Retail POS Most POS regret comes from two mistakes: buying for features you'll never use, and discovering the real cost only after signing. Both are avoidable. This guide walks through the same checklist we use when evaluating systems for our reviews — no vendor pitch decks required.
Step 1: Map Your Workflows Before Looking at Products
Write these down concretely — they become your demo script later:
- SKUs and variants. Count your products, then count the variants (size/color/style combinations). A catalog of 300 styles in 8 size/color combinations is ~2,400 SKUs, and per-product variant caps (e.g., Shopify's 100-variant limit, with a 2,048 rollout for eligible stores) start to matter.
- Receiving. How does stock arrive — against purchase orders, as transfers, via consignment? Receiving against POs with barcode labeling is a core retail workflow and a common paid-tier gate.
- Returns and exchanges. What share of sales comes back, and where do customers return — always the original store, or any location? Cross-location returns are gated on some systems (Shopify requires POS Pro).
- Special orders and notes. Deposits, special orders, repairs or alterations need line notes or work-order features — often an app, not core.
- Everything else unusual. Serial numbers, gift cards, loyalty, age checks, multi-location transfers, ecommerce sync. If it happens weekly, it belongs on the list.
Step 2: Model Total Cost on YOUR Card Volume
POS cost has three parts: software (per location, per month), hardware (one-time), and payment processing (a percentage of every card sale). The third one dominates, which surprises most first-time buyers.
Worked example — one store doing $30,000/month in card sales:
| Cost line | Shopify (Basic + POS Lite) | Square (Free plan) |
|---|---|---|
| Software /mo | $27 (monthly billing; $20 annual) | $0 |
| Hardware (one-time) | ~$49–500 | ~$59–900 |
| Processing /mo | ~$780 (~2.6% in-person) | ~$825 (2.6% + 15¢ × ~1,500 txns) |
| Year-one total | ~$9,700–10,200 | ~$9,960–10,800 |
Rates as checked 2026-08-08; assumptions shown in our full cost example. Verify current rates before you budget.
Three lessons from that table: processing fees run 8–10× the software subscription; a “free” plan costs about the same as a paid one at real volumes; and a 0.3% rate difference on $40k/month is $1,440/year — more than any subscription discount. Get processing rates in writing for your volume and ticket size, including keyed-in and online rates if you take phone orders.
Step 3: Check Feature Gates by Tier
Every vendor splits features across tiers, and the most-needed retail tools are the most commonly gated:
- Staff permissions: Shopify POS gates role permissions to POS Pro ($89/mo per location); Square gates advanced permission sets to Plus ($49/mo).
- Purchase orders and receiving: gated to Square Plus, Shopify POS Pro; not native on Clover (apps instead); a Lightspeed core strength.
- Reports: inventory aging, COGS and sell-through reporting are typically mid-tier and up (e.g., Square Plus adds inventory reports; Premium adds vendor sales reports).
- Barcode labels, cross-location transfers, multi-location returns: check each one on the exact tier you're quoting — marketing pages show top-tier features.
Ask the sales rep to confirm your must-haves on the tier in your quote, in writing if possible.
Step 4: Demo With Your Own Data
Vendors demo happy paths; you need your path. In any trial or demo:
- Import ~50 real products with your actual variants and barcodes.
- Ring up a sale, then process a return and an exchange.
- Receive a purchase order and print a barcode label if that's your workflow.
- Create two staff accounts with different permissions.
- Pull the reports you'd actually read weekly.
Trials exist: Shopify offers 3 days free then $1/mo for 3 months; Square gives 30 days on paid plans; Lightspeed offers a demo/trial (verify current terms); Clover trial terms vary by reseller.
Step 5: Verify Hardware Compatibility
Assume your old card readers won't work — each system requires its own approved payment devices (Shopify-approved readers, Square readers, Clover's proprietary devices). Tablets are the exception: Shopify POS and Square run on your own iPhone/iPad/Android, and most systems support mainstream receipt printers, scanners and cash drawers (Epson, Star, Socket Mobile, Honeywell, APG) if they're on the compatibility list. If you're standardizing on iPads, note that Lightspeed is iPad-only (no Android). Check the vendor's compatibility list before buying peripherals.
Step 6: Read the Exit Terms
Before signing, know how you'd leave:
- Contract length and ETFs. Square is month-to-month; Lightspeed commonly uses annual billing; Clover terms depend on the reseller — 36-month terms with early-termination fees (commonly quoted $500–$2,000+) appear in reseller contracts. Ask before signing.
- Data export. Confirm you can export products, customers and sales history in usable formats (CSV at minimum).
- Hardware fate. Locked devices from another system rarely carry over; budget for replacement readers.
Step 7: Check Support Hours
Support access varies sharply by tier: Shopify advertises 24/7 chat/email on all plans (phone is callback-style); Square's Free plan gets phone support only for the first 90 days (Plus: weekdays 6am–6pm PT; Premium: 24/7); Lightspeed lists 24/7 chat + phone on all tiers (verify); Clover support quality depends on your reseller. If you open weekends or evenings, confirm that someone answers then — on your tier, not the top one.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
- Choosing on subscription price alone. Processing fees are usually the biggest line — a cheaper plan with higher rates costs more.
- Believing the marketing screenshot. The beautiful report or workflow shown may live two tiers up or in a paid app.
- Skipping the data test. Import failures and ugly variant handling reveal themselves in five minutes with your own catalog.
- Signing a reseller quote on the spot. Especially with Clover-style channels: compare two quotes, read the contract, and watch for leases (a $150/mo × 48-month lease ≈ $7,200 vs ~$1,800 to buy).
- Ignoring exit costs. ETFs and locked-in hardware turn a bad choice into an expensive one.
Building Your Shortlist
Based on our current evaluations (scores from our published methodology):
- Omnichannel (online + store): Shopify POS — 4.0/5, from $20/mo annual with POS Lite included.
- Small single-location stores: Square — 3.8/5, $0 entry plan, 2.6% + 15¢ in person.
- Inventory-heavy or multi-store: Lightspeed Retail — 3.6/5, ~$89/mo+ annual (verify).
- Hardware-first, buy-once: Clover — 3.0/5, reseller-quoted pricing.
See the full ranked comparison in Best Retail POS Systems, or jump straight to Shopify POS vs Square if you're torn between the two most common choices.
FAQ
How much does a POS system really cost?
For a store doing ~$30k/month in card sales, expect roughly $9,500–11,000 in year one — and ~90% of that is payment processing, not software. Software runs $0–149/mo per location depending on tier; hardware is a few hundred dollars one-time. Model processing on your own volume before comparing plans.
Can I keep my existing card readers?
Almost never. Each POS requires its own approved payment devices. Your own tablet/smartphone usually works, and mainstream printers, scanners and cash drawers are often supported if they're on the vendor's compatibility list — but readers from another system won't carry over.
Do I need a contract, or can I go month-to-month?
Square is month-to-month with no long-term contract; Shopify bills monthly or annually with no hardware lock-in. Lightspeed's discounted prices assume annual billing, and Clover terms vary by reseller — some use multi-year contracts with early-termination fees. Always read the exit terms before signing.
How long does switching POS systems take?
Plan 2–6 weeks for a clean switch: export products and customers, map categories, import and verify barcodes, train staff, and run one slow day on the new system before going fully over. The demo-with-your-data step above catches most migration problems early.
Facts in this guide were checked against vendor pricing, POS and hardware pages on 2026-08-08; figures marked “~” are estimates to verify with the vendor. Scores reflect our 8-category weighted system. How we review.