Point of sale is the one software decision where the wrong choice is genuinely expensive to reverse, because it usually comes with hardware you bought and a payment processing contract you signed.
That makes the buying questions different from other categories. Features matter less than processing rates, hardware lock-in and whether the system suits your specific type of business.
Four Questions Before Anything Else
What kind of business are you? Retail, restaurant, salon and mobile service all need genuinely different systems. A restaurant needs table management and course firing; a salon needs appointments and staff commission; retail needs inventory and variants. General-purpose POS does none of these especially well.
Are you locked into their payment processing? The most important question and the one people ask last. Some systems require you to use their processor. That means your effective cost is the processing rate, not the software price — and you cannot shop around later.
Is the hardware proprietary? If the terminal only works with that vendor, switching later means buying everything again.
What happens when the internet drops? Offline mode is not universal. If you cannot take payments during an outage, that is lost revenue at exactly the wrong moment.
The Twelve
1. Square
The default for small businesses, and deservedly. Free software tier, transparent published processing rates, hardware from a card reader up to full terminals, and it works out of the box.
Suits: most small retail, cafés, market traders, mobile services. Watch: you must use Square’s processing. Square has also been known to hold funds on accounts it flags, so keep a buffer and transfer regularly.
2. Shopify POS
If you sell online with Shopify, this shares one inventory and one customer record across online and in person. That unification is the argument.
Suits: existing Shopify merchants selling in person. Watch: additional fees if you use a processor other than Shopify Payments.
3. Toast
Restaurant-specific — table management, coursing, kitchen display, tips handling, online ordering. Built for hospitality rather than adapted to it.
Suits: restaurants and bars. Watch: proprietary hardware and processing lock-in. Read the contract term carefully; this is a longer commitment than most.
4. Lightspeed
Strong inventory management for retail with complex catalogues, plus a restaurant product. Good for businesses with many SKUs, variants and suppliers.
Suits: specialist retail — bike shops, apparel, homeware.
5. Clover
Widely sold through banks and merchant service providers, with an app marketplace.
Watch: because it is sold through resellers, terms vary enormously between providers. The same Clover hardware can come with very different processing rates and contract lengths. Compare the offer, not the product.
6. SumUp
Very low barrier — inexpensive card reader, no monthly fee on the basic tier, straightforward rates. Popular in Europe.
Suits: market traders, sole traders, low-volume in-person sales.
7. Zettle (PayPal)
Similar proposition to SumUp, backed by PayPal, with good integration if you already use PayPal.
8. Vend (now Lightspeed Retail)
Absorbed into Lightspeed. If you find older recommendations for Vend, they now point to Lightspeed Retail.
9. Epos Now
UK-strong, covering retail and hospitality with hardware bundles.
Watch: check contract length and processing terms carefully before signing.
10. Loyverse
Free POS software for small retail and cafés, with paid add-ons for advanced inventory and employee management.
Suits: very small businesses wanting free software and their own choice of processor.
11. Fresha or Treatwell
Salon and spa specific — appointments, staff schedules, commission, client history and treatment notes alongside payments.
Suits: hairdressers, beauty, wellness. General POS handles these badly.
12. Odoo POS
Open source, self-hostable, integrating with Odoo’s inventory and accounting modules.
Suits: businesses running Odoo already, with technical capability.
How They Compare
| System | Type | Own processing required | Free software tier |
|---|---|---|---|
| Square | General, retail, café | Yes | Yes |
| Shopify POS | Retail, omnichannel | Fee if not Shopify Payments | With Shopify plan |
| Toast | Restaurant | Yes | Limited |
| Lightspeed | Retail, restaurant | Usually | No |
| Clover | General | Varies by reseller | No |
| SumUp | Mobile, low volume | Yes | Yes |
| Zettle | Mobile, low volume | Yes | Yes |
| Epos Now | Retail, hospitality | Often | No |
| Loyverse | Small retail, café | No | Yes |
| Fresha | Salon, spa | Usually | Yes |
| Odoo POS | General | No | Self-host |
Processing rates and software pricing change regularly and vary by country and card type. Verify current terms directly, and get processing rates in writing.
The Contract Is the Product
This category has more contract friction than any other software a small business buys, so it is worth being specific about what to check.
- Contract length. Some POS providers use multi-year terms with meaningful early termination fees. Ask directly and get it in writing.
- Processing rate structure. Interchange-plus is transparent; flat-rate is simpler; tiered pricing is where margin hides. Understand which you are being offered.
- Hardware ownership versus lease. Leased terminals can cost several times the purchase price over a term, and leases are often separate agreements that survive cancelling the POS.
- Who owns the customer data. Confirm you can export your sales history, customer list and inventory.
- PCI compliance fees. Some providers charge monthly PCI fees or non-compliance penalties. Ask.
- Chargeback handling. Who represents you, and what does a dispute cost.
Anyone unwilling to put processing rates and contract length in writing before you sign is telling you something useful.
What Actually Matters Day to Day
Speed at the counter. Two extra taps per transaction, several hundred times a day, is a real cost. Test the actual flow before buying.
Offline mode. Confirm what happens with no internet — some systems queue transactions, some stop entirely.
Staff permissions. Who can void a sale, issue a refund, open the drawer or see reports. This is your main control against till loss.
Accounting integration. Daily sales should reach your books without retyping. Verify native integration with your accounting software.
Hardware reliability. Receipt printers and cash drawers fail. Check what support and replacement look like.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
- Comparing software prices, not processing rates. Processing is where nearly all the cost is. Free software with a poor rate is expensive.
- Signing a long contract without reading termination terms. This category has real early exit fees.
- Leasing hardware. Frequently costs several times the purchase price, under a separate agreement that survives cancellation.
- Buying general POS for a specialist business. Restaurants, salons and appointment businesses need purpose-built systems.
- Not testing offline mode. Find out before an outage, not during one.
- Ignoring staff permissions. Till loss is a real problem and permissions are the control.
- Not confirming data export. Your sales history and customer list should be yours to take.
- Leaving balances with the processor. Transfer settled funds regularly; holds happen across this category.
FAQs
What is the best POS for a small business?
Square for most general small retail and cafés — free software, published rates, no contract. Toast for restaurants, Fresha for salons, Shopify POS if you already sell online with Shopify, Lightspeed for complex retail inventory.
Is there a free POS system?
Square, SumUp, Zettle and Loyverse all have free software tiers. With Square, SumUp and Zettle you must use their payment processing, so the real cost is the processing rate. Loyverse lets you choose your own processor.
Do I have to use their payment processing?
With Square, SumUp, Zettle and Toast, generally yes. Shopify charges an extra fee if you use another processor. Loyverse and Odoo let you choose. This is the single most important question to ask.
Should I lease or buy POS hardware?
Buy where possible. Leases frequently cost several times the purchase price over the term, are often separate agreements from the POS contract, and continue after you cancel the software.
What happens if my internet goes down?
It depends on the system — some queue transactions offline and sync later, some cannot process at all. Confirm before buying, and test it.
Can I switch POS systems later?
Yes, and it is expensive if you have proprietary hardware or a contract with termination fees. Confirm data export and contract terms before signing, not after.
Key Takeaways
- Processing rates, not software price, are where nearly all the cost sits.
- Ask whether their processing is mandatory — it usually is, and it decides your real cost.
- Buy hardware rather than leasing; leases often outlast the software contract.
- Specialist businesses need specialist systems. General POS handles restaurants and salons badly.
- Get contract length, termination fees and processing rates in writing before signing.
Before You Buy
Get processing rates and contract terms in writing from two providers for your actual card mix and monthly volume. Then test the checkout flow in person — speed at the counter is what you live with daily and no comparison table captures it.
For related decisions, see our guides to inventory management software and Stripe vs PayPal for the online side of payments.