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How to Choose a POS System for Your Business

August 17, 2020 | Published by Faire

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A digital point-of-sale (POS) system is an essential piece of technology for every independent retail business. There are plenty of great POS systems out there, and we frequently get asked questions about how to choose one. We’ve compiled the details on three popular POS systems — Square, Shopify, and Clover — as well as how to integrate them with your Faire account.

Square

Close to 40% of our customers report using Square as their POS system. Square has a variety of POS options depending on the type of business you run. Square for Retail is a system that allows you to track your inventory, take payments in-store and online, manage your team and customers, and monitor your finances. With Square POS, you’ll get a free online store that you can sync to your brick-and-mortar inventory. 

The most basic Square for Retail POS plan is free except for transaction charges. You can also choose their Plus plan for $60/month plus transaction fees, or reach out about their Premium plan.

We’ve partnered with Square to create a seamless integration that automatically adds your new Faire purchases to your POS inventory. Each product description, as well as the product photo, will be added directly to your Square terminal. If you’re already a Square user, you can visit the POS Manager in your Faire account and select Square now. 

Shopify

About 17% of our retailers told us that their current POS system is Shopify. The platform was originally designed for e-commerce businesses — 25% of our retailers report having an online Shopify store — and now offers a brick-and-mortar POS as well. Along with payment transactions, inventory management, custom staff permissions, and analytics, you can give your customers the option to buy online and pick up in-store, or ship an item to an in-store customer. You can also manage customer profiles, rewards programs, and marketing.

If you already pay for a Shopify online store, you can access Shopify POS Lite for free. You can add Shopify POS Pro for $89/month.

Our Shopify integration will automatically sync your Faire purchases to your POS or online store. If you’re already a Shopify user, you can visit the POS Manager in your Faire account and select Shopify now. 

Clover

Clover is the POS choice of close to 5% of our retailer community. The system offers simple payment processing, order management, plus a CRM that helps you engage and reward your customers. You can also manage your team within the system. Bonus features include gift cards, customer feedback collection, plus the ability to launch deals and discounts. Clover syncs with the cloud, so you can access your sales, refunds, deposits, and reports, wherever you are.

Clover offers a variety of POS devices you can purchase, and they give you a better rate on transaction fees if you use their hardware. Opening an account with Clover, whether or not you use their hardware, is free for 90 days then $9.95/month.

Our Clover integration is currently being built by the Faire product development team and is expected to launch later this year. If Clover is your POS of choice, keep an eye out for an email announcing this integration.

Integrate your POS

Integrating your POS system with Faire can help you save time and keep track of useful data.

  • Save four hours per month on data management. Faire automatically creates item listings for you, so you don’t have to add new listings each time you order on Faire. Spend less time organizing, and more time selling. 
  • Keep your inventory up to date. By connecting to Shopify or Square, any item you purchase on Faire is automatically added to your store. We’ll only add new inventory when your items arrive.
  • Streamline your inventory management. Faire creates your item listings consistently, so that your inventory is easier to manage. 

Log into Faire and go to the POS Manager under your Account tab to get integrated today.

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