7 Best Convenience Store POS Systems: Features, Reviews, Pricing

For the owner of convenience stores, an innovative Convenience Store POS System is crucial. A POS system that can intelligently assist with ordering, inventory, employee management, and other tasks is essential when running a convenience shop.

We looked at more than a dozen POS in retail catering to convenience stores and chose the top seven. We have created a thorough list after in-depth research for your help.

Here is the ultimate guide for you to choose the best POS for convenience store.

Let us dive in…

7 Best Convenience Store POS Systems

1) ARI POS Convenience Store POS System:

Ari Retail POS software handles all your convenience business concerns. The owners of small and medium-sized convenience stores benefit most from Ari POS.

Starting Price/Price Range: Attractive custom pricing is available, and the all-features Premium Package pricing starts from as low as $55 per month.

USP: It can be tailored for your convenience based on the requirements of your business

Stand-Out Feature: The ability to synchronize the back office in real-time with the POS and work offline.

Overall Review Sentiment: Highly positive

For detailed feature-list on Ari POS check – Supermarket POS System

Key Features:

Inventory & Expiry Management:

Using Ari POS for convenience stores, you can easily keep track of stock levels, sales, trends, and expiration dates. You can automate replenishment and inventory management. Products can be managed with ease, RFID chips and serial control can be assigned, and stock reports can be checked.

Shortcut Buttons:

To simplify the duty of cashiers and speed up the transaction, quick buttons have been introduced in Ari POS system for convenience stores. There are many products, yet some of them sell more frequently than others.

When the cashier presses a Quick Button for one of these items, the item is immediately put into the cart. These products automatically appear as Quick Buttons on the Ari POS System. Even better, you can manually construct a Quick Button in the back office.

Reserves and Layaways:

The hold option is an extremely useful feature for a convenience store that regularly has long lines. You may put the transaction for one customer on hold, and you can perform another transaction while it is on hold.

In layaways, one can reserve an item and pay for it in full or deliver a portion of the amount. The Ari POS System’s inclusion of this feature enhances the client experience.

Real-Time Synchronization:

Real-time data and information exchange between the back-end office and the retail POS system. Any adjustments made in the back office can also be immediately seen at the POS level.

When there is a connection interruption, POS can still function in offline mode and sync once the connection is restored. This ensures that no data loss through POS happens when there is no internet connectivity. This capability makes Ari one of the best point of sale for convenience stores.

Simple User Interface:

Your workers can navigate the touch-screen POS system interface with ease for increased speed. One need not delve far into the application to find the desired functionality because they are all visible on the surface. Using a smart representation technique, the screen simultaneously displays the bill and the items list.

Assign User-Level Access:

By giving your employees access privileges, you can manage them. It is simple to track your staff’s sales, till usage, and cash register adjustments with individual authorized login. Each user has a username, password, and a set of capabilities. Records from the POS system can be used to compute sales commissions for the staff as well.

Peripheral Support:

Ari POS, the leading convenience store POS system, can link to scanners. As a result, when searching for a product, one does not need to look through every product.

Factors To Consider:

Reviews:

What Do Users Say About Ari General Store POS?

Users who have been using Ari have been really satisfied with its useful and advanced, and user-friendly features. Management of their inventories, sales and purchase information, items, and customer reward program are all aided by it.

They also said that the support team at Ari goes above and above to help clients when needed. They strongly suggest small businesses and convenience stores try Ari before purchasing more expensive software.

Capterra Rating: 4.4/5

When To Use Ari POS System?

If you are a convenience store owner having a single or multi-store retail setting in various customer-facing environments and want to increase sales and profits, then Ari is the best POS for convenience stores.

Convenience store owners looking for POS that is all-encompassing would benefit from using Ari POS. With Ari convenience store POS software, they can handle their marketing campaigns, oversee their supply chain network, effectively complete the billing transactions, develop a customer rewards program, provide reports and insights, and perform many other tasks.

All their retail business challenges are addressed by Ari’s all-in-one POS system, which can be tailored to meet their specific demands.

When to Use an Alternative?

Ari POS is comprehensive and does promotion management, supply chain management, inventory management, and multi-store administration. Additional features of Ari POS include active integrations with third-party platforms like Xero, Quickbooks, Microsoft Dynamics 365, Tally, Mailchimp, etc.

However, Ari offers mobility modules as an on-demand customization option. This approach is practiced by making the software more affordable for all types of retail businesses (small, medium, and large enterprises).

Hence, it is a complete POS solution, one should look for an alternative only when they have had a consultation with an Ari POS expert and they are looking for something which is not offered by Ari.

Concluding Thoughts:

With its vast range of user-friendly tools, Ari convenience store point-of-sale enables businesses to create distinctive client experiences while on the go. The software guarantees real-time adaptability and scalability for continuously changing operational needs with the goal of transforming the entire retail business view.

With Ari Retail POS Software, businesses can automate, simplify, secure, grow, and accelerate their business demands, creating a thoughtful customer experience wherever they are.

2) POS Nation Convenience Store Software:

Businesses that require solutions like ticket management, age verification, and case-break inventory tracking are the ones that POS Nation is designed for.

Starting Price/Price Range: $99 per month, per terminal

USP: Users like its simplicity of use, and its price includes hardware.

Stand-Out Feature: Customer relationship management (CRM) solutions are available at POS Nation for tracking purchasing trends and developing specialized promotions.

Overall Review Sentiment: Positive

Key Features:

Processing Payments Adaptable:

The third-party payment processor of your choosing can be integrated. POS Nation has partnerships with companies like Swipely, Worldpay, Heartland, and Sterling Payment Technologies.

Discounting Cash:

You can cut costs on merchant fees for credit card processing by giving discounts for cash. POS Nation has a built-in cash discounting mechanism. However, you may create a workaround for other systems by utilizing their general discounting features.

Fuel Support and The Lottery:

At the gas pump, POS Nation supports the selling of lottery and Lotto tickets. KORONA and Revel both have some lottery sales and payout features, but only NCR also provides both features. (Discussed later in the list)

Factors To Consider:

• Software costs
• Flex Monthly: $99 per terminal each month
• Cost of freedom: $999 per terminal
• Available custom build pricing
• After the first three months, certain plans require a $39.99 per month support cost.
• Payment processing: Works with Swipely, First American, Heartland, EVO, and Worldpay. The best software pricing, however, necessitates a Worldpay Merchant Account.
• Contract term: Flexible Anytime can be used to terminate monthly subscriptions.

Reviews:

What Do Users Say About POS Nation Convenience Store POS System?

Users cite POS Nation’s intuitiveness, speed, and ease of upkeep. The reporting, inventory, and customer management features are praised by managers. Users praise the POS Nation support team for being professional, knowledgeable, considerate, and brilliant.

Here are a few and various complaints. The majority were compliments, but there were also several requests for specific features and complaints about customer service. The system lagging and crashing was the only persistent issue, which mostly affected G2 devices.

Capterra Rating: 4.6/5

When to Use POS Nation?

POS Nation is a great option to take into consideration if you are looking for a POS system for convenience store that is tailored to your requirements. It offers software/hardware combinations that are particularly well suited for companies in the grocery, liquor, and retail sectors. You receive 24/7 assistance, training, and the hardware already has the software installed on it.

When to Use an Alternative for POS Nation POS System?

Restaurants that require features like reservations or bar tabs are not the ideal candidates for this program, which is intended for retail.

Some users complained that the software is not connected to their web shops and does not allow for taking phone orders.

Owners of clothing, boutique, and fashion stores will not require capabilities like tracking perishable goods or age verification.

Concluding Thoughts:

The specific convenience store software and hardware bundle called POS Nation is targeted at businesses that need tools like lottery ticket management, age verification, and case-break inventory tracking.

Because of this, a program is a fantastic option for convenience, grocery, and liquor establishments. POS Nation is a fantastic option for many specialty stores since it integrates with a variety of payment processors, provides good customer care, and has an easy-to-use system. However, its pricing structure makes it a little debatable when choosing the best point of sale for convenience stores.

Also Read: Top 10 Shop Management Software for Retail Businesses

3) NCR POS System:

NCR provides a comprehensive retail and fuel management solution.

Starting Price/Price Range: For pricing, you must speak with NCR or its resellers directly.

USP: You can develop an entire end-to-end POS, payment, and technology solution with NCR.

Stand-out Feature: The system is adaptable and works for various use cases, from franchises and chain stores to service businesses.

Overall Review Sentiment: Moderately Positive

Key Features:

Self-Serve Fast Lane Checkout:

NCR provides a variety of self-checkout options, just like IT Retail (discussed later in the list). To suit any convenience store layout, you can choose self-checkout stands with small or large footprints.

Intelligent Theft Detection:

Smart cameras and artificial intelligence are combined in NCR’s Smart Assist module to find purposefully missed scans at self-checkout kiosks and other sorts of consumer fraud.

To reduce shrinkage from theft at the checkout counter, the Smart Assist program will notify one of your employees before the customer has finished their transaction and left the store.

Factors To Consider:

• Processing each month: Message NCR
• Fee for transactions: 2.4% + 15 cents (qualifying, mid-qualified), and 3.55% + 15 cents are the fees for mobile payments (non-qualified)
• In-store swiped fees: Speak with NCR
• Hardware:
  • $15 for a mobile card reader
  • 24/7 customer service
  • Installation and setup are included with the POS package.
  • Numerous additional services
  • Terms change based on the reseller

Reviews:

What Do Users Say About NCR POS System?

Users were content, if not overly excited. On the other hand, it received a few extremely unfavorable evaluations, making us think it is a reliable software and service.

All users agreed that the front end was simple to use and made onboarding fresh staff simple, but that the back-office tools were more cumbersome. Unreliability and downtime were mentioned in a few isolated complaints, but not enough to establish a pattern.

Capterra Rating: 3.7/5

When to Use NCR POS System?

NCR Silver works well for Self-service retail. NCR’s Fast Lane Mobile Shopper should be taken into consideration if you are looking for self-checkout.

NCR is a fantastic fit if you prefer having one location to go to for all your business tools. It contains a complete set of HR and payroll programs in addition to POS, inventory systems, and payment processing.

When to Use an Alternative?

Businesses looking for a mobile POS system for convenience stores should be aware that, despite Ring Up receiving a reasonable number of evaluations, NCR’s mobile solutions are not particularly well-liked or regarded.

NCR Silver features exceptional versatility and a choice of hardware/software options for stores in need of a straightforward POS system. However, this can result in a drawn-out process for deployment and purchase.

Companies looking for a cost-effective system: NCR may simply have more equipment—and a greater price tag—than many small firms require. A priced retail POS system with adaptable hardware options and online store alternatives could be more beneficial for small businesses.

Concluding Thoughts:

NCR is one of the best POS for convenience store as it can take care of all your POS and business requirements, from billing customers to ensuring that your employees receive benefits. It offers high-quality hardware and software, including NCR Silver for retail, but to design the ideal POS system, you will still need to dig through NCR’s product line.

4) IT Retail Convenience Store POS Software:

IT Retail offers a lot of features for your general or departmental stores, including feature-rich Inventory Management Software, employee management tools, and age verification.

Starting Price/Price range: $79

USP: The system operates on a lot of popular third-party hardware

Stand-out Feature: Has the most comprehensive options for self-checkout terminals

Overall Review Sentiment: Subjectively Positive

Key Features:

Inventory Strength for Grocery:

IT Retail, which was created for supermarkets and marketplaces, includes a lot of unique features for produce and other food products. For tracking the food that is consumed in-store or that has expired, for instance, it has to shrink inventory. Ari POS System also serves as an SKU generator (Check: What is SKU?) to assign serial numbers and barcodes to your inventory.

Dynamic Integrations for E-Commerce:

Despite not having its own online store, IT Retail Integration with several grocery-related eCommerce platforms, including Local Express, Mercato, Freshop, My Cloud Grocer, and Instacart. On some of these, discounts are available.

Order Ahead and Checkout Without Lines:

FutureProof and IT Retail have teamed up to provide clients with specialized apps that enable mobile ordering and checkout. On our list, no other program provides this. Additionally, the line-free mobile checkout option is available for free.

Factors To Consider:

• Plans for subscriptions
• Markets: $79. Supermarkets: $109. Personal quotation
• For businesses: a specific estimate
• Hardware costs: $2000 per checkout lane, according to a custom quote.
• Fees for initial installation: optional, individually quoted
• Custom-quoted interchange-plus rates for payment processing
• Term of Agreement: One Year
• Trial offer: none

Reviews:

What Do Users Say About IT Retail Software?

Reviews on numerous websites from users praise the product. While some people claimed they had overspent on the system, others acknowledged that the cost had been justified. The majority complimented the features for the grocery store POS and the ease of use, although a few people did complain that there were some bugs in the back end.

Those who praised its customer support claimed to have formed a close bond with them. However, customer service also received the most criticism, with those who did not like it citing their poor response times.

Capterra Rating: 4.9/5

When to Use IT Retail POS System?

Convenience stores in need of security features: IT Retail is a wonderful fit for convenience stores thanks to its integrated employee scheduling and theft detection features, in addition to its strong inventory management and age verification capabilities.

When to Use an Alternative?

IT Retail is capable of handling huge inventories, but it lacks the facilities required to manage menus or track orders based on ingredients.

IT Retail works best with fixed checkout lines. This functionality is intended for in-store mobility even if they have an integration with FutureProof Retail for in-store self-service mobile checkouts.

Concluding Thoughts:

You get the good self-checkout tools currently on the market along with tough, industry-grade hardware for that price. A unique quote is often required for IT Retail pricing, which may seem like an extra step, but it guarantees you will not pay for items you will not use. With a negotiated pricing based on the features your grocery/supermarket business require, IT Retail can be a good POS system for your convenience store.

5) Revel POS System:

Revel Systems is a hybrid point-of-sale system that works on iPads and provides equipment for both food service and retail enterprises.

Starting Price/Price Range: $99 per month

USP: Revel uses iPads, which are simple for new employees to learn how to utilize.

Stand-Out Feature: Cash management features are the most advanced.

Overall Review Sentiment: Average

Key Features:

Advanced Cash Management:

A lot of cash is handled in convenience stores. Cash also “has legs,” making it simple for it to disappear into thin air. Each of your cashiers has a designated cash drawer thanks to Revel’s cash management solutions, which support two drawers per terminal. When necessary, you can distribute lottery winnings using the “Paid Out” feature.

Additionally, Revel enables you to set cash till limitations and tell your cashiers to deposit money in the safe when their tills exceed a specified dollar level. Additionally, knowing that there is only $100 in change available at any given time makes your store less inviting for customer theft.

Tools for End-to-End Delivery:

Revel has built-in delivery management tools, unlike the other systems on this list. You can handle driver sales and tips with the same level of specificity that you manage cashiers. You may receive online orders directly in the POS, assign them to drivers, follow drivers on a map in real-time, and more.

Factors To Consider:

• Cost of software per terminal each month: $99
• Installation cost: $674 to start
• Term of Agreement: Three Years
• Revel Advantage, First Data, Heartland, TSYS, Worldpay, Chase Paymentech, and Elavon are the available payment processors.
• 24-hour telephone, email, and chat service for clients

Reviews:

What Do Users Say About Revel POS System?

Users of Revel and industry professionals praise this POS for its adaptability and high-volume capability. Revel’s customer reviews tend to be more varied than many of its cloud POS rivals, even though it is not universally adored.

Most unfavorable reviews emphasize how Revel requires some learning, particularly in the back office, and occasionally mentions software errors. There is a learning curve in the Revel back office making it a not-so-intuitive POS system for convenience store owners who are not that technically adept. If you do not have the time to dedicate to mastering it, a simpler system will make you happier.

Capterra Rating: 3.70/5

Analysis:

When to Use Revel POS System?

This system offers more features in a single, customizable package than any other iPad POS. Revel is an obvious choice for restaurants with many revenue centers like catering, delivery, takeaway, and special events due to the enormous variety of features it offers. Revel is an excellent choice for high-volume food retailers thanks to its inventory tools.

When to Use an Alternative?

This system has a three-year minimum commitment and a ton of tools that some small firms may never use. Therefore, we typically do not advise Revel for small organizations, high-risk enterprises, or enterprises operating on a tight budget.

Concluding Thoughts:

Revel is a hybrid convenience store POS system that supports extensive offline functionality and is cloud-based with great local networking. Tools for employee administration, scheduling, and inventory keeping are all included in this all-in-one program. However, we do not advise Revel for small organizations, high-risk enterprises, or enterprises operating on a tight budget.

Also Read: Differences between Hypermarket VS Supermarket VS Grocery Store

6) Korona POS System:

Quick Overview

Starting Price/Price Range: $49

USP: It is one of the best POS system for small convenience stores (of course after Ari POS) on a tight budget because of its flat-rate cost, which includes service and installation.

Stand-out Feature: Employee fraud may be reduced thanks to its cash tracking system’s “blind drop” setting, which prevents workers from seeing their submitted cash before counting the cash in their drawer.

Overall Review Sentiment: Positive

Key Features:

Security Measures:

The core components of Korona’s anti-theft features are granular employee permissions and thorough reporting. Korona gives you the ability to mandate that cashiers blind-drop their cash drawers at the end of their shift. A “no sale” function allows you to disable the ability to pop the cash drawer and further restrict any operations that can be performed while the cash drawer is open.

Sales Record:

In addition to keeping track of past sales, Korona also automatically determines when a product needs to be reordered by taking both past sales and current promotions into account. Other applications, such as IT Retail (discussed earlier in the list), can perform comparisons in reports, but you must manually set the parameters.

Factors To Consider:

• Plans for subscriptions
• Core: $49
• In-depth: $59
• Plus: $79
• Hardware costs: Prices range from $120 for a cash drawer to $3,000+ for a complete terminal kit, depending on the device.
• Installation costs only once: $0
• Integration with all significant processors for payment processing.
• Month-to-month agreement; no-hassle cancellation
• Free trial: Unlimited (there are modest daily transaction restrictions, and you cannot incorporate a payment processor)

Reviews:

What Do Users Say About Korona POS System?

For its backend management capabilities, which include reporting, staff controls, inventory management, and specialist retail tools, Korona received high accolades. Due to the lack of comprehensive reporting and the fact that some of the more sophisticated capabilities are hidden behind a fee, it did not receive a perfect score.

Users are delighted about Korona at the time of publication, particularly its support and usability. Onboarding and setting up everything, according to some, was a hassle, but once it was done, the program was easy to use.

Capterra Rating: 4.7/ 5

When to Use Korona POS system for convenience stores?

Because of its distinctive sales strategy, KORONA stands out. KORONA is ideal for high-risk stores since it has built-in solutions for handling age-restricted products, including ID scans. It also contains respectable tools for tracking and promoting seasonal products, as well as features for loyalty. Additionally, it contains built-in anti-theft technologies necessary for high-volume, high-turnover convenience stores as well as quick-service features to handle deli orders.

Additionally, this POS system features a ticket sales feature with choices for membership, time-sensitive promotions, and groups. It is a wonderful option for amusement parks, museums, festivals and fairs, and other event-type enterprises because the ticketing features operate in conjunction with the retail tools.

When to Use an Alternative?

It is not the best choice for eCommerce retailers. Additionally, it is not a contender for the best convenience store POS system due to its pricey register add-ons, lack of third-party connectors, and lack of functionality in its inexpensive plans. It also does not have any other tools, which keeps it off the list of the best retail POS systems.

Concluding Thoughts:

Korona provides a wealth of resources. Most of the Beginner’s Guide manuals have videos and are available online. Additionally, there is always customer support available. The service is outstanding but only available in English, according to actual users. Additionally, it is unable to offer installation support on-site, so you must feel confident doing it yourself.

7) Square Convenience Store POS Software:

Square POS is best for small convenience stores on a tight budget.

• Starting Price/Price Range:
  • Per transaction:
  • 2.6% + 10¢ (in-person)
  • 2.9% + 30¢ (online)

• USP: There are no hidden fees or long-term contracts.

• Stand-Out Feature: From your Dashboard, you can pause your subscription whenever you want. You will not be charged if you put a subscription on hold.

Overall Review Sentiment: Moderately Positive

Key Features:

Complete Payments:

This POS integrates all your sales, whether they were made using a credit card, Apple Pay, a gift card, or another method.

Instantaneous and Same-Day Transfers:

You can access your money immediately on the same day for just a 1.5% transfer charge.

Flexible Item Grid:

For simpler catalog administration, group your items and essential features into pages, categories, and display groups.

Scanning Bar Codes:

Use the iPad camera to swiftly scan barcodes to ring up sales and keep the line moving.

Sales Statistics:

In only a few minutes, you will know how much inventory you are moving and how much money you are generating. View every report directly from your POS.

Factors to Consider:

• Free: $0 per month
• Plus: $60 per month for each location (not per register)
• Premium: Individual pricing
• Hardware Price: Square Contactless + Chip Reader C-store POS systems cost between $49 and $1,329 (Square Register kit.) A Square-compatible barcode scanner is required; a new one will run you between $100 and $200.

Reviews:

What Do Users Say About Square POS System?

Many users mention how simple it is to use and teach new personnel on the Square Retail POS. I tend to believe that this is more of a case of people either liking it or hating it because other people have complained about the interface.

Many testimonials mentioned how helpful and friendly Square’s customer service is. Many users have expressed the need for Square to provide more features and capabilities. This continues to be a prevalent theme even though Square still releases updates monthly.

Square for Retail Plus costs $60 a month per site plus transaction fees, which some business owners find to be a tad pricey. Although competitive in the POS market, it certainly does not follow Square’s reputation for providing a wealth of functionality at a fantastic price (usually free).

When to Use Square POS System?

Square has made it very affordable and simple for small business owners to start selling in a physical location. C-store owners only need to register for a free account, buy a Square card reader and an iPad/tablet, and then they can start selling without having to invest a lot of money upfront. Not all POS suppliers offer free software for multiple registers in one area, but this one does.

When to Use an Alternative?

Even at the “Plus” membership level, exceptionally large firms might not find the Square for Retail feature-set adequate. This means that the Square Retail system is best suited for small-but-growing businesses or mid-sized businesses with basic/standard retail requirements.

Also Read:
✔ Top Square POS Alternatives
✔ Ari POS vs Square POS

Concluding Thoughts:

Square has given itself leeway to expand and advance with the Square POS system for retail, and the bulk of its several revisions so far have been helpful. While large companies could find the Square for Retail feature-set inadequate, particularly at the “Plus” subscription level, very tiny firms with little inventory stand to benefit from migrating from the basic Square POS.

Wrapping Up:

A quick-service store, like a convenience store, has a brisk pace. Staff members may be more likely to make mistakes during the checkout or inventory processes due to this pace. A contemporary POS system comes with tools to increase staff accuracy and lessen the number of little errors that accumulate over time.

You may better identify which products are selling and which are merely taking up space with the aid of a contemporary POS system for convenience stores with robust inventory and reporting functions. By investing in a system that can automate time-consuming operations like data analysis, ordering, and more, you will also save time and effort.

Our Recommendation:

We highly recommend Ari POS for your convenience store. Ari is the best convenience store POS system that has assisted thousands of convenience store company owners on the path to prosperity as an industry-leading POS system vendor.

Convenience is implied in the name of a convenience store, which is why people visit them. Ari POS system would enable you to provide customers with a seamless and amazing experience.