January 13, 2025
Written by: The POS Exchange Team
Think about the last time you went to a restaurant or retail store. Did the business use a sleek, efficient, modern point of sale (POS) system? If so, you probably had a smoother and more pleasant experience, thanks to the technology's ability to help the business serve you better. Conversely, if you encountered a clunky, outdated POS system that made checking out a hassle, your experience might have been frustrating and forgettable.
If you're a small business owner, you know the significance of a POS system like the one described above. Exploring various POS systems for retail can provide insights into features that improve inventory management, streamline transactions, and boost customer satisfaction. But if you want to improve your operations and enhance customer experience in 2025, you must know the right one to pick. This leads to the million-dollar question: What is the best POS system for small businesses and how to choose point of sale system? This guide will help you answer that question. In the following paragraphs, we’ll cover the best POS systems for small businesses so you can find the ideal solution for your unique needs.
The POS Exchange helps readers achieve their goals by breaking down POS systems and their benefits in an easy-to-understand manner so you can find the best fit for your small business, enhance efficiency, improve customer experience, and fuel growth in 2025.
A POS or point of sale system tracks sales and streamlines business operations. When a customer makes a purchase, the point of sale is where they pay for goods or services. It’s also where a retailer, like you, tracks the transaction. A POS system includes both hardware and software. The hardware refers to the physical equipment used to make a sale.
This consists of a cash register, card reader, or tablet. The software tracks the sales information, organizes the data, and helps you manage your business. A POS system improves the customer experience by making transactions quick and easy. It also enables you to manage your business behind the scenes to serve your customers better.
Retailers use POS systems to streamline operations and improve customer service because it’s all about pleasing customers. But on the flip side, you should be pleased with your solution, too! If your point of sale system isn’t making your job easier daily, you might use the wrong one for your business. But how can you find the right one?
Generic POS systems combine hardware and software that allows your business to accept customer payments and record transactions. They’re used in physical stores, online stores, restaurants, event venues, and more. More advanced POS systems take owning a business to the next level. They provide reports, demand forecasting, sales history, customer loyalty programs, barcode scanning and creation, contactless payment, and inventory management.
You'll notice a few solutions as you search for the best POS system for your business. Two major categories you’ll encounter include traditional and cloud-based options. Which is best for small businesses? Let’s take a closer look. Traditional POS systems include a computer with POS software that operates on a closed network. It stores all sales and transaction data on a local server or hard drive.
A cloud-based POS system stores data on remote servers and can be accessed from anywhere. Though some businesses still operate off traditional POS systems, a cloud-based solution offers better security, support, and accessibility, making it the superior choice for businesses like yours. Let’s dig into some features your next POS system should include.
As we said earlier, your POS should make running your business easier and not more complicated. It should work with you, going above and beyond to accomplish tasks you don’t have enough hours in the day to cover. These are the essential features a POS system should have for small businesses: Inventory management, Sales reporting and analytics, Customer relationship management (CRM), Ease of use and intuitive user interface, and Integration capabilities with other software (accounting, e-commerce platforms).
All these features work in tandem to bring you real-time information you can use to make data-driven decisions. Without these features, you’ll struggle to get a complete picture of your store’s operations, and you risk making costly mistakes related to inventory or sales.
Now that you know what features you need, other factors must be considered. POS systems are not one-size-fits-all, and while one system works for the store owner down the road, it doesn’t mean it’s the best solution for you. Consider this:
You don’t need to buy an enterprise-level POS if you’re operating on a smaller scale; you’ll find yourself overpaying for features you don’t need! Choose a solution designed for businesses like yours.
Check out the pricing of your potential POS vendors to determine whether they fit your budget continuously. Remember to factor in initial costs and ongoing fees.
Choose a solution that works for you today and in the future. Look for a system that can grow with you and your operations.
Sales are the most essential part of your day, so if something goes wrong, your POS system needs to support you. Choose a vendor that offers 24/7 live support to get you back on track. Armed with a checklist of features and considerations, let’s dive into the best point-of-sale systems for small businesses.
Square leads my list as the best point-of-sale system for small businesses because of the breadth of its offerings. With industry-specific POS systems, free options to get you started, top-of-the-line hardware, integrated payments, an online store, and many tools and plans to support growth, no other POS systems cover as much ground as Square. Along with its general POS offering, Square also has industry-specific POS systems for restaurants, retailers, beauty and wellness operations, and service-based industries, ensuring something for everyone.
However, Square’s software and POS tools are exclusive to Square users, so you won’t be able to use any of its upgrades if you have a different POS provider. That said, Square is easy to use, has great customer and expert reviews, offers some of the best POS hardware that money can buy, and can support small businesses from the moment they start and as they continue to expand.
Square offers everything you would expect from a POS system: inventory management, reporting, CRM, employee controls, marketing tools, an excellent checkout interface, sales channel integrations, order management, and integrated payment processing. All these features are included at a basic level on Square’s free POS system, but you can always upgrade if you need more advanced versions.
Shopify is the industry leader in ecommerce. The platform is well-known for supporting sellers across all sales channels, from social media shops to marketplaces like Amazon, eBay, Google, and Walmart. The system includes integrated payments, a basic POS system for the occasional in-person sale, and plans to support your growth. I like how Shopify offers a variety of plan options to help small businesses at every stage. It has a much better ecommerce site builder than Square. Plus, it is equally easy to use and has built-in marketing tools and omnichannel selling features.
Shopify is the best POS system for small businesses that sell online and conduct in-person sales. While you can purchase Shopify’s POS system as a standalone product, Shopify stands out for its ecommerce tools. Every account does, however, come with a basic POS system perfect for the occasional in-person sales. However, we recommend looking to a provider like Square or PayPal Zettle if ecommerce is not your primary focus.
Choose from dozens of templates for every kind of small business. The site builder is easy to use, full of customization options, and can be accessed anytime to make edits and site adjustments right from your Shopify account.
Toast is a POS system built specifically for the food service industry, with tools to support restaurants, cafes, catering businesses, food trucks, and more. The system includes tools specifically designed for restaurants, including online ordering, delivery management, tableside service, kitchen display system (KDS), and menu-based ingredient-level inventory management miles ahead of Square’s restaurant POS software.
I particularly like how Toast bundles its hardware and software together, ensuring you have the tools to get your restaurant up and running. Its subscription options range from $0 to custom pricing for large-scale operations, making the system perfect for businesses that are just starting and ensuring that the provider can support you as you grow.
The pay-as-you-go option allows businesses to get started with no upfront costs and to pay as revenue comes in. From experts to small business owners alike, there is no question that Toast is the best POS system for restaurants. The POS software’s range of tools was also a massive plus in my evaluation, allowing the system to fit the needs of cafes up to full-service restaurants. That said, small restaurants might find all the bells and whistles of Toast overwhelming to manage, so I recommend Square Restaurant POS software instead.
Toast’s POS system includes a simple order and checkout screen, integrated payments, table, menu, seating management, real-time inventory management, and detailed reporting. While you can only perform checkout functions from Toast’s hardware, you can view your POS account from any browser by simply logging into your account.
Lightspeed is a popular POS system for all kinds of businesses, with an industry-specific system just for retailers, such as Lightspeed R Series or Lightspeed for Retail. Lightspeed’s retail POS system has everything a retailer needs to run their business, including some of the best inventory management tools in the industry, CRM tools, advanced reporting and analytics, a customizable loyalty program, an in-house ecommerce site builder, integrated payments, and plans to support your growth. If Toast offers the best in class features for restaurants, Lightspeed does the same for managing retail businesses.
The software is powerful for inventory management and reporting, with tools for managing complex inventories, keeping track of your vendors, integrated purchase ordering tools, and even built-in product catalogs where you can shop and order goods right from your POS account. It is significantly more expensive than Square, but if you don’t mind the high price point, Lightspeed is my best recommendation for niche retailers and those that accept made-to-order products.
Lightspeed also has accompanying hardware, but you can run your POS directly from your desktop. We would not, however, recommend trying to take the system mobile without accompanying hardware, as Lightspeed’s mobile apps are not compatible with many devices and have poor customer reviews.
Lightspeed offers excellent marketing features, like tools to segment your shoppers, collect customer reviews, SMS marketing integrations, and send automated alerts and promotions.
IT Retail is a POS solution for grocers, markets, and convenience stores. With tools like ID scanning, scale integrations, a customizable rewards program, and hardware solutions specific to the food-selling industry, IT Retail is the best for small business food sellers and convenience stores. It also can scale with you and support additional grocery solutions, like ecommerce, weighted sales, and multi-location sales, as your business grows. I like how IT Retail offers a low upfront cost. With unlimited licensing, you get a complete POS solution with a POS register starting at $49 per month.
At the same time, there are higher plans that offer more features and hardware upgrades to choose from. You can customize the system in countless ways to make it work for you. IT Retail is popular in the small business grocery industry, with thousands of satisfied customers. And, while upgrades come at a steep price, thousands of users love what the system offers, so it’s worth the investment if your goal is to run a growing store effectively. That said, if you only need a simple solution, such as food retail management for a small convenience store, Square is a more cost-effective solution.
PayPal Zettle is a POS system from PayPal that offers free POS software and affordable hardware options that are perfect for businesses that only need the basics. It’s ideal for micro-sellers or solopreneurs. The system is entirely mobile, so it will let you process transactions even if you don’t have a physical store. What I like most about PayPal Zettle is that, unlike other solutions that claim affordability, it can be used at zero cost (other than your processing fees), as you can operate your POS and take payments directly from the free PayPal Zettle POS app, featuring tap-to-pay functionality.
While it excels in mobile payments, PayPal Zettle’s POS functionality is more essential than Square's. And there are no advanced plans or upgrade options. That said, PayPal Zettle still provides key functionalities to complete sales, track inventory, manage customers, and take your business on the go. Because the system is tied to PayPal, you also benefit from lower processing rates.
PayPal Zettle offers a POS app for Android and iOS mobile devices, letting you complete sales from your tablet or phone. With the app, you can scan barcodes using your mobile device camera. It also includes a tap-to-pay feature, allowing customers to pay by simply tapping their card on their device, and no additional hardware is required.
Helcim is a payment processing company offering a free, basic POS system for completing sales, tracking inventory, managing customers, and reporting on your small business’s performance. While its POS features are far from what you can get from leading providers in this list, such as Square, Shopify, and Toast, Helcim comes with free advanced invoicing and subscription management tools you can use along with the POS system.
Helcim charges no upfront or monthly fees; you only have to pay for the Helcim card reader and payment processing. And even that is a steal. Helcim uses interchange-plus pricing for its transaction fees, meaning you pay the minimum processing fee with increased discounts as you process more transactions. To top it off, every merchant account is pre-approved for surcharging with Helcim.
All that, with invoicing and recurring subscription tools, Payment Card Industry (PCI) compliance guarantee, and integration options specifically designed for professional service needs, Helcim is ideal for service professionals with a steadily growing customer base who need a simple, affordable way to handle their billing. Note, however, that using Helcim requires businesses to undergo a merchant application process, so the setup takes longer than other providers on this list.
Add Helcim’s free invoicing software to your POS to simplify your billing and payment operations while significantly saving processing fees.
Helcim uses interchange-plus pricing for its processing fees, ensuring you get the lowest rates and don’t pay merchant markups. The more payments you process, the more you save. With their pricing model, you can use Helcim’s fee calculator to estimate how much you will save.
Use Helcim’s Subscription Manager to set up recurring payments and collect due credit card and ACH payments for subscription services.
Every Helcim account has a free POS system that includes all the essential tools to take payments and manage your business, including inventory tracking, CRM tools, and reporting. The POS system can operate on your device or the Helcim Smart Terminal simply pair it with the Helcim card reader to get started.
Add inventory, log it in your inventory catalog, and track its levels and performance so you never miss a beat.
Add customers to your customer directory, log the contact information, store payment methods, and view their activity.
Review your business’s performance with reporting tools that log your sales totals, tipping information, transactions, tender use, sales by category, invoicing totals, sales by products, and discount information.
POS Nation is an all-in-one retail POS system that brings everything in-house instead of using multiple programs for transactions, inventory management, or managing employees. POS Nation is also a hybrid system that offers internet-enabled cloud capabilities for accessing business-critical data and a local database.
Clover is a cloud-based POS that replaces your cash register, payment terminal, receipt printer, and barcode scanner with an integrated suite of products. It accepts credit cards, EMV, and Apple Pay.
Epos Now is an all-in-one cloud-based software with POS terminals, printers, and credit card readers. This solution is designed for businesses in the retail and hospitality sectors, offering systems tailored to salons, restaurants, convenience stores, and more.
Revel POS is a cloud-based system designed for multi-location businesses. It offers centralized control, making it ideal for retail chains, franchises, or restaurants with multiple outlets. Revel's inventory management tools allow business owners to track stock, transfer items between locations, and set automated reorder points.
Revel offers restaurant menu management and ingredient tracking, helping control food costs and reduce waste. One of Revel’s strengths is its employee management feature. This includes scheduling, performance tracking, and payroll integration. The cloud-based platform allows for real-time data syncing, enabling businesses to monitor sales, inventory, and employee performance across locations.
TouchBistro POS is a system designed specifically for the food service industry. One of its main advantages is its offline functionality. Restaurants, food trucks, or cafes can process orders, manage tables, and accept payments without an internet connection. This makes it reliable in environments where service interruptions can't be tolerated. TouchBistro’s iPad-based system is very intuitive.
Servers can take orders at the table, which are sent directly to the kitchen using a kitchen display system (KDS). This process reduces errors and improves efficiency. The system also excels in table management, allowing easy handling of seating, splitting checks, and managing complex orders. In addition, TouchBistro provides inventory management and real-time sales reporting. This helps restaurant owners track stock levels and assess performance with ease.
MaxxPay POS is a cloud-based system ideal for retail businesses that need remote access and real-time inventory tracking. Since it is cloud-based, business owners can manage the system from any device with an internet connection. This makes it easy to oversee operations across multiple stores. MaxxPay excels in inventory management. It offers automated stock replenishment, multi-location tracking, and sales forecasting.
The system also provides real-time sales data, which allows businesses to monitor performance and make informed adjustments. MaxxPay POS is highly scalable. It is suitable for small-to-medium-sized businesses that plan to expand. It also integrates with popular payment gateways, making it possible to accept a wide range of payment methods, including mobile wallets and credit cards.
SpotOn POS is a robust system designed for hospitality businesses that need strong staff management tools. It allows companies to track hours, schedule shifts, and manage payroll efficiently. SpotOn’s employee scheduling feature uses historical data to predict staffing needs. This helps ensure proper staffing during peak hours without overspending on labor.
The system also tracks employee performance and customer interactions, allowing managers to make data-driven decisions about promotions or training. Besides staff management, SpotOn offers core POS features such as payment processing, inventory tracking, and customer management. It is an all-in-one solution for hospitality businesses that want to streamline operations.
Payanywhere POS is a mobile-first system designed for businesses that operate on the go. It is ideal for companies like food trucks, market vendors, or pop-up shops. The system is easy to set up. It only requires a mobile card reader and a smartphone or tablet, making it perfect for businesses that need to accept payments anywhere. One significant benefit of Payanywhere is its low-cost payment processing. It has no monthly fees for basic usage and offers competitive transaction rates. This makes it a good choice for businesses with low transaction volumes or those just starting.
The POS Exchange brings over 20 years of restaurant expertise, serving 200,000+ merchants and processing billions annually. Our tailored POS system solutions help businesses speed up checkouts by 30%, implement dynamic pricing, and manage customer reviews while reducing overhead. Perfect for full-service restaurants, pizza shops, coffee houses, and multi-location enterprises. We offer end-to-end service, from brilliant consultation and interactive demos to local installation and 24/7 support.
Our mobile iPad POS systems streamline operations with features like order management, bill splitting, and inventory control. With integrations for business management tools and advanced security measures, we ensure your POS system grows with your business. Trust our expertise to help you avoid the common pitfall that affects 38% of new business owners who choose the wrong POS system. Whether managing a busy restaurant, a local café, or operating a multi-location business, The POS Exchange delivers customized POS system solutions that tell your unique business story. Book a free demo with POS exchange to learn about our customized POS system solutions today.