How Much Is A Cash Register
Setting up a new business can be costly, as there are many upfront expenses, and your new cash register is on that list.
We're here to help make sure you don't overspend on unnecessary equipment.
Continue reading to ensure you purchase exactly what you need and ultimately end up with the best deal possible.
Cash Register Cost
Before we dive into popular cash register brands, let's take a peek at the various pricing brackets.
Quick Glance Summary:
- Entry-Level Cash Register Cost
$200 - $800 Get A Quote - Mid-Level Cash Register Cost
$300 - $800 Get A Quote - High-End Cash Register Cost
$900 - $2,000+ Get A Quote - Touchscreen Prices
$350 - $2,000+ Get A Quote
Entry-level cash registers have more affordable prices but will also be limited when it comes to functions.
These types of cash registers often have simple displays, a keypad, cash drawer, and a receipt printer and are a great choice for small businesses with only a handful of staff.
The cashier will have to ring in prices manually and usually only basic information is shown on the receipts. You can pick up a basic cash register for around $200 to $800.
Mid-level electronic cash registers cost a little more but have better features than entry-level cash registers such as thermal receipt printers, customer-facing displays, and barcode scanners.
All these features help to reduce transaction time so these are a good choice for small retailers with busy periods at the cash register.
Mid-level cash registers also have software that enables them to hold price details so if there isn't a barcode scanner available you can use PLUs to find your item price.
Some also have a customer display so they can view the ringing-in process.
Mid-level electronic cash registers cost anything between $300 to $800, so won't break the bank.
Ideal for larger businesses with high numbers of employees and/or several premises, high-end electronic cash registers have plenty of features to help your business run as smoothly as it possibly can.
A high-end electronic cash register might have features such as a thermal printer, laser barcode scanner, customer-facing display, integrated card reader to take card payments, and a touchscreen terminal.
These cash registers can form part of a point-of-sale, POS system which will carry out an array of functions such as inventory tracking, and employee management, allow you to set up customer accounts for loyalty programs to offer in-store discounts, and even calculate tax.
All the features come at a price, for a high-end electronic cash register expect to pay $2,000 or more.
Touchscreen cash register costs vary greatly depending on the features.
A basic touchscreen cash register prices start at about $350 which would be suitable for small businesses with a low number of sales transactions each day.
Higher-spec touchscreen cash registers ideal for restaurants and bars can cost around $1000 to $1,200.
A top-end touchscreen cash register can cost in excess of $2,000.
These types are a good fit for businesses that have a regular flow of transactions to process.
These more expensive touchscreen cash registers can also integrate with POS software including a cloud-based system, offering functions such as inventory management and online sales integrations.
They also, of course, offer all the basic functions like the ability to print receipts and features such as card readers to allow you to accept card payments.
Top Brands Pricing
With so many cash registers on the market, as a new business owner, it can get quite overwhelming when trying to strike the balance between how much money you spend on a cash register and point-of-sale system, and the various features and functions.
Now you have an idea of the cost of an electronic cash register, let's explore what the top cash register brands have to offer.
Quick Glance Summary:
1. Lightspeed
$69 - $199 Get A Quote
2. Clover Station Solo
$1,350 - $1,650 Get A Quote
3. Royal POS 1500
$650 - $800 Get A Quote
4. Square
$800 or $40 Get A Quote
5. Sharp XE-A107
$170 - $250 Get A Quote
A high-end electronic cash register, the Lightspeed POS Cash Register is perfect for a busy retail store.
It works with the Lightspeed POS system and comes in a selection of differently priced packages so you can choose your level of features so it can be used by a small business or large retail store.
The Lightspeed POS Cash Register also has plenty of features that make it a good choice for hospitality businesses.
Some of the top features of this POS register include cloud-based data backup (internet access is required for this), integration with popular POS system subscriptions like Uber EATS, inventory synchronization for online sales, and portable payment terminals (iPads).
Of course, it has all the basic elements for taking payments such as a cash drawer, thermal printer, card reader, and so on.
The basic package for this high-end cash register costs $69 per month, $199 per month for the standard option, and the advanced package has a monthly cost of $199. If your business is larger and has high sales volumes, their most extravagant 'Enterprise' package is available by quotation.
Visit Lightspeed Retail POS software reviews for more information.
Like Lightspeed, the Clover Station Solo offers a complete point-of-sale system with a fully integrated electronic cash register.
This high-end cash register is easily adjustable to pretty much most business models from restaurant and bar, to retail store setups, and it has inventory management, employee, and customer management features.
The Clover Station Solo POS system is designed with restaurant businesses in mind, with top specialist features such as menu management and table organization options.
It is also possible to have portable payment terminals with card readers for table-side service, so offers much more than just a cash drawer.
This register and POS system lets you create various reports so you can review and keep track of your sales. With all these amazing features this excellent piece of POS hardware costs between $1,350 and $1,650.
Head over to Clover Station POS and Clover POS reviews to learn more.
A touchscreen cash register, the Royal POS 1500 is a great mid-range option, perfect for any convenience store, retail outlets, or cafes and bars with its age verification feature it will highlight age-restricted items.
In addition to the cash drawer, the Royal POS 1500 has a full-color 12" touchscreen (LCD) and can be integrated with a thermal printer, plus it has a customer-facing display.
This electronic cash register with POS system can be used to calculate tax for different US states and supports customer loyalty programs by enabling various discounts and loyalty schemes with its software.
Royal POS 1500 cash register prices start at around $650 and go up to about $800.
If you are using the Square or Shopify POS system, consider the Square cash register that is fully integrated with these systems.
The Square cash register features an integrated card reader, touchscreen, and customer display screen as well as a receipt printer.
Other features include inventory management, unlimited PLU codes, and customer management. In addition, you'll have a selection of tablets compatible with Square that you can use to accept mobile payments.
Another mid-priced cash register, this register has the option of paying in monthly installment of $40 or an upfront cost of $800.
Perfect for any small business that is after a cheaper cash register, the compact Sharp XE-A107 has plenty of great features.
Although small and ideal if you have limited counter space, this cash register has a large-sized operator display section and it allows up to four staff members to use it at once. It features a thermal printer and thirty-one programmable keys as well as eighty PLU codes. The keys even feature a protective anti-microbial layer called Microban®.
If sign up for the merchant services offered by Sharp you can get a card reader terminal completely free. This entry-level cash register cost varies with starting price of $170 increasing to around $250.
Our best cash registers for small businesses guide reviews a larger selection.
Point-Of-Sale System Or Cash Register?
A basic cash register may suit some small businesses just fine but if the business needs change as the business grows, you might find you need to spend money buying a new set of hardware.
A point-of-sale or POS system offers a scalable option. POS systems consist of software and hardware such as a cash drawer for POS, that can be easily upgraded.
Much of the POS software is available as a subscription with a monthly fee so you can adjust it as your business needs evolve, so an integrated POS cash register may be a better option for many small businesses.
In Closing
Cash register prices vary greatly and as you have learned, modern electronic cash registers involve much more than just a cash drawer.
You can pick up a basic cash register for a couple of hundred dollars whereas touchscreen cash registers and those that integrate with POS systems can set you back thousands.
Although POS systems can be the more expensive option, they can be adapted as your business grows, and result in future cost savings with all their useful store and sales management features.
Tim Postlethwaite
Contributing Author
