This page was last updated on June 9th, 2025
Retail point of sale (POS) software provides an easy-to-use tool for employees and customers, helping to complete retail transactions in physical locations (stores, showrooms, etc.).
By using POS software, retail employees can find information about products, create sales orders, accept payments, and deliver receipts in an expeditious manner. This helps employees perform more transactions in less time while customers benefit from shorter waiting times at checkout. POS software can also be used to provide information to customers on product availability, pricing, etc. Furthermore, retail managers can use this type of software to monitor retail transactions and analyze sales or inventory data such as volume, amount, or frequency. Some advanced POS solutions may also provide functionality to manage inventory or customer profiles.
POS software is usually installed on dedicated hardware designed and built for it. The main benefit of this type of hardware is that it provides users a tactile screen which simplifies navigation. An increasing number of POS solutions are now available on mobile devices such as tablets or smartphones. To deliver maximum efficiency, POS software integrates with ERP or inventory management solutions to exchange data on products, with CRM for customer information, or with other retail solutions such as supply chain and logistics. POS should not be confused with e-commerce software, either, which is exclusively used for online sales.
To qualify for inclusion in the POS software category, a product must:
- Provide access to information about products, inventory, pricing, or transaction history
- Allow customers to pay using various methods such as cash, credit or debit card, etc.
- Manage other types of transactions such as returns, sales cancellation, or exchanges
- Offer secure data access and functionality to protect sensitive data such as customer information and credit card numbers
- Include reporting and analytics to monitor sales indicators for each location, as well as returns or order cancellations
