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Shopify is best known as the go-to website creator for businesses looking to build an eCommerce site. Shopify's online platform is among the best options for e-commerce businesses and startups seeking an inexpensive way to get selling online.
The company has been one of the most successful eCommerce builders in the industry since 2005, and since 2013 has provided Point of Sale (POS) systems and other hardware like barcode scanners and card readers.
Shopify customers must choose between two versions of the POS app. All plans come with the Shopify POS Lite version for free, whereas the Shopify POS Pro costs $89 per month per location.
While other companies like Square or Zettle are better known than Shopify for providing POS (Point of Sale) systems, Shopify is still an option worth review for many businesses, particularly those with a Shopify online store.
Shopify's key selling point is integration; all the POS hardware, software and payment systems integrate flawlessly with their eCommerce platform. Retailers looking to build a large online store that works perfectly with their brick and mortar shops will significantly benefit from using Shopify POS.
As an extra selling point, anyone looking to try out Shopify can do so for free for the first 14 days without having to hand over any money or even card details.
Before we get started, Shopify doesn’t currently list prices for all their products in GBP, so the exact cost for UK customers will vary depending on the exchange rate. Where possible we have listed Shopify’s prices in Pounds.
Shopify sells a comprehensive range of hardware that works with its POS system and eCommerce platform, which we cover in detail below.
While Shopify's WisePad 3 card reader is highly functional, its design does leave much to be desired. Particularly when compared to the handheld card readers offered by Square and Sumup, the WisePad 3 looks a bit drab. However, this isn’t overwhelmingly important unless your business is particularly design focused.
As previously stated, the reader WisePad 3 works just as well as any reader offered by Zettle, SumUp or Square. The reader accepts both chip & PIN and contactless payments, including Apple and Google pay. The reader supports all the usual card providers, including Visa, MasterCard and American Express.
The WisePad 3 is easy to set up and links to Shopify’s accompanying hardware, like barcode scanners, cash drawers and receipt printers. The unit is priced at £49, making it more expensive than those offered by some competitors, but it's still cheap compared to traditional PDQ card machines offered by Barclaycard or Worldpay.
The Star mPOP is a practical little all-in-one cash drawer. It has a built-in receipt printer and an optional 1D barcode scanner included.
The well-designed machine connects to your till or iPad through Bluetooth, and the cash drawer automatically opens when you put through a sale. The unit is lovely to look at and comes in a colour choice of black or white.
Shopify also includes a universal tablet stand with the Star mPOP, so this small cash drawer and printing unit is all any shop needs to start processing cash and card payments. The basic unit costs £289, and £379 with the optional scanner.
Shopify also has a range of accompanying hardware that may be useful to your business:
Shopify also offers various hardware bundles for different business types, like the retail bundle that includes a tablet stand, WisePad 3 Reader and a charging cable.
Unlike its competitors, Shopify offers its POS systems, hardware and card payment systems as part of its eCommerce website subscriptions. As such, we can't directly compare its pricing with Sumup, Zettle and other payment providers as the plans all include many extras not offered by the others.
Shopify's POS system is an all-in-one platform with various tools to manage inventory, market to customers and take payments, all while selling products online through your included eCommerce website. It is available on both Apple and Android devices.
The Shopify POS Lite version is the company’s bread and butter POS system, which has an enormous array of functions and features, the most important of which we have described below. This version is included in all pricing plans.
Order management
Manage inventory
Create marketing campaigns
Review individual store performance
Additionally, the app helps you synchronise your inventory across every sales channel, both online and physical.
You also have the option of upgrading to Shopify POS Pro, which includes everything the Lite POS plan offers with some additional extras, the most important of which is unlimited app users per site.
Below, we’ve listed some of the key extras offered on the PRO plan:
The pro version costs $89 per location.
Shopify offers three different payment plans called Basic Shopify, Shopify and Advanced Shopify. The key differences between the plans are the number of locations and employees allowed per plan and which POS package Shopify includes for free.
Shopify doesn’t currently give a price in GBP for their pricing plans, so the exact cost for UK customers will depend on the current exchange rate.
The Basic Shopify plan costs $29 per month and includes the following:
The Shopify plan costs $79 per month and includes everything in the Basic Shopify plan, as well as:
The Advanced Shopify plan costs $299 per month and includes everything in both plans described above, as well as:
Shopify charges customers varying rates for using their card payment system depending on their chosen plan.
Businesses on the Basic Shopify plan pay 2.2% + 20p on every online payment and 1.7% for in-person card payments.
Businesses on the Shopify plan pay 1.9% + 20p per online payment and 1.6% for in-person card payments.
Businesses on the advanced Shopify plan pay 1.6% + 20p on all online payments and 1.5% for in-person card payments.
Shopify Plus is the company's top-level commerce plan, specially designed for enterprise-level brands with a high sales volume. Some of the worlds biggest companies have recently switched to Shopify plus, like Netstlé and Red Bull.
The platform is essentially a world-class POS system offering business way more customisation and control than other platforms, much better automation for sales, marketing and inventory management, and advanced level multi-channel or omnichannel selling capabilities.
Small to medium-sized businesses likely won't benefit from Shopify Plus, as its features are best suited to companies with vast amounts of sales. However, if you're looking to grow your business or thinking about selling internationally, Shopify Plus could be an excellent choice for your business.
Shopify's key strength is multi-channel selling. The platform helps new businesses seamlessly integrate their physical and online sales channels for a perfectly reasonable price.
The Advanced Shopify plan, and Shopify Plus, also provide a good solution for businesses looking to scale up in the future.
However, if you're running a small business out of a physical store and have no interest in using Shopify's eCommerce platform, your business would likely be better off with a different POS provider.
