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The best POS systems for rental business have features like rental inventory management, rental tickets and quotes, and online rental bookings.
Nicolette began writing on small business topics in 2020. After hundreds of hours researching, testing, and assisting small business owners with web building and point of sale software, she is now an expert on all things eCommerce and point of sale. She has a bachelor’s degree in English from the University of Pittsburgh and resides in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
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Nicolette KierNicolette began writing on small business topics in 2020. After hundreds of hours researching, testing, and assisting small business owners with web building and point of sale software, she is now an expert on all things eCommerce and point of sale. She has a bachelor’s degree in English from the University of Pittsburgh and resides in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
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Matt has been helping small businesses make decisions since 2017. He has written reviews and articles across many different channels but specializes in the point of sale, payroll, and small business insurance categories and has been quoted in articles for Fox Business, Forbes, and other publications. Prior to joining Merchant Maverick, Matt was a journalist and editor for 14 years for a pair of weekly newspapers. He is a graduate of the University of Oregon and currently resides in Gladstone, Oregon.
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Matt ShermanMatt has been helping small businesses make decisions since 2017. He has written reviews and articles across many different channels but specializes in the point of sale, payroll, and small business insurance categories and has been quoted in articles for Fox Business, Forbes, and other publications. Prior to joining Merchant Maverick, Matt was a journalist and editor for 14 years for a pair of weekly newspapers. He is a graduate of the University of Oregon and currently resides in Gladstone, Oregon.
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A POS system for rental businesses helps with moving inventory, fluctuating reservation dates, and building a customer base. We reviewed several of the best POS systems with reservation and rental capabilities based on pricing, features, ease of use, and user reviews to help you find the rental POS software that’s right for your business.
We’ve reviewed top POS systems to find the best options for rental businesses. These systems offer great features, competitive pricing, integrations, and more to help you run your business. Our picks are:
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Pros
Free and low-cost plans available
Free online booking features
Affordable rental integrations for niche rental businesses
Affordable POS hardware
Cons
Must use Square payment processor
Occasional fund holds
No intuitive way to enable multi-day bookings
Why We Picked Square For A Low-Cost Option
We like that Square is one of the best free POS systems and can work as standalone rental POS software for smaller businesses. You can use Square to accept deposits, book rental appointments online, build contracts and waivers, manage your inventory, and send invoices for free. Low-cost paid plans offer more advanced features like automated cancellation fees and resource management.
Square also integrates with affordable rental apps for niche businesses like sports equipment and room or campsite rentals.
Payment processing rates are 2.6% + $0.10 for in-person transactions and 2.9% + $0.30 for online transactions.
Note: All POS systems require a payment processor to accept payments. You will be charged payment processing fees no matter which rental POS software you choose.
POS hardware, which you need to accept cards in person, costs $0 – $799 and includes everything from card readers to the Square Register. There are many options in between and no-interest financing is available on all hardware.
Free website builder for customers to fill out inquiry forms, self-book item reservations, schedule a consultation, and purchase retail items
Online booking calendar to manage rental appointments
Rental contract builder and digital signature capture
Accept deposits and charge late fees with a card on file
Automated text and email reminder notifications for their reservation
Social media and Google Business Profile integrations to advertise and sell on other platforms
Paid Square features include more advanced inventory management, multi-location management, resource management to ensure items aren’t double-booked, custom contract fields, and more business reports.
Rental-specific apps such as Checkfront allow accommodation rental businesses to:
Create dynamically priced rental packages based on the season, holiday, group size, and rental length
Cross-sell rentals with tours and activities
Confirm rentals through email or text (great for venue/lodging rental businesses)
Manage more resources with a more specialized rental management calendar
Give customers the option to check themselves in
Promote on platforms like GetYourGuide
Square Is Best For
Single-location businesses looking for free software
Why We Picked Clover POS For Renting Out Items By The Hour
We like that Clover offers a low-cost rental item management app that allows business owners to rent out bicycles, shared spaces such as game tables, or sports equipment by day, hour, and minute.
Businesses can create predetermined rental periods or pre-authorize a card and charge it when customers return the items or leave the shared space.
More: Read our Clover POS pricing guide for information on how Clover hardware and payment processing are connected.
Must use Shopify payment processor to avoid transaction fees
No offline functionality
Why We Picked Shopify For Online Rental Reservations
We like that Shopify offers one of the best POS systems with eCommerce features such as online rental reservations and in-store rental choices for local delivery and shipping. Shopify offers excellent inventory and asset management, plus great shipping and return tools to monitor online rental shipping status.
There are several rental-specific software integrations for niche businesses like vacation rentals, bike rental and repairs, and clothing rental businesses.
Why We Chose Lightspeed Retail For Multi-Purpose Businesses
We like Lightspeed Retail for multi-purpose businesses because the software offers great inventory management and easily syncs together retail, rental, and repair sales types. Lightspeed's built-in features allow you to rent by the hour or for a predetermined amount of time and manage work orders for repairs.
For features like online reservations, holistic rental status views, and rental item delivery management, you will need one of Lightspeed's well-developed software integrations.
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
What Is A POS System For Rental Businesses?
A POS system for rental businesses is software that, combined with a card reader and other POS hardware such as an iPad or tablet, allows you to take payments, manage rental inventory, and schedule item or venue bookings. You also need a payment processor to move digital customer payments into your business bank account.
The best point of sale systems for inventory management will either have built-in advanced inventory management or an upgrade that’s not overly expensive. The ability to track a wide variety of products and keep tabs on what’s in stock in real time is crucial in most rental establishments.
Scheduling Functions
Rental agreements are, by nature, time-sensitive. It’s a little tedious for a potential renter to have to call you, then you look in your rental bookings, call them back, and try to work out a rental time, all the while trying to track what will be available and when.
Instead, find a POS that shows you (as well as customers) when a certain piece of equipment or a location is available. Include a calendar online so that customers already have an idea of when they can rent.
Since your POS should also have real-time inventory/scheduling updates, your booking availability should update as soon as your inventory levels or expected location occupancy changes.
Reservation Time Tracking
If you rent out a boat for six hours and don’t track whether six hours have passed, then you won’t know if you’re supposed to collect overdue fines. If you don’t enforce your rental periods, customers could take advantage of you.
A POS system that tracks rental time from the minute a customer checks out takes out the extra step it takes to write down (or worse, try to remember) when a piece of equipment leaves your facility and when it comes back.
ID Verification
If you rent out equipment that requires some level of skill, such as tools, or if a customer has to be a certain age to rent something out, which is the case for many car rental places, you’ll need to check and store your customer’s ID beforehand.
Even if you don’t have those specific kinds of rental businesses, you should know exactly who you’re renting out to. It’s also important that the person who signs the rental agreement is the same person who returns your rental products.
Many POS systems allow you to scan an individual’s ID, driver’s license, or passport.
Pre-Authorizations
You wouldn’t want to loan something out to someone without knowing if they can pay for it. If you have a POS system that pre-authorizes a buyer’s payment method, you won’t have to worry about collecting your dues later on.
Rental Deposits
Many rental businesses charge a down payment or a deposit on high-ticket rentals. Your POS system should allow you to charge either a refundable deposit or a deposit that can be used as partial payment later on.
Card-On-File
If a piece of lighting equipment is broken or someone shatters a window in your rental property, you are within your rights to charge the renter (as long as you included it in a signed rental agreement, of course).
Storing a customer’s card information guarantees you will be able to collect payment for damages, even if a renter will not acknowledge their mistake.
Website Integration
People want to trust the business they’re renting from. The easiest way to build that trust is to build a reputable website. Ideally, customers should also be able to complete bookings and checkout online with an added eCommerce functionality.
Some POS systems, including Square For Retail and Shopify, come with eCommerce functionalities, depending on your payment plan. Other systems, such as Lightspeed Retail and Clover, integrate with most eCommerce website builders.
Loyalty Program
Loyalty programs are an excellent way to retain your customer base, especially if they are likely to use your rental services often.
Automated Billing
If a renter takes something out for an unspecified amount of time, or they decide to add on an extra day, hour, etc., to their rental period, an automated billing system will allow you to automatically bill for that extra time.
Mobility
Most modern POS systems can run on an iPad or tablet. Some providers have even built smartphone apps to increase mobile transaction capabilities.
Rental business owners will find mobile POS systems very useful, as they can take payment on-location, at events, or just around their store.
How To Choose A POS System For Your Rental Business
Decide How To Charge For Rentals: You can charge for your rental items or spaces (lodging, office space, etc.) in a rental window for hours or days. Or, you can rent out by the hour/day.
Consider Scheduling Needs: If customers can schedule rentals ahead of time, you can manually create bookings during customer calls or meetings, or allow customers to self-book online.
Make A Budget: Figure out how much you can spend on POS software per month and how much you plan to spend on one-time hardware purchases.
Decide Must-Have Software Features: Look for software that matches how you’ll charge for rentals and the time of scheduling you need.
Sign Up For Free Trials: Once you’ve narrowed down your options based on price and features, sign up for free trials or software demos to get a sense of how the software would work for your business.
Sign A Contract & Purchase Hardware: Read through your contract for any undisclosed fees, early termination requirements, and hardware warranty requirements. Then, purchase your hardware and get ready to sell.
Related: If you’re not sure what your POS budget should be, read our post on POS system costs.
Nicolette began writing on small business topics in 2020. After hundreds of hours researching, testing, and assisting small business owners with web building and point of sale software, she is now an expert on all things eCommerce and point of sale. She has a bachelor’s degree in English from the University of Pittsburgh and resides in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
View Nicolette Kier's professional experience on LinkedIn.
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We Recommend Square POS For Your Business 🏆User-friendly & feature-rich point of sale system with affordable pricing.Square POS is an intuitive and simple point of sale platform. It offers customizable tools and a variety of add-ons to fit your business needs and reach your goals.Get StartedNo credit card required
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The vendors that appear on this list were chosen by subject matter experts on the basis of product quality, wide usage and availability, and positive reputation.
Merchant Maverick’s ratings are editorial in nature, and are not aggregated from user reviews. Each staff reviewer at Merchant Maverick is a subject matter expert with experience researching, testing, and evaluating small business software and services. The rating of this company or service is based on the author’s expert opinion and analysis of the product, and assessed and seconded by another subject matter expert on staff before publication. Merchant Maverick’s ratings are not influenced by affiliate partnerships.
Our unbiased reviews and content are supported in part by affiliate partnerships, and we adhere to strict guidelines to preserve editorial integrity. The editorial content on this page is not provided by any of the companies mentioned and has not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any of these entities. Opinions expressed here are author’s alone.
We Recommend Square POS For Your Business 🏆User-friendly & feature-rich point of sale system with affordable pricing.Square POS is an intuitive and simple point of sale platform. It offers customizable tools and a variety of add-ons to fit your business needs and reach your goals.Get StartedNo credit card required
Square POS is an intuitive and simple point of sale platform. It offers customizable tools and a variety of add-ons to fit your business needs and reach your goals.
Get Started
