Ice cream shops can benefit from using point-of-sale (POS) systems for processing customer transactions at a retail or food service establishment. It typically includes hardware and software elements that are used to take sales, track inventory, and manage customer data.
POS systems can also be used to manage customer data, loyalty programs, and to generate reports and analytics. Here’s our selection of the best POS systems to choose from for your ice cream shop.
The best POS system for ice cream shops
The best POS system for an ice cream retailer will depend on the specific needs and goals of the business. Some factors to consider when choosing a POS system for your ice cream store include the size and store layout, types of products being offered, payment methods accepted and the level of customer service desired.
We’ve chosen a selection of POS systems that focus on costs and features to fulfill the demands of ice cream shops.
- Toast – Easy to accept, manage, and track food orders in a system specifically designed for the food and beverage industry
- Clover – Works on countertop and mobile POS setups supports multiple payment types with a built-in receipt printer and long battery life
The POS systems above present a mix of different features and services that have proven to be particularly helpful for those in the food serving industry. Indeed Toast POS is a versatile point-of-sale system created specifically for businesses in the food industry.
Toast
Toast is a restaurant point-of-sale system. Its variety of hardware features and functions make it simple to accept, handle, and monitor food orders, which is especially convenient for those working in the F&B industry.
Toast is certainly worth it in terms of ease of operation and integrations for ice cream stores, and it is especially beneficial to retail locations that need to receive orders in a wide range of ways, including at an in-store kiosk.
The simple interface allows your team to spend more time serving customers, expedite the checkout process, and provide timely service whilst pricing starts from $0 a month with a free plan and from 2.99% and $0.15c per sale, if you pick the pay-as-you-go option on hardware.
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.
Choosing a POS for an ice cream shop?
Finding a POS that best meets the requirements of your ice cream business is essential and you should be aware of the various features different POS systems can offer, taking into consideration the following:
- Reliability: When it comes to handling financial transactions for sales of your gelato, you want a POS that is dependable and always works. Unfortunately, technical flaws in untrustworthy POS software might devastate your everyday sales.
- Stock Management: You must keep track of inventories as the owner and manager of an ice cream store and a good sales terminal should be able to notify you what flavors, items, or ingredients you’re running out on, as well as when you should go shopping. Furthermore, you ought to be able to view your inventory remotely and remedy any issues.
- Quick account transfers: Businesses need to be able to complete customer transactions and get paid into their bank accounts with this cash swiftly. Having cash rapidly and reliably transferred without any problems should be a top demand for any ice cream store POS system.
- Offline functionality: While cloud-based point-of-sale systems are dependent on the internet, it can happen that you’ll experience problems with your internet access from time to time. Even if this occurs, you must continue to sell ice creams and handle transactions. Most retail businesses demand a POS terminal that can function both offline and online.
- Reporting: Retail POS systems may now supply you with a variety of data types that can assist you in making better managerial decisions. For example, you may easily discover your biggest days, quietest time of day, most popular items, how many supplies you have remaining, and who your gelato consumers are using your POS system data. This will allow you to regularly re-evaluate your menu selections, price points, and employment expenses.
- Employee Management: The odds are that you’ll employ at least one person. Today’s POS systems may frequently let your workers “clock in” and “clock out” to operate. If you are away on a trip or at a different business location, you can check which staff are signed on and of course quickly track their time worked for payroll purposes.
- Security: The very last question you want to think about when running an ice cream store is whether the next purchase may expose you or your consumers to unwelcome security concerns. A solid POS should have the most recent and up-to-date tech and also downloads software security upgrades that are fully encrypted from start to finish.
It is essential to take all of the above factors into consideration as well as the fees charged by the POS provider to better understand if this is the right POS for your ice cream shop.
Fees for ice cream POS systems?
Every ice cream business wants a POS system that works well and of course at the right price. Even small sales volumes and their charge percentages can however total to thousands of dollars. You should budget for hardware and transaction fees each transaction.
You should also anticipate value and a reasonably priced POS system and consider acquiring a POS system that gives you the most value for your ice cream shop. Toast’s cost fluctuates from free and $69, and This entry-level package contains one terminal, one payment device, and one terminal.
You can pick from having no monthly bills and higher processing costs, or a $799 fee in advance and $69 each month with reduced processing expenses. By picking the latter, you’ll pay a 0.5 percentage point less per scan.
Other options include Square which charges $299 per sales terminal unit or $27/mo over 12 months with financing and $0, $29 or more depending on monthly software subscription fee (per the plan chosen) or SumUp charging $19/unit and offering no contracts or monthly subscription fees.
FAQs
What should you think about before investing in a specific POS system for an ice cream shop?
Businesses should evaluate all of your individual needs, your finances, and the size of your firm before deciding on a POS vendor.
What are 5 types of ice cream POS systems?
There are several types of POS’s that can be used by ice cream vendors including Traditional POS systems with a cash register, mobile portable POS’s, self-service kiosks using a touch screen interface, cloud-based POS systems and hybrid POS’s include both a cash register and a mobile device.
What makes a good ice cream shop POS?
A good ice cream shop POS should be easy to use, fast in processing transactions, track inventory levels including restock alerts, store customer info, generate reports and sales analytics as well as integrate with other systems including CRM’s.
Editorial Manager
Tom is the founder of Gottagrow.io. He reads the offers, deciphers the details including features, pricing, included services and more to find you the best products and services.
