Best Free POS Software Systems for Small Business in USA
1) TouchBistro – Best For It’s perfect for food and beverages
TouchBistro is operable on iPads. It is built for food and beverages. Its user interface is easy to use, like a standard iOS device. Its affordable price, ease of use, and capability to purchase for the lowest processing rates make it the most significant POS. It consists of an ingredient-level inventory. TouchBistro, specially designed for restaurants, and all the features it holds perform smoothly. It also has drag and drops management tools for your convenience. Moreover, it has an internal payment processing process and integrates with third-party applications. Features: In-Person Payment Processing fee: Varies based on the processor; TB Payments is custom-quoted Contract Length: 1 year Free trial: 30 Day Free trial
This POS software has pretty flexible hardware. TouchBistro is quite a supportive platform. This small business POS system for iPad provides detailed training videos. It has a straightforward pricing process.
Key Specs:
Supported Business Type: Food and beverage businesses (coffee shops, bakeries, breweries, food trucks, etc.), restaurants Monthly fees: $69 Hardware Cost: It needs a custom quote. Free trial: 30 days. In-Person Payment Processing: Varies based on the processor; TB Payments is custom-quoted Contract Length: 1 year. Visit TouchBistro » 30-Day Free Trial
2) Lightspeed – Best For It’s perfect for Complex Retail Inventory
Light speed is a Cloud-based POS system that works on iPad and is specially designed for the golf, retail, and restaurant industries. This POS software is expanding its e-commerce services with Ecwid. They can sell their products directly by making short video clips. Its inventory management tools are impressive as you can easily spread a large volume of stock to locations. This POS software can also submit purchase orders, discover products and track large shipments. Features: In-Person Payment Processing fee: Lightspeed Payments 2.6% + 10 cents; other processors Contract Length: 1 year Free trial: 14 Day Free trial
LightSpeed’s supplier network is robust. This retail POS system consists of 40 built-in reports. You can also customize reports according to your needs and requirements. This e-commerce software syncs with lightspeed’s POS data and provides options of 50 professional themes. You would also get a built-in customer loyalty program.
Key Specs:
Supported Business Type: Retail, Restaurants, Golf courses Monthly fees: +$69-$289 Hardware Cost: It needs a custom quote. Free trial: 14 days. In-Person Payment Processing fee: Lightspeed Payments 2.6% + 10 cents; other processors Online processing Price: Lightspeed Payments – 2.6% + 30 cents; other processors changes. Contract Length: 1 year Visit Lightspeed » 14-Day Free Trial
3) Toast – Best For It’s perfect for restaurants
Toast is a cloud-based system. It’s designed for restaurants. It’s a highly functional POS that has ranked on the top of the list for restaurants. This POS software is built with Android-compatible software, so it’s only suitable for Android devices. This restaurant pos systems’ reporting tools and stock management are exceptionally perfect as the interface of the software is easy to use. With the help of its free starter POS plan, small businesses can set off right away. Its integrated online ordering, inventory management, employee management tools, and delivery management makes users feel fully supported. Features: In-Person Payment Processing fee: 2.49% + 15 cents Contract Length: 2 year Free trial: Free Starter POS
Toast POS includes courses, tables, and seat management. It also provides credit card pre-authorization for bar codes and easy check splitting. This software provides customizable and comprehensive reports. This best POS software has many workforce management tools so that you can communicate and draft employee payroll and schedules. It gives you the option of creating an integrated online website to get online orders and integrate with a third party.
Key Specs:
Supported Business Type: Restaurants. Monthly fees: $0–$165+ Hardware Cost: $0–$799+ In-Person Payment Processing fee: 2.49% + 15 cents Free trial: Free Starter POS. Online Processing Price: Not disclosed Contract Length: 2 Years Visit Toast » Free Starter POS
4) Clover – Best For Retail, small Restaurants, and professional services
Clover is a complete package as it supports restaurant businesses, retailers, and professional services. It’s an iPad-based point-of-sale POS, which consists of quite strong out-of-the-box features along with plug-and-play options. Clover POS renders a complete package of hardware setup and bundled software apps. Its installation is quite easy as it helps small business owners start selling their products right away. You can completely tailor the software with the help of the vast Clover App market. It consists of numerous additional features. Its customer relationship management is beyond satisfactory. Features: In-Person Payment Processing fee: 2.3% plus 10 cents. Contract Length: Month-to-Month. Free Trial: 30 Day Free Trial
Clover POS uses integrated reporting to help users track their real-time performance. The interface of the software is quite easy to use. You can operate it on laptops, mobile phones, and tablets. Its online ordering renders streamlined solutions for processing and receiving orders.
Key Specs:
Supported Business Type: Retail and restaurants and professional services. Monthly fees: $39.95-$69.95+ per month. Hardware Cost: $99-$1699. In-Person Payment Processing fee: 2.3% plus 10 cents. Free Trial: 30 days. Online processing price: 3.5% plus 10 cents per transaction. Contract Length: Month-to-Month. Visit Clover » 30-Day Free Trial
5) Square – Best For It’s perfect for small businesses
Square is a very simple-to-use software and is perfect for small businesses. It’s designed for retail, restaurants, appointment-based businesses, and general purposes. The most significant factor about this point-of-sale system is its affordability. You can make an online booking, multiple appointment calendars, send automatic email reminders, SMS, and get credit cards while bookings. This POS software provides different plans that you can easily choose according to your preferences. All the options have free plans with unlimited products, sales, and an integrated online store. It’s easily operatable on smartphones, desktops, iPads, or Square registers.
Features:
Square’s payment process is quite speedy. It’s a great POS for appointment-based businesses. This POS system has perfect retail tools like inventory tracking. Square holds the capability to process exchanges and refunds. Its food and beverages services have the best restaurant-specific tools. Square POS’ all of the accounts come with a free integrated online store.
Key Specs:
Supported Business Type: Professional Services, Retail, Restaurant. Monthly fees: $0-$60+ Free Trial: 30-days. Hardware Cost: $49-$1,607 Online Processing Price: 2.9% + 30 cents Contract Length: Month-to-Month Visit Square » 30-Day Free Trial
6) Shopify – Best For It’s a powerhouse for brick-and-mortar retailers
Shopify has been providing services since 2006 to entrepreneurs. Shopify is the right Point of Sale system for e-commerce forums. It has numerous active online stores making it perfect for brick-and-mortar retailers. Shopify can also customize your setup as it renders lots of plug-and-play hardware. Complete retail kits, chip card readers, and tap iPad are also available. The platform gives so much support that you can communicate to their 24/7 support center to get your issues resolved.
Features:
Shopify POS provides Omnichannel sales. This software provides online integrations. It also renders shipping integrations. This best Point of Sale has all the records of contact details and customers’ addresses. It creates barcodes and manages inventory pretty nicely. This system provides a variety of products. It provides product and retail reports.
Key Specs:
Supported Business Type: Retail Monthly fees: $29-$89+ Hardware Cost: $49-$499+ In-Person Payment Processing fee: 2.4% Free Trial: 14-days. Online processing Price: 2.9% + 30 cents Contract Length: Month-to-Month or Annual. Visit Shopify » 14-Day Free Trial
7) EHopper – Best for It’s specially designed for Restaurants and Retailers
Ehopper is the right POS system for Restaurants and Retailers, rendering its services for the last 15 years. This best free point of sale software runs on existing hardware; however you can also run it on iPads, Android tablets, Windows PCs, and Poynt terminals. Its low-cost options give the users inventory management tools and entrepreneurs access to users. EHopper POS renders numerous hardware options like hardware bundles, Cash drawers, thermal prints, Credit card terminals, Tablets, Scanners, stands, and accessories. You can also add a customer loyalty package to your plan. Users can get a support ticket, call or communicate with the customer service easily.
Features:
EHoppers lets you take care of inventory, create barcodes, and manage customer accounts. This system’s monthly account takes care of employee time tracking facilities, Quickbook integrations, and low stock alerts. It also gives the facilities of OmniChannel.
Key Specs:
Supported Business Type: Retail, Restaurants Monthly fees: +$29.99-$49.99 Hardware cost: It needs a custom quote. Free Trial: 14 days. Contract Length: Month-to-Month Visit Ehopper » 14-Day Free Trial
8) Vend by Light Speed – Best For It’s perfect for small to large businesses
Vend is a browser-based POS that runs on tablets and web-enabled computers. Small retailers can start right away with the hardware they already have. It is an ideal software for businesses that start as small companies and desire to grow big. It comes with layaway tools, built-in store credits, and offline processing. You would also find easy product catalog management. Businesses can easily purchase at the lowest rates. If you enroll yourself in Lightspeed payments, then you would give the lowest software fees.
Features:
Vend by LightSpeed provides detailed inventory tools. It allows businesses to easily track bundles and variants, import, create and print barcodes. This software also has a mobile barcode scanning app that helps in fast inventory count, seeing product details from the sales floor, and receiving shipments. Vend consists of a tool that expands its operations when your business starts to grow. It also has a tool that verifies the age of the customer. It is a great tool for tobacco and alcohol sellers.
Key Specs:
Supported Business Type: Retail. Monthly fees: $69–$299 Hardware Cost: $499–$1,036 In-Person Payment Processing fee: Lightspeed Payments 2.6% + 10 cents; other processors changes. Free trial: 14-days. Online processing Price: Varies by the processor; built-in processing is by Lightspeed Payments Contract Length: 1 year Visit Vend » 14-Day Free Trial
9) Revel – Best for It’s perfect for Small Grocers & High-volume Restaurant
Revel is a complete package as it supports both restaurant businesses and retailers, and It’s an iPad Point of Sale software. The customizability of this software can support high-volume restaurants and small grocery stores. Users can integrate barcode scanners, scales, and handheld inventory. Its functional built-in delivery management and inventory tools make it a perfect fit for high-volume food vendors. A satellite EBT reader is needed for your accept payments.
Features:
Revel POS provides detailed management, table mapping and menu building tools. With the help of Revel POS, you can update the inventory easily. It can also take care of the local deliveries with the help of in-house drivers. The setup of this software is pretty straightforward. This restaurant pos system also offers integrated online ordering and kitchen display communication.
Key Specs:
Supported Business Type: Retail and restaurants Monthly fees: $99 Hardware Cost: It needs a custom quote. In-Person Payment Processing fee: Varies based on the processor; Revel Advantage is custom-quoted Free trial: 30 days. Online processing price: Varies by the processor; Revel Advantage pricing is not publicly listed Contract Length: 3 years Visit Revel » 30-Day Free Trial
10) Lavu – Best For It’s perfect for Restaurants Switching from Cash-only
Best For It’s perfect for Restaurants Switching from Cash-only. Lavu is specially built for food and beverages and is a cloud-based POS system. It’s operatable on iPads and provides handsome discounts on cash payments. It’s a pretty cost-saving feature that helps small businesses in saving money. Lavu supports both integrated third-party processors and built-in processing. You can easily buy a large variety of POS hardware from the website of the software. Moreover, Customers get handsome discounts on hardware which have been signed up for 3 years.
Features:
Lavu’s hardware options are not that expensive. There are a lot of pricing tiers in the software. You can only pay for the services that you are using. It gives access to API that helps you to customize software integrations with your POS.
Key Specs:
Supported Business Type: Restaurants. Monthly fees: $59–$279 Hardware Cost: $199–$225+ In-Person Payment Processing fee: Varies based on the processor; Lavu Pay is custom quoted Free trial: No free trial. Online processing Price: Varies by the processor; Lavu Pay pricing is not publicly disclosed Contract Length: 1 year. Link: https://lavu.com/restaurant-pos/
FAQ
❓ What is a point-of-sale POS system?
A point-of-sale POS is software from which small businesses take their payments from their customers. Do their payments for the items they have purchased from your store. In simple words, it’s a combination of software and hardware that takes care of the payment processing of a store.
🏅 What are the Best POS systems for small businesses?
Following are the best Free POS software systems for small businesses:
TouchBistro LightSpeed by Vend Toast Clover
🌟 What is the difference between terminal and POS?
People get often confused between the term’s terminal and POS. A terminal is only a part of a POS system consisting of hardware components from where you put sales and process your payments. While a POS system is a combination of software and hardware that helps small businesses to track their sales, and inventory, process payments, and log businesses’ performance information.
❗ What are the common features of a POS system?
There are numerous features that a POS can offer, but the best POS system is the one that renders the following features:
Perfect inventory management. Great invoicing options like; Buying, Selling, Repairing, and Renting. Suppliers’ orders and Customer orders management. Integrated Suppliers Purchasing. Customizable and consistent reports. Multi-Store managements.
