Sales & Commerce
Accept payments, manage checkout, track inventory, sell online, and understand what is moving across locations.
What's changing
POS systems are increasingly judged by omnichannel inventory, not just card processing.
Restaurant tools now bundle ordering, kitchen routing, tips, and loyalty into the core workflow.
Mobile-first sellers need offline mode and hardware flexibility before loyalty extras.
Top picks
Best for retailers, restaurants, mobile vendors, and service counters that need reliable checkout and inventory visibility.
| Product | Best for | Action |
|---|---|---|
| Square POS A fast, flexible starting point for many small retailers, service counters, markets, and mobile sellers. | Fast setup and mobile sellers | Read notes |
| Toast Built around restaurant operations: ordering, menus, kitchen workflows, tips, and staff permissions. | Restaurants and cafes | Read notes |
| Shopify POS The cleanest choice when your website, inventory, and in-person checkout need to work together. | Retailers selling online and in store | Read notes |
How we chose
We evaluate each product against the criteria below and publish the tradeoffs that matter to smaller teams. Numeric ratings stay hidden until a documented scoring model is available.
Checkout reliability and offline mode
Payment processing flexibility
Inventory and menu management
Hardware cost and setup effort
Reporting, staff permissions, and integrations
Product reviews
A fast, flexible starting point for many small retailers, service counters, markets, and mobile sellers.
Built around restaurant operations: ordering, menus, kitchen workflows, tips, and staff permissions.
The cleanest choice when your website, inventory, and in-person checkout need to work together.
Buyer's guide
Start with the workflow you need every week, then evaluate price. Cheap software gets expensive when your team avoids it or your data becomes hard to trust.
Write down the job the software must do every week.
Check the integrations you cannot operate without.
Test the mobile workflow if your team works away from a desk.
Compare the first-year total cost, including add-ons and hardware.
Pick the tool with the fewest workarounds for your business model.
Software picker
Start with the description that sounds most like your business, then compare the workflow tradeoffs before buying.
Square POS
Toast
Shopify POS
FAQ
Pick the workflow first. If checkout, inventory, and staff controls fit your business, then compare the payment terms behind it.
Offline mode. If your internet fails during a rush, offline payments and local order capture can matter more than loyalty features.