Our Take
The bottom line:
Lightspeed Retail is a cloud-based POS system for retailers. It has strong inventory management capabilities and is a good match for more established small businesses with multiple locations. Newer small businesses with less complicated operations could be better served with a simpler, less expensive product.
Lightspeed Retail POS
Payment processing fees
2.6% + 10¢ in-person; 2.9% + 30¢ online.
Monthly fee
$89.00 for Lean plan, $149 for Standard plan, $269 for Advanced plan.
Learn more
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
Lightspeed Retail is a cloud-based point-of-sale system for retailers. Its inventory management capabilities are excellent, letting business owners track items across multiple locations, add product variations and use integrated vendor catalogs to order inventory.
Lightspeed Retail POS offers a number of solid features for retail operations.
- 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.
For information on the brand’s POS solution for bars, cafes and restaurants, read NerdWallet’s review of Lightspeed Restaurant.
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 |
|
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
Lightspeed Retail’s inventory management features offer an impressive level of functionality that lets business owners customize how they track items. This platform allows you to manage multiple locations, send notifications when it’s time to reorder an item and add customized fields for categorizing inventory. You can also create a purchase order for a single vendor or a master order for multiple vendors in the platform.
Customer service
Lightspeed offers exceptional customer service for all plan tiers. It includes a free onboarding session, 24/7 phone and chat support, guides and webinars. This type of support doesn’t come standard with all POS systems, and the fact that clients are matched with a dedicated account manager can help you get in touch with the right person sooner.
Integrations
Lightspeed Retail allows you to extend the functionality of your POS via a wide variety of applications available in the Lightspeed app marketplace. These include accounting, e-commerce, payment processing, reporting, marketing, invoicing and payroll integrations among others.
Where Lightspeed Retail falls short
Price
The price you pay for Lightspeed Retail is tied to the fact that you have a broad range of features at your disposal. However, if you own a new small business, having all those extra bells and whistles probably isn’t necessary. In that case, you might be better off trying free or cheaper options.
Annual contracts required for lower pricing
Subscriptions to Lightspeed Retail are less expensive if you pay annually versus monthly.
Alternatives to Lightspeed Retail
Square for Retail
Monthly fee:
- $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.
Payment processing fees:
- 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.
Hardware:
- $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.
Why we like it: Square for Retail charges similar processing fees and offers free and paid plans. The Plus plan includes a handful of features you won't find in the Free plan, such as advanced inventory management tools, advanced reporting capabilities and Square Team Management. Loyalty programs are available as an add-on. For more information, read our Square for Retail review.
Shopify POS
Monthly fee:
To use Shopify POS, you also must have a Shopify plan for e-commerce:
- $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.
Once you have a Shopify plan for e-commerce, add either:
- $15 for Shopify POS Lite.
- $79 per location for Shopify POS Pro when billed annually (or $89 when paid monthly).
Payment processing fees:
- 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.
Hardware:
- $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.
Why we like it: If you like Lightspeed Retail because of its e-commerce store integration, consider Shopify POS. You can get a Shopify e-commerce store and 24/7 support. The Basic plan is for businesses that do most of their sales online. Businesses that do in-store and online sales might consider one of the company’s other plans, which also include lower processing rates. For more information, read our Shopify POS review.
Compare POS providers
To compare POS options, check out NerdWallet’s list of point-of-sale systems that are best for small-business owners. Our recommendations are based on the provider’s pricing and transparency, software and hardware options, system functionality, customer support, software integrations and contract requirements.
Learn more
on Lightspeed's website
Methodology
NerdWallet’s point-of-sale systems provider ratings reward companies whose products and services are priced well and work in a variety of payment scenarios, among other criteria. Ratings are based on weighted averages of scores in several categories, including cost, system capabilities, contract requirements, customer service and integrations and add-ons. Learn more about how we rate point-of-sale (POS) systems providers.
These ratings are a guide, but services, hardware and pricing can vary widely from business to business and provider to provider. We encourage you to shop around and compare several providers.
NerdWallet does not receive compensation for any reviews. Read our editorial guidelines.
Frequently Asked Questions
Lightspeed Retail POS boasts a lot of great functionality for retail businesses that can afford the somewhat steep monthly software fee. Lightspeed offers an iPad or desktop hardware kit as well as POS accessories. Lightspeed is even compatible with a number of third-party hardware devices, which the company lists on its website. Lightspeed’s inventory management capabilities, especially across multiple store locations, are particularly strong. And with 24/7 customer support along with free 1:1 onboarding, Lightspeed is a strong contender in the retail POS market.
The total cost of a Lightspeed POS involves the monthly subscription price — which varies by plan tier, whether you opt for monthly or annual billing, and if you decide to use Lightspeed for payment processing — the hardware cost, and the payment processing fees. If you choose to use Lightspeed as your payment processor, you will pay a flat rate per card transaction, starting at 2.6% plus 10 cents for in-person transactions.
Lightspeed and Shopify both offer e-commerce platforms and in-store POS solutions to small-business owners. They each have 24/7 support, inventory management capabilities and in-house payment processing. Shopify has historically been more focused on developing clients’ online presence, whereas Lightspeed is better known for its in-store POS systems. The latter is better for businesses with multiple brick-and-mortar locations, and Shopify is better suited for businesses that have a tighter budget and prioritize online sales.