Point of Sale (POS)

A point of sale, or POS, is a system used to process transactions and accept payments in person.

With Shopify POS, retail businesses get all the tools they need to manage daily operations, accept payments anywhere, and build relationships to create customer loyalty. But the benefits of Shopify go beyond your retail store. With a powerful ecommerce solution also included, Shopify unifies in-store and online sales to bridge the gaps between your website, social media, and POS system. This allows you to sync inventory everywhere you sell and offer seamless shopping options for customers like local delivery, ship to customer, in-store pickup, and email carts.

There are many benefits of using a POS system, most notably making it easier to run your retail business. Using a POS system significantly simplifies daily business tasks, from checking out customers to performing inventory counts. When you have a POS system, you’re tracking payments, inventory, and customers with every sale—and you don’t have to spend time reconciling all that data at the end of the day.

The benefits of a POS system start with the transaction, where you can use integrated hardware and software to accept payments from credit cards, debit cards, and digital wallets. When payment is taken, inventory levels are automatically updated behind the scenes and customer data is created and saved. You’ll have a more accurate picture of inventory across your business as well as a complete customer list everywhere you sell—with no extra work on your end.

Once you have this data, you can use it to improve efficiency and even increase revenue. Accurate inventory data means it’s easy to see when it’s time to re-order. A good POS system as well will share insights like when something’s about to run out of stock or what products need to move and should be put on sale. Customer data is also really useful. When you have accurate customer information you can track their purchases and make notes about their preferences. This means your staff is in a better position to offer good customer service. You can also use that data in digital marketing campaigns like email marketing or social media marketing to find new customers and bring existing customers back.

In short, POS systems make it easier to run your business. A good POS system, like Shopify POS, will make the hard parts simple, so you can focus on the parts you love.

There are different types of POS systems—the one that’s right for you will depend on your business needs. You can build any type of POS system with Shopify POS.

Countertop POS systems are best for permanent brick-and-mortar stores. A countertop system includes the software to check out customers and the hardware to take payments, and it can typically be found on sales counters. This enables retailers to create a smooth checkout experience where all the accessories for bagging products are easily accessible.

Mobile POS systems are better for businesses selling at events like pop-ups, markets, and trade shows. A mobile POS system allows retailers to process transactions wherever their customer is. These systems typically combine POS software and hardware into a single handheld device. Many brick-and-mortar businesses, however, are also starting to use mobile checkouts in their stores as a way to better serve their customers.

Mutlichannel POS systems allow retailers to sell in store and online and take advantage of omnichannel selling to convert more shoppers. For example, with a multichannel POS system, customers can buy online and pick up their purchase in your store—or they can buy in store and have the purchase shipped to their home. Today’s shoppers expect omnichannel shopping so multichannel POS systems are powerful tools.

Examples of POS systems can be found in almost every retail store. They are typically made up of a tablet or computer to run POS software, a payment terminal to take credit and debit payments, and a cash drawer to accept cash payments and make change. They may also include accessories such as receipt printers and barcode scanners.

A POS system is the hardware and software retailers use to simplify retail operations. The POS system is comprised of hardware, to take payments from cards and digital wallets, and software, to track and organize your retail store’s information. Today, most POS software can be downloaded to any smartphone or tablet, though in the past it was typical to see POS software on desktop computers at checkout. Depending on your needs you may also add accessories to your POS system, such as a cash drawer, barcode scanner, and receipt printer.

The POS system works together to make running a business easier. It is the system through which retailers can transact with customers; it’s also the system that updates inventory levels behind the scenes with every sale. This means retailers have a more accurate view of their business, without having to manually track purchases and reconcile sales at the end of the day.

Here’s how you can use Shopify’s POS system in your store:

1. Scan the items to add them to the customer’s cart.
2. The POS calculates the order total, including sales tax.
3. Select Checkout and Shopify’s integrated retail POS hardware is instantly ready to take payment.
4. The customer pays using their preferred payment method. Shopify POS accepts all major credit cards, debit cards, and digital wallets.
5. The POS generates a receipt which you can print or email to the customer.
6. The POS captures order and customer data and automatically updates your inventory levels.

Shopify’s point of sale is flexible enough to support a variety of businesses at any stage of growth. The retailers that find the most value from Shopify POS are those that sell products both in person and online. Connecting in-store and online sales helps you keep inventory, payments, and customers in sync so you can simplify everyday tasks and offer better shopping experiences.

Shopify is a complete platform for running a business. No matter where you sell, in person or online, Shopify is your command center for managing products and orders, accepting payments, and building relationships with customers. Having a unified back office gives you the ability to sell from a retail store, a pop-up, a website, on social media channels, or online marketplaces, while keeping everything connected. This means you can offer flexible shopping options like buy online, pickup in store, or buy in store, ship to customer.

Shopify POS connects to that powerful back office for in-person sales, ensuring that inventory, payments, and customer data are fully synced as you make sales from your retail store. Linking in-store and online sales with Shopify helps you simplify inventory tasks, have more control over cash flow, and re-engage in-store visitors with online marketing. The intuitive and mobile POS app also makes it easy to fly through checkout and assist customers anywhere, on the sales floor or on the go.

If you have an online shop and a retail store—or want to sell online and in person—you need a POS system that can integrate with other tools. The most important integration for today’s retailers is the connection between their POS and ecommerce systems. This connection between sales systems means it’s possible to sell across channels, keeping up with customer demands while keeping back office overhead to a minimum. That’s because sales system integrations keep sales, product, inventory, and customer data all in one place. The second most important integration for retailers is that between their POS system and other business tools like loyalty programs, customer relationship management software, fulfillment and logistics tools, and accounting software.

In terms of integrating your sales system, not all POS systems can do this easily. Some POS systems don’t have the ability to integrate at all, while others can only connect in-store and online sales by using APIs, also known as application program interfaces. These are built by third-party developers and require manual installation and maintenance. While this means there is some connection between sales systems, it’s not perfect. Drawbacks include slow refresh rates, in which data between the two systems isn’t in sync, or missing features, in which the two systems don’t have compatible features and can’t be connected seamlessly. This can lead to disconnected customer experiences and incomplete data, ultimately making more work for retailers. Conversely, Shopify POS integrates seamlessly with Shopify’s ecommerce software, meaning there’s no additional work and no data hiccups.

In terms of integrating with other business tools, many retailers want to connect their POS system to marketing tools like loyalty programs or customer relationship management software, and operations tools like staff management, fulfillment, or accounting. Since POS providers don’t make these tools themselves, retailers need to go to third-party providers to find them. How well these tools will work with your POS system will depend on the system you’re using and the third-party provider you choose. Fortunately, Shopfiy POS comes with a rich app ecosystem, with over one hundred apps, all of which have been specifically made to integrate with the POS system. Not only are these apps easy to find, they’re also simple to connect and work seamlessly with the Shopify POS.

POS users find Shopify POS to be the ultimate point of sale system, calling it seamless, futuristic, and easy to use. Reviews for point of sale are overwhelmingly positive, with the majority of users giving it five stars.

Customers love that Shopify POS anticipates their needs. Not only is the POS system intuitively designed, it’s also constantly improving to respond to retail trends. Shopify POS’s modern, minimal design contains a robust feature set that retailers rely on to make everyday tasks easier. That feature set only grows, with over +100 new features added every season.

Customers call Shopify POS seamless, referring to the unified connection between in-store and online sales. This creates superior customer experiences where customers can browse in store, buy online; buy online, pick up in store; or buy in store and have the item shipped to their home. This also cuts down on admin chores for retailers since, no matter where they sell, they can manage everything in one place.

Finally, customers consider Shopify POS to be easy to use. Customers find it easy to switch to Shopify thanks to the availability of migration aps and expert support. Once they’re on Shopify POS, customers love how easy it is to transaction on the platform: all you need to do is download the app to your phone and connect your POS hardware. Customers also find the simple design easy to train retail staff on, which significantly reduces time spent onboarding.

Overall, customers rate Shopify POS highly, calling it a “favorite POS”.

Read the reviews

You can use Shopify POS in nearly every country in the world. However, to get the full benefits of Shopify POS we recommend using Shopify Payments and integrated Shopify POS hardware, both of which are available only in select regions. To learn if Shopify Payments and Shopify POS hardware is available where you are, check out the supported countries and regions on the Shopify Help Center.