Quickbooks Point of Sale: Key Features, Pricing, and Alternatives

Are you looking for a POS system that suits your business? Then you are on the right page. Quickbooks POS is one of the commonly preferred POS systems by small retail businesses, clothing stores, jewelry stores, sporting goods or bike shops, furniture stores, and home improvement-related businesses. This POS system is mostly not preferred by restaurants and cafes. This POS system is easy to use if you are already using QuickBooks Desktop.

In this blog, you will be introduced to QuickBooks POS and its features. You will understand the requirements to set up QuickBooks POS. The pricing of QuickBooks POS along with its pros and cons are elaborated here. You will also get to know about the alternatives available.

Table of Contents

• What is QuickBooks POS?
• Features of QuickBooks POS
• QuickBooks POS Requirements
• QuickBooks POS Hardware
  • EMV Ready Pin Pad 
  • Receipt Printer
  • Barcode Scanner
  • Cash Drawer
  • Pole Display
  • Tag Printer
  • Wireless barcode scanner
• Working of QuickBooks POS
• Pricing of Quickbooks POS
  • Quickbooks POS Software
  • Quickbooks POS Hardware
  • Payment processing
    • Plans for In-store transactions
    • Plans for Mobile transactions
• Pros and Cons of QuickBooks POS
  • Pros QuickBooks POS
  • Cons of QuickBooks POS
• Alternatives of Quickbooks POS
  • Toast POS
  • Lightspeed Retail
  • H&L POS
• Conclusion

What is QuickBooks POS?

QuickBooks Point of Sale system is a multi-purpose solution used for sale and inventory management, bills management, credit payment processing, employee and time tracking and etc. QuickBooks POS is designed to manage over 15,000 inventories. This software can be easily integrated with QuickBooks accounting software. QuickBooks POS system has a lot of amazing features which makes it more of an ERP solution than a cash register. You can manage all the aspects of your retail and hospitality business with QuickBooks POS.

QuickBooks POS is supported by Windows 10, Windows 8.1, Windows 7, and Windows Server operating systems. This locally installed solution can be integrated with iPhone and iPad. QuickBooks Point of Sale is easy to use and hence does not require any technical skills. QuickBooks POS can be differentiated from other POS systems by its efficiency, mobility, and simplicity.

Features of QuickBooks POS

Here are some of the features of QuickBooks POS that makes it unique and a one-in-all solution for retail businesses.

• Customers and Rewards Programs Management: QuickBooks POS comes with an option to manage both credit customers and reward programs The complete data of your credit customers like the amount due, their credit limit, and other details are available in QuickBooks POS. The loyalty programs can also be managed using QuickBooks POS.
• Credit payment processing: You can manage your cash, credit, and debit card payments using QuickBooks POS. It is completely integrated with the desktop system. QuickBooks Point of Sale payment processing is well secured and trusted by millions. QuickBooks POS system supports secured payment technology like EMV. You need not pay per transaction on your credit payments and the pricing is fixed.
• Sales Transaction Management: You can add sales data in QuickBooks POS using the barcode scanner or add them manually.
• QuickBooks Desktop Integration: All the data from QuickBooks POS can be effortlessly transferred to QuickBooks Desktop. All the transactions made with QuickBooks POS are synced with QuickBooks accounting software. This saves your time and avoids man-made errors.
• Inventory Management: You can manage all your inventory items using QuickBooks POS advanced versions (PRO and Multi-Store versions). You can get the up-to-date data of your inventory items using QuickBooks POS. You can improve your profits and manage better by knowing the current inventory details. QuickBooks Point of Sale software directly uploads the inventory items from the spreadsheet software.

QuickBooks POS system is available in three versions: Basic, Pro, and Multi-store. You can see the features available for each version.

QuickBooks POS Requirements

The basic requirements of QuickBooks POS are:

• Operating system: Windows
• Processor: 2.8 GHz processor recommended for single users; 3.5 GHz for multiple users.
• Disk Space: 1 GB disk space minimum
• Memory: 6-8 GB Ram recommended for a single workstation.
• Screen Resolution: 1280*768 or higher

The QuickBooks POS system can be integrated with QuickBooks Desktop 2016, 2017, and 2018. And also can be integrated with Enterprise Solutions Versions 16.0, 17.0, and 18.0.

QuickBooks POS Hardware

QuickBooks POS requires all these hardware equipment to create a complete QuickBooks Point of Sale system. QuickBooks Point of Sale software is compatible only with QuickBooks Point of Sale hardware. Hardware from other sources will not be compatible with it. Intuit POS does not guarantee that it will work with other products. API access is also not provided by Intuit POS.

The QuickBooks Point of Sale hardware equipment include:

• an EMV Ready Pin Pad 
• a Receipt Printer
• a Barcode Scanner
• a Cash Drawer
• a Pole Display
• a Tag Printer
• a Wireless barcode scanner

EMV Ready Pin Pad 

EMV Ready Pin Pad can process mostly all the debit and credit cards. It is one of the new secure credit card payment standards in the US which stands with Europay, MasterCard, and VISA. You can avoid all stolen or counterfeit card transactions using EMV Ready Pin Pad. This is done by the confirmation of the card reader to the latest PCI PEC security standards.

Receipt Printer

This Receipt printer of QuickBooks Point of Sale automatically prints the receipt at the end of each transaction. This printer also prints the credit card slips and gift vouchers. This printer is easy-to-use with its inbuilt auto-cutter and drop-in paper loader.

Barcode Scanner

Intuit POS Barcode scanner scans both high-density and low-density codes. The scanner is used with various transactions like refunds and credits, item receipts, invoices, sales orders, and inventory transfers. The scan range of this certified barcode scanner is 18”.

Cash Drawer

Intuit POS Cash drawer is the most important accessory in the QuickBooks POS system. This safe Intuit POS cash drawer has an inbuilt lock for security purposes. It is made of the sturdy metal body. Intuit POS cash drawer will automatically open at the end of each sales transaction. This can be connected with the receipt printer easily.

Pole Display

The pole of the QuickBooks POS system will show the prices of each item during the transaction. This is one of the optional accessories. The pole of the QuickBooks Point of Sale system is pleasant with its fluorescent green display. You can also customize texts to be shown in it.

Tag Printer

The tag printer is used to print the tags for the items in inventory. This can be paired easily with Bar code scanner. This makes the process of recording items quickly and accurately. This tag printer supports a USB connection and is very compact to use.

Wireless barcode scanner

The wireless barcode scanner of the QuickBooks POS system is Bluetooth enabled. The limitations of the wired scanner are overcome using this. But this scanner is a bit expensive when compared to a wired barcode scanner.

Working of QuickBooks POS

QuickBooks POS can be seamlessly integrated with QuickBooks Desktop. It is also suitable for tablets with Windows 10 operating system. QuickBooks POS comes with a variety of hardware like cash drawers, barcode scanners, receipt printers, PIN pads, and tablet stands. QuickBooks Point of Sale does not charge monthly like its competitors. QuickBooks Point of Sale is installed with a one-time lump sum by the business owners.

Pricing of Quickbooks POS

Quickbooks Point of Sale system does not have a monthly software or setup payment. It is a one-shot payment process and is a bit expensive.

Quickbooks POS Software

Software plan	One-time fee	Features
POS Basic	$1,200.	Ring sales. Take payments. Track customer data. Perform basic sales reporting. Integrate with QuickBooks Desktop.
POS Pro	$1,700.	Basic plan features plus: Manage employees. Manage payroll. Offer layaway. Offer gift cards. Coordinate rewards and loyalty programs. Perform advanced reporting.
POS Multi-Store	$1,900.	Pro plan features plus: Manage multiple stores and channels. Manage and transfer inventory. Advanced sales and inventory reporting between stores.

Quickbooks POS Hardware

• Hardware bundle: $900. Comes with a cash drawer, receipt printer, wired barcode scanner, and PIN pad. Tablet sold separately.
• PIN Pad: $389. Accepts contactless payments and requires a QuickBooks Payments account.
• Mobile card reader: $49. Requires the free QuickBooks GoPayment app.
• Receipt printer: $219.
• Cash drawer with receipt printer: $449.
• Tag printer: $329.
• Wireless barcode scanner: $409.
• Wired barcode scanner: $199.
• Universal tablet stand: $119.

Payment processing

If you are a QuickBooks card reader user, you can use QuickBooks Payments as your payment processor. QuickBooks Desktop or QuickBooks Online account users need not pay setup or termination fees. Quickbooks POS offers two plans for in-store transactions and two for mobile transactions.

Plans for In-store transaction:

• Pay-as-you-go plan: $0 per month.
  • For swiped transactions: 2.7%.
  • For keyed-in transactions: 3.5%.
  • PIN debit rate: 1%.
  • PCI compliance: $9.95 per month.
• Monthly plan: $19.95 per month.
  • For swiped transactions: 2.3% plus 25 cents.
  • For keyed-in transactions: 3.2% plus 25 cents.
  • PIN debit rate: 1%.
  • PCI compliance included.

Plans for Mobile transactions

• GoPayment pay-as-you-go plan: $0 per month.
  • For swiped transactions: 2.4% plus 25 cents.
  • For keyed-in transactions: 3.4% plus 25 cents.
  • PCI compliance: $9.95 per month.
• GoPayment monthly plan: $20 per month.
  • For swiped transactions: 1.6% plus 25 cents.
  • For keyed-in transactions: 3.2% plus 25 cents.
  • PCI compliance is included at no additional cost.

Pros and Cons of QuickBooks POS

Pros of QuickBooks POS

• Powerful inventory management: The inventory of QuickBooks POS syncs the inventory across different locations and provides real-time updates. You can strategize your business plan based on the details of what sells best in different regions.
• QuickBooks integrations: QuickBooks Point of Sale system is the first choice for many retailers for accounting and payroll purposes. You can sync your QuickBooks POS with QuickBooks Desktop to avoid manual entering of data.

Cons of QuickBooks POS

• Integrates only with QuickBooks Desktop: QuickBooks POS is not cloud-based and is locally installed. This is one of the major drawbacks of it. QuickBooks POS can only integrate with QuickBooks Desktop and not with QuickBooks Online.
• QuickBooks Payments is the only option: QuickBooks POS’s card readers need QuickBooks Payments to account compulsorily. This in turn will cost you a QuickBooks Online or QuickBooks Desktop subscription.
• Expert Customer service is not free: You can avail of customer service support at free of cost. But when you need expert advice, you need to pay for it. The POS support plan is $79 per month with unlimited access to experts. The annual plan costs about $589 per year and this is with data recovery services. The support is unlimited.
• Expensive: QuickBooks Point of Sale systems are quite expensive when compared to other POS systems. The most basic setup will cost a lump sum and hardware purchase is an additional cost. If you have multiple branches, then you need to install separately licensed software for each store. The alternatives of QuickBooks POS like Toast POC and Square offer free POS software.

Alternatives of Quickbooks POS

Toast POS

Toast POS is a POS system exclusively designed for foodservice industry and restaurants. This flexible POS system offers a variety of tools like online ordering, delivery, takeout, mobile app ordering, contactless payments, and e-gift card purchasing. This POS system matches with the changing industry trends by helping the restaurant operators to deliver at high speed. This is a cloud-based platform and can be accessed from multiple devices. It also has reporting and analytics facilities. Using these options, you can identify the area for improvements like saving on costs, highlighting best-selling menu items, and etc. You can also manage inventory and restaurant operations using this POS system.

Lightspeed Retail

Lightspeed is a Cloud-based Point-of-Sale system ideal for Retail, Hospitality, and Golf Merchants. The main purpose of this solution is to help businesses run smoothly by creating instant Retail purchase orders, managing Inventory, tracking customer data, and Sales. This Cloud solution is highly flexible, can turn your complex business problems simple, provides insightful reports, and any user can access it from anywhere across the globe. It is much easy to create customizable detailed data reports under this platform. It can perform all the essential operations of POS, including Quoting, Invoicing, and Ordering. Lightspeed software is quick and easy to set up. Further, one can avail of technical assistance around the clock with Lightspeed.

 H&L POS

 H&L POS aids in the management of the hospitality and the food and beverage industry. Using  H&L POS, you can manage all your backend activities, workforce planning, marketing & loyalty, and bookings.  H&L POS manages your business from end to end with all the necessary data and info. It provides total control and transparency over the food and beverage side of your operation.

Conclusion

From this blog, you have learnt about QuickBooks POS and its features. You will now know all requirements needed to set up QuickBooks POS. The pricing of the QuickBooks Point of Sale system along with its pros and cons will be clear to you now. You would also know about the alternatives available. You can also check out some of the integrations like QuickBooks Power BI.

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