Beginning my day early as a shopkeeper with several areas involves guaranteeing all preparations remain in location for a successful operation. It is important to simplify processes and collect info that help in making well-informed decisions as part of our everyday regimen.
and assist you exercise which version of’s point of sale system is ideal for you. Let’s dive in. OK, so there are 2 primary factors to utilize Lite. One– it lets you cost point of sale rapidly, and inexpensively. The essential thing to comprehend about Lite is that it is bundled with every Shopify plan– there are no extra charges for utilizing it. This indicates that you can sell with Lite for as little as $5 monthly. It’s also very quick to set up. By contrast, is an add-on that costs $89 per
month, per place– indicating that if you desire to sell in more than one locationthan place at the same time, things can get costly pretty rapidly. 2– it’s truly easy to use. If all you want to do is accept basic payments in one area, Shopify POS Lite lets you do that really easily– all you’ll require really is your phone and a card reader. By contrast, which is tailored more towards retail outlets and multi-location selling,
may be overkill for merchants with basic POS needsneed. It will normally involve more setup and more hardware. But eventually, you may discover yourself growing out of Lite rather rapidly– particularly if you prepare to sell in more than one place simultaneously. And that’s where the “plan comes in. I’ll discuss the contexts in which can be the right suitable for merchants in just a minute, but before I do,
What is the difference between Shopify and Square POS?
In the early morning, I log into to inspect inventory levels across all places. With its central dashboard, I can rapidly see which products are running low and require restocking. This saves me important time that I can designate to other aspects of handling business.
Shopify is a home name in the e-commerce market, enjoying widespread recognition as the leading software vendor worldwide. Founded in 2006 by business owner Tobias Lütke, the company was born out of a personal battle to create an online shop for snowboarding equipment. Determined to streamline the procedure, Lütke shifted his focus from constructing an online shop to supplying superior tools for sellers looking to establish their own e-commerce platforms.
‘s e-commerce software has delighted in paralleled growth and garnered countless customers throughout the globe. By 2016, the company had almost $400 million in yearly profits, and that figure blew up to $4.6 billion by 2021 after the Covid pandemic stimulated an online retail boom.
forayed into point-of-sale systems in 2017 by releasing a Bluetooth-enabled debit and charge card reader for brick-and-mortar shops. Because then, it has developed more items and turned them into a significant source of income. The company is based in Ottawa, Canada.
Throughout the day, helps me handle deals effectively. Its intuitive interface enables my personnel to process orders quickly, whether it’s at the checkout counter or on the shop floor utilizing mobile devices. The integrated payment processing ensures smooth transactions, keeping our consumers delighted.
Among the standout features of is its robust analytics tools. I routinely review sales reports and customer insights to recognize patterns and tailor our marketing efforts accordingly. The capability to create custom-made reports gives me a much deeper understanding of our company efficiency, allowing me to make data-driven choices.
Comparing to Square POS, the switch was driven by a number of elements. While Square used standard performance, supplied a more detailed solution tailored to the requirements of multi-location companies like ours. The ability to handle stock centrally, along with innovative analytics and reporting capabilities, were key selling points.
In addition,’s community provided seamless combination with our online store, enabling us to manage stock and sales throughout all channels from one platform. This omnichannel approach has assisted us offer an unified shopping experience to our consumers, whether they’re shopping in-store or online.
In general, the transition to has played a crucial role in enhancing our activities, improving efficiency, and promoting growth at our various sites.
Pros:
Advanced inventory management: Central stock tracking throughout numerous locations, making it easy to manage stock levels and restocking.
Robust analytics: Supplies comprehensive sales reports and consumer insights to assist make notified company choices.
Seamless combination: Incorporates efficiently with’s ecommerce platform, allowing for an unified online and offline retail experience.
Adjustable: Offers flexibility to create custom reports and customize the system to particular service requirements.
Cons: Not appropriate for little services or single-location operations, does not have functions that deal with limited scale or scope.
Prices: includes a monthly subscription cost, which may be more pricey than some other point-of-sale (POS) systems.
Ease of use: While designed to be easy to use, mastering all the features of may take a while for new users.
Compatibility: POS Pro may not be fully suitable with all third-party hardware, needing specific devices purchases.
e-commerce plans:
$ 29 for Fundamental when billed every year (or $39 when paid monthly).
$ 79 for regular when billed annually (or $105 when paid monthly).
$ 299 for Advanced when billed yearly (or $399 when paid monthly).
Custom rates for Shopify Plus.
All e-commerce plans featured POS Lite for selling in-person. Updating to Pro for brick-and-mortar organizations costs an extra $89 per place.
‘s alternative options for primarily selling in-person:
$ 5 for Starter plan, which consists of one Lite area.
$ 79 (when billed every year) for Retail plan, or $89 when paid monthly; includes one Pro place.
How Much Does a POS System Cost?
Hardware expense
$ 49 for Tap & Chip card reader.
$ 219 for Tap & Chip counter top package (iPad not included).
$ 299 for Go mobile gadget.
$ 349 for terminal.
$ 459 and up for terminal counter top sets.
Agreement length
No agreement required. Plans are paid month to month unless you sign up for an annual, two-year or three-year plan.
Pros:
Free standard version: Square offers a complimentary variation of its system, making it accessible for small companies with limited spending plans.
Simple setup: Square is known for its easy setup process, permitting organizations to begin processing transactions quickly.
All-in-one service: Square offers additional services like payment processing, visit scheduling, and payroll, all integrated into one platform.
Compatibility: Works with a vast array of third-party hardware, offering more flexibility in choosing devices.
Consumer support: Square supplies responsive customer support through phone, e-mail, and chat, helping organizations repair issues effectively.
Cons:
Limited inventory management: While adequate for basic needs, Square’s inventory management functions might not suffice for services with complicated requirements.
Fundamental analytics: Square’s reporting capabilities are not as comprehensive as’s, doing not have some innovative analytics functions.
Less scalable: Square might not be as well-suited for organizations with multiple locations or those planning significant growth, as it lacks some functions required for intricate operations.
The Pro version uses higher flexibility in regards to offering places, as there is no limit to the variety of areas you can add, unlike the Lite variation. Nevertheless, each extra location contributed to a membership will incur an extra regular monthly charge of $89. While this might look like a disadvantage, it is essential to note that this charge represents only a small fraction of the total costs of a successful retail operation. The “per place, each month” pricing technique allows for higher modification and versatility, making the Pro prepare a scalable choice for services of all sizes. Additionally, the Pro strategy provides enhanced control over staff use, enabling you to reward employee for their performance and efficiency.
provide various access rights to your system, or appoint different functions to them, then is a better option than the ‘Lite’ variation. It provides you an actually vast array of tools for managing your group’s relationship with your system. 3– it offers you a lot more customer-focused functions. Lite lets you accept payments from your customers cheaply and just, however that’s about it. By contrast, lets you do far more for your clients. Unlike the ‘Lite’ version, it.
lets you help with exchanges; supply custom-made invoices; use discounts; and offer local pick up options. So, to summarize, Lite appropriates for merchants who desire a simple and inexpensive method to sell in individual in one area. Pro is better for merchants who need to offer in numerous areas, desire more control over how personnel usage and would like to provide their consumers more purchase and shipment choices.
The Go is an all-in-one terminal that includes a card reader and barcode scanner. You can utilize the scanner to instantly detect the price of an item and the card reader to receive the money from the consumer. This device accepts tap, chip, and swipe payments. It has a 5.5-inch high-definition display screen and a long battery life to ensure you can use it for an entire organization day after a full charge.
The smaller card reader lets you accept tap and chip payments from clients however not swipe. It links wirelessly to a tablet or through Bluetooth to a cellphone. It is compact and simple to deal with, suggesting it appropriates for organizations that operate on the go, e.g., farmer’s markets.
Shopify Payments
provides a payments processing service that lets you charge money to all major debit and charge card. Your consumers can place their cards, tap them, or swipe them depending upon the type of hardware you chose. There’s likewise Tap to Pay, which lets you accept payments on your iPhone without any additional hardware. The pricing is transparent– between 2.4% and 2.7% on each successful deal– without any covert costs or setup fees.
Stock Management
Among the major discomfort points that retailers face is handling their stock; knowing which items are offered at a given time and the prices for each of them. The advantage is that provides features to assist.
You can analyze each product and assign products to various places and channels using’s software. You can likewise perform precise inventory counts with your barcode scanner after getting items. You can set the system to alert you if a product is lacking stock or to supply sale product suggestions. Similarly, you can get comprehensive reports to track your sales; what items are selling faster, what products aren’t selling, which items need to be restocked, etc syncs one of the industry’s best point-of-sale systems with the e-commerce platform. With the app, you can sell your product and services face to face and online. Take orders from clients,
As soon as you have a strategy, you can download the app– available for iOS and Android devices. Using the app, you’ll have the ability to visit and begin customizing your system. If you’re selling face to face, you can either use Tap to Pay on iPhone or purchase hardware, and you’ll be prepared to start taking consumer orders.
is best for organizations that:
Want to utilize’s e-commerce features. While does use two simple plans for business’s that mainly offer face to face or on social media, the bulk of its offerings are for omnichannel sellers who want to develop a custom-made online shop utilizing.
Sell online and face to face. is enhanced for selling across online stores, social media channels and brick-and-mortar stores. The outstanding lineup of functions is ideal for omnichannel retailers.
Prefer to use a single company for and payment processing. Payments is consisted of with all month-to-month plans to process online transactions in addition to in-person payments. You can use a third-party provider, such as Amazon Pay, Authorize.net or Braintree, to process payments. Your rates will likely vary from what Shopify Payments charges if you work with a third-party processor, however, and Shopify will charge you an additional deal charge for not utilizing its internal product.
Deciding factors
Clover provides options for e-commerce organizations and in-person stores to let organizations choose the mix they require. features vary by regular monthly plan. More pricey monthly plans include advanced inventory and reporting capabilities.