a basic but usable inventory system, and customer management tools—even ecommerce. It’s a great way for a new business to start. As you grow, you can add other functionalities, upgrade to Square for Retail, or integrate with third-party software. Square even has payroll and banking tools.
- 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.
Clover: Best for Bike Shops With a Preferred Payment Processor
Overall Score:
4.11 / 5
Pros
- 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
Cons
- No built-in vendor management tools
- BNPL and layaways through third-party integrations
- Website builder tools cost extra
- No warranty tracking tools
What we like:
Clover 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. Although it does not support all bike shop-specific activities, bike shop retailers will benefit from Clover’s level of POS customization.
Clover authorizes third-party resellers, making it the best choice on our list if you 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 4.11 out of 5. While it did not ace any of the categories, it did well in all of them. If you need warranty management, however, look to Lightspeed.
Clover Pricing
Clover’s plans are the most complex on our list, as the plan you sign up for not only determines your features but also determines the hardware and software you will have access to. Further, this is only the pricing for Fiserv, which owns Clover; other payment processors also provide Clover and have their own pricing. The nice part of that is you have a choice in your payment processor.
Clover integrates with multiple payment processors, so if you like your merchant account or want to find one that’s cheaper, you have that option. It also allows you to set it up yourself or pay for professional installation.
Hardware runs $99–$1,799. It also offers a mobile POS and the option to use third-party systems.
Below is the plan for retail:
Starter Plan | Standard Plan | Advanced Plan | |
|---|---|---|---|
Monthly fee if you purchase hardware | $14.95 | $44.95 | $54.90 |
Monthly fee if you “rent” hardware | $60 | $130 | $175 |
Software plan | Essentials | Essentials | Register |
Card-present | 2.6% + 10 cents | 2.3% + 10 cents | 2.3% + 10 cents |
Card-not-present | 3.5% + 10 cents | 3.5% + 10 cents | 3.5% + 10 cents |
Available Hardware |
|
|
|
*additional $9.95 per month, per additional location/register
Clover Features
- Inventory management: 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, something Square requires an add-on for. This helps you gain insights into which products are fast-moving, which ones are not getting bought, and what items should be put on sale.
- Ecommerce and omnichannel selling: Unlike Shopify, 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 pickup, 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, which Shopify and Lightspeed R Series don’t do.
- Customer-facing loyalty app: Clover’s customer loyalty program is available to all subscription plans. (Compare this to Square and Lightspeed, which charge extra.) It includes a free customer-facing loyalty app that makes for faster purchases, with options for order ahead, auto-pay, and BOPIS transactions.
Shopify POS: Best for Omnichannel Sales
Overall Score:
4.01 / 5
Pros
- Best-in-class omnichannel solution
- Able to handle rentals
- Wide range of payment options, apps
- User-friendly mobile app
Cons
- No offline payment processing
- Limited inventory in basic plan
- Requires a Shopify ecommerce account
What we like:
As the leading ecommerce and omnichannel platform, Shopify POS is ideal for specialty bike 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.
Shopify occupies a unique niche in our roundup of best POS systems for bike shops. It earned a 4.01 out of 5, with a perfect expert score and the top score for register tools. 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. It also depends heavily on upgrades and integrations for bike shop features like consignment management and warranty tracking.
Shopify POS Pricing
Shopify is unique in its pricing in that you must buy an ecommerce subscription, and then you can add a POS plan that is free to $89 per month. (The others we examined sometimes require you to purchase the ecommerce software as an add-on.) The ecommerce tool, however, comes with some excellent discounts on shipping, and your payment processing fees are lowered with each successive plan.
- Shopify ecommerce plans:*
- Basic ($39 per month): Online store, 24/7 support, social selling, discount codes, abandoned cart recovery, gift cards, marketing automation, international market management (including language and payment),
- Shopify ($105 per month): Basic plus special shipping pricing and insurance, and ecommerce automations
- Advanced ($399 per month): Shopify plus third-party calculated shipping rates, and duties and import tax estimates
- Shopify POS Plans:
- Lite POS: Included in all ecommerce plans, order and product management, customer profiles
- POS Pro: $89 per month, per location, or free for enterprise users under the Shopify Plus plan. Lite plus scalable to 1,000 locations, unlimited staff, smart inventory management, in-store analytics, and more
- Hardware costs:
- Bundles: Contact sales; prices start from $219
- Shopify POS Go handheld: $399
- Shopify card readers: from $49
- Processing fees:
- In person: 2.4% – 2.7%, depending on plan
- Online: 2.4% + 30 cents – 2.6% + 30 cents, depending on plan
- Use a third-party payment processor: add 0.5% to 2%, depending on plan
*A Shopify Ecommerce subscription (from $39–$399 per month) is required to use Shopify POS.
Shopify POS 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, but also lets you track warranties with the metafield function, which most of the POS we considered lacked. 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.
- Omnichannel tools: Shopify’s advanced omnichannel tools allow your customers to purchase online and receive their products either via delivery or curbside/in-store pickup. Alternatively, you can have customers browse in-store and complete their purchases on your website. Shopify is the only one on our list that also offers deep discounts on shipping.
- 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.
- 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.
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 3.98 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 3.73 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 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. Retail Edge earned a 3.49 out of 5 in our evaluation.
Alice POS: Best for Bike Shops That Take Used Bikes
Alice lacks some of the advanced POS tools we looked for, earning it a 3.31 out of 5 on our rubric. However, we were 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.
How We Evaluated Bike Shop POS
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.
After careful consideration, our evaluation showed that Lightspeed is the best overall bike shop POS system, earning a total score of 4.27 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 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. Lightspeed took the lead with 4.63 out of 5.
25% of Overall Score
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.
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. Square and Clover tied here with 4.38 out of 5; Clover has better service hours, while Square has better online learning tools.
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. Shopify earned a perfect score.
*Percentages of overall 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.
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.
