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How to choose a POS system for a small business

A POS system is what you use to ring up sales and take payment in person, usually a register app on a tablet or terminal plus a card reader. It records each sale, takes card and cash payments through a payment processor, and ideally updates your stock. Retail shops and restaurants need different features, so start from how you actually sell.

By Bill Belcamino · Page updated September 19, 2026 · Our methodologyResearched and fact-checked by the HelpCompare team

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How to sell in person with a POS, step by step

List how you sell in person: counter, table service, market stall or on the road.
Decide which payments you must accept: cards, contactless, cash, gift cards.
Choose POS software that fits your type of business and the hardware it runs on.
Load your products or menu, prices and tax settings, checking the tax rules with your accountant.
Connect a payment processor and test a sale, a refund and an end-of-day close.
Train staff and set who can give discounts, void sales and see reports.

The software this job takes

Which categories a job needs is Editorial assessment; the tools, prices and dates are Verified data.

Prices are each vendor’s published entry plan, recorded from its own pricing page and dated. The example column prices a team of 10: only per-user prices are multiplied; flat and per-account prices are shown as published. Change the team size in the finder.

You need this

Online Payment Processing

A payment processor lets customers pay by card or online and moves the money to your bank.

Tool	Entry price (as published)	Billing unit	Example: team of 10	Free plan	Verified
Stripe	2.9% + 30¢	Per transaction	Per transactionNo monthly fee on this plan; the vendor charges per transaction	No monthly fee	Jul 29, 2026Vendor pricing
PayPal	3.49% + 49¢	Per transaction	Per transactionNo monthly fee on this plan; the vendor charges per transaction	No monthly fee	Jul 29, 2026Vendor pricing

Compare all Payment Processing pricing →Head to head:Stripe vs PayPal2 switching guides Build a decision brief for these →

You need this

POS Systems

A POS system runs in-person checkout: card reader, receipts, sales and inventory in one place.

Tool	Entry price (as published)	Billing unit	Example: team of 10	Free plan	Verified
Square	Square Free $0/mo (2.6% + 15¢ in person); Plus $49/location/mo	Per location per month (Square Plus, $49); Square Free is $0 per location	Per transactionNo monthly fee on this plan; the vendor charges per transaction	YesYes — Square Free, $0/mo; you pay processing fees	Sep 19, 2026Vendor pricing
Clover	Clover Go reader $199; Essentials $29.95/mo (2.5% + 10¢ in person)	Per Go bundle per month ($29.95, Essentials), plus a one-time $199 Go reader	$29.95/moFlat per Go bundle per month ($29.95, Essentials), plus a one-time $199 Go reader; plus a fee on each card payment	NoNo free plan; Starter lists no monthly fee (reader $199)	Sep 19, 2026Vendor pricing
Shopify POS	In-person selling included with Shopify from $29/mo (annual); POS Pro $89/location/mo	Per store per month, billed yearly ($39 monthly), plus $89 per POS Pro location	$29/moFlat per store per month, billed yearly ($39 monthly), plus $89 per POS Pro location	NoNo free plan; 3-day trial, then $1/mo for 3 months	Sep 19, 2026Vendor pricing

Compare all POS Systems pricing →Head to head:Square vs Shopify POS Square vs Clover Clover vs Shopify POS6 switching guides Build a decision brief for these →

Often added

E-commerce Platforms

An e-commerce platform runs your online store: products, checkout and orders.

Tool	Entry price (as published)	Billing unit	Example: team of 10	Free plan	Verified
Shopify	From $29/mo	Per store per month, billed yearly	$29/moFlat per store per month, billed yearly	NoNo free tier (3-day trial, then $1/mo for 3 months intro offer)	Jul 8, 2026Vendor pricing
WooCommerce	Free plugin	Not stated in our record	$0 to startFree plugin	YesYes — WooCommerce itself is free forever; only supporting infrastructure costs money	Jul 8, 2026Vendor pricing

Compare all E-commerce Platforms pricing →Head to head:Shopify vs WooCommerce2 switching guides Build a decision brief for these →

Often added

Inventory Management Software

Inventory software tracks what you have in stock, across locations and sales channels, and handles purchase and sales orders.

Tool	Entry price (as published)	Billing unit	Example: team of 10	Free plan	Verified
Zoho Inventory	Free for 1 user; Standard $29/mo per organization, 3 users (annual); $39 monthly	Per organization per month, billed annually ($39 monthly); 3 users included	$29/moFlat per organization per month, billed annually ($39 monthly); 3 users included; includes 3 logins, so more logins need a higher plan or extra users	YesYes — 1 user, 1 location, 50 orders/month	Sep 19, 2026Vendor pricing
Sortly	Free for 1 user; Advanced $49/mo for 2 users (monthly billing)	Per account per month, billed monthly; 2 user licenses included	$49/moFlat per account per month, billed monthly; 2 user licenses included; includes 2 logins, so more logins need a higher plan or extra users	YesYes — 1 user, 100 unique items	Sep 19, 2026Vendor pricing
inFlow Inventory	Entrepreneur $129/mo for 2 team members (annual); $161 monthly	Per account per month, billed annually ($161 monthly); 2 team members included	$129/moFlat per account per month, billed annually ($161 monthly); 2 team members included; includes 2 logins, so more logins need a higher plan or extra users	NoNo — 14-day free trial, no card	Sep 19, 2026Vendor pricing

Compare all Inventory Management pricing →Head to head:Zoho Inventory vs inFlow Inventory Zoho Inventory vs Sortly Sortly vs inFlow Inventory6 switching guides Build a decision brief for these →

What to look for

Editorial assessment

Fit for retail or restaurant Restaurants need tables, modifiers, tips and kitchen tickets. Shops need barcodes, variants and returns. A POS built for the other type will slow you down.
Total cost per sale Add up software plan, hardware and card processing fees together. Some systems require their own processor, which fixes your fee.
Hardware you can use Check which card readers, printers and scanners work with it, and whether you can buy or must lease them.
Barcodes and quick lookup Check that staff can scan or search items quickly at the counter, and that each sale reduces the stock count, including sizes and variants.
Offline mode Find out what happens when the internet drops. You need to keep taking payments during an outage.
Staff permissions and reports Look for separate staff logins, limits on refunds and discounts, and end-of-day reports your accountant can use.

Common mistakes to avoid

Comparing monthly price only Processing fees on every card sale can outweigh the software plan. Compare the full cost at your expected sales volume.
Getting locked into hardware Leased or proprietary hardware can make switching expensive. Read the contract term and cancellation terms before signing.
Skipping the end-of-day close If nobody checks the cash drawer and card totals at close, mistakes and missing cash surface weeks later. Build the close into every shift.
Skipping staff training A line at the register is the wrong time to learn refunds and splits. Practice common transactions before opening day.

What to settle before you buy

Are we a shop, a restaurant, a service business or a mix?
How many checkout points and staff will use the POS at once?
Do we also sell online, and should stock be shared between channels?
Which accounting software must sales reach?
Can we buy hardware outright, or do we need to spread the cost?

Ready to take it to whoever signs off?Turn your shortlist into a one-page decision brief with verified prices, or price the whole job for your team size.

Build a decision brief Open the finder

Frequently asked questions

What is the best POS system for a small retail business?

Look for one that fits your products, hardware and sales volume. Retail shops usually need barcode scanning, variants, returns and stock that syncs with any online store. The table above shows the software this job takes, with verified entry prices and billing units.

What POS system works for a small restaurant?

Look for table and order management, menu modifiers, tips, split bills and kitchen printing or screens. Systems built for retail may not handle these well, so test a real order during a trial.

How much does a POS system cost for a small business?

Cost comes from three places: the software plan, the hardware, and processing fees on each card payment. The table above shows each tracked tool's verified entry price and billing unit, and you should ask for the processing rate in writing too.

Can I get a POS system for small business with inventory management?

Many POS systems can track stock, but depth varies. Check for variants, low-stock alerts, multiple locations and syncing with your online store before you choose.

How we built this page

We start from the job, not the product. The phrasings people search for this job (for example “pos system for small business”) come from our research into how small and mid-size teams describe it. Which software categories the job takes is our editorial judgment. Every tool, entry price, billing unit and date comes from HelpCompare’s open dataset, recorded from each vendor’s own pricing page; nothing is estimated, and where a vendor publishes no price we say so. We take no affiliate commissions and publish no scores of our own. See our methodology or download the data from Open Data.

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How to choose a POS system for a small business

How to sell in person with a POS, step by step

The software this job takes

Online Payment Processing

POS Systems

E-commerce Platforms

Inventory Management Software

What to look for

Common mistakes to avoid

What to settle before you buy

Frequently asked questions

What is the best POS system for a small retail business?

What POS system works for a small restaurant?

How much does a POS system cost for a small business?

Can I get a POS system for small business with inventory management?

How we built this page

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Bill Belcamino