Point of sale apps

Our first essential app is 1stPayPOS. It is a cloud cash register without the need to purchase or maintain servers of your own. There are two different modes that let you distinguish how 1stPayPOS will work for you: restaurant mode or retail mode. Each of those modes have unique features of their own. You can even start a loyalty rewards program for your customers with this app. Best of all, you can use this app offline.

Intuit GoPayment Credit Card Terminal is the essential app for larger scale needs. You can add up to 50 people on the same account. Sync to QuickBooks is included. The app is brought to you by the same folks that make Quicken, TurboTax and QuickBooks, which should give you some confidence in the app/service. This service will send you a free credit card reader for your iPhone. This service charges 2.75% on card swipes and 3.75% on keyed in transactions. Those that process tons of transactions can take advantage of a special plan. For $12.95 a month your rates drop to 1.75% on card swipes and 2.75% on keyed in transactions. GoPayment is an excellent choice.

Square is an easy and no-hassle POS. You get everything pretty much for free. Square will send you a free credit card reader, the app is free, and the service is low cost. The design and use of the app is one of the most user-friendly in this category of apps. You can create your own inventory to make adding items to the bill quick and easy. Universal support also enables iPad owners to take full advantage of this system. For swiped transactions there is a flat 2.75% taken out and for bigger businesses, you have a choice of a $275 monthly rate with no charges per swipe.

Credit Card Terminal is a fantastic offering in the POS app space. The service is a bit more expensive than the competition. The monthly rate is $25. Swipe transactions will cost you 1.74% to 3.79% (depending on the card) plus $0.24. Manual transactions will cost you 2.09% to 3.79% plus $0.24. The rates are not terrible, but they are a little more pricey than some of the alternatives out there. When you activate your account you can either get the free credit card reader or a $50 iTunes gift card. The app is absolutely beautiful and is now universal. Credit Card Terminal is a wonderful option that many should consider if the rates don’t scare you off.

Pay Anywhere is a more user friendly version of Phone Swipe. The backend is provided by the same people. The app is more polished and the service is easier to sign up for. The rates are comparable to other providers. Swiped transactions will cost you 2.69% and manual transactions will cost you 3.49% plus $0.19. There is no monthly fee and no cost for the card reader.

Cashier is a very simple POS app to get you started. Simply sign up with your email and business information. Within the app, you are able to scan barcodes of items and create an inventory. Open your register every business day with exact numbers so you can keep track of your till. Run reports when you need to. You can accept payments in the form of cash, check, and credit cards. You can also send receipts to your customers via email. This app doesn't offer a fee per swipe option like most of the other apps in this guide do. Instead, you pay monthly and the company offers three different pricing tiers all with different features.

SalesVu is a powerful little app. This particular app is geared towards the iPhone. The iPad version is mentioned below. This app offers ordering, inventory management, employee management, discount options, and even integration with Quickbooks. There are so many more features and this app proves to be a great tool for bigger businesses. The downside to this app is the fact that it still isn't optimized for the iPhone 5.

Flint Mobile Pay is another simple POS app. It doesn't require a card reader, so you don't have to wait a week or so for the little gadget to begin taking orders. Simply scan the card number from the credit card, enter the security code, and billing zip code. No photos are taken or saved to the phone. You can also manually type in the card info. This app also includes electronic receipts, ability to input tips, ability to include sales taxes, and even send out loyalty offers to customers.

Phone Swipe is a fantastic iPhone and iPad app. The service comes with a free card reader and low transaction rates. We were unable to find the rates, which is a bad thing. The app includes many of the same features found in the other apps including an inventory database.

PayPal Here is very similar to Square Register. It is available for both iPhone and iPad. When you initially register for PayPal Here, you are asked if you want a credit card reader sent to you. These items are free and are similar to most other card readers that the competitors offer. We feel that you can do slightly more with PayPal Here than you can with Square. For example, you can accept a check as payment. If a customer has a PayPal account, they are able to pay you with their account as well. Funds are usually available right away in your PayPal account and if you have the PayPal debit card, then you can access those funds at the time, too. All card swipes and PayPal transactions have the same rate of 2.7%, no hidden fees or commitments thrown in. Unfortunately, this app doesn't always connect to the server when you want or need it to, and with a point of sale app, connection is very important. This app would be essential if it didn't have so many connection issues. Hopefully PayPal can fix the issue soon!