Stadium POS System
A quality stadium POS system will have all of the unique features you need to handle transactions for large-scale events. Some of the top features of stadium POS systems include concessions, segmented sales, or third-party vendor contracts.
Of course, finding the right POS system for your stadium can be quite challenging, especially with so many options out there.
Luckily, we've done the research to bring you four of your favorite stadium POS systems so you can put in less leg work scouring the internet and more time focusing on your business.
Let's dive in.
Stadium POS System
Square
- Best overall stadium POS system
- Comes with a free online store
- $0 per month starting
Shopify
- Best for selling online
- eCommerce and social media sales channels
- $9 per month starting
Clover
- Best for customization and flexibility
- Robust set of hardware
- $0 per month starting
Toast
- Best for stadiums with a focus on food
- Plenty of restaurant-specific features
- $0 per month starting
Square POS is one of the best stadium POS system solutions overall, as it provides many features to keep stadiums in check. With tons of third-party integrations, including SimpleTix, TicketsCandy, Time.ly, Brushfire, and more, you have everything you need to make sales online or in-person. With the Square Online feature, selling tickets through your website has never been easier.
Square also provides a number of useful retail features, perfect for stadiums with merch booths and food concessions.
Other noteworthy Square features include offline operation, kiosk integration for self-ordering, customer relationship management, QR code generation, team management, kitchen display systems, loyalty program creation, payroll, and marketing.
The best part is that you can try Square out without paying a dime, as the software is completely free. Of course, you'll probably want to upgrade to their retail and restaurant software plans to get specific features tailored to your restaurant, as well as additional features that cost extra.
The free Square point-of-sale plan comes with a card swiper that you can simply put into your iOS or Android mobile devices. However, you'll probably want to upgrade to Square's more robust POS hardware, and the company gives you tons of options, including:
One of the reasons many business owners love Square so much is that it offers a flat-rate payment processing fee that is built-in using Square Payments. You'll pay 2.6% + $0.10 for in-person transactions and 2.9% + $0.30 for online transactions.
If you process more than $250,00 per month, you can get in touch with Square to get a low custom rate.
All of this, and you never have to sign a contract with Square. Essentially, you can switch over to another POS system at any time without having to pay any hefty termination fees. Do note that Square is, first and foremost, a payment provider, meaning you won't have a dedicated merchant account when you sign up with them. Instead, you'll have an aggregate merchant account.
This instability is one of the main disadvantages of Square, as you may have to deal with occasional holds on your funds.
The reason we pegged Square as one of the best stadium POS system solutions is that it can handle everything from ticket sales to merchandise to concessions with fluidity and ease. Without any commitment or forced upfront investment, it's also the least risky of the bunch.
Square can be used on any mobile device that you may currently have, and the company allows for unlimited devices under one account, perfect for large-scale operations like stadiums. It works wonders in kiosks or quick-service environments. You can easily connect your Square account with third-party integrations that are designed to handle a variety of business aspects.
There is no other stadium point-of-sale system capable of providing the level of functionality that Square delivers. Of course, don't just take it from us. Ask the owners of SoFi stadium, who just made Square the exclusive POS system.
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Shopify is one of the best stadium POS system solutions for selling online.
You've probably heard the name before, as it has become one of the most prominent eCommerce POS systems in the past decade.
It comes with plenty of great integrations for selling tickets online and through various apps, including Event Ticketing, Evey Events, Timely, and more. It doesn't matter whether you use iOS or Android devices, as it works on both.
This omnichannel system has all of the best food and retail POS features you could ask for and gets you started with a blog and eCommerce website if you need one.
Plus, their social media sales integration will allow you to create transaction funnels through even more channels.
Similar to Square, Shopify allows for unlimited registers in a single location.
The pricing starts out low at $9 per month, and grants access to the mobile-only plan. However, if you want to upgrade to the advanced plan, you'll pay $299 per month. We highly recommend going with the Advanced plan if you're running a high-volume business like a stadium.
The hardware for Shopify is also fairly affordable at $49 for a mobile card reader. Shopify even sells additional hardware and peripheral components for those who need them. You might choose to purchase the company's countertop iPad stand, which goes for $149. Or, if you need hardware that is a bit more robust, you might go for the mPOP POS kits from Shopify, which go for around $500 starting.
Shopify uses a Shopify Payments payment processing system that has fees ranging from 2.4% to 2.7%. The rate depends on the plan that you choose. However, if you already have a payment processor that you use, you can use yours. Just be aware that integrating a third-party payment processor will increase your rate, meaning you'll pay an additional 0.5% to 2.0% per transaction.
Shopify contractual obligations are month-to-month, though you can opt to sign up for one of their annual plans if you choose, which can save you money.
While this POS provider is certainly geared toward eCommerce retail, you'll find a huge market of third-party integrations that will allow customization it to your stadium's specific needs. From inventory management to in-seat ordering to sales tracking and beyond, the functionalities of Shopify are beyond what one might expect.
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Clover POS is another popular stadium POS system option that's wonderful for those who need customization flexibility. You can integrate with a number of top-tier ticketing and parking management apps, including Future Ticketing, DigiTickets, Click Tickets, Flex Valet, and Sports Parking.
You get all of the standard features you'd expect from a point-of-sale solution, including inventory management, employee management, customer relationship management, and order management, as well as a few specialized features, such as online and eCommerce ticket sales.
Clover starts off at $0 per month with a very basic plan which only works well for small businesses.
However, you'll require a lot more functionality for a stadium POS system, which is why we recommend going with the $69.95 per month plan at a minimum. This plan provides a single terminal with options for additional terminals at $9.95 per month each. If you want to add Clover's LTE plan, it's another $15 per month.
Because you can purchase Clover from a wide range of distributors, these prices may vary.
Where Clover truly shines is the wide range of hardware that it offers, including:
If you purchase your Clover plan through the Clover website, you'll get to take advantage of the company's flat-rate payment processing, which is 2.3% + $0.10 for in-person transactions at a minimum. However, the rate can increase to 2.6% + $0.10 if you've chosen one of the less expensive plans.
For online payments, the processing fee is 3.5% + $0.10. Note that the payment processing model can change if you purchase your POS system through a different distributor.
One of the other main things that vary based on the provider you purchase from is the contract. We recommend looking over different contracts from Clover distributors, as some have long-term contracts and hardware lease terms while others don't.
We usually recommend businesses purchase through Clover directly, as the company offers month-to-month service plans without any commitment after the month. However, note that you'll still. have to buy the hardware, which is pretty expensive considering the fact that you're unable to reuse or resell it.
While Clover isn't one of the best point-of-sale solutions for smaller businesses, nor does it have many specific built-in features for events, it has several third-party integrations that make it easy to cater to the needs of your business.
The system is completely modular, allowing you to mix and match software and hardware for your food, retail, or ticketing services. With the Clover App Market, you can find the best ticket-selling app to make your ticketing more functional and efficient, whether in-person or online.
There are many prominent stadiums that have contracts with Clover, including the Milwaukee Bucks' stadium, Fiserv Forum, and the New York Mets' stadium, Citi Field.
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While Toast POS isn't a system that we'd recommend for your entire stadium, it's a great choice for stadiums and arenas with built-in restaurants. Toast was made for the restaurant industry and includes a wide range of helpful features, including self-ordering, a quick-service module, table management features, advanced food inventory management, and more.
The pricing starts out at $0 per month for the Starter Plan, though most people upgrade to the $69 per month plan, which comes with a many helpful add-ons.
As for the hardware, you can purchase the Start Kit, which costs $799 upfront, and comes with a POS terminal, a route, and a contactless payment device.
The payment processing fee is standard at 2.49% + $0.15 for in-person transactions, though AMEX transactions are a bit higher at 3.29% + $0.15.
Note that the standard contract for Toast is two years, and you have to pay a termination fee if you decide to jump ship before your contract is up, which is one of the major downsides of this POS solution.
The thing we truly love about Toast is that it is works exceptionally for literally any type of food service establishment, including full-service restaurants, quick-service restaurants, food trucks, bars, clubs, and more. With the ability to handle high volumes of customers and specialized restaurant-specific features, such as tableside ordering and tackle line busting, it's one of the best stadium POS solutions for stadiums that focus on food and beverage.
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The Bottom Line
Stadiums and arenas that run live events with high-volume transactions need a quality stadium POS system to keep up.
Luckily, there are plenty of excellent options to choose from.
If you're ready to get started with your stadium POS solution, though you don't want to spend time trying to get in touch with a wide range of dealers to haggle for the lowest price quotes, We'll do the work for you.
Make sure to click on the button below and fill out our form. In doing so, we'll take your preferences into account and send you price quotes from the best POS distributors in the business. And the best part - it's completely free.
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Tyler Connaghan
Contributing Author