Written by If you run a small store, salon, spa, or boutique, your first point-of-sale system is one of the first real software decisions you will make. It touches every sale, every staff schedule, and every end-of-day report. It is also easy to overpay for, because the price you see on a vendor’s homepage is rarely the price you end up paying.
Here is a practical way to shop for one, with the questions that tend to save the most money.
Start with what you need on day one
Before you look at any pricing page, write down what your business does every day. Vendors will happily show you fifty features. You need maybe ten.
For a retail shop, that list usually includes ringing up sales, tracking inventory, printing or emailing receipts, and handling returns. For a salon or spa, add appointment booking, service menus, tips, and a way to track which staff member performed which service. If your team earns commission, you will want the system to calculate it for you, because doing it by hand in a spreadsheet gets old fast.
Then split your list in two columns: needed now, and nice to have later. A sales-tax setup, card payments, and a basic customer list are almost always “now.” Loyalty programs, online stores, and email marketing can often wait. You can add them once the business is steady, and many systems let you switch them on later.
Compare the total monthly cost, not the headline price
Most POS vendors advertise a low starting price. The bill you actually pay is built from several pieces: the base plan, a fee for each staff member or register, paid add-ons, and card processing.
A 2026 cost study that compared vendors’ own published prices makes this concrete. For a single store with five staff, the monthly totals came to about $114 for Square, $168 for Lightspeed, $257 for Shopify, and $259 for Clover. Every one of those vendors advertises a much lower entry price. The gap between the headline and the real total came from seats, add-ons, and the features a five-person team needs.
So when you compare, build the same imaginary month for each system. Count your staff. List the features from your day-one column. Ask whether each one is included or sold separately. Pay special attention to:
- Per-user pricing. Some systems charge for every employee login. A salon with five stylists and a front desk person will feel that.
- Add-ons. Appointment booking, advanced inventory, and employee management are common paid extras.
- Payroll and commission tools. If you pay commission, check whether the calculation is built in or requires a separate paid module.
A system that looks cheaper on paper can end up costing more once your real team is added in.
Understand card processing fees
Card processing is usually the biggest long-term cost, and it does not show up in the monthly subscription. Processors typically charge a percentage of each sale plus a fixed number of cents per transaction. On a small purchase the fixed cents matter more. On a large service ticket, the percentage matters more.
Two questions help here. First, are you locked into the vendor’s own processor, or can you bring your own? Some systems only work with their built-in processing. Others let you shop around, which can lower your rate as your volume grows. Second, how does the quoted rate change for keyed-in cards, online payments, or cards that are not physically present? Those are often priced higher.
If you take payments by phone or send payment links, ask about those rates separately. They are easy to overlook until the first statement arrives.
Decide whether to buy or lease hardware
Card readers, receipt printers, cash drawers, and tablets or terminals all cost money. You can usually buy them outright, or in some cases lease them through the vendor or a third party.
Buying costs more upfront but you own the equipment. Leasing spreads the cost into monthly payments, but those payments can add up to far more than the hardware is worth, and some leases are hard to exit. Ask for the full cost over the term, and ask what happens if you want to switch systems. Also check whether the software runs on equipment you may already own, such as an iPad or a printer you like.
Read the contract before you sign
Many small-business owners skip the fine print on their first system. It is worth ten minutes. Look for the contract length, whether it renews automatically, and what an early termination fee would be. Also check whether you can export your customer list, sales history, and product catalog if you leave. Your data belongs to you, and a vendor that makes it hard to take it with you is telling you something.
Month-to-month plans usually cost a little more, but they give you room to change your mind. For a first system, that flexibility is often worth the difference.
Questions to ask in a demo
A demo is your chance to find out how the system works for a business like yours. Bring your own list and ask:
- Can you show me how a typical day works for a shop like mine, from opening to closing?
- What is the total monthly cost for my staff count and the features I listed?
- What card processing rates would I pay, and can I use a different processor?
- What does it cost if I add a second location or more staff later?
- What happens to my data if I cancel?
- How do I get help, and is support included or extra?
Pay attention to how clearly the person answers. Vague answers about pricing during a sales call tend to become surprises later.
A short checklist
- Write down your day-one needs and your later wants.
- Count your staff and price every system for that exact number.
- Ask what is included and what is an add-on.
- Compare card processing rates, including rates for keyed-in and online payments.
- Find out whether you can use your own processor.
- Compare the cost of buying versus leasing hardware over the full term.
- Check the contract length, auto-renewal, and termination fees.
- Confirm you can export your data at any time.
- Try the system with a few real sales before committing.
Taking an hour to price things out this way usually saves more than any discount code. Pick the system that fits the way your business already runs, check the total, and give yourself room to leave if it stops fitting.
Mike Akop is the founder of MazalPOS, a point-of-sale system for salons, spas and beauty retail, based in Las Vegas.