What is the average liquor point of sale system (POS) price? If you’re thinking about investing in a POS system for your growing liquor store, you can’t overlook some of the associated costs.
It’s important to note that some of the most expensive, top-of-the-line POS systems don’t come with the features and toolsets that you need. Moreover, overspending on an ineffective POS system puts your business in a tricky situation. In fact, recent data indicates that more than 20 percent of small businesses fail within the first year!
POS Nation has worked with thousands of liquor store business owners and managers. Over the years, we’ve helped these scaling liquor stores achieve terminal velocity.
Below, we’ve created a simple quick-start guide to help you and your team make the most informed POS system purchase for your business. Keep reading to learn more about the average cost of a liquor store POS system.
What is the Average Liquor POS Price?
The average liquor POS price depends on a few different factors, including features, hardware, and total number of stations. More specifically, the average price range of a liquor store POS system is between $50 to $800 per terminal.
Of course, a range that large is less than helpful in building your budget sheet. This price variance is why it’s essential to understand what you need from your POS system so you can better calculate the expected price of a POS system for your liquor store.
In your search for the perfect liquor store POS system, you’ll discover that many providers overcharge for features or hardware that you’ll never use. POS Nation offers a powerful industry-specific POS system that comes with all the features and hardware that you need. If you’re interested in learning more about our powerful POS solution, use our simple system builder to design the liquor store POS system of your dreams.
Now, let's dig a bit deeper into the elements and features that influence a POS system’s price.
Liquor Store POS System Software
As a liquor store owner or manager, you know that your POS system needs differ from the needs of other types of retail stores. When researching POS software options, you need to ensure that the software can fit your business processes and the changing sales trends in the liquor industry.
It’s important to note that every POS provider must include software (it’s what powers your system). However, the total cost of the POS system software can either be included in the cost of your terminal or stipulated as a monthly fee. Some providers offer “add-on” software features which can increase your total monthly spend significantly. In some cases, the average cost of liquor store POS system software can amount to an additional $100 to $400 per month.
Some of the key software features you’ll want to confirm are included or can be integrated with your solution are:
- Mix and Match Bottle Pricing
- Case Break Inventory Tracking
- Age Verification
- Inventory Tracking
If a point of sale software solution doesn’t offer these features, it’s likely not the best solution for your business — regardless of its price. You’ll end up spending the money you save on a less robust POS solution in the hours your staff spends bending your business processes to fit with the constraints of your software.
Liquor Store POS System Hardware
The second factor that influences POS system pricing is hardware. First, you’ll need to determine how many stations you will need for your liquor store. The next step is to identify which hardware you’ll need for those stations.
Nearly every retail store will need a touch PC, a barcode scanner, a card reader, and a cash drawer. For liquor stores, we also recommend an ID scanner for age verification, a customer display for complete pricing visibility, and a barcode printer to help with case break inventory tracking.
Here’s a breakdown of some of the most common liquor store POS system hardware components with a price range for each:
- Touch PC ($450 - $2,000)
- Barcode Scanner ($50 - $200)
- Cash Drawer ($100 - $300)
- Pinpad ($200 - $700)
- Customer Display ($150 - $400)
RELATED READING: Review of the 5 Best POS Hardware Vendors for 2021
Liquor Store POS System Support
Lastly, you’ll want to factor in POS system tech support. When investing in a point of sale solution, often, support is considered after software features and sleek hardware. However, support can make or break the entire experience with your liquor POS system. Some POS system vendors charge for remote or on-site support when things go wrong. In some instances, these support fees can amount to $100 to $1,000 per visit. It’s common to see technical support paid for with a month-to-month subscription, which ends up being cheaper in the long run.
POS Nation offers 24/7 technical support to our customers. Most liquor stores don’t operate on a standard 9 to 5 schedule. If you’re experiencing a system issue at 7:00 p.m. on a busy Friday night, you’ll want to ensure you’re able to get the support you need when you need it.
In other words, system support might come with a slightly higher price tag, but it will ultimately save you from losing sales to system issues that pop up during off hours.
How to Get Started With POS Nation's Liquor Store POS System
Once you understand the vital functions you need from your software, the key elements you need from your hardware, and the amount of technical support you want to benefit from, you’ll have an easier time estimating the investment you should expect to make in your POS solution.
Armed with this information, you should know that POS Nation offers all the features you need and nothing you don't. Translation? You'll never overspend on features or capabilities that you don’t need. To get started, you can check out our website to build and price the POS system that will meet your liquor store’s unique needs.
Or, as an immediate next step, we recommend downloading our free guide, the Guide to Liquor Store Inventory Management, to learn our expert tips and tricks for painless inventory management processes.
