Best Mobile POS Systems (December 2023)

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With cellular point-of-sale (POS) systems, small business owners don’t want to be tied to a countertop POS at a brick-and-mortar location or online store. You can use a POS app on any mobile device, whether it’s a smartphone or tablet and use it to process sales. This means you can pay bills anywhere you are. In addition to a mobile POS app and mobile device, you need a card reader to pay credit cards and cellular bills, such as Apple Pay or Google Pay. You’ll also want a connection.

Many mobile POS responses come with equipment to help you run your business, attach it to your physical or online store inventory, and keep track of visitor data and other data. In this guide, locate the most productive cellular POS systems available today. Whatever your needs, you’re guaranteed to find the right solution for you.

The Forbes Advisor Small Business team is committed to providing you with unbiased ratings and data with editorial independence. We use product data, strategic methodologies and expertise to tell you all about our content and advise you on your career decision-making.

We’ve reviewed 15 vendors that employ a detailed method to help you find the seven most productive mobile POS systems. Our evaluations took several factors into account, adding the diversity of pricing plan charges, the capacity of the POS system, and a comprehensive review. through our team of experts based on supplier reviews on topics such as visitor and ease of use. All ratings are made solely by our editorial team.

Square is probably the most well-known cellular POS formula, as it was one of the first and most popular. It tops the charts for many reasons, adding its lower-fee payment processing fees, an absolutely free POS app, and an undeniable interface. Fundamental software doesn’t have consistent monthly fees, but you can choose from a handful of add-on features to make the POS formula more comprehensive. Square’s on-demand apps come with team management, email marketing, payroll, and retention, which range from $5 to $45 per month.

Payment processing is built into Square, so you don’t want to look for a merchant service provider (MSP). The flat fee makes it easy for you to know how much you want to pay for each transaction, but the fees are likely higher. than what you could get from your own merchant account if you already have an established business.

Square makes it simple to send a loose card reader to any new business. You can order other compatible hardware from Square if you want more card readers or countertop solutions.

Learn more about what it has to offer with our Square review.

Who uses it:

Any small business looking to sell a cellular POS formula will do well with Square because of its physically powerful feature set and easy-to-use formula. It’s an excellent selection for startups that couldn’t possibly get low processing rates from Business Services.

Shopify sets itself apart from other mobile POS systems because it focuses on eCommerce business owners. All 3 Shopify POS plans come with a fully functional online store with unlimited products. Variety of plans from $39 to $399 per month. You can buy a card reader on Shopify for $49.

The foundational plan is packed with features, adding abandoned cart recovery, marketing automations, and integrated payment processing. When upgrading to the intermediate tier or higher, have access to discounts and shipping and fulfillment reports. Payment processing fees are the most confusing component of Shopify.

As you can see, pay less in transaction payments as you scale (but pay more consistently over the month). It’s also worth noting that you can choose to use your own merchant account, but if you choose Shopify as your POS system, you have to pay a transaction payment if you don’t use Shopify Payments (0. 5% to 2%, depending on the plan you’re using).

Who uses it:

Sellers who are already on the Shopify online platform and need to expand into mobile sales.

Small businesses that need to focus on building relationships with consumers deserve to consider Loyverse as their POS solution. The app is loose and works on any mobile device, so you can sell in a store, in the field, in a pop-up window. shop, or anywhere your consumers are. While Loyverse’s POS features are basic, it’s the loyalty program that can make you a fan. You can use the emissions program to inspire visitor loyalty. And if consumers sign up, then they will have access to visitors’ preferences. , which can help you stay informed about the best products to offer. You can even send messages to consumers through the program (a great way to let your consumers know about an upcoming sale, for example).

To make Loyverse a more complete POS solution, you may need to subscribe to some paid add-on features. For $9 per month, you’ll be able to integrate e-commerce, marketing and accounting apps. Employee management and advanced inventory cost $25 per month each, but you can get a discount if you pay annually.

Loyverse doesn’t offer its own card reader, so you want to get one yourself. It also doesn’t offer built-in payment processing, but it does integrate with multiple processors, adding Worldpay, Zettle, and CardConnect (in North America).

Who uses it:

Loyverse’s POS mobile app is free, easy to use, and works on iOS and Android devices. In fact, it’s one of the most productive Android POS systems on the market. We love their built-in free loyalty program that can help you build loyalty. and with customers.

TouchBistro has all the features you’d probably want for your dining spot, food truck, or coffee shop. The mobile POS app allows you to take orders and invoices at the table or elsewhere. It includes many foodie-specific features, making it a great all-in-one POS solution for any restaurant business. For $69 per month, you can set up your floor plans, tables, and menus. There are also no additional costs related to staff control.

TouchBistro’s core equipment is complex compared to some of the more productive POS software. For example, stock control doesn’t just come with accurate counts and low stock alerts; You can keep track of the item’s point and save recipes, so you know what you have down to the serving point. The menu control feature comes with equipment for your servers to sell appetizers or desserts, for example.

To get the most complete POS system, you may need to opt for pricey add-ons from TouchBistro. You’ll have to pay $25 per month to be able to create and sell gift cards; marketing tools and a loyalty program cost $99 per month each; and online ordering will set you back $50 per month. To set up reservations through TouchBistro, you’ll pay $229 per month.

Who uses it:

Most restaurant POS systems are expensive because the features are specialized and necessary. TouchBistro offers basic and affordable software that will allow you to take orders and pay bills seamlessly, whether your customers are at your restaurant or at a festival.

Lightspeed offers a variety of traditional POS solutions depending on whether you have a restaurant or a retail business. We focus on the advertising edition of their mobile POS formula because it is one of the most productive POS formulas for retailers. You can use Lightspeed at your counter or with an iPad or iPhone to make sales. Pricing starts at $69 per month, if paid annually, but it will only give you basic features. To get the most out of Lightspeed, you may want to pay $119 per month or $199 per month (if paid annually).

Each plan includes Lightspeed’s feature: complex stock management. Includes supplier information, procurement orders, and low stock alerts. You can also use Lightspeed Payments for sales transactions. The fee is comparable to payment processing fees built in with other point of sale systems. You can get lower fill rates if you make high-volume sales and sign up for the enterprise level plan (quote only).

Aside from the expensive plans and limited functionality for low tiers, Lightspeed only works on iOS devices. It’s also worth noting that you’ll pay more if you don’t opt for Lightspeed payments—an additional $50 per month.

Learn more about what it has to offer with our Lightspeed POS review.

Who uses it:

Lightspeed is one of the most productive POS systems for iPad, basically due to its powerful physical stock system. It includes useful features, such as a loyalty program and eCommerce integration, but you want to upgrade to a more expensive plan for them.

Revel is a flexible mobile POS formula for many reasons, not just because it allows you to manage positions from a single formula. You can use it on an iPad to take orders at the table, set it up as a kiosk with an iPad stand that allows consumers to place their own orders, or accept online orders. It also works well for various types of businesses, adding retail establishments and restaurants.

Revel’s complex stock features allow you to manage complex inventories. This way, you can manage multiple SKUs, variables, or raw ingredients. Like other top-notch POS formulas with stock management, get low stock alerts, so you never oversell. Plus, you can turn your cellular POS formula into a handheld barcode scanner – use your phone with the Revel stock app to scan codes and temporarily update stock.

The price for Revel is a bit higher than other mobile POS solutions at $99 per month (if paid annually), but there are a few caveats. You’ll have to sign a three-year contract to get that price. Plus, there’s an onboarding fee that starts at $674. To be fair, Revel is a more complicated system, so you’ll likely be grateful for the installation and onboarding help. Revel offers its own payment processing solution, but despite what the company claims on its site, pricing isn’t transparent—no fees are published.

Learn more about what it has to offer with our Revel POS review.

Who uses it:

Revel is an expensive cellular POS system, but it can be worth it if you have outlets with inventories to manage. You’ll want to reach out to them to get a quote on hardware pricing and payment processing.

One of the things Vend excels at is offering an easy-to-use POS system. Its cellular POS is immediately intuitive and resembles its desktop counterpart. Anyone who has used a POS will be able to temporarily perceive how Vend works. Add stock to your phone call as a barcode scanner with the app or download a CSV for bulk inventories. Vend is well known for its loyalty program, which allows you to track customer acquisition history and award issues for each transaction.

If Vend’s values are similar to Lightspeed’s, well, that’s because Lightspeed owns Vend. Depending on the features you need, pay between $69 and $229 per month (paid annually). However, there are slight differences between the two payment structures. Vend’s Lean plan costs $69 per month or $99 per month; the increase in value is if you choose your own payment processor and not Lightspeed Payments. The Standard plan costs $119 per month or $149 per month and the Advanced plan costs $199 per month. with month or $229 consistent with month. Transaction payments remain the same as Lightspeed’s:

Who uses it:

Vend is an easy-to-use cellular POS formula that includes some additional features on top of the sleek POS solutions. It’s an option for small and medium-sized businesses that need built-in payment processing and a loyalty program.

There are many cellular POS features available and we have compared all the maximum productivity systems to locate the maximum productive from the maximum productive. Maximum productivity cellular POS systems deserve to be easy to use, affordable, and come with the features you want the most to run your business. We focused on a few key factors, such as price, compatibility, and built-in features. We looked at the smallest purposes to rank each cellular POS into the top five most sensible.

Here are some of the categories we used to rank the providers that were among the most sensible on the list.

Mobile POS options can range from completely free to nearly $200 per month. Although we didn’t deduct points from a POS system for having a fee, we did give more credit to those that offer a complete solution with no monthly cost.

In addition, small businesses arguably wouldn’t have to lower payment processing fees (especially startups), which is why we reward cellular POS systems that offer built-in payment processing. This accounted for 35% of our weighted score.

You want a mobile POS formula that allows you to do more than just accept payments. Therefore, we have classified the responses according to their characteristics. At the very least, you’ll expect stock management, but we’ve also thought of it as loyalty. Program features, menu management and CRM functions. At a minimum, we look to ensure that a mobile POS formula works on iOS or Android tablets and phones. The most productive mobile POS works for any of the operating formulas.

Other must-have features for a mobile POS formula are their ability to work with retail and restaurant operations, they’ve built in payment processing, and they integrate with a host of third-party software useful for stores and restaurateurs.

While our reviews mention a variety of features that appeal to small businesses, we’ve kept our testing consistent for those express features for each provider: Worker Self-Service Portal, HR Library, New Rent Reports, Third-Party Integrations , analysis and general ledger. We weight features at 35% of our overall score.

Based on our market research, our panel of experts turned to popular third-party review sites to gauge visitor sentiment on key metrics, such as popularity, price, ease of use, and notable or detailed features. These final criteria accounted for 30% of the overall score.

A point-of-sale formula is a software and hardware formula that businesses use to settle payments, track sales, manage inventory, and link them to other business formulas. With its reporting and analytics, business owners can also make informed decisions related to their business.

The POS formula for your business depends on a variety of factors, adding the type of business you have, your budget, and the features you need. In many situations, it makes sense to invest in the formula that you can afford, and preferably, the formula can grow with your business.

A cellular POS formula is a combination of your smartphone or tablet, a cellular POS app, and a web connection. It allows you to carry out outdoor sales transactions from a physical point of sale or from your online store.

You can use your phone as a point of sale if you have the right software. Square and Loyverse offer free POS software for both Android and iOS operating systems, so you can check them out to see what works for you.

As it stands, you need a credit card reader to process bills with its mobile POS app, but Apple will soon replace it. Apple has announced that it will incorporate a “tap” feature into your iPhone, so you can pay bills without the card reader hardware.

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