5 Best Pharmacy POS Systems In 2023

Monthly Fees

Pricing ranges from $89 to $269/month ($69/month to $199/month with annual billing). Lightspeed also has quote-based enterprise pricing for large businesses.

All plans come with one POS register. To add extra registers, you'll pay $59/register/month.

Hardware Cost

Lightspeed's POS hardware is iPad-based, and you'll have to contact the company for a personalized quote. You can also source your hardware yourself.

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.

Payment Processing

Lightspeed provides flat-rate payment processing via Lightspeed Payments at a rate of 2.6% + $0.10.

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.

Contract Requirements/Warnings

To get the best pricing for Lightspeed, you'll need to prepay for one year. However, we often advise readers to sign up for short-term monthly plans before dedicating themselves to the long term. This is because many POS providers (Lightspeed included) charge an early termination fee for canceling a plan early.

You also need to use Lightspeed Payments to get the best monthly subscription rate. If you use a different integrated payment processor, you will pay an extra $50/month to do so. This extra fee may be worth it for larger businesses that can offer better payment processing rates than Lightspeed.

If you purchase hardware from Lightspeed, you must confirm that you have received it within five business days. Otherwise, your hardware will not be covered under Lightspeed's hardware warranty (14 days for Apple products and 30 days for non-Apple products).

Where Lightspeed Really Shines

Lightspeed is a premium POS for retail businesses, including pharmacies. Primarily this is because Lightspeed is the leader as one of the best POS systems for inventory management. This pharmacy POS harnesses the power of the cloud to provide advanced retail features, including inventory management, vendor management, customer management, loyalty, accounting, and eCommerce.

Lightspeed is as flexible as it is powerful; its open API allows you to build your own third-party pharmacy software integrations to customize your perfect pharmacy POS.

Monthly Fees

Pricing for a basic Shopify POS + Shopify website ranges from $29 to $299/month (billed monthly) with unlimited devices on all plans. To add the full suite of POS features, including advanced inventory, you'll need to add Shopify Pro, which is an additional $89/month. Shopify also offers a Shopify Starter plan ($5/month) for mobile processing only and Shopify Plus plans for enterprise-level businesses.

Hardware Cost

Shopify sells hardware bundles and individual hardware components; you can also source your iPad or Android POS hardware yourself. Shopify's most affordable bundle, which includes a stand for a 9.7" iPad and a card reader, is priced at $219.

Payment Processing

Shopify has an in-house payment processing service called Shopify Payments, which is powered by Stripe. Rates range from 2.3% to 2.7%, depending on which Shopify plan you're on. You can also integrate a payment processor of your choice for an additional transaction fee.

Contract Requirements/Warnings

All Shopify plans are month-to-month with no long-term commitment required. Note that Shopify Payments is a payment service provider similar to Square or PayPal, which means you will not have your own dedicated merchant account.

Where Shopify Really Shines

Shopify is a complete commerce solution for both online and brick-and-mortar businesses. However, Shopify especially shines in terms of its eCommerce features. If you work with a developer, there's nothing you can't do with a Shopify website. Notably, Shopify Plus powers multiple enterprise-level online pharmacies, including Meagher's Pharmacy and Lloyd's Pharmacy.

Even for a smaller pharmacy, Shopify has numerous eComm integrations that can be useful for pharmacies that want to sell in-person and online, including SnapRx, Retail Management Solutions, and various age verification apps.

Monthly Fees

Square POS has no monthly fee. Square also offers two versions of Square for Retail if you want advanced inventory features, including a free and paid ($60/month) version.

Hardware Cost

Square sells POS hardware for iPad as well as its proprietary Square Register ($799) and Square Terminal ($299); you can also source your POS hardware yourself. Square accounts come with a free card swiper, though most pharmacies will want a more secure $49 chip and tap reader, which you can use with an iPad or Android tablet.

Payment Processing

Square charges a flat rate of 2.6% + $0.10 for all in-person transactions. Square also offers custom pricing for enterprise businesses that process over $250K/month. You do not have the option to use a different payment processor with Square.

Contract Requirements/Warnings

All Square plans are month-to-month with no long-term commitment required. Square is a third-party payment processor/payment service provider rather than a merchant account provider, which can result in account stability problems for certain businesses.

Where Square Really Shines

For a free POS app, Square offers a ton of functionality. Not only is Square perfect for basic, easy-to-use payment processing, but this free POS also has a ton of extensions and app integrations that extend its functionality for any business type, including healthcare businesses such as pharmacies. Some examples include DrChrono EHR & RCM, Remedly, IntakeQ, and Reference Health Payments. Square also includes FSA and HSA payment acceptance out-of-the-box as long as you have an eligible MCC (merchant category code). Even enterprise-level companies such as QuigMeds have integrated Square technology into their pharmacy POS systems.

Monthly Fees

Cashier Live's pharmacy plan pricing is quote-based. However, the company says its software provides the best value in the industry, with no hidden fees. Though Cashier Live doesn't list its pharmacy plan pricing, the company's standard retail package is $75/month, which is quite reasonable.

Hardware Cost

Cashier Live can run on iOS, Android, or a computer, which gives you the option to source hardware components yourself. However, the company's hardware bundles are on the expensive side. For example, Cashier Live PayPoint POS hardware for pharmacies goes for $2,599.

Payment Processing

Cashier Live offers a flat rate of 2.7% on each transaction. The POS company does not integrate with other processors.

Contract Requirements/Warnings

Cashier Live contracts are billed month-to-month with no long-term contract required. However, you can receive a discount if you commit to a year or more.

Where Cashier Live Really Shines

The main benefit of using Cashier Live is that it has pharmacy POS features out of the box, including built-in integrations with other pharmacy software systems. In fact, Cashier Live was the first web-based SIGIS (Special Interest Group for IIAS Standards)-compliant POS system built for pharmacy needs. Other pharmacy-specific POS systems tend to be locally-installed and exorbitantly expensive, so Cashier Live is a great cloud-based alternative. Some industry-specific integrations included with Cashier Live are SpeedScript, HBS, Carepoint, RNA, and MethCheck (for pseudoephedrine sales).

Monthly Fees

Clover's Register Plan (for any business type) starts at $44.95/month for one terminal if you purchase your equipment upfront. You can also opt to lease your equipment and receive the Register plan starting at $90/month. Clover also has an option that includes a virtual terminal to key in credit card payments online for $14.95/month.

Hardware Cost

Clover's flagship Clover Station POS is $1,349. If you want a customer-facing screen, you can upgrade to the $1,799 Clover Station Duo. Other hardware options include the $799 Clover Mini and the mobile $499 Clover Flex.

Payment Processing

If you purchase your system directly from Clover, payment processing fees range from 2.3% to 2.6%+ $0.10, depending on your monthly software plan. Various other entities also sell Clover with different (and often more expensive) payment processing structures.

Contract Requirements/Warnings

Hundreds of different merchant service providers sell Clover, and not all of them are top-notch. While software purchased from Clover directly are all month-to-month with the ability to cancel at any time, other providers may sell Clover with sneaky long-term contracts and hidden fees.

Where Clover Really Shines

Clover is an incredibly easy-to-use system that's a breeze to set up and train your employees on. Pretty much as soon as you receive your POS hardware, you can plug it in, activate it, and start taking payments. It's a good system for basic payment acceptance if you don't need a lot of pharmacy-specific features -- although its REST API means you can integrate other REST-ful applications. Clover is not IIAS-compliant (which is required to accept HSA/FSA payments as a non-medical retailer), but as long as you have an eligible MCC code (MCC 5912 or 5122 for pharmacies), you can accept HSA and FSA cards with Clover.