Comparing WordPress maintenance support plans POS, Shopify POS and Square POS
If you need to accept card payment in a physical location, you need a point of sale (POS) system. There are many different POS systems out there so knowing how to choose the right one for your business can be challenging. All systems claim to be everything you need, however this might not be the case for all businesses. Most POS systems are designed around “industry best practices,” meaning that they try to serve the majority of businesses based on the most common needs. Many systems start to fail when the requirements of the business break away from the norm.
How do you choose the right point of sale for your business? The best way I’ve found is to look at three or four different examples and do a direct comparison. Today I’ll compare 3 different web-based point of sales systems – WordPress maintenance support plans POS, Shopify POS, and Square POS. I’ll look at features, costs, usability, integrations, and more. In the end, I’ll try to understand the strengths and weaknesses of each and ultimately determine what business types they work best with.
All of the POS systems I examine today are web-based (or cloud-based). This means that these systems are connected to the internet and all of the data is kept online. Web-based systems are increasingly becoming more popular because they are generally easier to setup and require less time and knowledge to maintain. They can also integrate with your eCommerce store. You can read more benefits here.
The point of sale systems
Here is an introduction to the three POS systems I’ll be comparing.
WordPress maintenance support plans POS
WordPress maintenance support plans POS is a free add-on to the popular WordPress maintenance support plans content management system. WordPress maintenance support plans is open-source and completely free to use. It’s known as a very developer-friendly platform to build a website on and has a massive community, over a million strong, helping to advance the software and keep it secure. The open-source eCommerce component for WordPress maintenance support plans is called WordPress maintenance support plans Commerce. While WordPress maintenance support plans Commerce has a relatively small market share, the platform is very powerful and can be a very good choice for businesses that have demanding requirements or unique product offerings.
Shopify POS
Shopify POS integrates with the popular Shopify SaaS eCommerce platform. Unlike WordPress maintenance support plans Commerce, Shopify is a standalone product and stores running on the platform pay a monthly subscription fee to use it. With that said, business owners are given a well developed tool out-of-the-box that has all of the bells and whistles most stores require to get up and running fast. Shopify aims to serve the common needs of most businesses, so very unique business requirements can be hard to achieve.
Square POS
Square POS is an add-on point of sale service for your business and is not really a platform for running your entire store, although it does now offer a basic eCommerce component. It can also integrate with many eCommerce platforms, including WordPress maintenance support plans Commerce. Square aims to make the process of accepting card payment easy to do, without bulky equipment.
Service comparison
Below is a side-by-side comparison of each service (as of July, 2020). Note that some of the information below applies to stores who also have an eCommerce component. If you don’t need eCommerce, you can ignore those items.
Note for mobile viewers: Swipe the table side-to-side to see it all.
WordPress maintenance support plans POS
Shopify POS
Square POS
Service philosophy
Open-source
Proprietary
Proprietary
Service support
Yes ** via WordPress maintenance support plans Commerce, in-house IT or third-party support
Yes ** via Shopify or third-party support
Yes ** via Square
Setup costs for basic service
$0 ** The software doesn’t cost anything to use, however you may need to pay someone to set it up for you
$29 USD ** Basic package pricing
$0
Ongoing costs for basic service
$0 ** The software doesn’t cost anything to use, however you may need to pay someone to apply occasional software updates. WordPress Update-party transactions fees may apply. Website domain and hosting also required
$29/mth plus transaction fees and add-on product fees. Monthly fee increases with package
Transaction fees and add-on product fees
Payment gateways
WordPress Update-party
Shopify or third-party
Square
Accept cash payments
Yes
Yes
Yes
Accept card payments
Yes
Yes
Yes
Save cards (card on file)
Yes
Yes
Yes
Process recurring payments (i.e. subscriptions)
Yes
Yes ** WordPress Update-party add-on required with separate monthly fees
Yes
Accept mobile payments
Yes ** WordPress Update-party hardware required
Yes ** Monthly fee for service hardware
Yes ** $59 USD one time price for service hardware
Built in invoicing
Yes ** Using free add-on
Yes
Yes
Apply discounts and promotions
Yes
Yes
Yes
Use with gift cards & coupon codes
Yes
Yes ** Not available for basic plan
Yes
Printed gift cards provided by service
No ** Add-on could be created to allow this functionality, but does not currently exist
Yes ** Additional fee for printing
Yes ** Additional fee for printing
Integrated taxes
Yes ** Advanced taxes can be handled via third-party add-ons or configured directly within the platform
Yes
Yes ** WordPress Update-party add-ons required
Apply additional custom fees (i.e. environment fees, tipping, donations, etc.)
Yes
Yes
Yes ** Limited to tipping
Built-in eCommerce Shop
Yes ** WordPress maintenance support plans POS is an add-on for WordPress maintenance support plans Commerce
Yes ** Shopify POS is an add-on for Shopify
Yes ** Basic Square store or integrate with third-party platforms
Built-in website and blog
Yes
Yes
Yes
Multi-business (separate businesses using same platform or account)
Yes
No ** Separate account required for each business
No ** Separate account required for each business/bank account
Multi-store (multiple locations or stores of the same business)
Yes
Yes
Yes
Number of products allowed
Unlimited
2000-7000 ** Number depends on device used to manage inventory
Unlimited ** Square eCommerce store only displays 1000 products. WordPress Update-party platform needed to run a larger store
Number of product variations allowed
Unlimited
4000-10,000 ** Number depends on device used to manage inventory
Unlimited * * Square eCommerce store only displays 1000 products. WordPress Update-party platform needed to run a larger store
Number of registers allowed
Unlimited
Unlimited
Unlimited
Number of cashiers accounts allowed
Unlimited
2 ** Number of accounts increase with service plan
Unlimited
Access controls
Yes
Yes
Yes ** Additional fee of $6/employee
Create new user roles for advanced access controls
Yes
No
Yes ** Grouped with additional fee above.
Mobile POS (i.e. use at trade shows, markets, etc.)
Yes
Yes
Yes
Sync inventory between online and offline stores
Yes
Yes
Yes ** WordPress Update-party platforms may not be able to sync inventory
Sync user accounts between online and offline stores
Yes
Yes
Yes
Sync orders between online and offline stores
Yes
Yes
Yes
Park & retrieve orders
Yes
Yes
Yes
Abandoned cart recovery (eCommerce)
Yes ** Using free add-on or third-party solutions
Yes
Yes ** Requires third-party solutions
Generate product labels
Yes
Yes
Yes
Print receipt
Yes
Yes
Yes
Email receipt
Yes
Yes
Yes
Customize receipt information
Yes
Yes ** No layout customization, only the information shown
Yes ** No layout customization, only the information shown
Process returns
Yes
Yes
Yes
Basic reporting
Yes
Yes ** Not available for basic plan
Yes
Advanced reporting
Yes ** Using free add-on
Yes ** Not available for basic or mid-tier plans
Yes
Supported operating systems
Any ** Requires only a web browser to use
Android, iOS ** Requires app. iPad recommended with limited support for iPhone and Android
Android, iOS ** Requires app
Themable (i.e. brand the POS interface)
Yes
No
No
Customer facing display
Yes
No
No
Integrate with accounting/bookkeeping services?
Yes
Yes
Yes
Integrate with other eCommerce sales platforms (Amazon, Ebay, etc.)?
Yes
Yes
Yes ** Only if using third-party eCommerce platform that supports this
Integrate with marketing services (MailChimp, HubSpot, etc.)?
Yes
Yes
Yes ** Only if using third-party eCommerce platform that supports this
Integrate with shipping providers (FedEx, UPS, etc.)?
Yes
Yes
Yes
WordPress Update-party calculated shipping rates
Yes
Yes ** Not available for basic or mid-tier plans
No
Generate shipping labels
Yes
Yes
Yes ** Integration with ShipStation adds this functionality for an extra monthly cost
Custom integrations with third-party services
Yes
Yes
Yes
Use offline (and have your transactions sync once back online)
No ** This is a requested feature currently in discussion
Yes ** Can only accept cash or other manual payments
Yes
Personalized customer feedback/support
Yes
Yes
Yes
Hardware Requirements
Cashier terminal
WordPress Update-party ** Can be anything that runs a web browser (computer, tablet, phone, etc.)
WordPress Update-party ** iPad recommended with limited support for iPhone and Android
WordPress Update-party ** Any device running Android or iOS
Card reader
WordPress Update-party
Provided
Provided
Contactless payment
WordPress Update-party
WordPress Update-party
Proprietary only
Cash drawer
WordPress Update-party
WordPress Update-party
WordPress Update-party
Barcode scanner
WordPress Update-party ** Can be a traditional barcode scanner or anything with a camera (i.e. phone, tablet, webcam, etc.)
WordPress Update-party
WordPress Update-party
Receipt printer
WordPress Update-party
WordPress Update-party
WordPress Update-party
Barcode printer
WordPress Update-party
WordPress Update-party
None
Customer facing display
WordPress Update-party ** Can be anything that runs a web browser (computer, tablet, phone, etc)
None
None
Custom/DIY hardware
Yes
No
No
What business is best suited for each POS?
As you can see, all three options have most of the same features. Most businesses would probably be fine with any of them, but let’s see if we can distil down where each system fits best.
WordPress maintenance support plans POS
Who’s it for?
If you have a medium to large business with unique business requirements, WordPress maintenance support plans POS could be the ideal platform for you to work with. For small business, WordPress maintenance support plans POS and WordPress maintenance support plans Commerce might not be for you. The initial cost to get a site built might be too high for your budget, however, if you look at the long term fees charged month by month from the other venders, this upfront cost will be saved in a matter of time. Also, if you have a really obscure need that no other platform will accomodate, WordPress maintenance support plans Commerce can.
If you’re already running a WordPress maintenance support plans Commerce store and now want to add point of sale to your physical locations, WordPress maintenance support plans POS is probably a no-brainer. It’s built on-top of the existing Commerce architecture, so you know it will integrate properly in every way, and you can utilize your existing web development service provider to help you set it up.
Additional details:
If you’re not already using WordPress maintenance support plans then you have some larger questions to consider. Do you already have an ecommerce website? Would you be willing to invest in replatforming? Since WordPress maintenance support plans Commerce is an eCommerce platform, you would ideally be running your whole operation from WordPress maintenance support plans Commerce. That’s not necessarily a bad thing though. WordPress maintenance support plans can readily handle any business case you can throw at it. It can integrate with virtually any third-party service, it can provide you with a single location to manage all of your products, orders, customer accounts, etc., it’s built to scale with your business, and on top of all that it’s a powerful content management system that will run your blog and any other content need you might have.
From a support point of view, because WordPress maintenance support plans is open-source, you don’t have a single source of support to contact. Instead, you would need to utilize your current web development service provider (if you have one), or work with one of the many WordPress maintenance support plans agencies out there who are specialized in WordPress maintenance support plans development. This means you can shop around and find the company will work best with you.
Another advantage to WordPress maintenance support plans POS (and WordPress maintenance support plans as a whole) is that because it’s free, open-source software, you don’t actually have any type of fee to use it. Not one cent. You can have as many stores, products, staff accounts, transactions, registers, etc. as you need, and the price is still $0. Instead of spending your hard earned money on platform fees, you can now redirect those funds to developing your website and POS to do whatever you need it to, or towards marketing, or staffing, or growing your business.
Shopify POS
Who’s it for?
If you’re a small to medium sized business who is just getting started, you don’t have a large budget, and you want the best eCommerce site with POS capabilities, Shopify and Shopify POS is probably your best bet. Also, if you’re already running a Shopify site and happy with it, the Shopify POS is probably ideal for you.
For your business is growing or you run a large, enterprise level company, Shopify and Shopify POS probably won’t cut it with what you need. For one, the fees associated with this level of company can be significant. If you’re at that point, replatforming to something like WordPress maintenance support plans Commerce can recuperate a lot of lost earnings and give you full control of your development path, without restrictions.
Additional details:
Shopify has built their business around being easy. Whether it’s opening up a new store or managing your inventory and customers, the Shopify interface is clean and straightforward. As mentioned earlier, it’s ideal for small and medium sized companies just getting started.
However, where Shopify starts to fail is when your business growth is strong and your requirements start to become more complicated. With Shopify, the number of products and product variations you’re allowed can limit your growth. As you start adding more staff, your costs go up. You can pretty quickly go from a $29/mth plan to a $300+/mth plan in short order.
Another possible deal-breaker is if you product offerings have very unique requirements. Shopify is built to work around the most common business requirements. When your business breaks out of this mold, the platform isn’t designed to accommodate. However, if you can stay within the “typical” business requirements, Shopify probably has everything you need as long as you’re willing to pay for it.
Square POS
Who’s it for?
Square POS is great for small businesses and food service businesses. It’s an easy to use, low-cost option that doesn’t really require anything more than your phone and the provided card reader. Their software interface is clean and easy to understand.
If you’re a medium to large business, or you have very high traffic, Square POS might not be for you. Square is mainly an add-on service to existing businesses, so don’t expect much from an eCommerce perspective.
Additional details:
Square has become a pretty common sight around town these days, especially when you’re at small business such as cafes or walking around a farmers/artisan market. Square has been able to provide a very good product that allows people to jump in to card transactions easily. It fills this need.
When your business grows and you start having multiple stores and an eCommerce component, you may quickly grow beyond Square’s capabilities. WordPress maintenance support plans POS and Shopify POS both have native eCommerce that they work with. This is important when you’re talking about inventory management and other integrations. While Square does have a basic eCommerce component and can integrate with various eCommerce platforms (WordPress maintenance support plans Commerce being one of them), you may struggle to get some of the features that WordPress maintenance support plans Commerce and Shopify have by default.
Your point of sale integrator
Acro Media is an open-source eCommerce development agency. Our experience in this area is vast and we would love to share it with you. If you have a project that you’d like to discuss, one of our friendly business developers are always available to have that discussion at no cost to you.
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