Best POS System For Small Business
Picking an appropriate POS system can help boost revenue and streamline operations.
The hardest part is selecting the perfect fit for your operation.
But we're here to help! From retail stores to restaurants, we'll explain exactly what you need to know about the 5 leading small business POS systems on the market.
Continue reading to learn about industry-specific features and ultimately find the POS solution most suitable for you!
Best POS Systems for small businesses

Square
- Best overall POS system
- iPad POS systems for restaurants, appointment services, & retail businesses
- Free POS software is available

Lightspeed
- Best small business POS system for iPad users
- POS systems for retail businesses, the food service industry, & golf clubs
- POS software starts from $39 monthly

Toast
- Best restaurant POS system for Android users
- Food industry point-of-sale systems specialists
- Free POS software is available

Shopify
- Best e-Commerce POS solution
- Retail industry point-of-sale systems specialists
- POS software starts from $5 monthly

Clover
- Best for ease of use
- Android-based POS systems for restaurants, retail, & service businesses
- POS software starts from $14.95 monthly
Square offers the best overall POS system in terms of versatility, flexibility, ease of use, and cost. The Square POS system is iPad-based but also works on Android devices.
If you aren't sure which POS system to go for, Square is a good place to start and offers the best free pos system for small business.
Features
The Square POS system is cloud-based, allowing you to access all features from any location that has an internet connection. It is an ideal choice for small business owners since they offer free POS software plus a free magstripe card reader. You you can take payments in-person as well as online with this set up.
Accept payments by debit and credit cards, gift cards, and digital wallets, both in-person and online. They have end-to-end payment encryption and fraud prevention features. They also have built-in payment processing with varying fees dependent upon on transaction type.
The free POS software plan includes features required to run and process payments for an online store. These include online ordering, a virtual POS terminal, and online checkout. You’ll also get access to invoicing tools, enabling you to send digital estimates, invoices, and reminders.
The free Square POS version provides customer management features allowing you to create a bank of customer data, offer physical gift cards and digital gift cards. It also has employee management tools so your staff can use the POS system to clock in and then out, and you can use it to create employee schedules as well.
Various add-ons are available to the free point-of-sale plan at additional costs. These include payroll tools, text messages, email marketing, and a loyalty program. Another add-on is the Afterpay feature, which allows customers to make payments in installments. See Square POS system cost for pricing details.
Whatever your hardware needs, Square can supply it. Square offers retail packages, restaurant packages, and individual mobile POS devices - perfect for small business owners on the go.
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Lightspeed offers iPad-based POS systems for a variety of business types, including retail stores, restaurants, and golf clubs. This cloud-based POS system also works on Android devices and delivers a truly versatile small business point-of-sale solution.
Features
Lightspeed's has multiple price plans created for different business types, and they also offer fully customized POS systems, allowing you to pick and choose exactly what you need.
No matter what type of eatery you operate, you’ll find fitting features in Lightspeed’s Restaurant POS system. The table management features allow restaurant floor plans to be created and the menu management tools allow specials to be adjusted.
The Order Anywhere feature will not only let you take contactless tableside payments, but it also allows customers to order and pay using QR codes. Other top restaurant POS features include powerful inventory management tools, online ordering and delivery, kitchen-display systems, and self-service kiosks.
Lightspeed's Retail POS system has specialized features useful to any retail establishment. Quick Keys speeds up the checkout process using customizable fields and buttons on the POS terminal. Customer details can be collected at checkout, then later used for loyalty programs and targeted email marketing campaigns.
Lightspeed has built-in payment processing, meaning you won't have to shop around for other payment processing options. And it takes contactless as well as online payments.
The reporting tools grant real-time insights into online and in-store sales data, inventory tracking, employee performance monitoring, and more.
Whether you need a cash drawer, barcode scanner or printer, Lightspeed offers a full suite of POS hardware solutions. Small business owners will be able to find exactly what their looking for within this POS provider's wide range of inventory.
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- Lightspeed Restaurant POS system (single cash register included)
- Lightspeed Retail POS system (single cash register included)
Lightspeed Golf POS system
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As the best android pos system for small business eateries, Toast is cloud-based and even offers free software.
They produce some of the leading POS software and hardware that can be used for all types of restaurants, from cafes, bakeries, and food trucks to fine dining establishments.
Features
As one of the most popular restaurant POS systems, toast has all the top features you would expect in an excellent restaurant point-of-sale system.
It features built-in payment processing and their credit card processing fees will be customized depending on the price plan you choose.
The Toast Mobile Order & Pay™ is exactly as it sounds. Customers can order and pay using their mobile phones. If you opt for customer-facing displays, orders can be confirmed before being sent to the kitchen. And the kitchen-display systems show orders clearly, minimizing the risk of errors.
The advanced inventory management tools will allow you to set low stock alerts so that you won't run out of ingredients in the middle of service, and the sales and inventory tracking reports provide easy to analyze business insights.
The Toast Go 2 mobile POS device lets you take payments wherever you may be, ideal for small businesses who make appearances at pop-up markets and festivals.
Sell online with Toast's full suite of online ordering, delivery, and takeout features. It also allows third-parting integrations, perfect if you'd like to outsource the management of to-go orders and delivery.
As long as you have an internet connection, you can adjust menus, track inventory, and more from anywhere you may find yourself, due to the cloud-based platform. Plus, as your small business grows, this POS system can grow with you. It allows you to management of multiple locations from a single POS terminal or device.
Toast offers complete point-of-sale hardware packages. Their robust, restaurant-grade hardware, can give every small business owner peace of mind knowing that it is designed to withstand spills, dust, heat, and grease.
The free Pay-as-you-Go software plan includes a few pieces of free POS hardware including the Toast Tap card payment device, Toast Flex POS terminal, and router. The Standard Starter kit includes all the same hardware listed above. The difference is that it must paid for upfront. And the perk is lower credit card processing fees.
Whatever price plan you opt for, you can get additional hardware items, such as self-service kiosks and POS software features for additional charges.
Hardware:
- Starter Kit
- Individual components: Quote-based pricing
- Hardware kits: Quote-based pricing
Software:
- Starter Kit
- New Restaurant Basics plan: $110 monthly plus $4 per staff member
- Essentials plan: $165 monthly
- Custom plan: Quote-based pricing
Payment Processing:
- Starter Kit
- Custom credit card processing fees for additional plans
Pros
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Shopify offers excellent cloud-based retail POS systems for retail businesses.
The Shopify Retail POS app can be used on any iOS or Android device.
A Shopify POS system is a good choice if you are looking to make plenty of online sales, as it has great e-Commerce and omnichannel features.
Features
You can fully personalize this POS system to fit your individual needs. All your popular products and apps can be placed right where you want them on the interface. This quick access minimizes wait times at checkout.
Shopify POS systems' advanced inventory management tools are perfect for small businesses, as you can create purchase orders as well as transfer your stock items based on inventory performance and forecasts. This POS system also allows unlimited product numbers.
Detailed unified reports offer blended online sales and in-store sales analytics. This way, you can adjust to any trends.
Shopify helps you maximize omnichannel selling with a plethora of features. Create QR codes for your products so that customers can use their phones to buy online. Customers then have the option of having their items delivered, or picking them up in-person themselves. Their e-Commerce features offer a comprehensive suite of tools for small businesses to run a complete online store. Use social media platforms to help market and boost your online sales.
And we didn't forget about your employees! Their robust employee management features allow you to optimize staffing and labor costs.
In terms of price plans, Shopify offers a Starter plan for only $5 monthly, which is a great option for very small businesses, as well as those just starting out who want to test sales strategies.
The selection of fully integrated POS hardware includes all the items you would require to run a retail store. They also have POS system rentals, so if you need hardware for a particular event you won't have to fork out lots of cash to buy it.
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Clover offers easy-to-use, android-based POS systems for restaurant, retail, and service businesses. This versatile POS solution is cloud-based and works on iOS devices.
Features
Clover is one of the most flexible POS systems for small businesses. Track inventory, build a customer loyalty program, and set up automated email marketing campaigns with this all-in-one point-of-sale solution.
Their reporting and tracking features offer valuable insights. Inventory management tracking, sales reports, and employee performance are a few of the included features.
The employee management features help set schedules, manage payroll, and other HR aspects.
Boost online sales with the extremely versatile e-Commerce features. It enables online appointment bookings, online menu creation, online product sales and secure online payments.
With Clover, you don't have to worry about doing business with a separate payment processing company, as their POS systems have payment processing built-in. They have a range of payment processing fees which will depend on your business type and selected price plan.
They offer a comprehensive inventory of stylish-looking POS hardware. The Clover Station Solo POS terminal comes with a cash drawer and printer, while the Station Duo features a customer-facing display.
They offer various other hardware options including the Clover Go mobile POS device and mobile payment processing.
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The Bottom Line
Point-of-sale systems help save time and money. They enable small business growth through online sales and targeted marketing and advertising.
There are lots of great small business POS systems to choose from, so you have plenty of options. Shopify is solely for retail operations, while Square and Toast are both popular due to their free POS software.
Hunting for pricing details can be a time-consuming process - let us do it for you! Answer the few questions below to let us know your POS preferences. We supply the lowest quotes based on your ideal setup. And the best part - our service is completely free.

Tyler Connaghan
Contributing Author