Shopify POS Review

Increasingly, businesses are abandoning the traditional cash register in favor of point-of-sale (POS) systems. POS systems help companies process a broader range of payments, improve inventory management and simplify operations.

Shopify's POS system, which pairs with the Shopify e-commerce platform, is a great choice for businesses that want to sell online and in person. In this article, we review Shopify POS to help you decide if it's a good option for your business.

Best for multi-channel retail

Shopify is known for its e-commerce platform, but it also offers one of the best POS systems for a variety of businesses. Shopify POS is a cloud-based system and an excellent option for multi-channel retail selling, making it great for online and offline sales. You can also sell through apps, social media platforms and emails.

The Shopify POS system allows you to take orders from customers, accept various payments and sync your transactions across multiple channels from a single dashboard. Shopify POS is also great for tracking your inventory, processing orders and viewing your Shopify sales data across retail locations and online stores.

Pros explained

Shopify POS offers many beneficial features compared to other POS systems. Its main advantages are the excellent user experience, customizable payment options and flexible plans.

Excellent user experience

Whether you're new to e-commerce or have extensive technical experience, you won't need much training to put Shopify POS to use. It has a user-friendly interface that makes setup and navigation easy so you and your staff can focus on processing sales and managing relationships with customers.

Customizable payment options

Shopify POS allows for customizable payment options for customers, which is a step up from most of its competitors. You can decide which payment options you would like to include, such as credit and debit cards, gift cards and Apple Pay.

Shopify POS can also accept partial payments and deposits, allowing you to better serve both your offline and online customers.

Flexible plans

Shopify POS allows you to choose from four different compatible plans (which we explain in detail below) and switch between them as your business grows.

For instance, you can purchase the Basic Shopify plan to start. As you gain experience and scale your business, you can upgrade to a plan with more features and accounts to accommodate your business's expansion.

Cons explained

While there are many benefits to the Shopify POS, there are areas where it could use some improvement. Some of the shortcomings include less-than-ideal analytic capabilities and extra fees.

Less-than-ideal analytic capabilities

Shopify POS includes analytic tools that give product reports and track sales, orders and customer patterns. Although access to these analytics is helpful, the reports are not as robust compared to competitor systems.

For best results, you can pair Shopify POS with an analytics system that specializes in tracking internet traffic, such as Google Analytics.

Extra fees

If you don't use Shopify Payments as your exclusive payment processor, you will need to pay extra fees. All Shopify plans charge additional fees per transaction. The more you pay for the plan, the lower the transaction fee. Per transaction, the Basic Shopify plan charges a 2% fee, the Shopify plan charges a 1% fee and the Advanced Shopify plan charges 0.5%.

Shopify POS plans and offerings

You need to buy a Shopify e-commerce subscription plan to use the Shopify POS system. Shopify POS offers several different plans to meet the needs of its diverse range of merchants.

All Shopify plans except the Starter plan come with Shopify POS Lite, which includes:

• Unlimited product inventory and tracking
• Brand management and analytics capabilities
• Individual staff logins

Upgrading your POS from Lite to Shopify POS Pro will cost an additional $89 per month per location.

Shopify POS Pro's additional features include:

• Smart inventory management that forecasts needs based on previous sales
• Low stock alerts
• Unlimited registers
• In-store analytics
• Staff permissions and manager approval settings

Shopify Starter plan

The Shopify Starter plan is an excellent option for merchants just starting out or testing a business idea.

The Starter plan offers basic analytics and order management. The Starter plan does not include an online store or Shopify POS but allows you to sell your products through social media platforms, SMS, forums and email.

Basic Shopify plan

The Basic Shopify plan is the platform's best option for smaller-scale businesses in need of the Shopify POS system. The Basic Shopify plan includes a website with an e-commerce store and a blog, plus the POS Lite. Some of the other Basic Shopify plan features include:

• Basic financial reports
• Currency conversion capabilities
• Customer segmentation
• Discounts on shipping
• In-person payments
• Omnichannel selling
• Order management
• In-store inventory tracking
• Invoicing
• Custom discounts
• Up to four inventory locations
• Gift cards
• Two staff accounts

With the Basic Shopify plan, credit card rates are 2.9% plus $0.30 for online transactions and 2.7% with no additional fee for in-person transactions.

The Shopify plan

The Shopify plan is a more professional option than the Basic Shopify plan. It includes all of the features of the Basic Shopify plan with a few added benefits, including:

• Up to five staff accounts
• Discounted payment processing
• Standard reporting
• Additional shipping discounts

The credit card rates for the Shopify plan are 2.6% plus $0.30 for online purchases and 2.5% with no money added for in-person sales.

The Advanced Shopify plan

The Advanced Shopify plan includes all of the features in the Shopify plan, with additional features such as:

• 15 staff accounts
• Up to 8 inventory locations
• Advanced reporting
• Custom report builder

The Advanced Shopify plan includes the lowest transaction fees of the standard plans, with credit card rates at 2.4% plus $0.30 for online purchases and 2.4% and no additional fees for in-person transactions.

The Shopify Plus plan

The Shopify Plus plan is the most expensive plan available. It is an enterprise-level plan designed for high-volume merchants. In addition to the plan's monthly cost, you'll also give Shopify a percentage of your store's monthly sales and other extra fees.

The Shopify Plus plan offers impressive support options. If you subscribe to the Shopify Plus plan, you will have access to a merchant success program. A merchant success manager will be available to help you to ensure that your store runs smoothly. You will also have access to Shopify Plus Academy, which offers advanced resources such as courses and webinars that will help you improve your business.

Other important features offered by the Shopify Plus plan include:

• Unlimited staff accounts
• Automated workflows
• Discounts and shipping rates
• More integration features
• Tax automation

The Shopify Plus plan has transaction fees if you use an external payment gateway over Shopify Payments. Domestic transaction fees amount to 2.15% with an additional $0.30 added. International transaction fees are more expensive at 3.15%, with $0.30 added.

Shopify POS pricing

The pricing of a Shopify POS system varies depending on the Shopify POS hardware, additional features and plan you choose.

Note that if you want advanced financial capabilities but don't want a higher-tier Shopify plan, you may want to invest in the best accounting software for small businesses to keep track of your expenses.

The Shopify Starter plan does not include POS capabilities and costs $5 per month.

The other plans can integrate the Shopify POS system and come at monthly rates of:

• $29 for the Basic Shopify plan
• $79 for the Shopify plan
• $299 for the Advanced Shopify plan
• $2,000 for the Shopify Plus plan

All plans with Shopify POS capabilities come with a free subscription to Shopify POS Lite. Upgrading to a Shopify POS Pro monthly subscription costs $89 per location.

Shopify POS pairs with iOS or Android devices, but Shopify POS hardware is also available. Available hardware ranges from Shopify card readers to cash drawers to printers, which are available on the Shopify website. Prices range from $49 for a card reader to $499 for a label printer.

Shopify financial stability

As a publicly listed company, Shopify has financial transparency and is accountable to its shareholders. It boasts a strong track record, giving merchants confidence in the stability and longevity of the company.

The company's financing arm, Shopify Capital, has also seen continued growth and has funded over $4.3 billion in cumulative capital since its launch in 2016.

Shopify POS accessibility

Shopify POS is available on various devices, including tablets, smartphones and desktop computers. It also offers support for a wide range of languages and currencies, making it accessible to merchants worldwide.

Availability

The versatility of Shopify POS hardware is one of its major advantages, as it can connect to various platforms, including iOS and Android devices. You can also access it on desktop computer browsers.

Using the Shopify point-of-sale app on mobile devices gives you a system that is easily portable, making it perfect for pop-up shops, outdoor markets and traditional brick-and-mortar stores.

Contact information

Shopify POS offers several ways to get in touch with its customer service team. You can contact Shopify via a live chat feature on the Shopify website. You can also send an email to support@shopify.com or call its US customer support line at 1-888-746-7439.

Alternatively, Shopify responds to messages on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook.

User experience

Shopify POS is easy to use, even for users that aren't tech-savvy. The interface is intuitive, and the setup process is straightforward.

Positive online reviews say Shopify POS helps streamline their point-of-sale processes and makes their retail business operations more efficient. However, some negative user reviews noted connectivity issues between the software and hardware and too many forced updates.

Shopify POS customer satisfaction

There are no reviews for Shopify POS on the Better Business Bureau or Trustpilot websites. However, Shopify Inc. has an A+ rating from the BBB. Reviews from users on the App Store gave Shopify POS 4.5 out of 5 stars. Users reviewing the app on Google Play gave the app 3.5 out of 5 stars.

How we evaluated Shopify POS

To evaluate Shopify POS, we looked at its features, customer reviews, ease of use, availability, prices and support options compared to its competitors.

Summary of Money's Shopify POS review

Shopify POS is a solid option for merchants looking for a reliable and reputable retail POS system. It is available on iOS and Android devices and through desktop computer browsers allowing for use in various settings like retail stores, pop-up shops and events. Try out Shopify POS and see if it is right for your business.

If you think a POS could help your business grow but you're currently lacking the funds, you may benefit from researching the best small business loans.