The Best POS Systems for Retail Businesses

From small boutiques to large-scale department stores, retailers across the globe rely on point-of-sale (POS) systems to streamline their operations, enhance customer experiences and keep sales data well-organized. A feature-rich POS system designed specifically for retailers can make a huge difference in your business’s overall efficiency and shopping experience at your business.

To help you navigate the options on the market and find the ideal fit for your retail business, we have undertaken extensive research, studying dozens of POS systems available in the market. Our best picks were curated based on criteria that matter most to retailers, such as pricing, ease of use, hardware options, software compatibility, mobile capabilities and more.

A POS (Point of Sale) system is the hardware and software that a business uses to process customer purchases. Think of it as a modern, computerized cash register. It’s where customers make payments for products or services.

POS systems also record data, helping businesses to track sales trends and manage their inventory more effectively. The best retail POS systems offer advanced reports that provide useful information to decision-makers so they can better plan for the future of their business.

In a retail setting, a POS system streamlines the checkout process. When a customer is ready to make a purchase, the cashier scans product barcodes or manually enters item codes into the system.

The POS then calculates the total amount due, including any applicable taxes. The customer pays using their preferred method, be it cash, credit card or other digital payment options. The system processes the payment, records the sale and typically prints a receipt for the customer.

Simultaneously, the POS system updates the store’s inventory records to reflect the items sold. Beyond these basic functions, many POS systems also offer additional features like sales tracking, inventory management, and report generation, which help business owners make data-driven decisions about their operations.

User roles and permissions, including employee login credentials, are often used to ensure only authorized personnel can access the POS system and the sensitive data stored within. You can configure these roles and permissions when you first implement the POS system and when onboarding new employees or promoting an employee to a managerial role.

Investing in a POS system designed specifically for retailers can be a big boost for your business by helping you achieve the following benefits.

Streamline inventory management

A retail POS system can help streamline inventory management by tracking product sales, stock levels and deliveries and giving you real-time inventory updates. This reduces the risk of human error in ordering stock and allows retailers to make better inventory decisions based on how a product is performing.

Improve the customer experience

A retail POS system can create a more efficient checkout process, thereby improving your customer experience. For instance, with a mobile POS system, you can check customers out on an in-store tablet or mobile device right where they are and avoid long lines at the register. Modern POS systems can also include CRM features, such as tailored promotions and rewards, for increased customer satisfaction and loyalty.

Enhance sales reporting and analytics

Many retail POS systems provide comprehensive reporting and analytics features that deliver helpful insights into your business’ performance. The data collected by your system can help you understand sales trends and customer purchasing habits so you can make better business decisions in the long run.

Increase operational efficiency

A POS system can help your retail business eliminate manual tasks, like tallying end-of-day cash and calculating sales tax as well as streamline data entry for integrated business tools like CRM and accounting software. These automation features can free up your time to focus more on customer service and drive business growth.

A POS system’s total cost depends on the software and hardware options available from the provider you choose. For cloud-based systems, monthly software charges can be as little as $0 or as high as $200 or more. Depending on your retail business’s needs, POS hardware can cost up to $1,200 for a comprehensive POS register system, which can include a card reader, barcode scanners, signature-capture devices, a terminal, tablet or computer, a cash drawer and a receipt printer.

Alternatively, you may opt just to purchase a card reader that attaches to an existing mobile device and run POS software from there, which means your hardware costs will be minimal. The market for POS systems has changed significantly in recent years, thanks to technological advances and an overall decrease in pricing. POS hardware, which used to come in the form of expensive, bulky devices, can now be as simple as a tablet or smartphone dongle attachment, making these systems much more accessible and affordable to small businesses and multilocation retailers.

When choosing the best retail POS system, It’s essential to weigh the total cost against the return on your investment. The right system for your business may be a bit more expensive upfront but, ultimately, it can streamline operations and improve customer experience, potentially boosting sales.

When choosing a retail POS system, make sure to consider the following before deciding to work with a provider.

Consider your business needs

Before you dive into market research, take some time to look at your business and determine your list of must-haves. By understanding what you need in a POS system, you’ll be able to evaluate candidates much more effectively.

“The first step is to determine your ultimate business needs,” said Jason Schlichting, account executive at ScanSource. “Consider if the software is customizable; if not, ensure the features offered meet the needs of your business. It’s important to determine what features are non-negotiable for your business to operate successfully.”

System uptime and maintenance support

A POS system that’s constantly going down is going to have a negative impact on your business. Examine uptime reports to ensure the POS system you’re considering almost never crashes. Additionally, check out the level of maintenance support a company requires, which can make the difference between a critical outage and a quick fix should the system crash.

“Warranty and maintenance should be strongly considered when purchasing a POS,” said Bart Collins, president of Macro Integrations, a DecisionPoint Systems company. “A retailer’s ability to conduct transactions requires a much stronger sense of urgency than comparing warranty to consumer electronic devices.”

Usability and installation process

Consider how easy a system is to set up and use before buying. You’ll want to limit the disruption of the implementation process and ensure your staff can get up and running with the new system fairly easily. Take advantage of any training programs available as well to make the process as smooth as possible.

“Most of today’s systems require professional staging, integration, installation, training, maintenance and support,” Collins said. “Cutting corners on these services can be expensive down the road. Most of today’s applications are flexible to be tailored to your needs and processes.”

Feature set and scalability

When examining a feature set, keep an eye on the future. Just because your business doesn’t need a particular feature, such as advanced reporting for example, today, doesn’t mean you won’t need it down the road. Consider the trajectory of your business and whether a POS system will be able to grow alongside you.

“Look for inventory management, payment processing, e-commerce capabilities, CRM and HRMS functionality, loyalty and rewards programs, and physical and cyber security options,” Schlichting said.

Integrations and compatibility with your tech stack

Whichever POS system you choose, you’ll want to be able to tie it into the rest of your business software. For example, seamlessly transferring data from your POS system to your accounting software reduces the need for double data entry, eliminating errors and saving time. Look for integrations with the tech stack you already have in place.

“Professionally unpacking all components, loading all software and utilities and testing the entire system is critical prior to installation,” Collins said.

Customer service quality

Whenever you’re dealing with a technological system as sprawling and important as POS software, you need to know there’s a responsive and helpful customer support team at your back. Consider customer reviews about tech support quality and closely review service agreements before signing.

“Ensure service-level agreements (SLAs) support your business needs and look for dedicated account representatives,” Schlichting.

When researching POS system features, it’s important to consider both the software and hardware sides. We particularly looked at the following when making our selections for the best retail POS systems.

Software Features

• Inventory Management: Retail businesses need to track a wide variety of products, sometimes across multiple locations, such as between a storefront and warehouse. A POS system with robust inventory management tools can offer real-time updates on product stock levels and track item popularity so you can avoid overstocking or understocking certain items.
• Mobile Apps: POS mobile apps allow you and your employees to conduct transactions from anywhere, whether you’re moving around a brick-and-mortar retail location or selling your products at an event. This can speed up the checkout process and reduce lines forming at a single register, enhancing the overall customer experience.
• Reporting: Your POS system should offer robust reporting features to give you insights into sales trends, inventory levels and employee performance. These POS reports help make data-driven decisions that improve profitability.
• Integrations: Your retail business likely uses tools like accounting software, a top customer relationship management (CRM) solution and a marketing platform. The right POS system communicates seamlessly with the rest of your tech stack. These integrations and data-sharing capabilities help streamline business operations and provide a more unified view of the business.

Hardware Features

Retail POS hardware varies greatly depending on your store setup. Before investing in a POS provider, ensure it offers all the hardware you want to include in your configuration. At a minimum, you will likely need a card reader and mobile device, but you may find it prudent to invest in other hardware like a cash register, receipt printer, signature capture device and display screen.

While our top recommendations should meet most companies’ point-of-sale needs, here are some additional POS systems with noteworthy features:

GoDaddy

GoDaddy stands out by combining robust POS functionality with comprehensive e-commerce features, making it an ideal choice for businesses that operate both in-person and online sales channels. The platform offers a wide range of tools including website design templates, custom domain connections, SSL security, and online store creation. GoDaddy enables businesses to list thousands of products online, automatically sync inventory across various platforms (such as Amazon and Etsy), and manage everything from a single dashboard. It also provides marketplace and social selling tools. Read our GoDaddy review to learn more.

Brilliant

Brilliant POS system shines in its employee management capabilities. The system includes a comprehensive labor scheduler with detailed payroll and scheduling information for each staff member. For restaurants, it offers performance tracking for both teams and individual employees, as well as breakdowns of busy periods to aid in shift planning. Brilliant is also known for its competitive pricing. Read our Brilliant POS review to learn more.

ePOSNow

Epos Now caters to both retail and hospitality industries with POS software tailored to each sector’s specific needs. The system offers a variety of hardware options with excellent device compatibility, including touchscreen POS systems, iPads, Samsung tablets, and a mobile POS called Epos Pocket. The software is feature-rich and easily scalable, making it a great choice for growing businesses. Epos Now integrates with credit card processors and over 100 third-party applications, allowing for a highly customized system. Read our Epos Now review to learn more.

Revel

Revel offers an iPad-based POS system specifically designed for food and beverage businesses, with a standout feature being its customer loyalty capabilities. The system allows businesses to capture customer information, create loyalty programs, and determine how customers earn loyalty points. Revel has developed an in-house, customizable loyalty reward card program and also integrates with several third-party loyalty platforms such as Paytronix, Punchh, Como, and others, providing a wide range of options for customer retention strategies.

Wix

Wix is known for its website creation tools, but it also offers a robust POS solution that integrates seamlessly with its e-commerce functionality. This integration allows small business owners to manage their sales and inventory in one place across both online and offline channels. Through a partnership with Stripe, Wix provides a fully mobile POS system with flat-rate payment processing. The platform is noted for its ease of use, and Wix offers a 30-day money-back guarantee on hardware.

To determine the best POS systems on the market, our team of sales experts and software analysts evaluated an initial list of 112 platforms. As this number suggests, we cast a wide net, looking not only at popular, well-known POS services but also at lesser-known platforms and up-and-coming vendors that might appeal to established businesses.

To narrow our list, our experts and analysts studied each solution’s functionality and judged the products on nearly 50 factors. These included the availability of industry-specific plans, payment options, credit card processing rates, usability, scalability, customer support resources and more.

Based on that research, we further narrowed our list to 14 POS systems before ultimately choosing five POS programs as our top recommendations. Those decisions were based on in-depth investigations that included participating in vendor demos, conducting hands-on testing and scouring real customer testimonials to gauge how their user experiences measured up to ours.

The main factors highlighted below were weighted differently in our overall conclusion. The weights were determined based on how much business owners prioritize these criteria when shopping for business software and services and making purchasing decisions.

• Pricing (30%): Our experts and analysts compared and contrasted each vendor’s plans, judging which packages offered the best bang for your buck. They took into account monthly subscription fees, credit card processing rates, hardware costs and whether there were industry-specific pricing plans.
• Features (25%): We looked for standard POS system functions like in-store, mobile and online payment processing, inventory management, customer management and loyalty programs. We also assessed the available integrations and awarded extra points for advanced services, like AI-powered stock monitoring and price control.
• Ease of Use (25%): We tested the hardware and software ourselves, gauging each solution’s learning curve, user-friendliness and customization options. We also considered whether there were e-commerce capabilities and a fully featured mobile app for managing sales and marketing tasks on the go.
• Customer Service (20%): We evaluated the range of customer service options, including whether phone assistance was provided with all package tiers. We also examined each vendor’s online resources for businesses interested in self-guided help.

Based on these criteria, we not only determined which POS systems our readers could trust but also the ways in which each solution could best serve different business needs. Some solutions were better at certain tasks than others or more suited to a particular type of company. These takeaways informed the “Best for” use cases you see on this page.

To learn more about our methodology, see our full editorial process.