Smoke Shop POS
A quality smoke shop POS system can help small businesses handle inventory management, sales, and customer data with efficiency, all from a singular platform.
Of course, with a high-risk business like a smoke shop, you need the best POS system to deliver the most functionality possible.
For that reason, we're about to explain the ins and outs of the top 5 POS system solutions on the market for smoke shops and tobacco stores.
Let's dive in.
Smoke Shop POS
Lightspeed
- Best overall
- Robust inventory management features
- $69 per month starting
Korona POS
- Most flexible solution
- CRM and loyalty programs
- $49 per month starting
Clover
- Best customizable hardware solutions
- Top-notch third-party integrations
- $0 per month starting
Square
- Best for smaller smoke shops
- Intuitive Square dashboard
- $0 per month starting
Shopify
- Best for eCommerce integration
- Fully functional website builder
- $9 per month starting
Lightspeed Retail is one of the best POS system solutions for growing smoke shops, especially those that handle large volumes of inventory.
With powerful reporting capabilities and an even more in-depth inventory management system, it has become one of the most popular cloud-based POS software solutions around.
Lightspeed is known for its eCommerce integration, utilizing a wide range of third-party apps and age verification solutions.
If you're looking to integrate your online and in-store sales with ease, it's a wonderful point-of-sale solution for doing so.
The built-in payment processing capabilities can make running your business even easier, as Lightspeed is one of the few point-of-sale providers that provides this.
However, if you already have a payment processing company that you enjoy working with, you can opt out of Lightspeed's services and use your own. Do note, however, that Lightspeed will charge for using a separate company.
Smoke shop owners who prefer using a RACS-compliant POS system enjoy the RACS bundle that can be acquired through Lightspeed.
It's worth noting that Lightspeed is a bit more expensive than the other systems on this list. They are one of the few POS systems out there with only one plan below $100. With that said, the wide range of features and in-depth POS software makes it an excellent POS solution for businesses looking to expand. The inventory tracking features are the best we've seen to date, and the fact that iPads can be used in place of brand-specific POS hardware makes it ones of the most intuitive systems for employees to start learning on.
We love the customized selling restrictions, which enforce limitations on age-restricted products. You'll also find a wide range of third-party integrations, many of which allow smoke shop owners to sell their products online, all while retaining compliance within legislative requirements.
Visit Lightspeed retail POS software reviews to learn more.
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Korona POS almost took the top spot for smoke shop POS systems with competitive pricing and robust POS software.
It is also the only other point-of-sale system on this list that offers simple eCommerce integration and multi-location management tools.
All of that comes with the upgraded price of $79 per month, which is cheaper than the upgraded version of Lightspeed.
Korona has plenty of ultra-flexible solutions for smoke shop owners to help their businesses grow. One of the features that Korona excels in is its integrated payment options.
While Korona does not have a built-in payment processing system, it partners with a number of top-notch merchant service providers to help small business owners get the best rates possible.
It comes with an age verification function for in-store and online ordering. Customers either have to provide a valid ID or enter their birth date when making a purchase. The CRM program allows you to engage all of your customers with email, SMS, and branded applications. For customer retention, you can set up a point-based loyalty program and use the customer tracking tools to provide your loyal customers with deals and discounts on products.
What we truly love about Korona is their multi-store management, which is important for business owners with multiple store locations. You can manage inventory, track sales, and monitor your employees, all from a single cloud-based point-of-sale platform in real-time.
While Korona provides most of what you could want in high-end POS software, the one major downside is that it does not offer payment processing without an internet connection, which can be risky for businesses locations that lack internet reliability. However, it's a great multi-store smoke shop POS choice.
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Clover POS is another cloud-based point-of-sale system, and one of the best for hardware solutions. It delivers all the tools you could possibly need to work with an existing payment processor, and has tons of third-party integrations for anything extra you might want to add on.
The first thing we want to point out is that you will not be able to sell age-restricted products online, as Clover does not provide age-restriction verification for online ordering, only in-person sales. With that said, it does have one of the lowest subscription prices at $45 per month. While their free version is perfect for trying the system out, this $45 monthly price will grant you full access to client management tools, inventory management, and advanced features for reporting.
You can also purchase numerous hardware offerings through Clover. We recommend at least getting the Clover Mini, which is a $799 portable POS unit that gives access to a wide range of quality management tools.
Clover also has a register that you can buy, which will enable you to accept all types of transactions, including Google, Apple Pay, PayPal, Venmo, and more!
The customer management features allow you to set up profiles for your top customers so that your staff can easily grab their data and identify them from the moment they walk into the store. You can also capture their transaction history and set up loyalty programs for customers who come in most often.
While Clover is a point-of-sale solution designed to provide all the features needed to run a retail business, you'll also find a wide collection of third-party apps, including back-office tools, advanced inventory management, and order management.
One aspect that Clover's inventory management tools are missing, however, is low-stock alerts. If you run a high-volume smoke shop with a quick-moving inventory, you might be better off choosing POS software with a more impressive inventory management system, such as Lightspeed.
Visit Clover POS reviews to learn more.
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Square for Retail has quickly become one of the top POS system solutions for retail business owners, thanks to its affordability and capable feature set. You can get started with the free Square plan, which offers a wide range of inventory management tools and sales tracking tools.
There is no transaction limit or product limit with the free version, so you can manage as much as your store needs. Note that Square is not RACS-compliant, though it does have an age verification pop-up option when you make sales.
Similar to clover, you'll find a fair range of eCommerce tools, though the age verification process for online orders is non-existent.
Depending on what kinds of products your smoke shop sells, you may have to sign up under the Square CBD program, which costs a bit more and has higher transaction fees.
The great thing about Square is that the system is intuitive, making it easy for employees to hop on and start making transactions in a pinch. You can install it on an iPad with ease and get it up and running automatically.
The Square dashboard makes managing smoke shops from a single platform very easy. The dashboard allows users to manage inventory, manage employees, engage with customers, and send out invoices with ease. The customer-relationship management tools allow business owners to gain oversight to customer data and transactions. This same bundle of features also allows customers to receive digital receipts and start private conversations with business owners.
You can also track your cash and credit card payments using any Square-ready device, such as a smartphone, tablet, or countertop Square terminal. Customers can even make use of the split tender option to use two or more different types of payments for a single transaction.
The one thing that Square is unfortunately missing, is the ability to use an alternative payment processor. You're locked in to using the processing that Square offers. If you are a smoke shop business owner who'd rather pair up with a separate merchant account, Square for Retail is not for you.
Visit Square POS reviews to learn more.
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Shopify has become somewhat of a household name for merchants who sell online. Plus, the company recently removed smoke shop products from its restricted product list, meaning you can utilize all of its point-of-sale features for your online smoke shop business.
The Shopify subscription is fairly affordable, starting off at around $9 per month. However, if you want to move a step above the fairly limited basic plan, you'll pay $29 per month for a plan that comes with expanded fulfillment capabilities and age verification tools.
The wide range of fulfillment and omnichannel features found on this POS solution is what put it on this list.
If you have multiple sales channels, there are a few features that will make running your business with Shopify far more efficient.
For starters, the website builder is one of the most intuitive in any POS solution we've found thus far. The blogging platform and content management system can help any business owner optimize their sales and marketing efforts. You don't need any coding skills to dive in and get started.
The online checkout feature is also very handy, allowing you to process payments with a decent range of fulfillment options. You can process exchanges, discounts, refunds, and digital receipts.
Everything is kept track of using the smart inventory management features, where you can curate your product lists and set a number of different variants. With low-stock point-of-sale notifications, you can always get a real-time look into your current inventory. If you upgrade to Shopify Pro, you get access to Shopify's Stocky application, which gives you even more robust inventory management features, such as item suggestion tools, demand forecasting, and inventory analysis.
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The Bottom Line
Our top 5 list of smoke shop and tobacco store POS solutions was meant to narrow down your options. and point you in the right direction.
Each of these systems comes with their own specialty, which is why it is important to know the specific needs of your business before committing to a single POS system. While there is no absolute "best smoke shop POS software," we highly recommend checking out the Korona POS solution if you want the most features and best bang for your buck.
If you want the best deal on your POS system without having to get in touch with tons of dealers and distributors, we are here to help!
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Tyler Connaghan
Contributing Author