Which retail software is the best for your business? There are several types of retail software, but not all of them are right for your retail business. Review the common types of retail software along with their definitions, and you’ll be able to pick the best software for your needs.
Heree are the best retail softwares that will make you more productive.
Square Point of Sale: Best overall
- Starting monthly fee: $0.00
No starting fees
Free mobile reader
Our pick for the best POS system for small-business owners is Square. It’s free to start, easy to use, and chock-full of useful features. These benefits make Square a great choice for new business owners who need simple but powerful features from the get-go.
Square is a common favorite of mobile businesses like food trucks and boutique retail shops. In fact, we also picked Square as the best mobile POS system for small businesses. For an all-in-one system for taking payments wherever your customers are, pair the Square POS and mPOS systems together to give your business an extra boost.
Taking customer payments is easy with Square’s credit card readers and point-of-sale mobile app, which works with most Android and Apple devices; for example, many Square users run their businesses with iPads. You can create customized receipts to send via email or print from a receipt printer. Plus, you can keep open tabs, split checks, and manage your inventory in real time—all within Square’s point-of-sale software.ProsZero monthly cost for the basic plan
Software and hardware that’s easy to set up and use
Transparent transaction feesCons
Pricier transaction fees than some major processors
Higher fees for manual entry
Square provides detailed reporting and analytics and lets you send invoices, track employee shifts and timecards, and manage multiple locations. You can also run email marketing, customer loyalty plans, and gift card programs from Square’s point-of-sale software.
Now the downsides. Transaction fees with Square Point of Sale can be more expensive than what other POS providers are charging. The transaction costs can add up if you process loads of payments a day.
That said, Square POS doesn’t have a monthly fee, and the company keeps its transaction fees pretty simple (for the most part):
- Tapped, dipped, and swiped payments: 2.6% + $0.10
- Keyed-in and card-on-file payments: 3.5% + $0.15
- Square Register (purchased before 8/20/19) payments: 2.5% + $0.10
Square also offers other plans geared for certain types of businesses. With Square for Restaurants, for example, you get POS software that’s geared specifically for restaurant use. The plan costs $60 per month for each of your locations, plus an extra $40 per month for each additional POS system you use.
Square for Retail plans have the same monthly fees as the Square for Restaurants plan, but they come with discounted transaction fees (2.5% + $010 for in-person payments).
What’s nice about these additional plan types is that they are optional. So, if you want more functionality and features, it’s easy to add them to your POS at any time with Square.Open an AccountRead Our Review
Shopify POS: The best POS system for retail stores
- Starting monthly fee: $9.00
No starting fees
Free mobile reader
Shopify gained a reputation in the retail space as a premier web-based POS platform. The company now over 1 million business customers worldwide using its ecommerce, Amazon marketplace, and point-of-sale services.1
The company’s powerful ecommerce integration translates into an impressive point-of-sale solution for retail brick-and-mortar stores too. Shopify POS is a service that’s easy to set up and highly customizable to fit small businesses and scale up as your business grows.ProsAffordable basic subscription and processing fees
Free 14-day trial
Robust ecommerce toolsCons
No subscription-free plan
Limited reporting on the basic plan
Extra fees for using third-party payment providers
Shopify offers three major plans plus one scaled-down “Lite” plan for doing retail business on Facebook only. Plans differ on their monthly price, fees for payment processing, and breadth of included services.
The $29 Basic Shopify plan is an affordable option for smaller retail businesses that are online, in a single retail location, or selling in-person at pop-up stores and local markets.
Shopify’s transaction fees are also a little complicated. Online or keyed transactions range from 2.4% + 30¢ to 2.9% + 30¢, depending on your plan. Meanwhile, in-person transaction fees fall between 2.4% to 2.7%—again, depending on your plan.
If you opt to use a payment provider other than Shopify Payments, however, you’ll also be assessed a third-party payment provider fee, which can be anywhere from 0.5% to 2% per transaction. So if you want to use a Shopify system and Shopify software, you may want to steer clear of Square, PayPal, or other payment gateways.
| Plan | Monthly price | In-person payment processing fee | Third-party payment provider fee | Learn more |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Shopify Lite | $9.00* | 2.7% | 2% | Get Started |
| Basic Shopify | $29.00* | 2.7% | 2% | Get Started |
| Shopify | $79.00* | 2.5% | 1% | Get Started |
| Advanced Shopify | $299.00* | 2.4% | 0.5% | Get Started |
Data effective 11/11/21. At publishing time, pricing and features are current but are subject to change. Offers may not be available in all areas.
*With annual billing
Xero
Xero has over two-dozen features for retailers to manage their business. With Xero, you can track cash flow, invoices and more. You can also link Xero to your bank so that transactions automatically pass through without manual intervention.
Intended for startups and small businesses, Xero is a great option if you need help with quotes, purchase orders, online payments and sales taxes. Xero also seamlessly integrates with your retail point of sale system.
Pricing: Starter, $9/month; Standard, $30/month; Premium, $70/month.
Why choose Xero?
- Affordable: Starting at just $9/month, Xero is an affordable solution for small retailers.
- Online invoicing: Xero’s online invoicing tools let customers send merchants their payments quickly. You can also create personalized invoices using their invoice templates and both schedule and automate invoice reminders to customers.
- Multi-currency capabilities: Xero supports 160 countries, which gives a merchant’s customers the flexibility to pay using their local currency. Xero also automatically takes care of currency conversion in real-time and instantly updates accounting reports to reflect the rates.
Sage50 Cloud
Sage50 cloud is intended for SMBs and combines the power of a desktop with the convenience of the cloud. Users access the software from their desktop but can store their data on the cloud and access it anytime.
Equipped with core accounting features, tools to automate accounting processes and cash flow, budgeting and invoicing capabilities, Sage50 Cloud subscriptions start at $44.97 per month.
Pricing: Pro Accounting, $51.67/month; Premium Accounting, $75.00/month;
Why choose Sage50 Cloud?
- Dashboards: Sage50 Cloud offers a host of useful dashboards where you can get insight on key metrics: receivables, expenses, available cash, revenue trends, sales performance and more.
- Automatic syncing: Automatically sync your Sage50 Cloud contacts with Microsoft Outlook. This way, you can easily access customer contact information and details like credit limit, balance and order history.
- Sales-optimized: Accelerate your sales process by instantly transforming quotes and proposals into invoices and sales orders.
Lightspeed Accounting
Lightspeed Accounting is a part of Lightspeed’s all-in-one commerce platform. With it, you can automatically sync bookkeeping information between your accounting software (currently, we support full two-way integrations with Quickbooks, Sage50 Cloud and Xero) your retail point of sale system and your eCommerce platform.
The result? Sales, payments, discounts and taxes logged in-store or online are automatically pushed to your accounting software and you can trust that you’re looking at 100% accurate financials, all the time. It makes bookkeeping easier.
Bonus: Users can generate financial reports to track revenue and expenses for multiple store locations in real-time.
Pricing: Talk to our team of retail experts for a free consultation. https://www.youtube.com/embed/WmIC8dEzPu4
Why choose Lightspeed Accounting?
- POS integration: With Lightspeed Accounting, Lightspeed Retail and eCom users can sync their accounting software with their retail point of sale and eCommerce platform so that 100% accurate sales and pricing data is reflected in their bookkeeping and financials.
- Hands-off nightly sync: Rest assured that you’re always looking at your most up-to-date sales and purchasing data. Have peace of mind knowing that you’re using accurate numbers for your financial planning.
Conclusion
Retail software is the best software that every retail business must have. It helps you grow your business, control inventory and view reports of your business performance easily. Retail software has become an important part of modern retailing, as it helps you keep track of your daily business activities including merchandise presence, price updates, employee movements too.