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5 Best Barbershop POS Software

The best barbershop POS software should have excellent booking abilities, great appointment functionality, and have strong inventory management.

    Kymberlin Bush
  • Last updated onUpdated

  • Matt Sherman
  • REVIEWED BY

    Matt Sherman

    Lead Staff Writer

Our content reflects the editorial opinions of our experts. While our site makes money through referral partnerships, we only partner with companies that meet our standards for quality, as outlined in our independent rating and scoring system.

The best POS systems for small businesses will help your barbershop business thrive.

POS systems designed specifically for barbershops will help you increase your clientele, improve your services, and ultimately grow your business.

Learn More About Our Top Picks

CompanyBest ForNext StepsBest For
Square Appointments

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  • $0-$69/month
  • Best all-around barbershop POS
  • Smart Tips option
  • $0-$69/month
  • Best all-around barbershop POS
  • Smart Tips option

Visit Site

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Lightspeed Retail

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  • $89-$239/month (w/annual billing)
  • Best feature set
  • Very deep reporting
  • $89-$239/month (w/annual billing)
  • Best feature set
  • Very deep reporting

Visit Site

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Clover POS

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  • $14.95-$94.85/month
  • Best integrations
  • Expansive Clover Marketplace
  • $14.95-$94.85/month
  • Best integrations
  • Expansive Clover Marketplace

Visit Site

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Shopify POS

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  • $9-$299/month
  • Best eCommerce platform
  • Automatic tax calculations
  • $9-$299/month
  • Best eCommerce platform
  • Automatic tax calculations

Visit Site

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Franpos

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  • $199-$249/month
  • Best loyalty program
  • Intuitive calendar
  • $199-$249/month
  • Best loyalty program
  • Intuitive calendar

Visit Site

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Read more below to learn why we chose these options.

5 Best POS Systems For Barbershops

The best barbershop POS software should come with good appointment management functionality, an intuitive interface for employees, and excellent customer management. Here are our top 5 picks:

How Our Best Barbershop Software Picks Compare

Automatic Notifications Integrated Inventory Management Integrated Payment Processing Online Booking Site Free Trial
Square Appointments
Lightspeed Retail
Clover Paid Add-On
Shopify Paid Add-On
Franpos

Square Appointments: Best All-Around Barbershop POS

Square Appointments

Total Rating 4.8
Pricing4.8

Ease Of Use5.0

Features4.8

Customer Service4.5

User Reviews4.7

Pricing Range

$0-$69/month

Contract

None

Equipment Cost

$0-$799

Get a free card swiper from Square at no cost when you create a free account. Claim your card reader.

Pros

  • Simple interface
  • Strong mobile app
  • Free plan available

Cons

  • Not customizable
  • Occasional fund holds

square appointments prepayment with tip

Why We Chose Square Appointments For Best All-Around Barbershop POS

We love Square's large suite of free services. One part of the Square ecosystem is Square Appointments which is a great option for just about every barbershop.

Larger barbershops that have more complex needs might find Square a bit too basic, but there are features and add-ons to accommodate most barbershops.

Square Appointments Features

Square Appointments Features Availability
Multi-Store Support
Contactless Payments
Multi-Channel Selling
Gift Cards
Customer Loyalty
Marketing Tools
Online Ordering
Inventory Management
Reporting
Menu Management
Delivery Management
EBT Acceptance
Employee Management
Text Messaging

Here’s a more in-depth description of features that specifically benefit barbershops.

Square comes with basic inventory management that should cover most small business needs. Some of the highlights include:

  • Manage inventory by item
  • Automatic restocks
  • Enable bulk inventory
  • View history
  • Downloadable reports
  • Editable modifiers

Square is an all-in-one POS system with loads of additional features that can help your barbershop. A few standout areas include:

  • Integrated payment processing
  • Smart Tips option including prepay
  • Online booking site
  • Commission tracking
  • Square Contracts
  • Team management
  • Customer directory
  • Square Marketing

Square Appointments Pricing

Square Appointments has three pricing tiers.

  • Free: Best for basic, single-location barbershops.
  • Plus: Best for barbershops with multiple locations that need expanded features.
  • Premium: Best for barbershops that need extensive reporting and commission tracking.

Square Appointments Hardware Costs

All you need to use Square Appointments is a smartphone (or tablet) and a free Square card reader. The other hardware options are reasonably priced and offer financing options for businesses low on cash.

Square Appointments Payment Processing

Square Appointments uses Square’s payment processing. The free plan charges 2.6% + $0.10 per transaction and, for the paid plans, you get a slight discount, with fees coming in at 2.5% + $0.10 per transaction.

What To Watch Out For

One of the biggest perks of Square is that there are no hidden fees or contracts and you can always pay month-to-month. There are no early termination fees to worry about

When To Use Square Appointments

  • You want a budget-friendly, low-commitment option for a barbershop POS.
  • You need a POS system that can grow with your business.
  • You want a robust set of add-ons, features, and like integrated payment processing.

Get Started With Square Appointments

Read our in-depth review

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Lightspeed Retail: Best Feature Set

Lightspeed Retail

Total Rating 4.1
Pricing3.7

Ease Of Use4.4

Features4.3

Customer Service4.1

User Reviews4.0

Pricing Range

$109-$289/month ($89-$239/month billed annually)

Contract

Monthly, annual, and custom

Equipment Cost

$199-$329

Pros

  • Strong loyalty program
  • Excellent eCommerce
  • Multilocation support on every plan
  • Intensive inventory management

Cons

  • Somewhat pricey
  • Early termination fee
  • Must use in-house payment processor

Lightspeed eCommerce website on multiple screen sizes

Why We Chose Lightspeed Retail For The Best Barbershop POS Features

We love the massive catalog of features, add-ons, and integrations that Lightspeed Retail provides for barbershop owners.

For booking, Lightspeed Retail does require an integration with a third-party app, Booxi, for an added fee. This additional charge (along with others) may make Lightspeed Retail a bad choice for businesses on a budget.

Lightspeed Retail Features

Lightspeed Retail Features Availability
Multi-Store Support
Contactless Payments
Multi-Channel Selling Standard plan and up
Gift Cards
Customer Loyalty Advanced plan
Marketing Tools Standard plan and up
Online Ordering Standard plan and up
Inventory Management
Reporting
Menu Management
Delivery Management
EBT Acceptance
Employee Management
Text Messaging

Lightspeed has offers an extensive set of inventory management tools. Here’s what you can expect to find:

  • Multistore transferring
  • Purchase order management
  • Customizable tags
  • Item variations
  • Shipping tools
  • In-depth inventory reporting

Lightspeed is a complete POS platform with a loaded feature set that should have you completely covered no matter what your barbershop needs.

Here are some of the areas where it stands out:

  • Receipts
  • Gift certificates and gift cards
  • Discounts
  • Advanced customer loyalty
  • Returns and exchanges
  • Global support
  • Deep reporting

Lightspeed Retail Pricing

All plans come with one POS register software license. To add more registers to your plan, you’ll pay an extra $59/register/month.

The integration of a booking app, Booxi, also comes with a varied monthly fee.

Lightspeed Retail Hardware Costs

Lightspeed has multiple hardware bundles to fit all of your needs and sells individual items through its website as well. However, you will need to call to get complete pricing details.

Note: Lightspeed Retail now requires all new and existing qualified merchants using Lightspeed Retail in the US and Canada to sign up for Lightspeed Payments, Lightspeed’s payment processor. If you currently use a card reader from a third-party payment processor, you can’t use it anymore. Since you can’t use any existing payment terminals (card readers) with Lightspeed Payments, Lightspeed is currently running a free terminal replacement promotion for eligible merchants that includes two free Lightspeed POS terminals (card readers) per qualified merchant.

Eligible merchants include business owners that process a minimum of $100/day in credit card payments, as measured by a monthly average. Apple products are not included in this promotion, so you’ll still need to source an iPad to take sales.

Lightspeed Retail Payment Processing

Lightspeed has its own processing service that starts at 2.6% + $0.10 for in-person payments and 2.9% + $0.30 for online payments.

Note: Lightspeed will buy out payment processing contracts, paying off merchants’ early cancellation fees if you process a minimum of $25,000 in card sales and then submit documentation of your previous payment processing contract that states your early termination fee within six months of meeting this minimum processing amount.

It’s important to note that the “paying off” comes in the form of discounted payment processing fees, not a chunk of cash that goes towards your termination fees when you decide to switch to Lightspeed Payments.

If you are a current Lightspeed user and don’t apply for Lightspeed Payments within 30 days of receiving a notification email, you’ll be charged a fee between $200 and $1,120 per month until you do sign up for Lightspeed Payments.

What To Watch Out For

Lightspeed allows you to purchase software on a month-to-month basis with no long-term contracts, but there is a discounted fee for annual contract holders. You will be charged an early termination fee if you cancel your plan early, so consider signing up for a monthly plan before committing long-term.

If you purchase POS hardware from Lightspeed, you must confirm that you have received your purchase within five business days of receiving it. If you don’t, the hardware will not qualify for Lightspeed’s 30-day hardware warranty (14 days for Apple products).

When To Use Lightspeed Retail

  • You can afford a higher-priced barbershop POS.
  • You need extensive reporting, inventory management, and add-on features.
  • You want multi-location support no matter what plan tier you choose.

Get Started With Lightspeed Retail

Read our in-depth review

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Clover POS: Best For Customization

Total Rating 4.3
Pricing4.0

Ease Of Use4.8

Features4.5

Customer Service4.4

User Reviews4.1

Pricing Range

Starts at $0/month

Contract

Depends on merchant services provider

Equipment Cost

$49-$1,799 per device

Pros

  • Large app store
  • Intuitive interface
  • Excellent loyalty

Cons

  • Payment processing issues
  • Upfront costs

clover station home screen

Why We Chose Clover For The Best Customizable Barbershop POS

We love Clover's app store (Clover Marketplace) which gives users access to hundreds of apps that directly integrate with the Clover POS system.

Barbershops can appreciate the integrations with MailChimp, Woo, Time Clock, QuickBooks, and Yelp.

Clover Features

Clover POS Features Availability
Multi-Store Support
Contactless Payments Depends on hardware choice
Multi-Channel Selling
Gift Cards
Customer Loyalty
Marketing Tools
Online Ordering Depends on software plan
Inventory Management
Reporting
Menu Management
Delivery Management
EBT Acceptance Add-on app
Employee Management
Text Messaging

Like all things Clover, you can download an app to help with your inventory. Shopventory is one of the more popular inventory management apps and Clover also integrates with Shopify and Square. Through Shopventory you get these inventory benefits:

  • Item variants
  • Invoicing
  • Sales analytics
  • Profitability reports
  • Sales channel management
  • Low stock alerts
  • Auto re-ordering

Clover is a one-stop shop for POS needs. Through its app-based software you can get everything you need to run your barbershop and potentially find some things you didn’t even know existed that can help you out. Here’s what Clover has to offer:

  • Advanced reporting
  • Gift cards
  • Excellent loyalty
  • Customer database
  • Virtual terminal
  • Full customization
  • Multi-store selling

Clover Pricing

Clover has a wide variety of software options depending on what you plan on utilizing and they range from $14.95 to $94.85/month. If you don’t want to purchase hardware outright, monthly leasing plans that include hardware and software are also available starting at $50/month.

Clover Hardware Costs

Clover has numerous intuitive and convenient hardware offerings to help you take payments and store information. They offer their Clover Go Card Reader for $49, Clover Flex payment terminal for $499, Clover Mini mobile POS system for $799, and their complete POS system Clover Station Solo for $1,349 or $1,799.

Clover Payment Processing

Clover is sold in conjunction with a Fiserv merchant account which has a sketchy history with customer service. We recommend going through other Clover merchant providers for processing and through them, you can get a competitive rate. Clover’s processing rates will vary depending on the services you use, but for in-person payments, they start at 2.6% + $0.10 and 3.5% + $o.10 for manual-entry payments.

What To Watch Out For

As mentioned, Clover is sold through Fiserv, which doesn’t always have the best reputation in the industry, particularly with customer service. Definitely do your research on Clover and on Fiserve processing before signing any contracts.

When To Use Clover

  • You want a totally customized POS system for your barbershop.
  • You need an intuitive, easy-to-use interface.
  • You don’t mind doing your research to avoid potential scams.

Get Started With Clover POS

Read our in-depth review

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Shopify POS: Best eCommerce Platform

Total Rating 4.3
Pricing4.0

Ease Of Use4.9

Features4.4

Customer Service4.8

User Reviews4.4

Pricing Range

Starts at $29/month

Contract

None

Equipment Cost

$0-$500+

Pros

  • Numerous integrations
  • eCommerce platform
  • Multiple payment options

Cons

  • Weak offline mode
  • Complicated pricing

shopify pos hardware

Why We Chose Shopify POS For The Best eCommerce Barbershop POS Platform

We love that Shopify's eCommerce platforms and POS software are equally highly rated. Like Clover, Shopify needs to be enhanced with a variety of apps.

Barbershops are going to need to use Servicify to create appointments, set up auto-reminders, and sync to Google Calendar while managing multiple staff.

Shopify POS Features

Shopify POS Features Availability
Multi-Store Support Supports multiple inventory locations
Contactless Payments
Multi-Channel Selling
Gift Cards
Customer Loyalty
Marketing Tools
Online Ordering
Inventory Management
Reporting
Menu Management
Delivery Management
EBT Acceptance
Employee Management
Text Messaging

Shopify also runs its inventory management through an add-on app called Stocky. With Stocky, Shopify provides these inventory features:

  • Purchase order
  • Demand forecasting
  • Transfers
  • Low stock reports
  • Inventory analysis
  • Stock adjustments
  • Sale item suggestions

Shopify’s POS product is a great addition to your business if you’re already using Shopify for eCommerce. Here’s a few other ways Shopify POS can help your barbershop run smoothly:

  • Custom payment options
  • Multi sales channels
  • Custom receipts
  • Automatic tax calculations
  • Order histories
  • Staff roles
  • Customer profiles
  • Barcode support

Shopify POS Pricing

Shopify’s pricing is a little tricky with multiple pricing tiers. They start with a Lite plan that is very basic but is offered for $9/month and there are additional plans ranging from $29/month up to $299/month.

Shopify POS Hardware Costs

Shopify has multiple bundle options available on its website and individual items such as card readers and scanners. You will need to contact them directly for pricing.

Shopify POS Payment Processing

Shopify has its own processing plan that you can use with rates ranging from 2.4% to 2.9% depending on the plan you’ve chosen. They also integrate with other payment processors, allowing you to shop around. However, if you have the Lite plan, you must use Shopify’s in-house processing.

What To Watch Out For

Like most services, Shopify allows you to purchase its software month-to-month but it does offer discounts for signing up annually.

When To Use Shopify POS

  • You already use Shopify’s eCommerce platform.
  • You want the choice between an in-house and third-party payment processor.
  • You don’t want to sign up for a lengthy contract with early termination fees.

Get Started With Shopify POS

Read our in-depth review

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Franpos: Best Loyalty Program

Franpos


Visit Site


Pros

  • Multi-store capacity
  • Strong loyalty
  • Good eCommerce platform

Cons

  • Glitchy software
  • Weak offline mode

franpos online bookings

Why We Chose Franpos For Best Barbershop POS Loyalty Program

We love that Franpos offers built-in booking functionality at every plan level.

The best part about Franpos is the customer loyalty program. Customers can create an account with your barbershop that will help increase repeat sales and overall loyalty.

Franpos Features

Franpos is a fully functional POS system with solid back-end features. This includes a decent set of inventory management features like:

  • SKU auto-generation
  • Multi-location transfers
  • Low stock reports
  • Auto-reordering
  • Check inventory remotely

Franpos’ full feature set is impressive and many of those features were built specifically with places like salons and barbershops in mind. Here are some of Franpos’ best POS features:

  • Extensive reporting
  • Omnichannel selling
  • Loyalty and gift cards
  • Targetted marketing
  • Integrations and open API

Franpos Pricing

Franpos’s pricing is simple and upfront.

  • Single Location: Single terminal system for small businesses starts at $199/month.
  • Franchise: Single terminal system with additional franchise features starts at $249/month.

Both plans come with basic features like the Franpos loyalty program and gift card management, 24/7 customer service, online management, and more. Additional features can be added to your plan for an extra cost like eCommerce ($99/month), Growth Marketing ($68/month), and Unlimited Terminals ($99/month).

Franpos Hardware Costs

Franpos offers a convenient Android-based hardware bundle for franchise systems. There is no pricing information included on the website.

Franpos Payment Processing

It seems like Franpos offers its own in-house payment processor called Franpos Pay, but there is no information about processing fees.

Franpos does also integrate with Square, Fiserv, TSYS, Heartland, Elavon, Worldpay, and more.

What To Watch Out For

Franpos lets you purchase your software plan on a month-to-month basis without a contract. There are no other terms listed on the site.

When To Use Franpos

  • You want a strong loyalty program and only want to pay for the features you need.
  • You need the ability to manage multiple locations from one POS terminal.
  • You don’t mind a lack of transparency when it comes to pricing, fees, and hardware costs.

Get Started With Franpos

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Retail POS Review Methodology

Merchant Maverick has been researching and reviewing POS providers since 2012. Our writers have tested over 100 different point of sale systems, evaluating pricing, features, ease of use, customer service, and user reviewers. Read more about how we rate POS providers.

Weighted Rating Breakdown

Pricing 40%
Features 30%
Ease Of Use 15%
Customer Service 10%
User Reviews 5%

When comparing different POS software systems, we consider many data points, including relative pricing, the depth of niche features offered, the price of hardware, and any associated payment processing fees. Our lists of the best providers include only apps we’ve deemed worthwhile from multiple vantage points. The POS vendors we pick share qualities such as widespread availability, accessibility, user-friendliness, and reasonable pricing. We also look carefully at niche features, such as check-splitting, inventory management, eCommerce, loyalty programs, gift cards, and more.

We spend an average of 10-15 hours researching and updating each one of our lists, making sure the providers included meet our internal standards for quality and reputation.

80+

Vendors evaluated

65+

Attributes assessed per vendor

20+

Features weighed

30+

Combined years of experience


The Bottom Line On POS Systems For Barbershops

Whatever your needs and final decision, any of the above POS systems will serve your business well.

Consider the services you offer, the types of payment you want to accept, your budget, payment processing fees, and any additional revenue streams you may want to add in the future when deciding on a POS system.

Best Barbershop POS Software FAQs

How does a barbershop get more customers?

One of the best ways for barbershops to attract and retain customers is by having a strong loyalty program. This allows the business to store customer preference and keep information or marketing and promotions.

Which barbershop software and pos system is easiest to use?

We think Square is the easiest all-around barbershop software that enables taking payments from day one. You won’t need a credit check or need to have an established business to start with Square. Without this barrier, you can start taking payments immediately right from your mobile device. The software dashboard is very user friendly and simple to navigate, with clear options when it is time to enable other selling features like email marketing, booking, and online payments.

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Kymberlin Bush

Kymberlin Bush

Expert Contributor
Kymberlin earned her Bachelor of Arts in Creative Writing from Pacific University in 2020 and resides in Portland, Oregon.
Kymberlin Bush
View Kymberlin Bush's professional experience on LinkedIn.