8 Best Square Alternatives for Small Retailers in {{ year }}

Think of your retail store like a duck on the pond: From the customer's point of view, everything looks smooth, but your back office technology is kicking away just under the water, keeping you afloat. 

The right point of sale (POS) system is the secret to your success. This technology ensures everything runs smoothly and gives you the insights to make the right decisions for your store.

A big-name POS system like Square POS may appeal to many small retailers. However, there may be better moves than a popular brand name, and exploring other options could reveal POS systems better suited to your specific business needs.

In this article, we'll introduce you to the best Square alternatives. You'll discover how their unique features and capabilities can help streamline your operations, improve customer satisfaction, and ultimately drive your business success.

8 Best Square POS Alternatives for Small Retailers

Square POS is a well-known name in the point of sale industry, particularly for small businesses and solopreneurs. However, while Square offers a range of features and benefits, there may be better fits for some small retailers. In fact, many users have expressed concerns about features and functionality, which may have you considering other options. 

Some users have reported issues with customer support, citing long wait times or difficulty getting the help they need when problems arise. Others have expressed frustration with sudden account freezes or terminations, which can be particularly challenging for businesses that rely on their POS system to process payments and manage operations.

But how can you find the best Square POS alternative for your business? 

Here are some key features to look for in your point of sale solution:

• Inventory management: A robust inventory management system helps track stock levels, set reorder points, and easily manage products across multiple locations or channels.
• Reporting & analytics: Detailed, real-time reporting and analytics provide valuable insights into your sales, customer behavior, and employee performance.
• Customer loyalty: Look for a POS system that offers built-in customer loyalty features, such as rewards programs and personalized promotions, to help encourage repeat business.
• Employee management: Choose a POS that includes employee management tools, such as time tracking, role-based permissions, and performance reporting.
• Cloud features: Cloud-based POS systems let you access your data and tools from anywhere, anytime, making business management easier.
• Integration capabilities: Consider a POS that can integrate with other key business tools you use, such as accounting software, e-commerce platforms, and marketing automation tools.
• Customer support: Reliable, responsive customer support is crucial for any POS system. Look for a provider that offers multiple support channels, such as phone, email, and live chat, and has a track record of quickly resolving issues and answering questions.

Prioritizing these key features can help you find a Square alternative that meets your needs. With this information in mind, let’s explore our list of the top eight Square alternatives for small retailers.

1. POS Nation

POS Nation offers top-tier retail POS solutions to help small businesses optimize operations. Our POS system comes fully equipped with all the features you need to enhance your checkout process, generate valuable reports, and streamline business management.

Key POS Nation features include:

• Advanced inventory management: Streamline inventory management with stock tracking, purchase order management, and reorder points.
• Flexible payment processing: Speed up transactions using customized hot keys for quick product lookup and reduced checkout time. You can also accept cash, credit, mobile, and contactless payments. 
• Robust reporting: Access comprehensive reporting with over 55 prebuilt reports and additional customizations.
• Employee management: Simplify employee management, including productivity tracking, scheduling, and security permissions.
• Customer retention: Boost customer loyalty and repeat business with built-in loyalty programs and sales history tracking.
• Loss prevention: Combat inventory shrinkage with built-in loss prevention features.
• Integrated loyalty programs: Manage customer loyalty programs directly from your point of sale interface. 

Pricing: Get a custom quote using our transparent build and price tool.

Review: “My experience with the support team, customer service, installation — anyone I’ve talked to at POS Nation — has gone above and beyond. I couldn’t ask for anything better. They had a great system. A great deal.” –Jennifer, POS Nation Customer

2. PayPal Zettle

PayPal Zettle is a versatile, user-friendly point of sale solution with a simple, scalable application and interface. The software offers a range of features and tools that streamline workflows, simplify stock management, and provide valuable insights into business performance. 

Some key features of PayPal Zettle include:

• Inventory management: Create and organize products, track inventory, get alerts when stock runs low, and upload or update your product catalog in bulk. 
• Streamlined checkout: Use the Zettle by PayPal app paired with a card reader or combine POS and payments with the all-in-one handheld Zettle Terminal for faster checkout.
• Real-time reporting: Access sales reports in the app and view an in-depth dashboard on your computer to monitor top-selling products, spot seasonal trends, and track each staff member's performance.

Pricing: Contact sales for a custom quote and pricing model.

Review: “PayPal Zettle is very easy to set up and very easy to use. I have used both the site and my Android phone for setup and have not had problems with either device. It is comparable in ease of use to Square and much easier to use than its predecessor PayPal Here.” –Zettle Customer

3. Clover

Clover offers an intuitive POS system for businesses in various industries, including restaurants, retail, e-commerce, and services. Its cloud-based architecture helps you track sales, refunds, and deposits, and run reports from anywhere at any time. 

Some key Clover features include:

• Flexible payment processing: Accept all major credit/debit cards, mobile wallets, and contactless payments, and safely and securely scan checks. 
• Streamlined order management: Restaurants and cafes can manage in-house, pickup, or delivery orders, open tabs, split bills, and combine multiple orders. 
• Simplified team management: Manage your entire staff and their schedules in one place, set individual employee permissions based on your team's structure and responsibilities, and track employees' sales, tips, and refunds to identify top performers.

Pricing: Clover’s Standard package starts at $135 per month for 36 months.

Review: “Clover makes it incredibly easy to run PCI compliance scans and generate compliance documents. As an end-user, I love that we can schedule our scans on a regular basis and then have them automatically transmitted to our merchant service provider.” –Clover Customer

4. Lightspeed

Lightspeed is an all-in-one point of sale solution with robust POS, inventory management, customer engagement, and advanced analytics features. Lightspeed's unified commerce solution enables retailers to manage their business from a single platform. 

Key Lightspeed features include:

• Advanced marketing tools: Grow your customer base and increase loyalty with automated marketing campaigns, targeted communication across all channels, and customer segmentation.
• Multi-location management: Manage inventory, sales, and customer data across all your stores and channels to ensure a consistent customer experience.
• Open API and integrations: Build highly customized workflows and capabilities and integrate with leading accounting software, ERP systems, and marketing tools.

Pricing: Lightspeed’s Core package starts at $149 per month.

Review: “It's a fast-loading back-end, reliable and flexible POS system for the most part that is good for small to medium-sized retail stores with multiple locations like ours. It has all the features you might need.” –Lightspeed Customer

5. Shopify Retail POS

Shopify Retail is a scalable POS solution with a suite of features designed to optimize back office processes. Shopify Retail offers a centralized, multi-store management system that unifies data and workflows across all retail locations, warehouses, and offices.

Some key Shopify Retail features include:

• Store fulfillment: Transform your stores into fulfillment centers and leverage BOPIS (buy online, pickup in store) and endless aisle capabilities to convert more shoppers and optimize inventory utilization.
• Payment processing: Accept popular payment methods quickly and securely with Shopify Payments, simplifying transaction processing.
• Connected hardware: Speed up checkout and streamline financial management with fully integrated POS hardware that works seamlessly with your Shopify Retail system.

Pricing: Shopify for Small Teams starts at $79 per month. 

Review: “The minimal design layout is the best thing in Shopify POS. Every tile, button, and action can be customized as per the user's needs. Any additional features required can also be applied through the drop-down menu. Overall I would recommend Shopify POS for businesses expanding their brick-and-mortar stores.” –Shopify Customer

6. SwipeSimple

SwipeSimple is a Bluetooth card reader designed to pair with an iOS or Android mobile device. Small businesses can accept credit card payments via swipe, dip, or tap without manually entering card numbers or paying higher transaction fees.

SwipeSimples features include:

• SwipeSimple Dashboard: Manage your business from anywhere using any computer or mobile device. The SwipeSimple Dashboard provides all the tools and insights you need in one convenient place.
• Customer management: Collect and edit customer contact information, track purchase history, and identify your best-selling products and services.
• Reporting and bookkeeping: Generate customizable transaction reports for any period, export data in formats compatible with third-party tools like QuickBooks and Excel, and track sales for specific items or time ranges to monitor your business performance.

Pricing: SwipeSimple’s Tap to Pay device starts at $125. 

Review: “SwipeSimple is a "simple" solution for allowing people to donate to our agency via credit card. Our bank highly recommended it because of its security.” –SwipeSimple Customer

7. Vital (Vital Select & Vital Plus)

Vital is a cloud-based POS system for small businesses, providing access to powerful features and insights through any web browser. 

Vital offers three distinct solutions tailored to the unique needs of small businesses:

• Vital Mobile: This affordable, fully mobile solution allows you to run your business using your smartphone anytime and anywhere.
• Vital Plus: A simple in-store solution that helps you manage your business from a single, all-in-one countertop device.
• Vital Select: Built for busier, more complex in-store environments that require fast, full-featured, and extensive point-of-sale options.

Key features of Vital POS include:

• Inventory management: Access real-time data to better manage inventory expenses, maximize sales, and ensure you stay in stock.
• Pricing and discounts: Establish and manage price points and discount programs across products and locations.
• Employee Management: Track and manage time and attendance, understand staffing needs, and gain efficiencies.

Pricing: Pricing is available only through contact with sales. 

8. Poynt Smart Terminal

Poynt Smart Terminal is a point of sale solution with a user-friendly interface, powerful management tools, and extensive customization options. It provides a range of features and benefits that enable merchants to manage their estate, create tailored solutions, and integrate with popular accessories.

Some key features include:

• Customizable solutions: Launch a monthly revenue stream by offering optional apps and services that enhance the Smart Terminal experience, including e-commerce, gift cards, and more.
• Dedicated account manager: Work with a dedicated account manager who can answer questions and guide you through the Poynt Smart Terminal platform.
• Mission Control: Easily manage your operations with Mission Control, which enables simple installation, automated onboarding, and the ability to manage thousands of devices.

Pricing: Pricing is available only through contact with sales. 

Review: “Once you get your system set up, it is convenient for transactions. They have made it fairly easy to add products (like as to a "register") in the background, like on your computer and it pretty seamlessly links to the "register" (or Poynt machine).” –Poynt Customer

POS Nation: A Small Retailer-Friendly Alternative to Square POS

Exploring the Square alternatives listed in this post, you should have all the information you need to pick the best solution for your store. Remember, picking your point of sale system is about more than finding the best price or longest features list: you need a solution that understands and caters to your unique needs.

At POS Nation, we pride ourselves on being that solution for small businesses.

With more than 25 years of experience helping over 10,000 small retailers streamline their operations and grow their businesses, we understand what it takes to succeed. We've used the insights and feedback we've gathered from our clients to craft a POS system that addresses the specific challenges and opportunities facing small retailers today.

When you choose POS Nation, you'll have access to all the essential features your small retail store needs to thrive, including robust inventory management, detailed reporting and analytics, customer loyalty tools, employee management capabilities, and cloud-based functionality for added flexibility and convenience.

Schedule your demo today to see what makes POS Nation the ideal choice for small retailers.