Our Take
The bottom line:
Lightspeed Retail POS
on Lightspeed's website
Pros & Cons
Pros
- Built-in POS system and payment processing; in-house POS hardware available.
- Generate unlimited barcode labels.
- One-on-one onboarding and a dedicated account manager included with all plans.
Cons
- Lowest-tier plan doesn’t include e-commerce features.
- Longer-term contract required.
Full Review
- Inventory management. You can import your product catalog into Lightspeed Retail by uploading a CSV file. Once your catalog is uploaded, you can categorize items by size, color and more, and assign unique serial numbers for stock-keeping purposes. You can upload vendor catalogs and order new stock directly from your POS. Transferring stock between stores is possible too.
- Customer relationship management (CRM). Stores can add new customers to the CRM database and build out their profiles, add notes and save information. The database lets you view customer sales history to help determine purchasing habits, and assign customer “types” (VIP, employee, etc.) to automate special discounts. Businesses can create loyalty programs so customers are awarded points each time they shop.
- Employee management. Lightspeed Retail features a basic time clock for employees — allowing them to punch in and out via a PIN number — as well as a log of employee sales and performance. You can assign custom roles to your staff, giving them unique back-end permissions. For onboarding new employees, there's a series of webinars to help users get acclimated with the interface and functions of the POS.
- Reporting. More than 40 reports are available to analyze data on sales, inventory, staff performance, marketing effectiveness and more. The system integrates with popular accounting platforms like QuickBooks and Xero to help with bookkeeping too.
- Loyalty program. Merchants can use Lightspeed Loyalty to offer customers redeemable points on purchases. You can automate marketing campaigns and group customers together based on their buying habits. Lightspeed Loyalty comes with the Advanced plan, and business owners with the Lean or Standard plan can bundle it into their subscription for an additional cost.
- E-commerce. If you operate a brick-and-mortar store and also create an e-commerce website, Lightspeed lets you manage both from the same place. You can upload your products and design your own website using 30 customizable templates. Once your site is live, you can streamline sales and inventory data across all physical and digital locations. Lightspeed’s e-commerce platform comes with the Standard and Advanced plans. Clients with the Lean plan can bundle it into their subscription as an add-on.
Lightspeed Retail POS is best for businesses that:
- Are well-established and have multiple locations. Newer small businesses with less complicated operations could be better served with a simpler, less expensive product.
- Prefer an all-in-one POS system provider and payment processor. If you don’t use Lightspeed Payments for payment processing, monthly subscription prices are significantly steeper; plus Lightspeed will charge you an additional per-transaction fee on top of your chosen payment processor’s fees.
- Will make use of Lightspeed’s POS capabilities and features. The monthly fees are some of the highest among its competitors, but Lightspeed’s long list of relevant retail features and competitive payment processing rates can make it a worthy investment, particularly for more firmly established retailers.
Deciding factors
Payment processing model | Flat rate. |
Payment processing fees |
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Monthly fee |
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Hardware cost | Pricing for Lightspeed's iPad and desktop hardware kits is quote-based. Individual hardware products are listed in Lightspeed's online store:
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Contract length | Annual contracts required for lower pricing. |
Customer support | 24/7 phone, chat and email support; one-on-one onboarding. |
Where Lightspeed Retail stands out
Robust inventory management
Customer service
Integrations
Where Lightspeed Retail falls short
Price
Annual contracts required for lower pricing
Alternatives to Lightspeed Retail
Square for Retail
- $0 for Square POS, Restaurant, Retail and Appointments Free plans.
- $29 for Square Appointments Plus plan.
- $60 for Square Restaurant and Retail Plus plans.
- $69 for Square Appointments Premium plan.
- 2.6% plus 10 cents (Free plan) or 2.5% plus 10 cents (Plus plan) for in-person transactions.
- 2.9% plus 30 cents for online transactions.
- 3.5% plus 15 cents for manually keyed transactions or card-on-file invoices.
- $0 for Square magstripe-only card reader ($10 for each additional reader) or if using Tap to Pay for iPhone (iPhone not included).
- $49 and up for Square Reader contactless and chip card reader.
- $149 for Square Stand iPad POS or Square Stand Mount (iPad not included).
- $299 for Square Terminal mobile card reader with built-in printer.
- $799 for Square Register two-screen system.
Shopify POS
- $29 for Shopify Basic when billed annually (or $39 when paid monthly).
- $79 for regular Shopify when billed annually (or $105 when paid monthly).
- $299 for Shopify Advanced when billed annually (or $399 when paid monthly).
- Custom pricing for Shopify Plus.
- $15 for Shopify POS Lite.
- $79 per location for Shopify POS Pro when billed annually (or $89 when paid monthly).
- 2.4%, 2.6% or 2.9% plus 30 cents for online payments for Advanced, Shopify or Basic plan, respectively.
- 2.4%, 2.5% or 2.7% for in-person payments for Advanced, Shopify or Basic plan, respectively.
- $49 for Tap & Chip card reader.
- $219 for Tap & Chip countertop kit (iPad not included).
- $299 for Shopify POS Go mobile device.
- $349 for Shopify POS terminal.
- $459 and up for POS terminal countertop kits.
Compare POS providers
on Lightspeed's website