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Epos Now

Epos Now POS system is an effective business management, sales, and payment system for single-site, multi-site and online businesses. The system offers an extensive range of management and sales tools, with the option to expand t...Read more about Epos Now

3.3 (371 reviews)

48 recommendations

Toast POS

Toast POS is a flexible system built exclusively for restaurants and the food service industry. Offering tools like online ordering, delivery, takeout, mobile app ordering, contactless payments, and e-gift card purchasing, this so...Read more about Toast POS

4.2 (506 reviews)

19 recommendations

TouchBistro

TouchBistro is an all-in-one POS and restaurant management system that makes running a restaurant easier. Providing the most essential front of house, back of house, and guest engagement solutions on one powerful platform, TouchBi...Read more about TouchBistro

3.9 (395 reviews)

15 recommendations

Paladin Point of Sale and Inventory Management

For over 40 years, Paladin Data Corp. has been helping independent retail businesses run better. Paladin point of sale (POS) and inventory management software automates time-consuming inventory chores and provides business owners ...Read more about Paladin Point of Sale and Inventory Management

4.6 (21 reviews)

12 recommendations

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Rezku POS

Rezku is the premier POS, used by successful restaurants, bars and pizzerias to compete at a higher level, earn new business and eliminate headaches. Rezku comes complete with everything modern food and beverage concepts need for...Read more about Rezku POS

4.5 (27 reviews)

11 recommendations

Lavu POS

Lavu is a Point of Sale solution designed for use by restaurants, bars, and nightclubs - from full-service, quick-service, and franchise restaurants, to food trucks, coffee shops, and lounges. Users can choose between bar, restaur...Read more about Lavu POS

4.2 (207 reviews)

10 recommendations

STORIS

STORIS is the leading provider of modern technology solutions for home furnishings, bedding, and appliance retailers. From your showrooms and eCommerce website to your distribution centers, STORIS will enhance the customer experie...Read more about STORIS

4.3 (48 reviews)

3 recommendations

Linga rOS System

LINGA is an enterprise-ready cloud-based business platform with 20+ applications in addition to Point of Sale (POS). With over 17 years in the restaurant and retail markets, LINGA POS offers businesses hardware, software technolog...Read more about Linga rOS System

3.4 (36 reviews)

1 recommendations

iVend Retail

iVend Retail by CitiXsys is an integrated POS software application delivered on cloud. Our SaaS platform empowers retailers to provide exceptional customer experiences throughout the entire shopper journey. iVend Retail includes c...Read more about iVend Retail

3.9 (15 reviews)

1 recommendations

Square Point of Sale

Square Point of Sale is a mobile POS system available for iOS and Android devices. Key capabilities of the Square POS system include online payment processing, sales reports, inventory tracking, digital receipts, email and SMS mar...Read more about Square Point of Sale

Lightspeed Retail

Lightspeed Retail is a cloud-based POS solution that is suitable for retailers in industries such as apparel, footwear, bike, jewelry, pet, sporting goods and home decor. The solution offers retailers tools including inventory man...Read more about Lightspeed Retail

Square for Retail

Square for Retail is a cloud-based point of sale (POS) and retail solution for all retailers. Key features include inventory management, customer relationship management, reporting and employee management. The solution comes with ...Read more about Square for Retail

Clover

Clover POS is an integrated point-of-sale (POS) system with custom hardware designed for several types of retailers. This POS system is available in both web-based and server-based deployment versions and offers countertop hardwar...Read more about Clover

Loyverse POS

Loyverse POS is a cloud-based, mobile point-of-sale solution aimed at small retail, restaurant and salon establishments. With this software, users can manage inventory, visualize sales analytics and manage customer relationships. ...Read more about Loyverse POS

PHP Point of Sale

PHP POS is a hybrid point of sale (POS) solution that helps small and startup retail businesses across various industries to manage their day to day business operations, interact with customers and process financial transactions. ...Read more about PHP Point of Sale

talech

Talech POS is a cloud-based retail, restaurant & bar and professional services solution that offers point-of-sale (POS), inventory and customer management, appointment scheduling and deep, real-time analytics. The solution stores ...Read more about talech

Vend

Vend is a cloud-based point of sale system for retailers of all types and sizes. Vend offers tools to help manage the customer experience, as well as sales, inventory, customer data and more. Vend is designed to work on vario...Read more about Vend

Lightspeed Restaurant

Lightspeed Restaurant is a cloud-based point of sale (POS) solution for restaurants suitable for full-or quick-service restaurants, bars, nightclubs, hotel restaurants, cafes and more. Key features include floor management, custom...Read more about Lightspeed Restaurant

GoFrugal

Gofrugal POS is a hybrid point of sale (POS) solution that helps retailers across various industries, to manage their distribution and billing routines and automate financial transactions. The solution can be deployed either on-pr...Read more about GoFrugal

CleanCloud

CleanCloud is a cloud-based retail solution that helps dry cleaning and laundry businesses manage customer orders and streamline point-of-sale operations. The centralized platform enables users to review revenue statistics using c...Read more about CleanCloud

Buyers Guide

Last Updated: January 09, 2024

In this guide we'll cover:

What is an iPad POS system?

Deployment Options

Benefits and Potential Issues

Market Trends to Understand

Hardware

Note: This guide covers POS systems specifically with respect to Apple's iPad. For POS solutions that may work for other tablets, see our tablet POS guide; and for systems that can run on any mobile device (including smartphones), see our mobile POS (mPOS) guide.

What is an iPad POS system?

An iPad point-of-sale (POS) system is POS software specifically designed for use on Apple's iPad. The iPad's attractive design, user-friendly interface, and relatively affordable setup and maintenance costs make iPad POS systems an appealing choice for retail operations. As a result, more and more point-of-sale vendors are releasing iPad applications for their POS systems. However, no iPad POS solution is perfect. Each type of deployment has its benefits and drawbacks.

Deployment Options

Web-based systems. With this deployment option, users access a vendor's point-of-sale application by logging into the system via a Web browser (e.g., Chrome, Firefox etc.). The benefit of this type of application is that retailers don't have to worry about software updates and backups. While many Web-based point-of-sale applications are responsive-developed to be viewable on a variety of devices at different resolutions—they may not be developed specifically for iPad, so the experience may not be flawless.

Remote access. In a remote access point-of-sale environment, the system is hosted in a central location and is accessed remotely via a virtual private network (VPN). It's important to note that remote managed applications are prone to "back door" attacks and should comply with Payment Card Industry Data Security Standards, more commonly referred to as PCI compliance. This deployment option is becoming less commonplace.

Native iPad apps. Native iPad point of sale applications are developed specifically for iOS powered devices and deliver the best possible user experience. Native applications are installed directly to the iPad or other Apple device. The benefit is these applications are typically fast and reliable. The downside is they may require fees to upgrade and manual updating.

Benefits and Potential Issues

iPad POS systems are often great solutions for retail start-ups, small retail operations and mobile retailers (e.g., food truck vendors) because they're easy to implement, scalable and affordable compared to traditional POS systems.

Product-grid-view-in-Lightspeed

Product grid view in Lightspeed

However, reporting and inventory management for some point-of-sale solutions, Square for example, are limited or non-existent. Retailers who handle large amounts of cash, require detailed reporting capabilities or use many external devices, such as signature pads, bar code readers and displays, may prefer a traditional POS system for handling transactions. Fortunately, many traditional providers now offer iPad applications or support via one of the deployment models mentioned above.

Retailers that adopt the right types of iPad POS software for their operations stand to benefit in many ways, such as:

Low upfront costs. Equipment and software for a single user iPad POS system can cost between $1,000 and $3,500, depending on hardware requirements and number of terminals.

Increased mobility. Because iPad devices are portable, retailers are free to move the checkout to the customer to provide faster service. This is especially important in restaurant operations and non-traditional storefronts, such as food trucks and pop-up markets, where a traditional POS system that lacks portability is inconvenient.

Improved data management. With an iPad POS system, retailers can efficiently manage receipts, credit card information and customer data. Additionally, these types of systems often include real-time tracking of sales data, so managers always have up-to-date information for making operational decisions.

Retailers that fail to realize some of these core benefits often do so because they:

  • Do not have the right infrastructure in place to support integration of software systems from different vendors.

  • Do not adequately prepare staff for adoption of new software.

  • Fail to properly train staff on how to leverage the software's full scope of features and functionality.

Markets Trends to Understand

E-payments and mobile wallet. In a Hospitality Technology report on POS software trends, 62.5 percent of respondents said enabling new payment options was a key motivator for pursuing a POS upgrade. At the same time, 35.6 percent of respondents said mobile wallet integration is a top feature they will look for when purchasing new point-of-sale software. There are many iPad POS systems available on the market which include electronic payment options.

Cloud software. From the same report, 40.7 percent of respondents said they want to centralize their POS data and will look at cloud and hosted software solutions to meet that need. Cloud-based point of sale software makes it easier for retailers to operate using new and secure technology, have instant access to sales data and scale up by way of integrating value add modules, such gift cards and loyalty reward programs. With a cloud-based system, there's no need to manage a secure server, schedule data backups or depend on administrators for upgrades.

Hardware

When calculating the cost of iPad point-of-sale software, it's important to include hardware equipment costs. Make sure hardware choices are compatible by contacting the vendor. Common POS hardware components include:

Tablets

iPad POS software typically supports iPad, iPad Mini and iPad Touch. Apple's tablets are often considered pricy compared to others, with costs ranging from $229 for an iPad Mini to $499 and more for iPads.

Stands and mounts

iPad stands and mounts position and protect the devices. Costs typically range between $49 and $349, with high-end models reaching price points from $500 to $1,000 range.

Card reader

Most iPad POS software packages include a credit card reader. When purchased separately, card readers typically have price tags between $10 and $100.

Barcode scanner

iPads have a built-in camera that can serve as a barcode scanner. Retailers who scan barcodes frequently may prefer a handheld or mounted scanner, however. Costs typically range from $170 to $529 per device.

Receipt printer

iPad compatible receipt and label printer costs range from $299 to $479.

Cash drawer

Depending on your security requirements, cash drawer prices typically range between $100 and $299.