7 Best POS Systems In Canada For 2023

We love that Lightspeed Retail offers comprehensive software that provides retailers with the inventory, vendor, and employee management features any brick-and-mortar store needs to monitor stock movements, keep shelves filled with high-selling items, and ensure that staff is providing the best customer service possible.

We also appreciate that Lightspeed Retail offers its own in-house eCommerce and subscription sales platforms, and integrates with several third-party software providers. In fact, rental businesses can use a third-party rental item management app to create very specific rental rules and rates and manage items that come in and out with ease, making Lightspeed Retail one of the best POS systems for rental businesses out there.

Last, we love Lightspeed’s customizable loyalty program that’s easy for staff and customers to use. Loyalty programs have been shown to increase customer retention rates, and are highly worth it for retailers to generate a strong customer base.

Lightspeed fees start at 119 CAD/month Lean plan (89 CAD/month with annual billing) for Lightspeed Retail users.

To get eCommerce functions, you’ll have to subscribe to the 199 CAD/month (159 CAD/month with annual billing) Standard plan. Lightspeed’s loyalty program is included in the 319 CAD/month (229 CAD/month with annual billing) Advanced plan.

Extra features such as Lightspeed Subscriptions and third-party software integrations cost an added monthly fee.

Lightspeed Retail’s most unique retail features include:

• B2B Retail Sales: Create customer accounts that allow you to block bulk pricing behind a user account login, making B2B and B2C sales possible. Create online catalogs for B2B customers. Accept deposits into accounts for use later and set account limits for different B2B customers.
• Inventory Management: Auto-populate purchase orders based on set minimum stock levels and backorders. Create vendors and edit pricing based on vendor, item, or category. Receive partial and full purchase orders. Connect your suppliers directly to your POS with Lightspeed’s B2B catalog, which makes reordering easier.
• Subscription Sales: Sell subscriptions for a set amount of time or on an ongoing basis with saved card on file. Create separate plans with separate tiers, and even sell non-physical items such as membership fees.
• Multi-Store Management: Create multiple permanent and temporary locations as you open more locations or sell at one-time events. Move inventory between locations, set custom reordering levels for each location, and get sales reports for all locations.
• eCommerce Sales: Lightspeed offers its own eCommerce platform and integrates with Booxi, an eCommerce software that allows you to sell appointments, rentals, and retail items.

Lightspeed Retail POS purchase ordering.

For rental businesses, Lightspeed Retail integrates with Rental Shop Manager, an app that allows you to rent out retail inventory for a specified amount of time, charge late fees, send items out for maintenance, and more. You can also use Lightspeed Retail to generate quotes, turn quotes into invoices, create item holds and layaways, and provide reservations for venues or retail items.

Lightspeed’s highly customizable loyalty program allows you to engage with customers by rewarding points for every purchase, rewarding certain item purchases, creating sales and promotions for certain days, and using loyalty member data to create marketing campaigns for your business.

Lightspeed Retail POS register, Bluetooth barcode scanner, and online storefront.

You can purchase Lightspeed POS hardware for an iPad or desktop setup from Lightspeed’s website. Pricing is quote-based, so you will need to reach out to get exact pricing for your kit. You can also source hardware components yourself.

Lightspeed offers integrated payment processing for Canadian merchants through Lightspeed Payments, which new merchants are required to use if they are qualified for it.

Lightspeed Payments offers flat-rate processing at 2.6% + 0.10 CAD for in-person transactions and 2.9% + 0.3o CAD for online orders.

Though month-to-month plans are available, you will need to commit to Lightspeed for at least one year to get the best price. However, there are early termination fees if you cancel your Lightspeed account, and are dependent on how long your contract is. We recommend starting off with a monthly plan before committing to your POS software in the long run.

You also need to verify to Lightspeed that you have received any Lightspeed hardware within five business days of receiving it, or the hardware will not be covered under the 30-day warranty (14 days for Apple products).

We believe that Square offers one of the best free POS systems on the Canadian market for business owners in several industries. There are specific software plans for retail, restaurant, and service-based businesses, and no matter what kind of business you own, you can find affordable POS hardware to take sales with.

Square offers a free online checkout page, invoicing tools, social media sales capabilities, and allows you to have an unlimited number of POS devices on the free plan. Square’s very affordable paid plans offer multilocation management, advanced inventory management features, and advanced employee management features.

Note: The above pricing is in USD.

Square’s flagship Square POS app is completely free. Square also has free and paid versions of Square For Restaurants, Square For Retail, and Square Appointments. The paid versions of Square for Restaurants and Square for Retail are both 60 USD/month, and paid subscriptions to Square Appointments range from 50 to 90 USD/month, depending on how many staff calendars you have. Additionally, Square offers various paid add-ons, including marketing, loyalty, advanced team management, Square KDS, and others.

Square’s most unique free features include the following:

• Free retail and takeout/delivery ordering website
• Free Square checkout links so service-based and B2B businesses can accept invoice payments
• Free appointment scheduling link/page so you can accept appointments for services, special events, or private shopping
• Unlimited POS devices so businesses can take payments on phones, computers, iPads, and/or Square’s proprietary hardware

Square Online free online store editor.

Retailers on a budget can sell an unlimited number of products in person, online, and on social media. You can also list your products on Google, place product buy buttons on blogs and marketing emails, and sync your inventory between all sales channels for free. On paid plans, you’ll get features like automated purchase ordering, vendor management, and bulk stock editing.

Square’s restaurant plan is great for small counter-service restaurants, with an order manager, floor planner, and optional kitchen display system for an added 20 USD/device/month. Square’s paid restaurant plan is better for full-service restaurants, with order coursing, individual seat management, and an unlimited number of kitchen displays with ticket order routing.

Square For Restaurants auto-86 menu items on POS.

For service-based businesses such as contractors, you can provide estimates, send contracts with estimates and invoices, collect digital signatures, and send deposit reminders for free. Service businesses such as salons or nail stylists allow you to schedule appointments, accept prepayments/deposits, track inventory and resources, and give tipping suggestions for clients. In fact, Square is one of the best salon POS software for independent stylists because of the number of free features available.

Square Appointments retail sales and appointment booking calendar app.

Square POS hardware.

Square offers free magstripe readers (one per business) and 59 CAD contactless and chip readers that will connect to just about any mobile device. Other Square hardware options include a 199 CAD Square Stand for iPad, 299 CAD Square Terminal, or 899 CAD Square Register, all of which are available in Canada.

Canadian merchants using Square pay 2.65% for all credit card sales and 0.75 + 0.07 CAD per INTERAC chip and PIN or tap sale. You must use Square credit card processing with the Square POS; there is no option to integrate an outside processor.

Square contracts are all month-to-month and can be canceled at any time. As for the downsides of using Square, the company has a payment service provider (PSP) model, which means merchants do not receive individual merchant accounts (Shopify uses this type of processing as well). Using this sort of service can occasionally lead to issues such as frozen funds and even sudden account terminations.

We believe that TouchBistro is an excellent POS system for full-service restaurants, as well as mobile restaurants such as food trucks and businesses that cater or host private events. This is because the POS system has an excellent offline mode that allows you to take payments on the go, a kitchen display system that helps you manage immediate and scheduled orders, and an excellent online ordering web app.

Every TouchBistro plan comes with table planning, monitoring, and turnaround times, plus employee management tools. For an added fee, you’ll get a built-in reservation and waitlist system that you can use on your own online ordering site, Google business profile, and phone call reservations. A built-in reservation system that syncs with your entire restaurant management ecosystem is unique among restaurant POS systems.

When it comes to one of the best restaurant POS systems, TouchBistro is a great option.

TouchBistro is highly affordable for smaller restaurants, and unlike many POS companies, TouchBistro doesn’t charge an additional monthly fee for its kitchen display system or customer-facing display. TouchBistro also includes free 24/7 support with office locations in Toronto and Vancouver.

If you don’t use any integrations or add-ons, TouchBistro is 69 USD/month for one register, billed annually. The Dual plan includes two user licenses and costs 129 USD/month. The Team plan includes five user licenses at 249 USD/month, and the Unlimited plan includes unlimited user licenses at 399 USD/month.

Popular TouchBistro add-ons include:

• Online Ordering: 50 USD/month
• Reservations: 229 USD/month
• Gift Cards: 25 USD/month
• Loyalty: 99 USD/month
• Marketing: 99 USD/month

Note: TouchBistro’s add-ons may be expensive compared to budget/starter restaurant POS systems such as Square. However, considering that TouchBistro charges no per-order fees on online orders or reservations, and no per-member loyalty program signup fees, we think TouchBistro is worth the investment for restaurants that can afford the flat-rate additional monthly fee.

The company also charges a nonrefundable setup fee that starts at 200 USD and includes your hardware setup plus software walkthrough.

TouchBistro’s most unique features are for full-service restaurants, both fine dining and family-style establishments. These features include:

• Reservation System: Customers can use TouchBistro’s built-in reservation system to make reservations from your web-based online ordering app, your Google Business Profile, and by calling. You can send reminder emails/phone messages about upcoming reservations, create floor plans specifically for managing reservations, charge large-party service fees, and assign different servers to reserved sections.
• Waitlist System: Allow customers to add themselves to your restaurant’s waitlist online when your restaurant is currently full. Send customers SMS notifications about their waitlist status and estimated wait time, with wait time updates. Enforce waitlist cutoff times so staff won’t get overwhelmed with customers past closing time.
• Table Management: Monitor seating times, courses, and table turnaround time for each table. Update floor plans quickly based on reservations and waitlists (e.g. pushing two tables together to accommodate a larger party.) Connect TouchBistro kitchen displays with individual seats to pace meals at tables.
• Liquid Inventory Monitoring: Restaurants with a bar section/drink menu can track liquid sales and wastage at your in-house bar or events featuring alcohol with TouchBistro’s Bevchek or Freepour integration.
• Customer Dining Preferences: You can ask for dining preferences/allergies when taking reservations. VIP diners can be flagged in customer reports, and their preferences can be saved for future orders to create a personalized dining experience.

TouchBistro reservations and seating management in POS system.

TouchBistro’s loyalty program is an excellent revenue-generating software feature that allows you to offer points-based and item-based discounts, send marketing emails based on customer loyalty accounts, and have customers sign up on your restaurant’s online ordering site.

Caterers and mobile food service businesses will also appreciate the ability to:

• Create House Accounts: If you regularly cater to offices, schools, government organizations, or other businesses, it’s helpful to create customer house accounts. You can allow billing to customers’ house accounts with saved payment types and partial or full balance payoffs. You can allow customers to preload credits to an account.
• Take Catering Orders: Create a quote and take notes for future orders, require a deposit for future orders, and choose how far in advance someone can order. You can also set concrete event start and end times and set up catering order categories on kitchen displays.
• Customize Catering Order Parameters: Caterers can set different delivery zones and increase minimum order requirements and service fees depending on the delivery zone. If a customer tries to order online and inputs an address outside your delivery zone, an automated message will ask the customer to contact you to discuss a custom order.
• Accept Sales Off-Site: TouchBistro’s unique hybrid offline mode allows you to take orders at events or in a food truck. Sell prewrapped foods, bottles of alcohol, or retail items at events. You can also take future catering orders for new customers while at a job.

TouchBistro POS register iPad stand, receipt printer, cash drawer.

TouchBistro uses iPad POS hardware. The hardware kits TouchBistro sells are quote-based, so you will need to reach out to determine the price for your business.

TouchBistro supports several processing options for Canadian businesses, including Chase Merchant Services, Moneris, and others. TouchBistro also integrates with Square for processing.

Since TouchBistro works with a number of different payment processors, the terms of your merchant services contract with TouchBistro will depend in part on which integrated processor you choose. For example, some TouchBistro users online have stated on user review websites that they were incentivized to sign a two-year contract with TouchBistro and Chase.

TouchBistro also charges an early termination fee if you cancel before your contract is up.

We love that Revel POS is an advanced, highly customizable POS system that allows businesses in a number of industries to meet any complex or niche business needs. This POS system can work for any business, from multilocation bar franchises that also ship alcohol, to drive-through restaurants, to grocery stores that also sell regulated items.

No matter what type of business you own, you’ll appreciate Revel’s flexible inventory management, third-party software integration options, and numerous POS hardware options. Depending on your business, you may also appreciate Revel’s comprehensive in-house delivery management system, native online ordering platform, loyalty program setup, and customer relationship management system.

Note: The above pricing is in USD.

Revel advertises that its pricing starts at 99 USD/month, with a two-terminal minimum and onboarding starting at 674 USD. Note that this is just the starting price, and your monthly fee could (and probably will) be higher, depending on your feature needs.

Since Revel is for larger businesses, you can expect a higher price point than other, less comprehensive POS systems on this list.

Revel offers an all-in-one software that covers the needs of retail, restaurant, service, and even niche businesses without you having to choose between software plans. This makes Revel great for hybrid businesses such as restaurants that also host private parties and grocery stores that also sell food (in fact, we put Revel on our list of best grocery store POS systems because of its comprehensive and flexible grocery store features.)

All Canadian business types can appreciate these POS features, which are almost universally good for businesses:

• Online Ordering: Revel has an excellent built-in online ordering platform that you can use to sell both retail items and fresh food. Brand your web-based app to make it feel like your own mobile app. Allow your app to use a customer’s location to suggest which of your locations (if you have multiple) a customer should order from.
• Delivery Management: Sell items for local delivery or shipping. Create your own delivery management system with estimated delivery dates/times to mimic third-party delivery platform apps.
• Inventory Management: Auto-generate purchase orders, group vendors, and set par levels by location. Use perishable inventory management, tag items as regulated (requiring ID verification for purchase), and move inventory between business locations. Track your orders from vendors and from between locations when you transfer stock.
• Loyalty Program: Like Lightspeed and TouchBistro, Revel has its own loyalty program. You can set up your own loyalty program rules, send gifts, and use loyalty program data for automated marketing campaigns to different customer groups.
• Employee Management: Revel’s built-in employee management system allows you to track employee cash register and stock take activity, have employees clock in/out, export timesheet information to payroll, create user restrictions, require manager approval for returns, and authorize different user access levels across locations.
• Third-Party Integrations: Like Lightspeed, Revel offers a substantial number of third-party integrations for everything from third-party delivery platforms, to liquid inventory management software, to digital signage software/hardware.

Revel POS inventory item setup.

Revel also offers niche integrations for things like drive-through software, (making Revel one of the best drive-through POS systems), wine club subscription platforms (making Revel one of the best winery POS software), and security camera integrations (making Revel one of the best POS systems for liquor stores).

Revel POS iPad POS register, iPad stand, and customer-facing display.

Revel uses iPad POS hardware, and to purchase a kit, you will need to reach out to Revel for a quote. You can also source your own hardware with express written permission from a Revel representative. The company requires written permission so that they can check up on what you’re getting and make sure it’s compatible with Revel software.

Revel integrates with several Canadian processors, including Chase Merchant Services, Global Payments, and Moneris.

You can also use Revel Advantage International as a Canadian business owner. You’ll get a custom quote if you decide to go with Revel’s built-in payment processor.

Contract length varies depending on your particular agreement with Revel. Depending on your contract with Revel and your integrated merchant account, you may be required to sign a contract for one year or longer. You will face a pretty substantial early termination fee if you cancel your contract early, so consider negotiating a short-term agreement before committing in the long run.

We love how easy it is to set up and use Clover hardware and software. All business owners have to do is decide which of Clover’s sleek proprietary hardware to purchase, choose where to purchase their hardware from, and choose a software plan. If your retail, restaurant, or professional services software plan doesn’t have everything you need built into it, there’s an extensive Clover app market full of free and paid apps that can give your system the features you need to run your business. Since Clover devices work essentially as smartphones do, all you have to do is install your app, and you’re good to go.

Clover also offers a built-in loyalty program and online ordering page that connects to your Google business profile.

Last, we appreciate that since you get to choose which Clover provider you source your POS hardware and software from (also known as a Clover reseller), you can find the best custom payment processing rates for your business (more on this below.)

If you’re not very tech-savvy, or have a lot of employee turnover, this easy-to-use POS system could be the right one for your business.

Note: The pricing above is in USD and only for merchants who buy their hardware upfront from Clover.com.

Since you can purchase your Clover hardware and software from a different Clover provider other than Clover.com, such as Dharma Merchant Services or National Processing, you could pay different monthly fees for your software.

Read our post on Clover POS costs to figure out how much you could be paying for Clover POS hardware and software.

Clover offers retail, restaurant, and service-based business software plans, including personal services, professional services, and home/field services plans.

All Clover users will appreciate the provider’s free loyalty program, online ordering page that connects to your Google business profile, and access to Clover’s vast app market. The app market offers everything from event ticket management systems to employee management apps to advanced inventory management systems.

There are very unique apps like a free ID scanner app, lottery sales management app, EBT sales app, and custom pizza menu builder app (which places Clover on our list of best pizza POS systems.)

Clover pizza POS app Swift Pizza POS user interface.

You also get a good deal of POS hardware options to choose from. The Clover Flex has excellent built-in features such as digital signature captures for taking invoice payments in the field or taking tableside orders at a restaurant. The Clover Mini is an excellent mini tabletop POS system for smaller retail and counter service restaurant establishments. The Clover Station Duo is a full-scale register and customer-facing display that’s great for storefronts.

Clover countertop POS system, handheld POS system, barcode scanner, cash drawer, and card reader.

In Canada, Clover offers just three devices: Clover Flex (599 USD); Clover Mini (799 USD); and Clover Station Duo (1,799 USD). The Clover Go mobile reader and Clover Station Solo are not available in Canada.

Payment processing fees for Clover depend on where you buy your system and which monthly plan you’re on. If you purchase from Clover directly, you may get the following flat-rate payment processing fees:

• Card-Present Transactions: 2.3% + 0.10 USD per transaction (Essentials plan); 2.3% + 0.10 USD per transaction (Register, Counter Service, Table Service)
• Card-Not-Present Transactions: 3.5% + 0.10 USD per transaction (all plans)

Note: Card-not-present transactions include every transaction type that is not cash, check, or swipe/chip/tap card payment.

If your business generates a lot of revenue through online sales, find a different Clover merchant services provider or a different POS provider to get lower payment processing rates.

Numerous entities sell Clover, and the terms of your merchant services contract will depend on which bank, merchant services provider, or other types of vendor you purchase your system from. In some cases, merchants purchase a Clover POS from a shady merchant services provider without realizing they are also entering into an expensive long-term contract for payment processing.

Fortunately, if you purchase your Clover hardware through one of these best Clover resellers, you can get a month-to-month contract with transparent terms and fees.

We appreciate that Shopify goes far and beyond just syncing your online and in-store inventories. This Canadian POS system offers selling options that combine online and brick-and-mortar sales with multichannel features, such as buy online, pick up in-store (BOPIS), buy in-store, ship to the customer, and browse in-store, buy online.

You can also manage and fulfill curbside pickup and local delivery orders placed online directly from your Shopify POS and print product QR codes customers can use to learn more about and purchase products they see in your store.

All of these features and others make Shopify one of the best POS systems Canada retailers can use for omnichannel sales, and one of the best retail POS systems overall.

All Shopify plans that include your own eCommerce website include the free Shopify POS app. Plans range from 51 CAD/month to 517 CAD/month (38 CAD/month to 389 CAD/month with annual billing), plus an additional 89 USD/location/month if you want to add Shopify Pro advanced features such as multilocation management and advanced employee permissions.

While Shopify’s free POS Lite app is included with all plans except the Shopify Starter plan, most of the best in-person sales and inventorying features come with the Shopify Pro add-on.

The POS Lite app does include a few unique features, such as a customizable POS interface, allows you to use an iOS device as a barcode scanner, and allows you to bundle items for a discount during checkout.

The Shopify Pro plan allows you to create purchase orders, perform item receiving counts, require manager approvals for POS actions, accept exchanges, and create an unlimited number of staff members.

If we’re being honest, though, Shopify’s eCommerce features are what really sets this software apart from the competition. These features include:

• Customizable online store builder (including hundreds of store templates) with item sales for in-store pickup, local delivery, shipping, and layaway
• Social media in-app sales on platforms like TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter to convert your marketing efforts into concrete sales
• Product listings and sales on marketplaces like Amazon, eBay, Etsy, and Walmart Marketplace to reach a wider audience
• Suite of shipping tools to streamline item shipping and give accurate tracking updates to customers
• Abandoned cart recovery emails to recapture the interest of potential customers
• Subscription, event ticket, and digital download sales to widen revenue-generating product offerings

Shopify subscription coffee bean sales.

Shopify’s vast app market, the largest third-party software marketplace out of all providers on this list (including Clover), also sets this POS apart from the rest. With the Shopify app market, you can add all kinds of functionalities to your POS and eCommerce store.

For example, contractors can generate and print out invoices for customers with the Simple Invoice app, while gyms can schedule personal training sessions and classes using the Sesami appointment scheduling/check-in app.

In fact, the Sesami booking app is one reason why Shopify makes our list of the best POS systems for gyms.

Shopify POS register stand with card reader.

Shopify card readers start at 69 CAD for the Shopify contactless card reader, which you can pair with your smartphone or iPad to take payments on the go. We consider Shopify as one of the best mobile POS systems, especially if you’re looking to supplement online sales.

Shopify’s total retail bundle costs 279 CAD and includes the Shopify card reader, card reader mount, and iPad stand for your POS register.

Read our Shopify POS hardware guide to figure out exactly what POS hardware Shopify offers that you could use for your business.

Shopify provides integrated in-house payment processing to Canadian merchants via Shopify Payments. Rates for in-person processing range from 2.4% to 2.7% + 0 CAD depending on your monthly plan level. In-person Interac debit rates for Canadian merchants are 0.10 CAD across all plans. Online Canadian credit card rates range from 2.4% to 2.7% + 0.30 CAD.

Shopify also integrates with numerous other payment providers that can be used in Canada, but you will have to pay an additional transaction fee to use a payment provider other than Shopify Payments.

Shopify contracts are all month-to-month with no hidden fees; however, Shopify offers a 25% discount on annual plans.

You will pay an extra transaction fee if you opt out of Shopify Payments, but the extra fee may be worth it if you can save substantially on your payment processing fees by going with a different merchant services provider.

We love Helcim’s completely free POS software and the fact that every business, no matter its size, gets a custom interchange-plus pricing model. Interchange-plus pricing is typically more transparent than flat-rate or tiered payment processing models, and you’ll typically get the best pricing (unless your average ticket sizes are pretty small or you have relatively low monthly sales volumes.) Helcim also offers a very affordable card reader, works on virtually any device, and provides month-to-month contracts, so the cost of starting or switching to Helcim is pretty low.

Helcim is great for B2B businesses, especially ones that provide services and wholesalers, because of its excellent custom invoice builder and virtual terminal. The invoice builder allows you to create a custom services section and you can add any line items you want. Subscription-based businesses, whether they sell physical or digital items, will appreciate Helcim’s detailed subscription billing platform, secure customer card vault, and custom online checkout flow.

Helcim’s POS software is completely free. Business owners only pay Helcim’s payment processing fees (payment processing fees are unavoidable no matter which POS provider you work with).

Helcim’s in-person POS features are relatively standard and adaptable to most basic retail and restaurant environments. Unique in-person POS features include the ability to temporarily or permanently add new items with variants during checkout, a QR code generator that allows you to show people your menu or the online shopping page, and mandatory tips/service fees.

However, we believe Helcim is best suited for businesses that provide subscription products, B2B/B2G (business to government) products or services, and B2C (business to consumer) businesses with relatively higher average transaction amounts, such as an independent roofing company that takes large jobs.

For service-based businesses (B2B, B2G, and B2C), Helcim offers the following unique features:

• Lower Payment Processing Fees: Level 3 transaction data capture for lower payment processing fees (more on this later)
• Invoice Builder: Use a custom branded drag-and-drop invoice template creator to generate invoices, quotes, estimates, and statements. Include or remove any custom feature you want (e.g. veterinarians can remove shipping information since they’re not selling retail products).
• Payment Schedule: Require deposits/down payments as a set dollar amount of percentage of the total bill. Set full/partial invoice due dates and overdue payments, and set reminders for both you and your customers.
• Online Payments: Helcim’s invoicing software is integrated with Helcim’s virtual terminal. You can create a custom virtual terminal checkout process with your own branding and messaging. Allow customers to pay with credit, debit, bank account, or store credit.
• Automation: You can auto-populate customer information and product/service details by entering their unique SKU/numeric identifier. You can also use a customer’s card on file (stored in Helcim’s secure credit card vault) if they have one.

Helcim POS custom invoice theme designer.

B2B businesses will appreciate the ability to add wholesale and consumer pricing, create a purchase order template, create customer accounts with refunds and credits, and create customer portals so they can manage their own orders. You can also charge customers on a recurring schedule.

Subscription-based businesses (both digital and physical subscriptions) will appreciate these Helcim features:

• Customer Portal: Allow customers to manage their subscriptions (including pauses and termination) from their own customer portal. You can also upsell add-ons and charge one-time fees there.
• Free Trial: Offer customers a free trial upon signup with no commitment necessary. If customers cancel, you’ll get details on why they did so you can improve your offering.
• Billing Structure: Use metered billing, prorated billing, or bill customers based on a weekly, monthly, or custom schedule.
• Card Vault & Expiration Reminders: Store customer card information in a highly secure vault. Get notifications when cards are declined, attempt to charge cards upon failure, and send automated reminders to customers when their card information is about to expire.

Helcim credit card reader and POS terminal on a desktop device.

Helcim is uniquely compatible with just about all smartphone, tablet, and desktop devices.

Helcim’s card reader costs 109 USD. There are also a few compatible receipt printers available.

Helcim offers interchange-plus payment processing for all businesses, no matter your sales volumes. There are no minimum requirements in terms of sales volumes or number of transactions per month. This is highly uncommon among POS providers.

Also uncommon is the ability to take Level 3 transactions. Level 3 transactions require you to add more transaction details, accept corporate credit cards, and accept government spending accounts.

Processing Level 3 transactions allows B2B and B2G businesses to save a whole lot of money on payment processing fees since the value of the required data fields is higher, and you get a wholesale discount on interchange rates. For more information on this, read our post about PCI compliance levels and how they work.

The company offers a “find your custom rate” tool on its website that gives you a rough estimate of what you may pay in payment processing fees.

Note: The rate tool on Helcim’s website is in USD. Keep this in mind when plugging in sample sales numbers. Also, contact Helcim’s Calgary office for more info on what you could pay in payment processing fees.

Much like Square, Helcim offers flexible month-to-month contracts and charges no early termination fees.