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Aside from standard ordering and payment capabilities, core point-of-sale (POS) features include inventory control, customer relationship management (CRM), reporting and analytics, and employee management. The most important features to you will depend on your business’s unique needs.
In 2025, top POS systems are more versatile than ever. As the cost of supplies increases and markets remain as competitive as ever, they continue to provide businesses with valuable ways to boost their efficiency and expand their bottom line. To help you get the most from your system, this guide breaks down seven POS features that you should be aware of.
We also break down some retail and restaurant-specific capabilities, advanced features, and notable POS integrations, to give your business the best possible chance of getting ahead.
Scroll down to learn about the top POS features, or use our quick comparison tool to get free custom quotes comparing the leading providers.
In this review:
What Are the Best POS Features?
- Inventory management
- Customer relationship management
- Employee management
- Flexible payment options
- Reporting and analytics
- Marketing tools
- Omnichannel selling
According to our research, these POS features deliver the most value to businesses, irrespective of size or sector, because of their ability to streamline tasks and unlock key opportunities for growth. Scroll down to learn about the tools and their benefits in greater depth.
1. Inventory management
Whether you run a pharmacy or a market stall, if your business handles any type of stock, inventory management will be one of the most important capabilities of your POS. Not only do these features let businesses track their stock in real-time, but they also help them to keep inventories safe, reduce waste, create future forecasts, and ensure they have the right amount of stock to meet demands.
The capacities of these features will vary by industry too, but we expand on this a little further down the page.
We found it easy to make inventory updates with EPOS Now thanks to its easy-to-navigate, feature-rich back office. Image: Tech.co testing
2. Customer relationship management (CRM)
If you intend to retain existing customers or expand your base, CRM features are a must. CRM-enabled POS systems can carry out a number of useful functions including storing customer data, producing actionable insights from consumer behavior, and incentivizing buyers with loyalty programs, perks, and exclusive offers.
Most POS systems include CRM features of some kind, but if you’re serious about growing your business we’d recommend using systems like Clover, as the provider’s loyalty program ‘Clover Rewards’ goes above and beyond, offering stand-out features like a mobile app for customers to customizable rewards (see below).
3. Employee management
Staff management features can ease the responsibilities of managers by carrying out a variety of functions like tracking staff time, creating shift schedules, monitoring employee activity, and even identifying high performers.
Not all POSs come stacked with employee software, so if you’re looking for a system that can help ease the burden of managing your team, we’d recommend opting for systems like Clover or Lightspeed.
Clover has an extensive range of employee permissions, so you can grant members of your staff team access to different parts of the software depending on their role. Image: Tech.co testing
4. Flexible payment options
While we’re on the cusp of becoming a cashless society, we aren’t there yet. So, to keep your business as inclusive as possible, choosing a POS system with multiple payment options should be a top priority.
Most systems let you take multiple forms of tender, including cash, mobile payment, and credit and debit cards. However, some providers, like Shopify, go above and beyond by letting customers use unique payment options such as touch-free links, QR codes, and gift cards.
We found it easy to generate gift card codes when testing Shopify. Image: Tech.co testing
Square, on the other hand, offers split-payment features and integrations with buy now, pay later tools like ClearPay, helping businesses attract a wider selection of customers and make even more money.
5. Reporting and analytics
Reporting and analytics give business owners insights on key metrics like which items are selling, which staff members are performing the best, and which products have the highest margins. By transforming POS data into visual analytics, these tools are an asset to any type of business but are especially useful for those looking to improve their efficiency and expand their bottom line.
Our research found that Clover and Square have some of the most impressive reporting options on the market. Clover’s granular insights in particular make it a great fit for businesses that like to learn from their sales data and use it to guide their operations.
6. Marketing tools
Getting your brand to reach its desired customer base can be a headache for business owners. POS marketing tools can be used to overcome this obstacle by offering users valuable ways to drive up sales — from letting them launch email marketing campaigns to integrating their software with buzzing social platforms.
Aside from offering marketing tools in-house, lots of systems boast integrations with major marketing software like MailChimp and HubSpot, but we’ll cover this more when we talk about common POS integrations.
7. Omnichannel selling
If your business sells across multiple channels at once, omnichannel selling features let you manage these sales from one centralized platform. This flexible solution also helps business owners manage a range of activities, including customer feedback to stock management, creating a unified shopping experience for all customers whether they’re shopping online or in-store.
Offering advanced capabilities like local pickup, local delivery, and ‘buy in-store, ship to customer’ features, Shopify POS is the best POS for omnichannel sellers. Square offers similar tools at a more modest price.
When Is It Time to Upgrade Your POS System?
The realistic life expectancy of a POS system is around five to seven years, but how do business owners know when it’s time for an upgrade?
The biggest reason to upgrade your POS is if your hardware and software are out of date, as outdated software and hardware can pose major risks to your business’s security and bottom line. Businesses should also consider upgrading their point-of-sale system if it no longer meets their evolving needs.
For example, if you’re looking to increase sales, manage employees, expand to other locations, or open up new revenue streams, and your current POS system doesn’t allow you to do so, it’s time to upgrade.
Industry-Specific POS Features to Look for
While some POS capabilities aren’t sector-specific, others have been designed to meet the needs of certain types of businesses. Here’s a quick summary of POS features that cater to retail and food service businesses.
Retail POS features
- Product lookup – Most retail stores handle vast inventories. Product lookup, or quick keys, is a shortcut that presents your most commonly sold items in a single view for easy access.
- Returns and refunds – If your store has a return and refund policy, it’s essential that you find a POS system that can carry out these functions.
- Barcode inventories – Barcode inventory systems allow stores to locate and keep track of products much more efficiently. These systems can rely on both 1D and 2D barcodes.
- Multi-store stock transfers – If your store has multiple branches, depots, or warehouses, stock transferring features allow you to move items between locations with ease.
- Stock notifications – Low-stock alerts notify retail managers when certain items are running out, helping them stay one step ahead of their inventory count.
- Cycle count tools – Cycle count features help managers ensure inventory counts are as accurate as possible by automating processes and analyzing the results of counts.
- Ecommerce integrations – 19% of global sales now take place online. If you’re looking to diversify your retail strategy, ecommerce add-ons let you process orders through multiple channels, directly from your POS.
Restaurant POS features
- Menu management – Menu management features let servers build and update menus, organize dishes into categories, and determine the best-selling products through menu engineering.
- Table-side ordering – If you manage a sit-down restaurant, table-side ordering features can be a game changer. They let servers log orders on the go through a portable tablet.
- Kitchen displays – Kitchen display systems displays communicate orders to kitchen staff in real-time, increasing efficiency and replacing the need for physical tickets.
- Table management – Table management tools let food businesses design and edit floor plans, manage reservations, and allocate orders to each table.
- Waste management – Waste management is an advanced inventory capability that helps managers minimize the amount of perishable stock that goes to waste, saving them money in the process.
- Bar tabs – If your business runs tabs, bar tab features offer a digital way to verify customer cards and keep a record of open tabs until the customers are ready to settle the payment.
- Take-out and delivery options – As the portion of food delivered online continues increasing every year, in-house delivery features let businesses assign drivers, track deliveries, and communicate with customers. If your chosen provider doesn’t offer these capabilities, we’d recommend exploring integrations with delivery giants like DoorDash or PostMates, instead.
What’s the Best POS System for Your Business?
After researching the ranking the leading POS providers, we found that Square is the best POS system for small businesses, since the system offers unbeatable value, a competitive feature stack, and a vast pool of third-party integrations. Due to the system’s versatility, we also found that Square was the best POS for retail businesses, too.
Not only that, but Square is our best-rated POS for restaurants. However, Toast is a close second, thanks in part to user-friendly software and a great free plan, while Clover has the best customer display screen customization out of all the system we’ve reviewed.
There are tons of capable POSs, though, so take a look at our table below to learn more about how the top systems compare:
| Starting price The typical lowest starting price. The lowest price available for your business will depend on your needs. | Best for Tech.co's verdict to help you identify the most suitable choice for your small business | Hardware | iPad app Is there a version of the software made specifically for iPad use? | Android app Is there a version of the software made specifically for Android tablet use? | 24/7 support | Key benefits | Drawbacks | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BEST OVERALL  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  | ||
| Free (with transaction fees) | Free (but transaction fees apply)
| Free (but transaction fees apply) | Free (but transaction fees apply) | ||||||
| Scaling and growing your business | Professional hardware | Speed, efficiency and data-driven sales insights | Managing in-store and online sales | Optimizing guest experiences | Driving repeat business and loyalty | Great value for money | Restaurants with complex operations | ||
| Sold by Square, separately or packaged with software. First card reader free. Also works with most leading brands. | Sells everything from full cash stations to mobile card readers. | Sells a range of in-house hardware, including iPad stands, card readers and kitchen display systems. | Sold by Shopify, but also works with iPads and Android tablets. | Works with a range of of third-party periperals. | Specialized hardware available. Not compatible with weighing scales. | Retails a range of hardware solutions including card readers and cash registers. | Sells an impressive line of its own products. All splash-proof. | ||
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Standard features
- Payment options
- Mobile apps
- Basic inventory management
- Customer management
- Loyalty programs
- User accounts and permission
- Basic reporting and analytics
- Employee management
- Basic marketing tools
Advanced features
- Omnichannel selling
- Perishable waste management
- Barcoded inventory
- Low stock alerts
- Staff performance tracking
- Shift management
- Appointment booking
- Menu and ingredient management
- Item modifiers
- Payroll capabilities
- Customizable reports
POS Integrations
If your chosen point-of-sale provider lacks features that your business needs, you can unlock other capabilities through POS integrations. These POS add-ons extend the use of your system even further by connecting your system with a range of tools from payroll and accounting to ecommerce.
Most POS integrations can be accessed through a provider’s dashboard or app store. While some integrations are free, certain services can cost businesses up to $300 per month. Therefore, it’s important to keep track of their price tags, so your costs don’t escalate too far.
We take our impartial research and analysis seriously, so you can have complete confidence that we're giving you the clearest, most useful recommendations. After identifying the most relevant, popular POS platforms on the market, we put them through their paces with hands-on testing to better understand their strengths and weaknesses.
In total, we put 16 POS systems to the test, with a vigorous research and testing methodology. We carried out 40 user testing sessions, which amounted to 720 hours of testing in total. In these sessions, participants were asked to carry out tasks on POS software and describe their user journey, to help us understand what it's like to use the systems first-hand. In addition to first-hand testing, we developed a detailed methodology that focuses on six categories of investigation, including criteria like software features and help and support centers.
These categories were broken down into a further 41 subcategories, so we were able to drill down further into certain topics, to make our insights as granular and useful as possible. Here’s an overview of our main testing categories for POS systems:
- Software features: The capabilities provided by the POS product. Includes general features like ordering and payment functionality, as well as industry-specific tools like KSU uploads, and inventory-level stock tracking KDS software.
- Hardware: The quality of a POS’s hardware selection. The presence of an own-brand terminal, as well as hardware accessories like kitchen display systems, receipt printers, and barcode scanners.
- Pricing: The cost associated with acquiring and using the POS system, such as the initial purchase cost, transaction fees, licensing fees, subscription plans, and any additional charges or ongoing costs.
- Ease of use: We test out the software to gauge how intuitive and easy to navigate it is. We also consider how easy the software is to navigate, and whether any errors took place during testing.
- Help & Support: The assistance and resources available to users when they encounter issues or need guidance while using the POS system, including documentation, tutorials, or knowledge bases.
- Customer satisfaction: The aggregate score from customer review sites like Trustpilot and TrustRadius, to understand how POS providers are viewed by their own customer bases.
When it comes to calculating a product's final score, not all testing areas are weighted evenly, as we know some aspects matter more to our readers than others, For example, we’ll prioritize certain industry-specific features for specific reviews, like an offline mode when reviewing POS systems for food trucks, or kitchen display systems (KDS) when reviewing restaurant POS systems.
At Tech.co, we have a number of full-time in-house researchers who re-run this testing process regularly to ensure our results remain reflective of the present day.
Top POS Features: Key Takeaways
Most POS systems include benchmark features like inventory management, CRM, employee management, marketing options, analytics, and omnichannel selling. More often than not, these features meet the needs of businesses. However, if you run a larger venture or have unique requirements, you may require more advanced capabilities like multi-stock transfers, waste management, and low-stock alerts.
By seeking POSs with these features, or bolstering your existing system through third-party integrations, you can give your business the best shot at success. If you’re ready to land on a POS system, you can use our free comparison tool to whittle down the competition today.
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