Five kinds of point of sale sit behind this search: general small business systems, restaurant tills, retail and stock systems, payments-first card readers and free apps. Match the kind to what happens at your counter, then run a real day's sales, refunds and stock changes through two systems of that kind before you switch.
Clover pairs a POS system with card readers from a small business card processor, so leaving it usually means replacing two things at once: the till your staff use and the way you take card payments. The ten systems below cover both, sorted by the kind of business each one is built around.
Five kinds of till, and the businesses behind them
General small business
Square and SumUp are built for small merchants selling in person, the first also covering online sales and staff, the second starting from a business app and a card reader.
Restaurants and hospitality
TouchBistro is the one built purely for restaurants. Epos Now and Poster POS cover hospitality too, and the second runs on iPad or Android tablets you may already own.
Retail and stock
Shopify POS ties shop-floor sales into an online store's inventory and checkout, which makes sense if you already sell online that way and want one stock list.
Payments first
Zettle and Stripe Terminal start from taking the payment. One is a card reader and POS for card, contactless and mobile payments; the other is in-person payment hardware and software that a developer shapes around your checkout.
Free to start
Loyverse offers a free mobile POS for sales, stock and staff, which helps a small shop that wants to try a system before committing to hardware.
Where these tills shine, and their weak spots
Every system here is strongest at the job it was built around, and that's also where its gaps tend to be. Read this as a pattern across the category, drawn from how each maker describes its own product, not as a judgement on any one tool.
Payments-first readers are the quickest way to start taking cards, since that's what they lead with. Their weak spot is everything around the payment. If you need table plans, stock counts or staff rotas, check whether the system covers them or whether you'll be bolting something else on.
Restaurant systems are built around how a kitchen and dining room work, and some add online ordering. Their downside for a shop is the reverse: a retailer needs variants, stock and supplier detail far more than table management.
Developer-built payments give you the most control over checkout, which is useful if you've got someone to build it. Without that person, it's the wrong place to begin.
Free and app-led systems make it easy to try before you commit. Read what each free plan includes, and what happens to your data and hardware if you outgrow it.
What's changed behind two familiar names
Two names you might expect on a list like this have moved. Vend, which used to be a standalone retail POS, now sits under Lightspeed as its Retail (X-Series) product, so if a friend recommends Vend, that's the product you'd be looking at today. Revel Systems' own domain now redirects to a Shift4 food and beverage page, so it isn't listed here as itself.
The lesson for anyone switching tills is simple. Before you order hardware, open each vendor's own site, check the product still exists under the name you were given, and confirm the card reader you'd be buying is the one that's sold now.
Ten tills in a grid, then A to Z
The grid is a quick scan. Underneath, each system gets one line, in no particular order beyond the alphabet.
| Tool | Kind of system | Built around |
|---|---|---|
| Epos Now | Retail and hospitality POS | Shops and hospitality venues |
| Lightspeed | Retail and hospitality POS | Retail, restaurants and golf |
| Loyverse | Free mobile POS | Small shops on a mobile device |
| Poster POS | Tablet-based cloud POS | Businesses using iPad or Android tablets |
| Shopify POS | Retail POS | Shops already selling with Shopify |
| Square | POS and payments | Selling in person and online |
| Stripe Terminal | Developer-built in-person payments | Teams with a developer to hand |
| SumUp | Payments and POS for small business | Small merchants starting with a card reader |
| TouchBistro | Restaurant POS | Restaurants wanting online ordering too |
| Zettle | Payments-first POS | Card and contactless payments first |
Epos Now
Best for: Retail and hospitality businesses wanting a cloud-based point of sale, which is how the vendor describes its system.
Lightspeed
Best for: Retailers, restaurants and golf businesses, with the vendor pointing to its inventory tools and insights.
Loyverse
Best for: Small shops tracking sales, stock and staff from a mobile POS that the vendor offers free.
Poster POS
Best for: Running a cloud till on tablets, since the vendor says it works on both iPad and Android.
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Shopify POS
Best for: Retailers who want in-store sales tied into Shopify inventory and checkout.
Square
Best for: Selling in person, online and across a team of staff, with point of sale and payments from one provider.
Stripe Terminal
Best for: Developers building custom in-person payments, with hardware and software they can adapt to their own checkout.
SumUp
Best for: Small merchants after card readers, a POS system and a business app; the vendor says you can start for free with the app.
TouchBistro
Best for: Restaurants, since it's a POS and management system built for them, with commission-free online ordering according to the vendor.
Zettle
Best for: Taking card, contactless and mobile payments, with the vendor describing a POS system with special PayPal powers.
A Saturday rehearsal before the switch
Take your two finalists and give each one a rehearsal on the busiest kind of day you have, before any customer sees it.
- Ring up your most common items, including one with a variant such as size or colour
- Take a card payment, a contactless payment and a refund
- Split a bill or apply a discount, whichever your counter does most
- Count stock on one product line and see how it updates after a sale
- Close the day and read the end-of-day report your accountant would want
- Ask a member of staff who's never seen it to serve a pretend customer
Changing tills without closing the shop
Don't switch in your busiest week. Move on a quieter day, keep your old card reader working until the new one has taken a full week of real sales, and make sure your stock list has been imported and checked before the first customer walks in.
Hardware is the slow part, so order early and test it on your own counter and network. For more on this category, my guide to the best POS systems for small business goes wider, and if you'd rather start on a free plan, have a look at these free POS systems.
Do you make POS or card payment software? Tool makers can ask to be considered for a featured place on this list.
Want your tool on this list? Featured spots and reviews here are paid partnerships. Here's how to partner with me.
Frequently asked questions
Can I keep my card reader if I change POS?
Usually not, because most systems pair with their own readers or a short list of approved ones. Check the hardware list on the new vendor's site before you plan the switch.
What's the difference between a POS and a card reader?
A card reader takes the payment. A POS runs the sale around it: items, stock, staff, receipts and reports. Some products here are mostly one, and some are both.
Is a free POS enough for a small shop?
It can be for a single counter with simple stock. Check what the free plan includes and how you'd move up later without starting again.
What kind of system suits a cafe?
A restaurant or hospitality system usually fits better than a retail one, because it's built around orders, tables and the kitchen. A small takeaway counter may manage with a general small business system.
How do I move my product list across?
Export it from your current system as a spreadsheet, tidy it, then import it into the new one. Check variants, barcodes and tax settings on a handful of items before you trust the rest.
What happens to a cloud POS when the internet drops?
Cloud systems lean on a connection for most things, so ask each vendor what happens mid-sale when it drops, and test it before you rely on it.
