In today’s fast-paced world of digital commerce, small businesses have unprecedented capabilities in terms of being able to conduct sales transactions from virtually anywhere. Point of Sale (POS) applications are becoming more and more commonplace, enabling business owners to process credit card transactions, accept signatures, track sales, print receipts, and more using nothing more than a smartphone or a tablet device. Below are five POS apps that have gained popularity in recent years.
- Square – Square is a mobile-only payment app that features “plug-and-play” functionality; all you have to do is plug the card reader into your headphone jack and you can begin accepting payments right away. Square processes credit card purchases at 2.75% per transaction, with no monthly or annual fees for using the service. Square is ideal for the small business merchant with relatively basic needs, but they do offer customized pricing and solutions for larger businesses.
- Intuit GoPayment – GoPayment has a lot of similarities to Square, but it offers slightly more flexibility in terms of payments. You can choose between a flat 2.75% fee per swipe (like Square), or you can pay a monthly fee of $12.95 which will lower your transaction fees to 1.75% per swipe. GoPayment is customized for higher volume needs, enabling users to add up to 50 people on one account. One of the main things that differentiates GoPayment from the competition is the fact that it was created by Intuit, a well-established name in the financial software industry (e.g. TurboTax, QuickBooks, etc.). GoPayment offers full QuickBooks integration as well.
- Clipp – The Clip app is an extremely convenient way for bar and pub owners to offer their customers increased flexibility where opening, maintaining and closing tabs are concerned. It is no secret that long lines at the bar can have a negative impact on revenues, so the Clip app was created to maximize tab transaction efficiency. Clipp puts the customer in control, enabling them to open, view, share, and pay their bar tabs, all from their smartphones. Every tab is pre-authorized and secured by PayPal to ensure maximum fraud protection. In addition, bar staff can close tabs from within the Clipp interface as well.
- PayPal Here – It only makes sense for online payment systems giant PayPal to have a hand in the point of sale app market as well, and the PayPal Here app definitely fits the bill in terms of offering flexibility and convenience for payment processing. Although PayPal Here is quite similar to Square in terms of ease of use, PayPal Here features additional options that are not available with Square, such as the ability to accept checks. In addition, if a customer has a PayPal account, the PayPal Here app enables them to pay directly from their account. Fees are a flat 2.70% for all transactions, with no hidden or sliding scale fees thrown into the mix at all.
- ShopKeep – ShopKeep is an iPad-ready payment system similar to Square, but they offer an inventory management feature as well. They charge a flat fee of $49 per month, and their basic inventory tracking functionality is rock-solid. ShopKeep also integrates well with a wide variety of payment processors.