Disclaimer: Nothing in this article should be construed as legal, financial or tax advice. Please always consult a knowledgeable professional advisor.
Whether you are running a small shop, restaurant, or selling from your home or studio, having a good point of sale (POS) set up can make things so much easier for you and your customers.
A good point of sale system is so much more than a traditional till or cash register too. Having simple to use POS software can help manage payments made in-store and online, plus seating, kitchen orders, stock levels and even pickup and delivery. What makes all this even more seamless for your customers and business are the accessories, such as coupling your physical POS with a printer or till with a scanner.
Here is our pick of the best Square POS software, features and physical accessories and why you should consider them for your business.
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Best for managing inventory
When it comes to a POS system with inventory capabilities, the Square POS for Retail is the perfect resource. It features multiple inventory management capabilities, giving all retailers a centralised piece of software to track stock and sales numbers. There is loads of functionality packed into this POS with inventory management, from managing and categorising stock, to processing vendor orders when you are running low. It even allows you to enter and print barcodes to label your stock.
Plus, while some POS software systems charge fees to use them, all Square POS systems have no monthly subscription fee, you just pay when you make a sale. This allows you to download and run whichever one you want, with no long-term commitments. All you need is a compatible physical point of sale device and optional payment hardware, like a card reader.
Best hardware for customer display
With Square Register, you get a physical POS with customer display and sales display for you and your staff. The sales display allows you to process payments effortlessly, using touch screen technology that gives you all the information you need. This screen is synced with the customer display, showing them clearly what they are buying at the point of sale. Customers can then easily pay and tip on screen in just a few taps.
Plus the customer display can be removed from its port on the Square Register, making it more flexible and convenient to process sales and take payments anywhere around your store.
Best hardware for in-store scanning
If you don’t need a scale to sort out your pricing, then you could still benefit from syncing your shop till with a scanner. The Square USB barcode scanner plugs into your setup easily, giving you a POS with a barcode scanner that is fast and reliable. All of this allows you to process sales quicker and more efficiently by being able to scan with a handheld device. Plus if you need to be even more flexible there’s a wireless version too.
Best ways to partner your POS with a printer
With Square, you get three different choices of in-store receipt printer, all of them super simple to set up, straight out of the box. First, there’s either the USB Receipt Printer or the Ethernet Printer. The USB printer connects directly into your Square Stand and the Ethernet Printer plugs into your wireless router so you can print receipts straight from your Wi-Fi connected Square Reader. All you need to do is place some till roll inside and plug them in to start printing. Plus if you’re stuck for space they both come with handy mounts to keep them out of the way. If you’ve got a small store or just want to keep your space as sleek as possible, then there is also a Bluetooth Receipt Printer, which allows you to wirelessly connect your POS system with a printer. All you need to do is find somewhere out of the way to plug it in for power.
For restaurants and cafes you can also connect your POS with a printer that prints kitchen orders. Again, the Kitchen Printer plugs directly into your wireless router but it is also designed to be compact, making it perfect for placing out of the way on a busy countertop.
Best accessories for making sure cash is secure
Whatever method you use to work out prices and ring things through the till, you will need to be able to take payments and take them securely. If you’re taking sales through Square card readers which have built-in security, you should consider partnering your POS with a cash drawer. The USB version plugs straight into our till and automatically opens every time you complete a cash sale. The printer version does exactly the same but syncs with your receipt printer instead. And both drawers come with a spare set of keys, just in case!
Whatever size or type of small business you run, your in-store point of sale can be boosted by these and more of the Square POS systems, features and accessories. Whether you are using Square Register, or running things through an iPad-powered Square Stand, having the right POS set up can help centralise your business transactions and operations using the right mix of hardware and software. It’s the easiest way to take payments, run your business efficiently and manage everything, all from one place.