What We Recommend Shopify POS For
As Fit Small Business’ retail writer, my goal is to find out what makes Shopify’s POS software different from the rest of the popular POS systems. After signing up for an ecommerce account and testing the features of its POS software, I can say that Shopify’s POS is a great addition to its ecommerce ecosystem, offering a wide set of smart inventory and omnichannel selling tools any retailer would need for multichannel sales.
Shopify’s POS features can easily compete with the best POS systems for small businesses on the market today. That said, it’s also important to know that you need a Shopify ecommerce account to use the POS software. And while the basic POS plan is free, you will end up spending at least $29 every month for an ecommerce subscription.
In particular, Shopify POS is best for:
- New ecommerce and retail businesses: Shopify is the industry-leading ecommerce platform, and we highly recommend it for retail businesses that primarily sell online. With the addition of its outstanding POS tools, Shopify POS ranks as one of the best retail POS systems.
- Multichannel retailers: Shopify tops our list of best multichannel POS systems with a score of 4.80 out of 5. Its POS features are an add-on to help online businesses sell through mobile or in brick-and-mortar stores. Shopify allows you to sync online and in-person sales, process curbside and pick up orders, start sales in-store and then finish them online, accept custom payment types, manage business from a centralized back-office tool, and more.
- Cross-channel inventory management: Shopify’s POS software includes automated and granular tools to manage multichannel inventory. It allows you to integrate barcode scanners to receive and perform quick counts, organize, and track inventory movement. Along with a user-friendly interface, we’ve included Shopify POS among the best candidates for POS inventory systems.
When Shopify Would Not Be a Good Fit
- Businesses that do not use Shopify’s ecommerce platform: Shopify’s POS features are exclusive to businesses with a Shopify ecommerce account. We recommend Lightspeed for users in search of a cloud POS system that doesn’t require an ecommerce subscription.
- Non-retail businesses: Shopify’s multichannel platform works best for retail businesses looking to manage online and in-person sales. So, for non-retail establishments that sell online, such as quick-service restaurants, a more industry-specific POS like Toast might be a better fit.
- Businesses that require offline payment processing: One major downside to Shopify POS is its limited card payment capabilities. Square would be a better fit if you are in search of reliable mobile POS apps with offline payment processing.
- New or occasional sellers needing a free POS: While Shopify’s POS app might be free to use, you need an ecommerce subscription. Those looking for a completely free POS software would be better suited with an option like Square.
- Food and beverage or hybrid retailers: Though Shopify can be configured for most types of retail, its lack of ingredient-centered inventory tracking and native tools for age-restricted products prevented it from earning a spot on our guides to cafe POS, liquor store POS, and c-store POS systems. If you need real-time ingredient-level tracking, then check out Toast; if you want age-verification included in the ID scan, then consider POS Nation.
Shopify POS Overview
| PROS | CONS |
|---|---|
| Outstanding omnichannel features | Very limited offline payment options |
| User-friendly mobile app interface | Paid subscriptions can become pricey |
| Customizable mobile checkout | Limited inventory features in free plan |
| Powerful, well-documented APIs | Charges a fee for using third-party payment processors |
| 14-day free trial | No reporting features in the baseline plan |
Shopify POS Pricing
Shopify POS is free with your Shopify ecommerce plan, and it works great for running temporary stores such as pop-up shops and farmers market locations. However, those who want to use the app for their brick-and-mortar operations will have to pay the additional monthly fee of $89 per location. The main difference between these two Shopify POS pricing schemes is access to advanced features, such as smart inventory management and in-store analytics.
Shopify Payments is Shopify’s card payment solution that comes with each ecommerce plan. Transaction processing fees run from 2.4% + 30 cents to 2.9% + 30 cents for online payments, and 2.4% to 2.7% for in-person transactions. You can also opt to use third-party payment processors for additional fees that start at 0.5%. Transaction fees are lower for advanced Shopify ecommerce accounts.
Shopify POS Fees
Plans | Costs |
|---|---|
Shopify POS Lite | $0 |
Shopify POS Pro* | $89/month/location |
Online Transaction Fees
| 2.9% + 30 cents 2.6% + 30 cents 2.4% + 30 cents |
In-Person Transaction Fees
| 2.7% 2.5% 2.4% |
Add-On Fees for Third-Party Payment Processor
| 2.0% 1.0% 0.5% |
*Shopify’s ecommerce plans range from $29 to $299 per month. Shopify POS Pro is free with a Shopify Plus plan (for enterprise users). See our Shopify ecommerce review for details.
Shopify POS Hardware
Once you download the POS app, you can start choosing from Shopify’s range of hardware options to support mobile and in-store sales. Each hardware includes free shipping, 30-day returns, 24/7 customer support, and a one-year warranty.
Chip and Swipe Card Reader | Tap and Chip Card Reader | Shopify Retail Kit |
|---|---|---|
 |  |  |
$29 | $49 | $159 (iPad not included) |
Connects via Bluetooth and accepts magstripe (swipe) and EMV (chip) payments. | Connects via Bluetooth. Accepts EMV (chip) or NFC payments (Apple Pay, Android Pay). | Includes iPad stand, chip and swipe card reader, mounting kit |
If you want to use Shopify POS for a temporary market, pop-up sales, or on a seasonal basis, you can rent POS hardware through Shopify’s partnership with Fello.
Shopify POS Features
Shopify POS Features Summary
Shopify POS Lite | Shopify POS Pro |
|---|---|
Best for: On-the-go sales | Best for: In-store sales |
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Shopify POS is designed to simplify payment transactions for online merchants who might also have a pop-up or physical store. The first step in using Shopify’s POS features is to sign up for a Shopify ecommerce account. From there, you can choose between the basic and advanced POS plan. The basic POS is designed for on-the-go sales activities and does not require users to have a physical store, while the Pro plan is designed to handle brick-and-mortar sales.
Here are some of Shopify POS’ most essential features:
Payments
Simplify transactions and offer different modes of payment so that you never miss a sale. Shopify POS lets you split tenders, accept partial payments and gift cards, and use external card terminals from third-party providers. You can also set custom payment types such as IOUs, checks, and even gold coins. The app also integrates with Shopify Payments.
Checkout
Make the checkout process seamless for your staff and customers with features such as refunds, exchanges, mobile checkout, global search, discount and promo codes, customized digital and printed receipts, and automatic tax calculations.
Retailers can customize the smart grid with hotkeys for specific products or register functions. At checkout, cashiers can also create custom sales for on-the-spot or bundled items.
Keep your most-used features in the smart grid to speed up the checkout process.
(Source: Shopify)
Smart Inventory Management
Make informed inventory decisions using smart recommendations from Stocky by Shopify, an inventory management app for Shopify POS Pro. Its capabilities include the following:
- Demand forecasting
- Detailed inventory reports
- Inventory analysis
- Inventory counts
- Inventory receiving
- Low stock reports
- Purchase orders
- Sale item suggestions
- Stock transfers
Shopify POS has order management and stock monitoring tools.
(Source: Shopify)
Staff Management
Control app access and track your staff’s performance from anywhere using this feature. You can set staff POS PINs, define retail staff roles and permissions, and attribute sales to staff and reward commissions or kudos.
Omnichannel Selling
Provide your customers with a seamless shopping experience both online and in-store. Its features include email carts so that shoppers can complete in-store purchases online. It offers QR codes to open product pages and manages and tracks pick-up orders placed online. It accepts returns or exchanges of online purchases at retail outlets, and you can add shipping details or set custom shipping fees from in-store. You can also sell from wherever stock is available and then send it out to the customer when in-store inventory is low.
Customer Management
Transform one-time customers into loyal brand advocates by providing stellar service. This feature enables you to create customer profiles and tags, save contact information, view order histories and notes, see a customer’s email opt-in preferences for marketing purposes, and offer rewards with exclusive content, access to events, and discounts.
Shopify’s customer management system helps businesses improve customer loyalty and engagement.
(Source: Shopify)
Reporting and Analytics
Shopify POS enables you to see how your business is performing by providing consolidated analytics. Some of the key reports that the app provides include cash flow, finance, retail sales, products, discounts, cash tracking, and daily sales.
Access different reports from your mobile device.
(Source: Shopify)
Shopify POS Integrations
Shopify’s app store provides a list of add-on software to support online, mobile, and in-store sales. You can use filters to list POS-compatible products so that it displays all the apps available based on categories such as accounting, loyalty, marketing, and shipping tools. You can also sort the list to show the new, most downloaded apps—even in a curated order.
Shopify’s app store offers a range of POS-compatible add-ons.
(Source: Shopify)
Shopify POS Ease of Use
- Quick account setup
- Easy to use interface
- Automatic sync with online store
- Default location-based sales tax
- Active Seller Community Forum
- Extensive Help Center documentation
- Video guides and tutorials
- 24/7 customer support
Setting up a Shopify POS app on your mobile device only takes minutes, and once you’re done, you can easily customize the interface to match your needs. Using the Smart Grid tool, you can update the home screen to add, remove, and edit tiles so that the most used tasks are quickly accessible. And until you create your own settings, the system can use your location to apply appropriate sales taxes.
Shopify POS can also automatically synchronize with your Shopify online shop, allowing you to manage your entire business from a single dashboard. Product or inventory updates made on the Shopify admin page will instantly take effect on the POS app.
Customer service is available 24/7 through email, chat, and phone. Video tutorials are also available along with an extensive resource in its help center, like sign-up FAQs, shipping tips, and a staff and management training checklist.
Shopify POS Alternatives
Square POS | PayPal Zettle | Lightspeed Retail | Square for Retail |
|---|---|---|---|
Best for: Those requiring an all-around free POS and mobile POS app | Best for: Businesses needing a simple and flexible mobile payment app | Best for: Retailers looking for a robust inventory management | Best for: Those wanting a retail POS system |
Software from: $0 (free to use) | Software from: $0 (free to use) | Software from: $69 per month | Software from: $0–$60 per month |
Hardware from: $0 | Hardware from: $29 | Hardware from: Custom | Hardware from: $0 |
Runs on: iOS, Android, and Square hardware | Runs on: iOS and Android | Runs on: iOS, Android, and Clover hardware | Runs on: iOS, Android, and Square hardware |
The best alternatives to Shopify’s POS offer a reliable and value-for-money system that supports key POS, payments, and ecommerce features. Overall, Square is one of the top Shopify competitors, as they both offer in-store, online, mobile, and innovative payment solutions. See how Square compares to Shopify.
What Users Think of Shopify POS
Shopify POS is among the top-rated POS software on the market today. It has collected well above average scores from iOS users who shared their feedback and, at the time of publication, has a 4.4-star rating from over 4,900 reviews on the App Store.
It has also earned the following scores on popular review sites:
- G2: 4.4 out of 5 based on around 240 reviews.
- Capterra: 4.6 out of 5 based on over 80 reviews.
However, Shopify POS is not faring as well with Android users, scoring 2.6 out of 5 from over 1,300 Google Play reviews. Let’s take a look at some of the trending positive and negative feedback that we gathered from reading user reviews and speaking to business owners that use Shopify POS.
Users Like | Users Don’t Like |
|---|---|
Easy to access and manage inventory and customer data | Hardware compatibility issues |
Seamless connection to online store | Upgrades can be expensive |
Syncs inventory automatically | Complicated fee structure |
Extensive knowledge base | User dissatisfaction on software upgrade |
Bottom Line
Cross channel sales is crucial to business growth and, to efficiently manage inventory, you will need a multichannel POS system like Shopify POS. This versatile app can be installed on multiple devices without extra fees, and any store activity made on these devices will be synchronized by your main Shopify dashboard. You can also choose which products you want to showcase online, in your physical store, or in both.
Overall, Shopify POS offers the best value for new ecommerce businesses and online-based multichannel retailers. It combines top-of-the-line ecommerce features with in-person sales tools to offer the best omnichannel platform. Its user-friendly interface, smart inventory management features, seamless checkout, and wide range of integration options make Shopify POS among the best POS systems on the market today. Visit Shopify POS for a 14-day free trial.
