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Clover is a powerful all-in-one POS system designed to help small businesses streamline their operations. The system offers a range of features, including payment processing, inventory management, employee tracking, and more. Clover's hardware devices, suc...Read more about Clover
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Toast POS is a comprehensive point-of-sale system designed specifically for the restaurant industry. It is more than just a tool to accept payments; it is the central nervous system of a restaurant's operations, integrating a suite of functionalities to ma...Read more about Toast POS
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CAKE provides a comprehensive and easy-to-use POS designed specifically for restaurants. The software benefits independent restaurant owners who want to replace their current POS or don’t have a cloud-based system, as well as small to mid-size chains looki...Read more about CAKE POS
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Epos Now POS systems are an effective business management, sales, and payment solution for single-site, multi-site, and online businesses. Popular with retailers and hospitality businesses in many industries, Epos Now POS systems are perfect for cafes, bar...Read more about Epos Now
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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 markets, LINGA POS offers businesses hardware and software for restaurant industries. LINGA's Platform...Read more about Linga rOS System
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NetSuite is a cloud-based business management suite that incorporates ERP, financial management, CRM, and eCommerce functionalities into a unified platform, helping organizations automate core processes and gain real-time visibility into operational and fi...Read more about NetSuite
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Rain is an all-in-one point-of-sale, website, and marketing system for small to midsized retailers. Music, dive, sporting goods, paddle, craft, sewing, quilting, and clothing boutiques will find Rain is an excellent fit for their stores. Features that se...Read more about Rain POS
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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 amazing service, optimize...Read more about Rezku POS
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HungerRush is your trusted partner in the restaurant industry, providing integrated solutions designed to simplify your operations and enhance the overall dining experience. Whether you're standing up your first restaurant or looking to grow your number of...Read more about HungerRush 360
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POS Nation is built to support retailers, including specialty businesses such as convenience stores, liquor, wine and beer stores, tobacco and vape shops, lawn and garden centers, and hardware stores. The software comes with all the features you need incl...Read more about POS Nation for Retail
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BrewPOS is a Windows IOT solution for restaurants designed to intuitively manage the daily functions for your restaurant. Open Tabs with EMV chip cards and close them without the customer present. Never keep a credit card behind the bar again. The system a...Read more about BrewPOS
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KORONA POS provides point of sale software, inventory management, and CRM services for all types of retailers, such as convenience stores, liquor shops, and QSRs. The POS software also caters to museums, theme parks, and wineries with its ticketing and mem...Read more about KORONA POS
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Maitre’D is a point-of-sale (POS) solution empowering 20,000 merchant operations worldwide, including fine dining and quick-service restaurants, hotels, cafes, bars, nightclubs, and more. It streamlines operations with tools such as cross-platform sal...Read more about Maitre'D
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Bravo Store Systems empowers small businesses innovative point of sale solutions. Bravo is the leading provider of an all in one Point of Sale (POS) solutions tailored for a diverse range of industries. With a deep understanding of the unique needs of sp...Read more about Bravo Store Systems
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APTX connects all business transactions with simple-to-use cloud technology that covers everything from the warehouse floor to the customer door. Whether you distribute, store or manufacture products, APTX has all the tools you need to control your inven...Read more about APTX
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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 with the data they need to...Read more about Paladin Point of Sale and Inventory Management
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Trust DaySmart Salon's 20 years of industry expertise to propel your salon business to success. More than a scheduling solution, we drive unparalleled excellence, seamlessly integrating scheduling, payment processing, and business management features that ...Read more about DaySmart Salon
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Phorest is a salon management software solution designed for small and midsize businesses that features appointment bookings, point-of-sale, inventory management and reporting. The software offers cloud-based deployment and a salon-branded app for mobile p...Read more about Phorest
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Meevo is the award-winning salon and spa software powered by Millennium built specifically for the beauty industry to simplify client management, improve business operations, and enhance your marketing strategies. Crush your goals in one completely custo...Read more about Meevo
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IT Retail is a cloud-based point of sale (POS) solution built especially for independently-run grocery stores and retailers. Key features include inventory management, customer management and mobile device support. IT Retail offers scanner-and-scale integ...Read more about IT Retail
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Bottle POS is a cloud-based POS system built specifically for liquor stores. Primarily, this solution aims to help store managers automate inventory management. BottlePos can integrate with several distributors across many states, which allows stores to pu...Read more about Bottle POS
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Envision Salon & Spa software is an all-in-one business management solution. Envision provides features such as review management, appointment setting, inventory management, reporting, and so much more. Envision Salon & Spa helps you to utilize technology ...Read more about Envision Salon & Spa
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Designed for independent and enterprise retailers, MyPOS Connect is a SOC2 compliant, cloud-hybrid POS solution that allows businesses to create a POS experience for any retail business function and optimize customer engagement, sales processing, purchasin...Read more about MyPOS Connect
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Acme Point of Sale by Total BusinessWare is an on-premise POS solution that helps businesses across various industries including grocery stores and supermarkets, sporting goods shops and pet supply stores to manage POS, transactions and inventories. A...Read more about Acme Point of Sale
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Rapid Garden POS is a point of sale (POS) solution designed to assist users with managing their greenhouse, garden centers, nurseries, and landscaping businesses. Key features include multiple pricing and promotion schemes, plant nursery management and gre...Read more about Rapid Garden POS
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This detailed guide will help you find and buy the right mobile point of sale systems software for you and your business.
Last Updated on August 20, 2024Mobile devices are saturating the retail and hospitality industries. Nearly 4 million tablets will have been shipped for use as mobile point-of-sale (mPOS) systems in North American retail and hospitality operations by 2017. Furthermore, mobile POS systems are expected to reach almost 80 percent market penetration by 2019.
Easy-to-use interfaces, consumer familiarity and affordability make mPOS systems great options for retailers and restaurants. Thus, many vendors are offering (or moving entirely to) mobile POS options.
But not all of these systems are created equal: Be it an iPad tablet, Android tablet, mobile phone-based system or something else, each POS system offers benefits and drawbacks. Making a decision can be difficult, especially when considering how central the POS system is to the success of the business. That’s why we’re here to help you find the best one for your business. In this guide, we’ll cover:
Common Functionality of mPOS Software
Typical Hardware for mPOS Systems
Mobile POS software systems are the convergence of legacy counter-top POS systems and sleek, easy-to-use consumer devices. The difference between legacy and mobile systems is that mPOS software is built to function on tablets, smartphones and other mobile devices—turning your entire store into a point of sale. What’s more, some systems even offer customer-facing functionality that benefits businesses while improving customer experiences.
While mPOS software can run on any mobile device, buyers looking exclusively for a tablet-based system should check out our tablet POS guide.
Mobile POS systems are fantastic options for smaller retail and restaurant operations. They are much more affordable than standard POS systems and are relatively easy to implement. And of course, they can be used on the go—allowing merchants to set up shop at markets, street fairs and other remote locations
Apart from the advantages listed above, there are many other benefits to mobile point of sale systems. These can include:
Affordability. Prices for mobile POS systems vary based upon hardware requirements and number of terminals/mobile needed. After upfront costs, merchants can typically expected to pay a monthly fee depending on how many users need to access the system. Regardless, it’s very affordable compared to traditional POS systems.
Increased mobility. Aside from offering remote functionality for use outside the store, mobile POS systems empower your employees to engage customers and complete transactions from anywhere within the store, as well. With an mPOS on hand, employees can search inventory to find items in a different color or size, upsell customers with other items they might like and place online orders for out-of-stock items right on the spot.
Reporting and analytics. Much the same as standard POS systems, mPOS software also offers detailed reporting and analytics capabilities. These translate customer and transaction data, which is often difficult to record and understand, into more decipherable charts, graphs and other types of reports. Through these reports, you’ll be able to better understand your business and more confidently make important decisions.
For the most part, mPOS systems offer the same standard functionality as their terminal-based counterparts, including:
Point of sale | Expedites the checkout process by automatically assigning prices, calculating change, printing receipts and adjusting inventory counts for the back office. |
Reporting and analytics | Centralizes and articulates sales data into easily understandable charts and reports. Gives business owners a snapshot into top-selling items, busiest hours and more. |
Inventory management | Automates product/stock counting. Notifies staff when items are running low so they can order more. |
Customer management | Tracks valuable customer information and purchase histories. Serves as the jumping-off point for POS-driven loyalty programs. |
Employee management | Includes scheduling, time clock and wage management functionality. Some systems allow employees to swap and trade shifts online. |
Many mPOS solutions can also operate as stationary systems. Most mPOS vendors offer hardware enabling their systems to complete additional, crucial operations. Here is a typical list of mPOS hardware add-ons you should make sure your system includes:
Cash drawers | Cash drawers are an affordable must-have for any business accepting cash. |
Barcode scanners | Most mobile devices have built-in cameras that can work as barcode scanners. However, merchants relying heavily on barcode scanning should consider hand-held or mounted scanners. |
EMV card readers | Card readers for mobile POS systems have not traditionally been EMV compliant chip-card readers. But now that the EMV standard is in place, you’ll want to consider a chip-card reader, especially if you sell high-priced items. |
Receipt printers | Receipt and label printers are valuable time-saving tools (not to mention communication tools for food and beverage operations). |
Chip-and-pin credit and debit cards. As mentioned above, the new EMV standard is finally in place in the United States. As a result, consumers are increasingly making purchases with their new chip-and-pin cards. Keep this in mind when shopping for a mobile point-of-sale system, as you’ll likely decide you need one that includes the hardware (a chip-card reader) necessary to process EMV payments.
Android Pay and Apple Pay. Though slow to catch on, consumers in the US are warming up to the idea of paying for offline purchases with their Android smartphones and Apple iPhones. As a retailer that doesn’t want to miss out on these sales opportunities, you’ll need to have a payment terminal that includes Near Field Communication (NFC) functionality and ensure that its “contactless” payment feature is enabled.
RFID and Internet of Things technology. The tech world is buzzing with talk about the Internet of Things (IoT) and it’s safe to say that more and more “things” are going to be internet-enabled and digitally connected. RFID is one of the main technologies behind many early IoT initiatives and, incidentally, the world of retail helped popularize RFID in the first place. But now isn’t the time to rest on their RFID laurels: smart retailers continue to look for opportunities as new IoT innovations continue rolling out.