Retail companies want a POS system that goes past ringing up gross sales and accepting funds. A very good POS system has sturdy stock administration instruments, omnichannel gross sales, streamlined buyer relationship administration (CRM) options, worker administration, and stories that assist in enterprise choices.
High retail POS comparability
Alongside pricing, there are some vital options that set aside the very best retail POS software program available on the market. The desk beneath illustrates which of the highest 5 retail POS programs embody these key options.
| Our ranking (out of 5) | Beginning worth | Processing payment* | Mobility** | Cloud-based | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sq. for Retail | 4.66 | $0 | 2.5%–2.6% + $0.10 | Sure | Sure |
| Shopify POS | 4.48 | $5 | 2.4%–2.7% + $0.10 | Sure | Sure |
| Hike POS | 4.28 | $69 | Varies | Sure | Sure |
| Clover | 4.14 | $14.95 | Varies | Sure | Sure |
| Lightspeed Retail | 4.08 | $89 | 2.6% + $0.10 | Sure | Sure |
| * For card-present transactions ** Cell apps and readers for promoting throughout the gross sales flooring, occasions, curbside, and many others. |
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Sq. for Retail: Greatest total
Our ranking: 4.66 out of 5
Sq. for Retail is specialty POS software program from Sq.’s giant ecosystem of POS options. Just like all of Sq.’s free choices, the Sq. for Retail entry plan consists of all of the options you could run a retail enterprise. Sq. can absolutely assist small industries reminiscent of startups and small companies in addition to bigger multi-location and omnichannel companies.
Why I selected Sq. for Retail
Sq. for Retail is the one POS out of the handfuls I’ve evaluated that offers you all that you could settle for funds in-person and on-line, handle stock and workers, and construct an e-commerce retailer totally free.
What’s even higher is that Sq. for Retail has plans catered to your corporation because it grows, too. And in case you are prepared for extra specialty options, you’ll be able to simply get Sq.’s add-ons for instruments like loyalty applications, invoicing, group administration, and extra.
Pricing
Sq. for Retail has three subscription plans:
- Free: $0; fundamental stock instruments, on-line retailer, cross-location order administration.
- Plus: $89/month per location; free options together with superior stock and reporting instruments.
- Premium: Customized pricing; Plus plan options and superior worker and buyer administration functionalities
*There’s a free 30-day trial on the Plus plan.
Sq. POS is locked in with Sq. Funds as a cost processor. Listed here are its charges:
- In-person: 2.5%–2.6% + $0.10
- On-line: 2.9% + $0.30
- Guide entry: 3.5% + $0.15
- Afterpay: 6% + $0.30
Customized charges can be found when you course of greater than $250,000 yearly.
Sq. {hardware} choices:
- Sq. Kiosk: $149
- Sq. Terminal: $299
- Sq. Register: $799
Options
- Customizable checkout display with hotkeys.
- Buyer profiles.
- Stock administration reminiscent of multi-location monitoring, low inventory alerts, and stock counts.
- Free e-commerce website builder (Sq. On-line).
- Cell POS apps (iOS and Android).
- Faucet-to-pay characteristic within the cellular app.
- Worker administration functionalities like shift scheduling and swapping, customized permission settings, and exercise logs (on Plus plan).
Execs and cons
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Shopify POS: Greatest for omnichannel gross sales
Our ranking: 4.48 out of 5
Shopify POS is a wonderful selection for retailers that both already use Shopify for his or her e-commerce shops or want to promote on-line and in particular person. You may select both the standalone Shopify POS, which comes with a really fundamental on-line retailer, or leverage Shopify’s e-commerce answer with Shopify POS for a seamless and highly effective omnichannel setup.
Why I selected Shopify POS
Shopify is broadly identified for its best-in-class e-commerce platform and is primarily identified for on-line promoting. Nonetheless, Shopify POS is equally spectacular. I like its customizable checkout interface, its latest {hardware} choices (POS Go, an all-in-one cellular POS, and barcode scanner), and, most significantly, its complete omnichannel promoting options.
Curbside pickup, ship from retailer, returns, and multi-location stock monitoring are all easy, due to the combination of Shopify POS with the Shopify e-commerce platform.
Pricing
Shopify POS gives two subscriptions:
- Starter: $5/month; 1 POS Lite location included.
- Retail: $89/month; 1 POS Professional location included.
Shopify additionally gives e-commerce plans that embody the POS Lite totally free. Add a POS Professional for $89 per thirty days per location.
- Shopify Starter: $5/month.
- Primary: $39/month.
- Shopify: $105/month.
- Superior: $399/month.
*Shopify gives a three-day free trial plus the primary month for $1 throughout all plans.
Shopify’s cost processing charges fluctuate based mostly on the plan:
- In-person: 2.4%–2.7% + $0.10
- On-line: 2.4% + 30 cents–2.9% + $0.30
Shopify POS {hardware} choices:
- Faucet & Chip Card Reader: $49
- POS Go: $299
- Shopify POS Terminal: $349
- Countertop Package: $459
Options
- Cell app assist for tap-to-pay.
- Omnichannel gross sales — browse in-store, purchase on-line; purchase on-line, pickup in-store (BOPIS); settle for returns in-store for on-line purchases; ship from retailer — all seamlessly syncing.
- Promote on social media, marketplaces, and wholesale marketplaces.
- Worker administration, observe particular person performances, and entry permissions.
- Sturdy advertising and marketing instruments reminiscent of lead era, e mail advertising and marketing, and product evaluations.
- 1000’s of obtainable integrations from the Shopify App Retailer.
- Buyer profiles with buyer loyalty stories and patterns (on Professional plan).
- In-depth retail analytics (on Professional plan).
Execs and cons
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Hike POS: Greatest for cellular gross sales and stock
Our ranking: 4.13 out of 5
Hike POS gives wonderful stock and order administration options, personalized stories, and worker administration instruments that may simply rival in style retail POS options. It additionally provides you flexibility over which cost processor you should use for your corporation.
Why I selected Hike POS
Hike comes with a cellular app that’s extremely rated by real-world customers, making it a really perfect selection for gross sales at cellular occasions when you don’t have {hardware}. I additionally like that it has its personal free stock scanner app you should use for inventory stock.
Whereas you could improve your Hike subscription to unlock on-line gross sales, I’m nonetheless impressed that Hike doesn’t cost any transaction charges for going along with your most popular cost suppliers, in contrast to Shopify, which expenses almost 2%, and Sq., which is unique to Sq. Funds.
Pricing
- Important: $59/month billed yearly or $69/month billed month-to-month, based mostly on one location and register.
- Plus: $99/month billed yearly or $119/month billed month-to-month, based mostly on one location and register.
- Enterprise: Customized-quote.
Options
- Barcode scanning, product search, and fast faucet features for checkout.
- Buyer profiles with conduct insights.
- Constructed-in loyalty program.
- Stock options reminiscent of real-time monitoring, low-stock alerts, barcoding, buy orders, and vendor administration.
- Cell app on iOS and Android.
- Multi-location stock and reporting.
Execs and cons
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Clover: Greatest for selection of cost processor
Our ranking: 4.14 out of 5
Clover is a cloud POS system owned by the cost community Fiserv. Any service provider providers supplier working on the Fiserv community can promote the Clover POS with its service provider providers software program in-built. This lets you select your most popular cost supplier and nonetheless go along with Clover’s POS and its proprietary {hardware}.
Why I selected Clover
Clover bundles its {hardware} and software program to present you a retail-specific POS system. You should buy the system straight from Clover or by any of the service provider suppliers within the Fiserv community. Its industry-grade POS {hardware} is designed to be mild, cellular, and talk by way of mobile LTE alerts or WiFi.
Pricing
Clover has three subscription plans:
- Starter: $14.95/month.
- Customary: $49.95/month.
- Superior: $69.90/month.
*Software program charges are the identical all through the places the place Clover is bought.
Transaction charges:
- Card-present: 2.3%–2.6% + $0.10
- Guide entry: 3.5% + $0.10
*The above-mentioned charges are mirrored on Clover’s web site as of this writing, however charges will fluctuate based mostly on the place you buy your Clover POS {hardware}.
Options
- Automated product monitoring, inventory degree changes for returns and exchanges, and site transfers.
- Capacity to simply accept Venmo, scan-to-pay, retailer credit score, lay-away, present card, and buy-now-pay-later (BNPL) funds.
- Capacity to connect images of shoppers to their profiles, solicit suggestions on receipts, and reply instantly by the POS.
- Loyalty program options.
- Obtain fast deposits (further 1.5% processing payment) — get cash inside minutes of a bank card sale.
Execs and cons
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Lightspeed Retail: Greatest for advanced stock administration
Our ranking: 4.08 out of 5
Lightspeed Retail is without doubt one of the finest retail POS programs due to its refined and top-of-the-line stock instruments and in-depth analytic stories. It has greater than 40 gross sales and stock stories, with built-in e-commerce and loyalty applications.
Why I selected Lightspeed Retail
Lightspeed Retail permits retailers to handle buy orders with a built-in catalog and create product bundles and a number of variants. Its stock software has a forecasting software that helps anticipate stock wants and predict buying traits, which is what I like in regards to the software program. Its stories include actionable insights that enable you to make choices about your corporation.
Pricing
Lightspeed Retail provides you three subscription choices:
- Primary: $89/month billed yearly or $109/month billed month-to-month, based mostly on one location and register.
- Core: $149/month billed yearly or $179/month billed month-to-month, based mostly on one location and register.
- Plus: $239/month billed yearly or $289/month billed month-to-month, based mostly on one location and register.
Cost processing charges:
- Card-present charges: 2.6% + $0.10
- Guide entry: 2.6% + $0.30
Options
- Constructed-in buy ordering and monitoring features, particular orders, and forecasting software to foretell buying traits and anticipate stock wants.
- Provider listing and built-in product catalog.
- Buyer profiles.
- Constructed-in stories that cowl stock, gross sales, worker efficiency, and extra — with actionable enterprise suggestions.
- Automated loyalty program (obtainable in Core and Plus plans).
- In-house e-commerce platform (obtainable in Core and Plus plans).
Execs and cons
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How do I select the very best retail POS for my enterprise?
A retail POS system is the central hub on your retail enterprise. It doesn’t simply course of gross sales and settle for funds. Search for a retail POS system that may assist handle stock, oversee workers, and assist construct a buyer base with loyalty and advertising and marketing efforts. Contemplate additionally one that may gather knowledge to assemble stories that enable you to in buying and staffing choices.
Methodology
I evaluated dozens of point-of-sale programs and scored them utilizing our in-house rubric of 20 knowledge factors with the next classes — pricing, software program options, {hardware}, set up and safety, and person evaluations. I prioritized POS programs which are based mostly within the cloud however supply offline mode (hybrid), are dependable, straightforward to make use of, and supply options that assist enterprise development.
This text and methodology have been reviewed by our retail knowledgeable, Meaghan Brophy.
