The Best Small Business POS Systems
We’ve reviewed the top small business POS software to help independent retailers, restaurants, and service businesses manage inventory, accept payments, and build their customer base.
- Free plan with no monthly software fee
- Runs on phones, iPads, or Square hardware
- No long-term contracts
- System is user-friendly with minimal training
- Hardware for mobile POS available
- Scalable for single-location stores to multi-store chain
- Multiple users have praised customer support
- Supports multiple locations
- Credit card processing agnostic
After comparing small business POS systems through our own independent review process, here are our top picks for managing payments, inventory, and customers.
- Square: Best Overall
- The General Store: Best for Boutique and Apparel Stores
- KORONA POS: Best Payment Processing Options
- eHopper: Best Cash Discount Program
- Toast POS: Best for Restaurants
- Clover POS: Best Hardware Options
- Shopify POS: Best eCommerce Capabilities
- Loyverse: Best Built-In Loyalty Program
- J3 POS: Best for Hardware Stores
Square - Best Overall
Square’s free plan adapts to the type of business you run, so a coffee shop, a boutique, and a salon each get a register set up around how they sell. The same software runs on everything from a small chip reader to a full countertop register, and the free plan includes eCommerce tools like an online store and checkout.
Retailers can track products with SKUs and barcode scanning, and restaurants and service businesses can manage staff schedules in the same system. You can also add a loyalty program to bring regulars back.
The Free plan has no monthly fee, and Square Plus is $49/month per location. Card fees vary by plan and payment type, and they can add up as your sales grow.
The General Store - Best for Boutique and Apparel Stores
The General Store offers apparel and boutique kits included with the system, which helps organize and sell all types of clothing while staying on top of their unique inventories. Its inventory system makes adding and deleting clothing easy with its mobile capabilities, essential for seasonal fashion shifts.
Its vendor management feature helps businesses organize purchase orders, invoices, and bill deadlines. The enhanced organization can allow owners to keep track of costs and payment history to ensure accurate expenses. While these features are effective, some small businesses might be turned away by the separate annual tech support fee if they buy the software outright instead of subscribing.
KORONA POS - Best Payment Processing Options
KORONA POS lets you integrate with any payment processor, which can help small businesses save on processing fees. You can shop around for the lowest rates, or just stick with your current provider for an easier transition. Depending on your card volume, even a small rate difference can add up over a year.
The platform stands out among other POS systems, as most vendors force you to use their processing service. This includes leading brands like Square and Toast. It also allows you to change your processor at any time as you grow, giving you the flexibility to choose a new service without disrupting your business.
While there’s no free plan, KORONA’s Core plan is $59/month per terminal. It includes several core features like unlimited sales, sales reports, and gift cards. For restaurants, the Food add-on is only an extra $10/month per register, making it well-suited for both small retailers and food service companies.
eHopper - Best Cash Discount Program
eHopper lets a small shop accept cards without paying the processing fee itself. You list every item at its card price, and the register automatically applies your discount when a customer pays with cash, debit, or check, including on split payments. You set the rate for the whole company or per store, and a cash discount report breaks out discounts by store and date range. eHopper also supports credit card surcharging. Surcharges aren’t allowed in every state, but cash discounts are. Either program requires a sign at your entrance and the discount or fee shown on receipts.
The free plan includes free card processing but requires eHopper’s own processing and is limited to US merchants. Paid plans are priced per device and can use an outside processor for an extra monthly fee. eHopper runs on Android and Windows only, and free-plan users can’t reach support staff. If you’d rather shop for lower processing rates than pass fees to customers, KORONA POS is the better fit.
Toast POS - Best for Restaurants
Toast POS’s online ordering and delivery system helps small, single-location restaurants reach more customers by letting them order through the restaurant’s website or by phone.
Owners can mark menu items in or out of stock from the Toast Now mobile app, so staff at every terminal see the change right away. Its handheld, water-resistant tableside device also allows easy tableside payments, ideal for small restaurants looking to speed up service.
Toast POS offers a free starter kit with a POS system and one terminal. This plan works well for new startup restaurants that only require the basics. Unfortunately, the online ordering and third-party delivery integrations are add-ons that require a separate fee. Also, you have to sign up for long-term contracts, leaving you stuck if the system isn’t the right fit.
Clover POS - Best Hardware Options
Clover POS sells seven POS devices, from its Go handheld card reader, which is ideal for businesses that don’t require a full register, to the countertop Station Duo.
Clover’s employee management features also stand out, including its time clock app, where staff can clock in and out. This benefits small businesses, as owners don’t need separate systems for their POS and timekeeping, so all hours are easily logged in one platform. However, Clover doesn’t offer a free plan, unlike competitors such as Square.
Shopify POS - Best eCommerce Capabilities
Shopify POS integrates in-person and online sales. Features like automatic inventory syncing, order management, and digital gift cards work across both your store and your website. Also, it supports many popular online payment methods like Apple Pay and Google Pay to give customers a range of options.
Shopify connects with QuickBooks through third-party apps for an integrated POS and accounting solution. Unfortunately, there’s no native integration, and how often data syncs depends on the app you choose. Its most popular Basic omnichannel plan is $39/month with in-person card rates of 2.6% plus 10 cents per transaction.
Loyverse - Best Built-In Loyalty Program
Loyverse puts a points program inside its free POS, so a coffee shop or small retailer can reward regulars without paying for a separate loyalty app. You set the reward rate once (the default is 1%), and points add up whenever a cashier attaches a customer to the sale by phone number or barcode loyalty card, which can be digital, so you don’t need to print membership cards.
Each point is worth $1 off a later purchase, and customers can redeem all or part of their balance at any of your stores. If you’re moving from another system, you can import existing customers and their point balances from a CSV file, so regulars don’t lose what they’ve earned. Printed and emailed receipts show each customer’s current balance. The customer list also tracks visit frequency and purchase history, but you’d need a dedicated loyalty tool for referral campaigns.
The POS and loyalty program are free, and employee management, advanced inventory, and longer sales history are paid add-ons priced per store. Support is chat and email only, and there’s no built-in online ordering.
J3 POS - Best for Hardware Stores
J3 POS offers a lumber pricing and estimating tool that’s built specifically for hardware stores. Small independent retailers can manage changes to lumber by square footage, board, or percentage of cost. This helps you adapt to different price variances to maintain a healthy bottom line.
The tool is also effective for creating accurate estimates. Update inventory while creating your estimates to ensure stock level accuracy. Also, you can adjust prices as you add items so you can find the right price for you and your customers.
Unfortunately, J3 POS doesn’t release prices publicly, so you’ll have to request a custom quote. But with its strong hardware inventory and lumber pricing tool, it’s a great option for small hardware stores looking to upgrade their POS system.
What Are Small Business POS Systems?
Small business POS systems help streamline online and in-person payment transactions and inventory updates for small retailers and restaurants. These systems help daily transactions and back-office tasks run smoothly, allowing small business owners to manage their operations effectively.
Many POS systems are web-based and bundled with hardware such as registers, tablets, kiosks, and mobile card swipers. Different systems are also tailored to various types of businesses. For example, Toast is designed for restaurants, while Shopify is built for eCommerce retailers.
Key Features
- Inventory Management: Get accurate inventory levels available in real-time. Set up reorder points, count maximums and minimums, and low-count notifications. Efficiently create purchase orders directly through the system.
- Payment Processing: Accept various customer payment methods, including credit, debit, EBT, and gift cards. Some systems work with your existing hardware, while others require vendor-specific equipment.
- CRM: Set up loyalty programs to reward regular customers and create new ones. Store loyalty customer information in a database for easy access while gaining a better understanding of your clientele.
- Receipting: Create receipts after every transaction with purchase details and the amount paid through physical paper printing or email.
- eCommerce Integration: Combine the data and inventory from your physical store and online website into one dashboard. Automatically sync data to ensure the website displays accurate stock counts and prices.
- Employee Management: Streamline time tracking for all employees by having them clock in and out through the POS system. Schedule employees on a digital calendar for easy shift visualization.
- Reporting: Automatically generate sales and inventory metrics reports, helping small businesses make more informed decisions about their store.
Primary Benefits
Streamlined Checkout Process
POS systems can make checkouts easier and faster. Payment processing is necessary for any small business looking to accept credit and debit card payments from customers efficiently. Fast checkout times can boost customer satisfaction and help companies get through long rush hour lines. Barcode scanners also make for easy checkouts, as they automatically generate accurate product information and prices, eliminating manual entry at the register.
Accurate Inventory Management
POS systems allow small businesses to keep accurate stock counts for all products. This allows owners to manage their inventory in real time and see what products are selling and which are not. Also, owners can set stock maximums and minimums so the system flags items to reorder when the count gets too low, ensuring fast-selling items stay in stock.
View Sales Trends and Reports
Small business owners must have a good sense of their sales metrics to adapt and shift with the current market. POS systems give accurate sales reports so owners can easily see their business’s financial health, including which products are selling more than others. Visualizing these trends can help understand the buyer and identify potential sales opportunities.
Pricing Guide
Small-business POS systems generally cost between $0 and $200/month for software, plus hardware and card processing.
- Low-Cost ($0–$50/month): Fits single-location startups and small shops that need a register, basic inventory, and card payments. Examples: Square (free, or $49/month for Plus) and Loyverse (free, with paid add-ons).
- Mid-Range ($50–$100/month): Fits established retailers and restaurants that need deeper inventory and reporting. Examples: KORONA POS ($59–$99/month per terminal) and Clover ($59.95–$89.95/month for its restaurant and retail plans).
- High-End ($100–$200/month): Fits busier stores running several registers or devices. Example: Shopify POS, where adding POS Pro ($89/month per location) to the Basic plan ($39/month) or Grow plan ($105/month) comes to about $128–$194/month.
- Quote-Based: Specialty systems priced by setup. Example: J3 POS.
POS hardware comes with additional costs, ranging from $20-$2,000 depending on the type of equipment and the number purchased. There is a wide variety of different hardware options, including small chip readers, full registers, tablets such as iPads, and mobile terminals.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I set up a POS system for a small business?
Many cloud POS systems can be running in a day or two. The order that tends to work best:
- Choose your payment processing first. Some systems only work with their own processor, so this decision can narrow your POS options.
- Load your products. Import items, prices, variants, and starting stock counts from a spreadsheet instead of typing them in at the register.
- Connect your hardware. Pair card readers, receipt printers, barcode scanners, and cash drawers, then run a test sale.
- Add staff accounts. Give each employee their own login and limit who can issue refunds or discounts.
- Test the hard transactions. Before opening day, run a refund, a partial return, and a split payment so problems show up before customers are waiting.
How much does a POS system cost for a small business?
What is the best POS system for a small business?
Do I need a POS system with inventory management?
Which POS systems work for delivery businesses?
It depends on whether you deliver food or products. Restaurants that use Toast can add Toast Delivery Services, which sends orders to on-demand DoorDash and Uber drivers for a flat fee per order. Square sellers can offer delivery through a Square Online ordering page using their own couriers or on-demand drivers. Retailers delivering locally can use Shopify’s free Local Delivery app, which plans routes of up to 100 stops and emails customers status updates.
Before choosing one, check whether delivery orders land in the same queue as in-store orders. Managing a separate tablet for each delivery service adds work during busy periods.
