Starting my day early as a shop owner with several locations involves making sure all preparations are in location for a successful operation. It is crucial to improve procedures and collect information that help in making well-informed choices as part of our daily regimen.
and help you work out which version of’s point of sale system is ideal for you. Let’s dive in. OK, so there are two primary factors to utilize Lite. One– it lets you cost point of sale rapidly, and inexpensively. The key thing to understand about Lite is that it is bundled with every Shopify plan– there are no extra charges for using it. This implies that you can sell with Lite for just $5 monthly. It’s likewise extremely fast to establish. By contrast, is an add-on that costs $89 per
month, per location– indicating that if you desire to sell in more than one locationthan location simultaneously, things can get expensive pretty quickly. 2– it’s really simple to use. If all you wish to do is accept easy payments in one area, Shopify POS Lite lets you do that actually easily– all you’ll need truly is your phone and a card reader. By contrast, which is geared more towards retail outlets and multi-location selling,
may be overkill for merchants with standard POS needsneed. It will usually involve more setup and more hardware. But eventually, you may find yourself growing out of Lite quite rapidly– particularly if you plan to sell in more than one place at once. And that’s where the “plan can be found in. I’ll talk about the contexts in which can be the right fit for merchants in just a moment, but before I do,
What is the difference between Shopify and Square POS?
In the early morning, I log into to check stock levels across all locations. With its centralized dashboard, I can rapidly see which items are running low and need restocking. This saves me important time that I can designate to other aspects of handling business.
Shopify is a household name in the e-commerce market, taking pleasure in widespread recognition as the leading software application vendor worldwide. Established in 2006 by entrepreneur Tobias Lütke, the company was born out of a personal struggle to develop an online shop for snowboarding equipment. Identified to simplify the procedure, Lütke moved his focus from building an online shop to supplying first-class tools for retailers looking to establish their own e-commerce platforms.
‘s e-commerce software has enjoyed paralleled growth and gathered countless consumers around the world. By 2016, the company had almost $400 million in annual revenue, which 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 launching a Bluetooth-enabled debit and charge card reader for brick-and-mortar stores. Considering that then, it has developed more items and turned them into a significant source of revenue. The business is based in Ottawa, Canada.
Throughout the day, helps me handle deals effectively. Its user-friendly user interface enables my personnel to process orders swiftly, whether it’s at the checkout counter or on the shop floor using mobile phones. The integrated payment processing makes sure seamless deals, keeping our consumers happy.
Among the standout functions of is its robust analytics tools. I routinely evaluate sales reports and customer insights to identify patterns and customize our marketing efforts appropriately. The ability to create custom-made reports provides me a much deeper understanding of our company performance, enabling me to make data-driven choices.
Comparing to Square POS, the switch was driven by numerous aspects. While Square offered fundamental functionality, offered a more thorough option customized to the needs of multi-location organizations like ours. The ability to handle stock centrally, together with innovative analytics and reporting abilities, were crucial selling points.
In addition,’s community provided smooth combination with our online store, enabling us to handle stock and sales throughout all channels from one platform. This omnichannel approach has assisted us provide a combined shopping experience to our consumers, whether they’re going shopping in-store or online.
Overall, the switch to has actually been critical in enhancing our operations, enhancing effectiveness, and driving growth across our several places.
Pros:
Advanced stock management: Centralized stock tracking throughout several areas, making it easy to manage stock levels and restocking.
Robust analytics: Supplies detailed sales reports and customer insights to help make informed company decisions.
Smooth integration: Incorporates efficiently with’s ecommerce platform, enabling a merged online and offline retail experience.
Personalized: Deals flexibility to produce custom-made reports and customize the system to particular organization needs.
Cons: Not suitable for small companies or single-location operations, does not have features that cater to limited scale or scope.
Rates: includes a monthly subscription cost, which may be more costly than some other point-of-sale (POS) systems.
Ease of usage: While developed to be easy to use, mastering all the functions of might take some time for new users.
Compatibility: POS Pro might not be completely suitable with all third-party hardware, needing particular equipment purchases.
e-commerce plans:
$ 29 for Standard 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 prices for Shopify Plus.
All e-commerce prepares included POS Lite for offering in-person. Updating to Pro for brick-and-mortar organizations costs an extra $89 per location.
‘s alternative solutions for generally selling in-person:
$ 5 for Starter strategy, which consists of one Lite area.
$ 79 (when billed annually) for Retail plan, or $89 when paid monthly; consists of one Pro location.
How Much Does a POS System Cost?
Hardware cost
$ 49 for Tap & Chip card reader.
$ 219 for Tap & Chip countertop package (iPad not included).
$ 299 for Go mobile gadget.
$ 349 for terminal.
$ 459 and up for terminal countertop packages.
Contract length
No contract needed. Plans are paid month to month unless you sign up for an annual, two-year or three-year strategy.
Pros:
Free fundamental version: Square offers a free version of its system, making it accessible for little companies with restricted budget plans.
Basic setup: Square is known for its simple setup procedure, enabling companies to begin processing deals rapidly.
All-in-one service: Square uses additional services like payment processing, visit scheduling, and payroll, all incorporated into one platform.
Compatibility: Works with a vast array of third-party hardware, supplying more flexibility in choosing devices.
Consumer support: Square offers responsive client assistance via phone, email, and chat, helping businesses fix concerns efficiently.
Cons:
Minimal stock management: While appropriate for basic requirements, Square’s inventory management features might not be sufficient for services with complex requirements.
Standard analytics: Square’s reporting capabilities are not as comprehensive as’s, lacking some advanced analytics features.
Less scalable: Square may not be as appropriate for businesses with multiple areas or those preparing substantial growth, as it lacks some functions required for intricate operations.
Unlike Lite, the Pro version lets you sell in as many locations as you want. The disadvantage is that every location you contribute to a subscription brings an $89 each month charge with it But this will just represent a small percentage of a successful retail operation’s outgoings, and the ‘per location, each month’ method to rates suggests that the Pro plan is flexible and scalable. Two– it gives you a lot more control over how your staff use. If you wish to reward personnel for their efficiency,
provide different access rights to your system, or appoint various roles to them, then is a much better option than the ‘Lite’ version. It provides you a truly vast array of tools for managing your group’s relationship with your system. Three– it offers you a lot more customer-focused functions. Lite lets you accept payments from your clients inexpensively and just, but that has to do with it. By contrast, lets you do a lot more for your clients. Unlike the ‘Lite’ variation, it.
The Go is an all-in-one terminal that includes a card reader and barcode scanner. You can use the scanner to instantly spot the cost of a product and the card reader to get the cash from the customer. This device accepts tap, chip, and swipe payments. It has a 5.5-inch high-definition screen and a long battery life to ensure you can utilize it for a whole service day after a full charge.
The smaller card reader lets you accept tap and chip payments from clients however not swipe. It connects wirelessly to a tablet or through Bluetooth to a cellphone. It is compact and simple to deal with, implying it is ideal for companies that run on the go, e.g., farmer’s markets.
Shopify Payments
offers a payments processing service that lets you charge money to all major debit and charge card. Your clients can place their cards, tap them, or swipe them depending upon the kind of hardware you selected. There’s also Tap to Pay, which lets you accept payments on your iPhone without any additional hardware. The rates is transparent– between 2.4% and 2.7% on each effective transaction– without any covert costs or setup charges.
Inventory Management
Among the significant discomfort points that merchants face is managing their stock; knowing which items are readily available at an offered time and the costs for each of them. The advantage is that provides functions to assist.
You can take stock of each item and assign items to different places and channels utilizing’s software. You can likewise perform precise inventory counts with your barcode scanner after getting goods. You can set the system to inform you if a product is lacking stock or to supply sale product recommendations. Likewise, you can get in-depth reports to track your sales; what products are offering much faster, what items aren’t selling, which items should be restocked, etc synchronizes among the industry’s best point-of-sale systems with the e-commerce platform. With the app, you can offer your product and services face to face and online. Take orders from clients,
Once you have a plan, you can download the app– offered for iOS and Android devices. Using the app, you’ll be able to visit and start personalizing your system. If you’re selling personally, you can either utilize Tap to Pay on iPhone or purchase hardware, and you’ll be ready to begin taking customer orders.
is finest for services that:
Want to take advantage of’s e-commerce features. While does provide 2 simple plans for business’s that primarily sell personally or on social networks, the bulk of its offerings are for omnichannel sellers who want to build a customized online shop using.
Offer online and personally. is enhanced for selling across online shops, social media channels and brick-and-mortar shops. The impressive lineup of functions is perfect for omnichannel sellers.
Prefer to utilize a single company for and payment processing. Payments is included with all regular monthly strategies to process online transactions in addition to in-person payments. You can use a third-party supplier, such as Amazon Pay, Authorize.net or Braintree, to process payments. Your rates will likely differ from what Shopify Payments charges if you work with a third-party processor, nevertheless, and Shopify will charge you an extra transaction fee for not utilizing its internal item.
Deciding elements
Clover offers options for e-commerce businesses and in-person shops to let organizations select the combination they need. functions vary by month-to-month strategy. More pricey regular monthly strategies include advanced inventory and reporting capabilities.