What does it take to succeed as a small business?
With fewer resources and rising prices, small business owners are looking for smarter ways to manage their business and make better decisions — all while keeping costs down.
Luckily, the right point of sale (POS) system can help — but the truth is that many POS vendors who cater to small businesses overpromise and underdeliver. Too often, business owners choose a cheaper point of sale system for retail, only to find themselves saddled with hidden fees or stuck with a system that’s not specific enough to their industry.
The result? A system that’s supposed to save you time ultimately ends up wasting it, and it’s your customers and bottom line that suffer.
So, if you want to set your business up for success, having the right technology is essential. However, there are tons of POS systems out there — how do you start evaluating one over the other?
We’re here to help. Discover some of the must-have features for different industries, along with our recommendations for top providers.
Point of Sale System for Retail: 6 Features To Look For
No two point of sale systems are the same — they all have strengths and weaknesses that make them better suited for different types of retail.
Knowing what the essential features are makes you more informed when evaluating providers. We’ve also marked any industry or solution-specific features you might need with an asterisk.
1. Powerful Inventory Management
When you’re manually tracking stock levels, writing purchase orders, tracking down supplier info, and updating inventory, you’re potentially wasting valuable time and effort that should be spent on your customers.
Related Read: 10 Inventory Management Best Practices To Implement Today
That’s why your point of sale’s inventory management tools are arguably the first thing you should look at when evaluating a POS system for retail.
Here are some essential inventory management features (and some industry-specific features) that may come in handy:
- Real-time tracking: Update inventory levels every time you make a sale or receive an invoice.
- Vendor management: Keep all of your supplier information in one place for streamlined (and, in some cases, automated) reordering.
- Optimized reordering: Set low-stock thresholds and reorder amounts based on historical sales data and supplier lead times to avoid stockouts and dead stock.
- Reporting and analytics: Track inventory turnover, shrinkage rates, sell-through rate, and more for better decision making, merchandise planning, and promotional strategy.
- Case breaking*: Track items that arrive in a case by the individual unit (e.g. six-packs from a case of beer, cigarette packs from a carton, etc.).
- Perishable inventory*: Enter and track expiry dates to avoid spoilage and food waste.
- Weight-based inventory*: Simplify how you track and sell variable-weight inventory (e.g. cuts of meat, fresh produce).
- Serialized inventory*: Keep track of serial and IMEI numbers for electronic devices, hardware tools, and other big-ticket items.
- Unlimited and custom SKUs*: Input any number of items into your system, including unique items (e.g. house-made foods, bespoke product bundles).
- Custom product tags*: Add custom tags and item descriptions to improve reporting and help with product lookups (especially important for boutique and specialty retailers).
In our experience, having a system that handles your industry-specific needs out of the box is ideal — otherwise, you’re back to using manual workarounds or complex (and sometimes expensive) integrations to get things working the way you want.
2. Robust Security and Compliance
Keeping your store secure and in good legal standing is essential, especially for high-risk industries like convenience stores, tobacco and vape stores, and liquor stores. These are the features that can make that easier:
- Integrated age verification*: Validate customer IDs without slowing down the checkout line using 2D barcode scanners and integrated ID-scanning features.
- Adjustable tax rates*: Ensure that your different products are all taxed correctly for any number of locations.
- Industry-specific reporting*: Export reports required for compliance audits and other regulatory requirements.
- Employee access: Ensure that only the right employees have access to key functions on your system.
- POS compatibility: Avoid getting dropped abruptly by a general retail POS system that doesn’t (or later decides not to) support high-risk industries.
The less you have to do to stay compliant, the better. If you’re in a regulated or high-risk industry, make it easier with a POS system that’s built to handle it.
3. Convenient Payments
Offering modern payment options is essential for speeding up the checkout line and delivering the smooth payment experiences customers expect. Here are the key features to look for:
- Flexible payment options: Allow customers to pay by credit card, debit card, and contactless payment methods.
- Integrated payments: Process payments on the same system you track inventory for real-time inventory updates and simplified financial reports.
- High-risk processing*: Offer modern payment options for high-risk industries like tobacco and liquor by working with a high-risk merchant account.
- Dual pricing*: Offer discounts automatically to customers who pay in cash using systems that offer dual pricing.
- EBT payments*: Support payments for customers on SNAP benefits.
- Layaway payments*: Allow customers to pay for big-ticket items in installments.
Your choice of payment processor also affects how often your business is paid and how credit card chargebacks are handled. Choose wisely!
4. Online Sales Support
Online sales and connected experiences are a huge part of modern retail, but not all POS systems offer a seamless way to bring your store online. Here are some essential features for enabling online sales:
- Integrated e-commerce: Connect your in-store POS system with your online storefront for unified inventory, sales data, and customer information.
- Multichannel sales*: Sell across different channels (website, social media, etc.) from the same system.
- 3rd-party integrations: Connect your system with dedicated e-commerce platforms (e.g. Shopify, Wave Grocery), marketplaces, and shipping and fulfillment services.
Offering online sales is a great way to extend your brand’s reach to new customers and boost sales.
Related Read: 5 Ways To Build Your Small Business’ Online Presence
5. Easy Customer Retention and Marketing
Bringing new customers into your store is great, but bringing back old ones is even better. Returning customers spend over 60% more than new ones, so finding ways to keep customers coming back is essential. Luckily, a POS system for retail can help with:
- Flexible promotions and discounts: Set up promotional pricing (e.g. discounts, BOGO deals) on your system and apply discounts automatically at checkout.
- Customer loyalty: Create a customer loyalty program that lets shoppers earn points depending on how much they spend.
- Customer relationship management (CRM): Create customer profiles that include their purchase history, contact information, and preferences.
- Personalized promotions*: Segment customers and tailor discounts to their specific preferences.
- Feedback collection*: Distribute surveys to customers after purchase or encourage ratings and reviews by sending follow-up messages or printing links on receipts.
- Automated marketing*: Send messages to customers automatically for promotions, birthdays, or abandoned carts.
An effective marketing strategy helps your small business stand out from the crowd and build brand loyalty.
6. Hardware Compatibility
Your choice of POS system also has a significant impact on what hardware you can use. Some systems require you to use their proprietary tablets and devices, while others let you leverage your existing hardware.
At a minimum, all retailers need:
- A touchscreen
- A card reader and cash drawer
- A receipt printer
However, other common hardware includes:
- Barcode scanners
- Scanner scales
- Mobile POS systems
- Barcode printers (for custom products or individual items)
- Self-checkout stands and kiosks
- Customer-facing displays
- Electronic shelf labels (ESLs)
- Security cameras
Make sure you have a full understanding of your hardware needs before signing up with a new POS provider.
5 Top POS Providers for Different Retail Industries
Now that you understand the different kinds of features available, here are some of our top POS system recommendations for specific retail industries.
1. Bottle POS — For liquor and wine store owners
Bottle POS was built by an Atlanta-based liquor store owner to specifically improve operations for liquor, beer, and wine shops. With industry-specific tools and e-commerce support, Bottle POS is a great fit for retailers in the liquor industry.
Standout features:
- Built-in age verification: Scan customer IDs using your barcode scanner to instantly validate IDs and stay in compliance.
- Auto invoicing: Set low-stock thresholds, automatically generate purchase orders, and update inventory against invoices, eliminating the need for manual invoicing.
- Auto ranking: Leverage machine learning to instantly rank your products from A to D, allowing you to see which of your products are bestsellers and which are less popular.
- Advanced inventory: Update inventory levels in real time, track individual bottles and six-packs from cases, easily add products from a centralized database, and more.
Pricing: Bottle POS has several pricing tiers based on your business’ size and needs. Try their transparent pricing configurator tool to get started.
2. Square — For retailers with simple products and services
Square is a widely used retail POS system that caters to general retail, but offers optional add-ons and third--party integrations for niche industries. Square’s low-cost options and easy-to-use hardware make it a solid choice for small general retailers.
Standout features:
- User-friendly hardware: Take payments from a traditional terminal, mobile POS, or your phone using Square’s wide range of user-friendly hardware.
- Easy e-commerce: Easily set up online sales through Square Online and a robust list of third-party integrations.
- Low-cost options: Reduce costs by taking advantage of Square’s free and low-cost options for general retailers with low transaction volumes.
- Modular options: Add features as you need them with Square’s flexible paid add-ons.
Pricing: Square’s Plus pricing plan starts at $29/month, plus hardware leasing costs.
3. Markt POS — For small grocers and food markets
Markt POS is an all-in-one system built for small grocery stores, butchers, and food markets. Markt POS offers many industry-specific features at a lower cost point than other grocery-specific competitors, making it a good fit for small businesses.
Standout features:
- Advanced inventory: Track inventory in real time, keep on top of expiry dates for produce and meat, track weight-based sales, and streamline reorders.
- Quick-service features: Input a menu, modify orders, and send orders to the kitchen using built-in quick service restaurant (QSR) features for delis and grocerants.
- Wide hardware support: Seamlessly integrate popular barcode scanners, scanner scales, and other devices without needing to buy new hardware.
- Flexible payments: Accept debit cards, credit cards, EBT Food, EBT Cash, gift cards, and checks.
Pricing: Markt POS offers custom quotes based on your hardware needs and business size. Use their custom pricing tool to get started.
4. GrazeCart — For online farm stores and fresh food sales
GrazeCart specifically caters to farm stores, butchers, and other fresh food sellers who need to manage variable-weight sales. Though geared primarily toward online sales, GrazeCart also supports integration for in-store sales.
Standout features:
- No-deposit subscriptions: Offer subscriptions for recurring purchases or custom boxes without having to take a deposit from customers.
- Sell-by-weight: Simplify how you sell variable-weight items like meat, produce, and eggs with easy ways to weigh and price objects before fulfillment.
- No-code website builder: Build a user-friendly website without the need for IT using their no-code website builder.
- Built-in customer relationship management (CRM): Manage customer information and purchase history all from one place, allowing for tailored marketing and promotions.
Pricing: Try out GrazeCart for free or contact their team for a custom quote.
5. Lightspeed — For large or franchise retail operations
Based in Canada, Lightspeed creates high-powered POS systems for a variety of retail industries. With advanced features, flexible integrations, and robust multilocation support, Lightspeed is ideal for large operations and chains.
Standout features:
- Built-in supplier database: Leverage Lightspeed’s catalog of vendors for more redundancy against supply chain disruption and to optimize prices.
- Multilocation management: View store performance, perform inventory transfers, and monitor employees across all of your locations.
- Automated marketing: Set up automated multichannel marketing campaigns and segment customer data for more personalized offers.
- Open APIs: Create custom workflows, reports, dynamic pricing, and more.
Pricing: Lightspeed’s Core plan starts at $149/month, plus hardware costs.
Invest in the Right POS System for Your Retail Business
Every small business is unique — one-size-fits-all solutions don’t cut it. As a small retailer, you need to take every advantage you can get, which means you need to find cost-effective tools that are the right fit for your business.
At POS Nation, we’re dedicated to helping small businesses like yours find specialized POS systems at an affordable price.
Talk with one of our retail experts today to tell us about your business, so we can find the right system for you.
