Best POS Systems in 2023

Selecting and using the best point-of-sale tool can help to make your business productive and profitable. The best POS tools can perform intricate online accounting tasks, while others can track customer purchasing habits, reorder products, manage inventory, etc. As there are thousands of POS tools available in the market, it can be a hard task to do educated comparisons to select a suitable solution for your needs. This buyer’s guide aims to help you out by providing a list of the main features to look for in the best POS tool for small business organizations, medium-sized companies, and large enterprises. Hopefully, by the end of this article, you’ll have all the information you require to zero in on the platform that suits your business best.

It’s always a good idea to start your research of best POS programs by testing a fair number of free trials or demo and basic user plans from reliable POS systems providers. It will save you some time and money because you will be able to experience and do a comparison of all important features firsthand and identify any possible issues. The best thing to do when looking for the best POS software for your company is to try services that currently have the highest SmartScore rankings and Customer Satisfaction Rating in our POS software reviews: Vend, Square Register, Veeqo, IncoPOS, etc.

POS tools are recommended for every business that wants to track customers and manage inventory at the same time, particularly:

Small Businesses that need to attract more customers. Having the best POS system on board is a key asset for boosting profit margins, right because it focuses on the most successful products and reveals the ones that need to be reordered. It integrates a purchasing functionality which tracks their vendor lists and manages their orders.

Large Businesses that need to control employees and inventory, and to secure retail. Large businesses can benefit from POS systems, too, knowing that it introduces accountability for as many employees as necessary, and it generates reports that can identify failure and potential wrongdoing. The same systems can be used to reveal cash discrepancies because they incorporate a strict cash control feature.

Individual Retailers that need to automate manual sales tasks. This is probably where POS systems become handiest, as they minimize the time individual retailers have to spend calculating profits and payrolls, and staying on top of compliance and administrative duties.

Vend: A very popular POS platform used for managing sales and customers. It is both customizable and flexible to blend within your current software infrastructure.

Square Register: An easy-to-use POS app that helps companies accept payments and complete transactions using their mobile devices.

QuickBooks POS: A platform that follows your customers and sales and boosts service to the extent of meeting their most specific needs.

Lightspeed: A unique tool for single stores and multi-shop enterprises packed with features for customer retention and higher conversion rates.

LevelUp: Android/iOS app that generates creative payment solutions for businesses and their clients. It is easy to use and even easier to integrate.

Toast POS: A tablet-based restaurant management solution that comes with a robust POS module. It lets users process transactions better, improve business visibility, and streamline inventory management.

There are many different POS options for businesses that range from absolutely simply processors to cloud solutions for large enterprises with complex sales schemes. Most generally, they can be divided in the following way:

Mobile POS Systems. Their main purpose is to manage payment, but in certain cases, they can also do inventory tracking. Therefore, they are suitable for smaller businesses or such that have no choice but to manage the business on the go. They are also recommended to individual retailers, because they are fairly affordable, while some of them are even free and can be downloaded from any app store.

Terminal POS Systems. They are most common among businesses because of advanced functionality and reasonable prices. They can be both hardware and software based, and are usually sold together with additional widgets such as barcode scanners, cash drawers, etc. Their most distinctive advantage is controlled access and cloud-based backup.

Cloud-Hosted POS Systems. These systems allow you to access POS functionalities online, using the hardware you already have (a computer or a mobile device). They are affordable and convenient for businesses of all scales, in particular starters that want to boost sales without breaking the bank.

There is no such thing as a universal set of POS features, since every program is trying to respond to different needs and requirements, and some are obviously more advanced than the others. However, there are few basic functionalities each POS system should be able to offer:

Inventory Tracking. Inventory tracking in an important part of POS systems and can be useful if you have a warehouse or multiple branches. The POS system can tell you if you have enough stock in the shop and in other branches, and if more stock is expected. Plus, the system should be able to create purchase orders from suppliers and also transfer stock between different branches.

Sales Reporting & Analytics. This feature will allow you to capture and analyze vital sales data, including not only the products that are being sold but revenue rates and ROI too. I such way, you get to focus on products which genuinely boost your sales, and draft better money-making decisions.

Customer Management. You can use your POS system to attract valuable customers since the customer’s full purchase history will be displayed on your screen and you will start prioritizing between valuable and most valuable customers.

Employee Management. The way how you manage employees is the way your business will look, which is why you have to employ your POS system even for this purpose. The idea is to keep track of when and what your employers are working on, to reduce overhead, and to manage their commissions accordingly.

Robust Reporting. It is important for retailers to make use of a POS system with robust reporting features to gain the information and insight needed to make the right business decisions. The software should enable you to track sales by customer, product, branch, and rep to enable you to sell more.

Mobile Access. Physical software restricts work to a specific terminal and it can be technically difficult to get sales data from them. On the other hand, accessing information in the cloud offers many advantages such as increased transparency and flexibility. All you need is a stable internet connection.

Powerful Integrations. The POS system should smoothly integrate with the other business systems and apps you use. For example, you can integrate your POS system with your accounting app to eliminate double data entry and minimize errors. If you are planning to launch a website store, make sure the POS system is capable of integrating with e-commerce solutions. This will enable you to centrally manage orders and accurately maintain stock data in real time.

This being said, is it really the time for you to shift towards a POS system? The rule of thumb says it’s never bad to make life a bit easier, and there is no entrepreneur who would disagree with it. So, let’s see exactly what a good POS system can do for you:

A more accurate business. Dealing with numbers, multiple clients and products at the same time can hardly pass without human error, if that’s even possible. Instead of double-checking each customer’s order, you can use the POS system to manage inventory and analyze sales patterns in a more accurate manner. Needless to say, you get to save a lot of money.

Analysis. Having data displayed in a comprehensive manner wouldn’t make sense without a powerful analytics and reporting system, where that data can be closely examined to reveal trends and solutions. Accompanied with robust reporting, the analytic features of POS systems can be the trigger of your most powerful and smartest business decisions.

Networking to other terminals. How about managing sales from a single platform? With POS systems this idea is absolutely feasible, as the system can be networked to other terminals and expanded with handheld devices for tracking operations from any location.

Shrinkage Security. This is probably the most distinct advantage of POS compared to other sales software, as these systems offer powerful SKU reporting and follow time periods, promotions and orders, and pay specific attention to the performance of each employee.

Affordability. Even with all those outstanding features we mentioned, POS systems doesn’t belong to the most expensive sales software categories. Depending on your business, you can probably opt for a free plan too, and be completely satisfied with what it has to offer.

The Age of Self-service.  Dining establishments have started placing self-service kiosks in lieu of servers and attendants. These machines are all-in-one kiosks that can take orders, relay the same to kitchen staff, and accept payment. Especially in busy hours, this can help streamline the lines. In addition, it can reduce order errors, as it puts the accuracy of the order with the customer.

Virtual Restaurants. Ghost (or virtual) restaurants are sprouting in food delivery service areas, where food is prepared only upon ordering. Depending on an outlet’s success, installing their own POS systems for direct orders (and independent of food delivery companies) may be in the works.

Mobile ordering. Pickup orders typically mean calling the restaurant in advance to order, but payment and invoicing still happen onsite, consuming time. A mobile POS can help reduce turnover time by processing payment while the customer is in transit.

Security. Dealing with a POS system that accepts digital payment is often a target for unscrupulous individuals. POS security should be a consideration when shopping for a provider.

Charge issues. How does your system respond to completed orders but incomplete payments? What about wrong charges? Your vendor should have those things cleared prior to rollout, so you don’t experience real-time problems as they come.

Connectivity. Having mobile POS systems that are cloud-based will require connectivity. Will you depend on existing Wifi systems or should you have a dedicated network for this? This must also be worked out with your software vendor.