Best POS system for farmers market

Some farmers markets may use traditional cash registers or handheld devices for processing transactions, while others may prefer more advanced POS systems that are specifically designed for use in retail or food service environments.

The best POS system for a farmers market will depend on the specific needs and preferences of the market and its vendors. Here’s our selection of the best POS systems to choose from for a farmers market.

The best POS system for farmers markets

To meet the needs of farmers markets, we’ve chosen a variety of POS systems that prioritize cost and features.

• Square – Simple, reasonably priced, no contracts, accepts contactless as well as Apple Pay/Google Pay and very competitive on transaction fees, ideal for market vendors.
• Clover – Works with portable POS systems, accepts several payment kinds, has a built-in receipt printer and a long battery life.
• Payanywhere – Simple pricing model, free next-day funding and a one-stop payments solution that can save farmers market merchants time and effort, also allows for offline payments.

The POS systems mentioned above provide a variety of functions and solutions that have found to be especially useful for farmer market merchants.

Square

Square is a San Francisco-based company that builds digital tools to help businesses and  entrepreneurs to send and receive payments. Their POS system is widely used by small businesses and independent sellers, including farmers market vendors. 

Square can be used on a smartphone or tablet, making it easy for vendors to process transactions from any location within the market and can also accept a variety of payment methods, including cash, credit and debit cards and mobile payments such as Apple Pay and Google Pay.

Square Terminal’s pricing is clear and transparent charging $299/unit or $27/mo over 12 months with financing. They also charge a monthly software subscription fee depending on the plan chosen of either $0 or $29, scoring very favorably also on its transaction fees compared to traditional POS vendors. 

Square Terminal is a tremendous tool for any SME or farmers market stall, thanks to its 24/7 phone assistance, reasonable cost, lack of data plan constraints, and portability.

Clover

Clover is a cloud-based Android POS platform established in California that emerged in April 2012. The company offers a variety of payment processing solutions and services to small and medium-sized businesses.

Clover’s accept credit card or wireless payments everywhere, with really simple installation and usage as credit card readers go with a variety of enterprises, including retail and food-related trades.

Clover’s pricing is clear and transparent with each unit costing $499 and a monthly subscription fee of $0.00, $14.95, or $44.95 depending on the plan chosen and a $15/month fee for LTE cellular data plan. 

Payanywhere

Payanywhere is a financial platform and software that allows retailers to take debit and credit card payments while creating customer connections in-store, online, or via mobile devices.

It is an excellent choice for business owners who want a portable point-of-sale system that offers transparent pricing. It stands out by offering flat-rate pricing and free next-day funding. Payanywhere also accepts practically all cards, including foreign cards, which is one of its numerous advantages.

Printing the customer’s receipt is simple since the Payanywhere Smart Terminal includes a receipt printer and does not require an additional receipt printer. The terminal-installed software uses a 4G or wireless link to conduct transactions over the internet.

Payanywhere offers two pricing models including Custom or Pay as you go, with the latter costing 2.69% of total for in-person transactions that are swiped, dipped or tapped.

What products are typically sold at farmers markets?

Farmers markets typically offer a wide array of fresh, locally sourced products and you can find a diverse range of fruits and vegetables, including seasonal produce and heirloom varieties.

Other common offerings include farm-raised eggs, honey, artisanal cheeses, baked goods like bread and pastries, handmade preserves and jams, locally sourced meats and poultry, fresh seafood, flowers, plants, and herbs, with farmers markets featuring in many food tour companies also.

Many farmers markets also feature specialty items like organic products, herbal teas, spice businesses, homemade crafts, and even prepared foods such as sandwiches, soups, and ethnic cuisine.

How to choose a POS for a farmers market? 

Finding a POS system that best suits the needs of a local farmer’s market is critical, and you need to be aware of the numerous features that different POS systems may provide, taking into account the following:

Some factors that may be important to consider when choosing a POS system for a farmers market include:

• Cost: The cost of the POS system, including upfront purchase or rental fees and ongoing maintenance or subscription fees, should be considered.
• Ease of use: It is important to choose a POS system that is easy to use and intuitive, so that vendors can focus on serving customers rather than navigating complex software.
• Flexibility: A POS system that can be used on a variety of devices, such as tablets or smartphones, can be more flexible and allow vendors to process transactions from any location within the market.
• Inventory management: The capacity to monitor specific product purchases is a key feature of current point-of-sale systems. This helps you to compute pricing and taxes, keep a record of how much of each product you sell, and manage inventories.
• Payment processing: The POS system should be able to accept a variety of payment methods, including cash, credit and debit cards, and mobile payments.
• Quick fund transfers: Businesses must be able to execute consumer transactions and receive payment into their checking accounts as soon as possible. Having cash moved quickly and reliably should be a key priority for any farmers market vendor.
• Offline features: Although cloud-based point-of-sale systems rely on the internet, you may periodically have issues with your internet connectivity. Even if this happens, you must keep selling and handling transactions. Most retail organizations want a POS system that can perform either offline and online transactions.
• Additional features: Some POS systems may offer additional features such as inventory management, customer relationship management (CRM) tools, and reporting capabilities that can be useful for farmers markets.
• Accounting integration: If you utilize QuickBooks online, you need a simple way to sync data across your POS and QuickBooks systems for items like total revenues, till counts, cost of products sold, payroll records, stock checks, and/or purchase orders. Some point-of-sale systems can connect straight to QuickBooks, saving time and money.

It is vital to take all of the aforementioned criteria into account as well as the costs imposed by the sales system provider to help understand whether this is the ideal POS for your local fruit, vegetables or crafts stall.

Fees for farmers market POS systems?

Each farmers market vendor will of course want a sales terminal that works effectively and is reasonably priced. However, even minor sales volumes and charge percentages can add up to hundreds of dollars and each transaction should be budgeted to take into account hardware and transaction costs which will get deducted.

With Square’s prices, you may choose between a free version or a Plus option that’s $60 monthly per site, as well as a Premium plan with bespoke pricing. Meanwhile, Payanywhere has a Pay as you go service that includes 2.69% of the overall for in-person swiped, dipped, or tapped purchases.

Other options include the SumUp POS which charge $19/unit and offer no contracts or monthly subscription fees or indeed Toast whose price range goes from free to $69 with their entry-level package containing one terminal and one payment device. 

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