Choosing the right point of sale (POS) system is vital for small businesses. With the right point of sale system, small businesses can manage and control business expenses with greater proficiency, have a better understanding of what products sell best and then refine their stock accordingly, track product results and performance and engage customers and prospective customers with loyalty rewards.
With a wealth of point of sale systems and software available, how does your small business choose the right one for your unique needs? Small Business Trends has identified 28 point of sale systems small businesses could benefit from.
Point of Sale Systems for Small Business
Brilliant POS
Brilliant POS enables business to replace standard cash registers with a stand-alone terminal, a receipt/label printer and a barcode scanner. With the Brilliant POS system retailers can make payments, manage time sheets, track inventory, run reports, and more. With cloud backup and offsite access, Brilliant POS removes the worry of losing data if a device is lost or stolen, as all the data is stored securely on the Brilliant POS servers.
Vend
Vend is the United States’ leading retail POS software, dedicated to making it easy for retailers to sell to their customers. Working with leading merchant providers from around the world, Vend allows businesses to choose the best way to accept payments, including debit, credit and gift cards.
Vend enables ease of sale, regardless of whether retailers use Vend’s responsive web-based POS on PC, Mac or the Vend Register iPad app. Vend offers a range of pricing structures. Its Starter package is designed for a single outlet with three users. The Advanced payment is for a single outlet with unlimited users. The Multi-Outlet structure can be used by multiple users.
Revel
As well as POS capabilities, Revel comes with a host of other features to help simplify business processes, including QuickBooks integration, analytics, payroll management and appointment scheduling. A standard Revel POS terminal includes an iPad, payment device, POS stand, router, Wi-Fi access point, POS printer and a secure cash drawer.
Revel offer POS solutions for diverse businesses, including retailers, restaurants, sports stadiums, self-service kiosks and convenience stores. Interested businesses can get a quote from the Revel sales team for a customized POS solution.
Tillpoint
Tillpoint is an award-winning and complete cloud-based POS system that provides an easy-to-use and effective solution for retail, hospitality and service-based businesses. The Tillpoint package includes everything a small business will need for seamless POS integration, including the software and hardware required to start trading straight away.
POS Nation
POS Nation offers retailers a POS system that can be tailored to their specific needs. Users can customize the system, choosing the software, hardware and peripherals needed to optimize productivity and profitability.
POS Nation allows businesses to manage different aspects of operations, from finances to inventory, and gain the insight to make better business decisions.
Shopify
Shopify is an inexpensive POS for businesses. With an easy-to-use interface, Shopify does not require much training. Mobile POS is available with Shopify as the system works on iPhone and iPad. A three-tiered payment classification, includes Basic Shopify, designed for start-ups, Shopify to assist growing businesses, and Advanced Shopify, for scaling businesses.
ShopKeep
ShopKeep is a POS system designed for retail, quick serve, restaurant and bar and franchises. ShopKeep can be used for payment processing, inventory management, transactions, customer marketing, staff management, reporting and analytics, and more. ShopKeep’s hardware comprises of iPad enclosures, cash drawers, printers, readers and other robust hardware to cater for the needs of modern businesses.
Unlike other POS vendors, which offer tiered payment structures, ShopKeep touts a standard price.
Skubana
Skubana helps online retailers deliver seamless transactions by providing a smart POS solution. The system automates and streamlines all your business transactions, including purchase orders and fulfilment workflow, to create more efficient and intelligent business operations.
Acme
Acme Point of Sale is built specifically for retail. Fighting credit card fraud at the point of sale is a leading priority for all retailers. Acme offers secure payment solutions with any device. The Acme Wonder Bundle includes point of sale software, a 7000 Series Touch Screen Windows 10 computer with Intel Inside, a choice of Aggressive Built-in or external bar code scanners and a high speed/ hop swappable receipt printer.
Square
Square is a POS system that’s designed to grow as a small business expands. This powerful POS platform enables businesses to make payments, digital receipts, open tickets, inventory, reports, and more.
Square is designed for every type of business, regardless of the industry. The system is free to download and can be used as a mobile POS on a smartphone or on a tablet at a counter.
Cashier Live
Cashier Live offers smart online POS software solutions for retailers. Businesses can access the software via the internet, or though iPad or iPhone apps. Cashier Live’s software help businesses ring up sales with ease, as well as tracking inventory, managing staff, accessing data and generating reports. This POS system boasts special features for retailers operating hardware stores, pharmacies and boutiques.
Cashier Live users receive unlimited registers, unlimited inventory and unlimited support.
TouchBistro
Restaurateurs might be interested in TouchBistro, an easy-to-use and affordable POS system designed specifically for the needs of the restaurant industry. Mobile payments are becoming a key feature in modern payment systems, and TouchBistro is compatible with the iPad, giving restauranteurs additional flexibility. The POS system provides 24/07 support and a number of pricing structures, ranging from the Solo plan to the Unlimited plan.
Bindo
Bindo is a POS system for the iPad which helps retailers and restaurateurs manage their business easier with a cloud-based POS. From invoicing to time clocking, Bindo has more than 300 features designed to streamline business operations. The system provides actionable analytics, detailed metrics, which are neatly presented to provide businesses with an understanding of how improvements can be made. Bindo’s hardware includes everything from barcode scanners to scales, which are supported by the Bindo’s comprehensive point of sale system.
Bindo offers a flexible pricing system, which can be custom-built depending on a business’s specific needs.
Franpos
Formerly known as iConnect, Franpos provides POS solutions with comprehensive features to franchise businesses. Franpos’s point of sale system is sleek and powerful, designed for everyday operations. The POS provider also pairs the right software with great hardware, eliminating the headache of making important POS software and hardware decisions.
Springboard
Springboard is a powerful, cloud-based POS software and management system for retailers. The platform is designed to help retailers sell more and sell smarter. The intuitive and easy to use point of sale system works on mobile and desktop devices and being cloud-based, allows businesses to access key data whilst on the go.
Springboard offers a flexible and scalable, three-tiered payment structure.
Gotmerchant
Gotmerchant offers a fully loaded Harbortouch POS system for restaurant and retail businesses. This fully-inclusive POS system includes all the basic hardware and software required for an effective point of sale system, unlimited training, professional on-site installation, lifetime 24/7 technical support and other features designed to help small businesses revolutionize business processes with no start-up cost.
Lavu
Lavu is a POS system for the iPad for coffee shops, food trucks, restaurants, pizzerias, bars and other types of catering establishments. Lavu states it offers premier point of sale technology, which is designed exclusively for restaurants and bars. Some of the key benefits of using the Lavu system, include industry-leading payment processing rates, 24/7 US-based customer care, menu and restaurant layout customization and shift scheduling for easy clocking in and out.
Lavu offers flexible payment plans to cater for different small business budgets.
Lightspeed
Lightspeed is a point of sale and ecommerce provider based in Montreal, Canada, providing small and medium-sized businesses in the retail and restaurant sectors point of sale solutions.
Founder Dax Dasilva told Small Business Trends how the company is the “most powerful cloud based commerce solution for independent businesses for both in store and online applications.”
Lightspeed is dedicated to helping local businesses succeed through a reliable and intuitive POS software and a store management system. Retailers and restaurants can benefit from comprehensive data analytics and sales processing.
Lightspeed offers three pricing options.
Bluestore Live
Bluestore Live offers retailers a flexible point of sale system that can run on different hardware. At the heart of Bluestore Live is an admin console, in which a business’s data is securely stored on BlueStore’s servers living in the cloud or the company’s own private URL. From the console, retailers can create products, check stock, change prices, run sales reports, and more.
Bluestore Live has a simple pricing system starting with a basic plan of one terminal per store.
Tiger POS
Tiger POS is a point of sale platform that has been built for store owners by store owners, specifically for liquor store owners. This affordable POS system has an age verification feature, as well as shelf labeling, reporting, security camera integration and purchasing and receiving capabilities.
ePOS
ePOS is a comprehensive point of sale system for the hospitality and retail industries The POS is available on mobile iOS and Android devices, as well as PCs and Macs. ePOS system is easy to use, and staff can be trained on it in 15 minutes. Real time reports can be generated and monitored from anywhere. The POS includes a payment system, online ordering platforms, accounting systems an CRM.
PayPal Here
PayPal Here is a credit card reader and mobile app that can be downloaded onto an iPad, Android or Windows device, providing a solid POS system for businesses that enables credit card processing. The system features automatic invoicing, barcode scanning, debit card PIN processing and digital receipts.
Quickbooks
Quickbooks’ point of sale is EVA-ready and is designed to support the most updated payment technology. Small businesses can take advantage of simple credit card processing, which is integrated with Quickbooks and encrypted for the protection of the business and its customers’ data.
Interested businesses can give Quickbooks’ POS a free trial and pricing is dependent on the hardware and software bundle a business opts for.
SWIM
SWIM offers a POS system for businesses operating within the jewellery sector. Designed for an iPAD, this POS assists jewellers with sales processing and the management of their business. Features are specific to the jewellery business and include stock counting, instant quotes and custom orders, as well as various marketing tools.
SWIM offers four different pricing structures, starting with a month of trialling the software to the highest plan that includes unlimited sales and inventory items.
Toast
Toast is an all-in-one management solution for restauranteurs. The system provides delivery tracking, real-time reporting, online ordering, and more. The Android POS system is fully customizable and is available to eateries of all sizes.
This POS software, designed to increase the profitability of restaurants, provides 24/7 support from a U.S-based support team.
Booker
Booker’s point of sale system ensures a small business’s customers are left feeling satisfied by using an effortless checkout system. The system connects with your credit card processor so transactions can be processed in real time. As well as being able to track customer purchases over time, Booker allows you to connect your POS with customer profiles to process payments using a card on file for incredible fast and efficient transactions.
MyCheck
In 2014 MyCheck announced full integration into POSitouch Point of Sale software. This payment technology platform enables brands to increase engagement with customers and customize their digital experience.
MyCheck’s POS integration requires no special hardware and provides unique reporting tools. MyCheck provides a pay-as-you-go pricing model in which businesses can choose the specific capabilities they require from the system.
SlickPOS
SlickPOS provides quick and easy-to-use POS software for restaurants, cafes, food trucks, and other dining venues.
The SlickPOS system can be run on a browser or installed as a MacOS or Windows app. The iOS and Android billing app can also be used on smartphones and tablets. Restauranteurs can integrate online orders with the billing software so they can manage both online and in-store orders using one single, convenient system.
Are you a small business which relies on a POS system to streamline payments and other management operations? We’d love to hear your experiences of POS systems for small businesses.
Point of Sale Photo via Shutterstock