What is Shopify POS Lite?
Shopify POS Lite is a point-of-sale (POS) system that allows businesses to sell their products in-store and on the go. It is designed to work seamlessly with a merchant’s Shopify online store so users can capture in-person sales and manage their customer information from one centralized location. Except for the hardware purchase, Shopify POS Lite is available free in Shopify Basic, Regular, and Advanced Plans.
What is Shopify POS Pro?
Shopify POS Pro, on the other hand, works as an upgraded version of Shopify POS. It is designed for businesses committed to in-person selling or merchants with multiple stores running on a team of staff members.
The POS Pro is not included in your standard Shopify monthly subscription and costs an additional $89/mo per location. The pricing plan is often the part where many merchants get confused.
To illustrate, let's take the example of a merchant with four brick-and-mortar shops. The total cost to implement Shopify POS Pro in the business would be:
Shopify Subscription + (Shopify POS Pro x 2 Locations) + Transaction Fees
= $49 + $89 x 2 + Transaction Fees Go Further: Check Shopify POS Pro Pricing & Features on Official Website.
Shopify POS Lite vs POS Pro
| Shopify POS Lite | Shopify POS Pro | |
|---|---|---|
| Cost | $0 - Included with all Shopify plans | $89/mo per location |
| Who Should Use? | For online sellers occasionally selling in person or founder-run shops with no / few staffs. | For retail businesses regularly selling in person; or stores with multiple staffs. |
| Customer profiles | Yes | Yes |
| Multi-location inventory, orders, and customer management | Yes | Yes |
| Email/SMS receipts | Yes | Yes |
| Custom printed receipts | No | Yes |
| Discount codes & manual discounts ($, %) | Yes | Yes |
| Gift cards | Yes | Yes |
| Camera barcode scanning | Yes | Yes |
| Custom sales | Yes | Yes |
| Offline cash payments | Yes | Yes |
| Retail staff permissons & management | No | Yes |
| Unlimited POS-only staff | No | Yes |
| Sales attribution | No | Yes |
| Refunds | Yes | Yes |
| Exchanges | No | Yes |
| Cash tracking | Yes | Yes |
| Save/retrieve cart | No | Yes |
| Ship to home | No | Yes |
| Local pickup fulfillment | No | Yes |
| Local delivery fulfillment | No | Yes |
| Advanced inventory management with Stocky | No | Yes |
| Daily sales reports | No | Yes |
| In-app retail store analytics | No | Yes |
Dig Deeper: See Full List of Shopify POS Pro Features
Why Do Businesses Pay for Shopify POS Pro?
Shopify POS Pro brings three key benefits to the table: Faster business workflows, greater control over staff permissions, and deeper business insights through Stocky (Shopify inventory app).
Faster Workflow
With the upgraded version, businesses can manage local pickup orders, process exchanges, and view daily sales reports right from the app. This allows for a smoother, more efficient process that saves time and boosts productivity.
Greater Control over Staff Permissions
While Shopify POS Lite allows for two staff accounts, Shopify POS Pro allows for an unlimited number of staff accounts with PINs. Business owners can also define roles and permissions, attribute sales to specific staff members, and gain greater visibility into their team’s performance.
Stocky
Shopify POS Pro also provides deeper business insights through advanced inventory management with Stocky – Shopify’s inventory app for POS Pro. With Stocky, businesses can access in-depth reports about product performance, get alerts when stock runs low, and see how much stock to re-order.
Which is Right for Your Business?
While Shopify POS Pro offers a range of powerful features, it is important to note that it comes at a cost. Shopify POS Pro is not cheap. For some businesses, the additional features of Shopify POS Pro may not be necessary, and they may be perfectly happy with Shopify POS Lite.
Ultimately, the decision to upgrade to Shopify POS Pro should be based on the specific needs of each business – such as multi-location support or advanced inventory management, If the benefits of the upgrade outweigh the costs, then it can be a valuable investment.
More Options: Alternatives to Shopify POS
For existing Shopify users, the obvious key benefit of choosing Shopify POS Pro is that the system integrates seamlessly with Shopify’s eCommerce platform.
However, for those who are not already using Shopify eCommerce – there are a variety of POS solutions available in the market. In case you were looking for more options – here's a comparison table that includes some of the key features and pricing information for other notable POS system providers.
| POS System | Key Features | Monthly Subscription | Hardware Cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Vend POS | Advanced loyalty programs, over 300 third-party integrations, easy to use, customizable, affordable pricing | $119 - $249 | $250++ |
| Square POS | Easy to use, mobile payments, over 100 third-party integrations, all-in-one solution, free version available | $0 - $29+ | $149++ |
| Lightspeed POS | Advanced reporting and analytics, multi-location support, customizable, over 40 integrations. | $69 - $399 | $250++ |
| Toast POS | Restaurant-focused features, tableside ordering, online ordering, customizable hardware, real-time sales analytics | $0 - $165 | $300++ |
| Clover POS | Scalable and customizable, over 200 integrations, advanced reporting and inventory management, 24/7 customer support, affordable pricing | $35 to $45 | $49++ |
Also Read
- 18 Shopify store examples for your inspiration
- Alternatives to PayPal for small businesses & online stores
- Best email marketing services for business
- Cloud storage and file-sharing service for small businesses
- How to use AI and Machine Learning for your business
- How to begin dropshipping with Shopify
