6 Best POS Systems for Liquor Stores Compared By A Pro

Small business owners don't just need a POS system that can handle basic sales transactions – they need one tailored to their business's specifics and help increase sale efficiency.

Why, you ask? Because higher efficiency means faster and more accurate sales, which can boost customer satisfaction and loyalty. And that’s what you want for your business: to make sure all customers' needs are met accurately, efficiently, and with a smile!

Not sure which POS system is best for your liquor store? Don't worry – we have you covered. To help you make an informed decision, here are 10 of the best POS systems available to liquor store owners.

By the end of this complete liquor store POS systems guide, you'll be able to:

• Choose the right pos software and hardware for your liquor store business.
• Discover how liquor store point of sale software can reduce costs and increase profit margins
• Learn about liquor store-specific features such as inventory management, sales promotions, and customer loyalty programs that many liquor store POS systems offer.
• Understand how to create a kick-ass strategy for choosing a liquor store POS system

Let's get started.

What are liquor stores?

Liquor stores are a specific type of retail outlet that specialize in the sale of alcoholic beverages such as beer, wine, and spirits. These retail stores typically offer a wide selection of products from different suppliers and brands.

The main challenge for this type of business model is managing inventory efficiently. 

The liquor store POS software you choose should be capable of tracking stock levels (or doing inventory counts) across multiple locations. So, you can effectively manage your supply chain and keep track of which products are selling fast. 

It should also come with robust reporting and analytics to help you identify areas where sales could be improved, or tax regulations observed more easily. 

Lastly, it should have features that promote customer loyalty and reward certain behaviors like ordering larger quantities or returning frequently.

What is a POS system?

Before we dive in, let's quickly review what a POS system is. 

A point of sale (POS) system is a combination of hardware and software that helps businesses ring up sales, accept payments, manage customer relationships, and with inventory tracking. 

It's a critical component of any retail or hospitality business and helps liquor stores run more efficiently by streamlining processes so that customers can be served quickly and accurately.

POS software vs. POS hardware

What’s the difference between POS software and POS hardware? 

POS software typically involves installing a customized program on a computer or terminal that is used to manage transactions and customer accounts. This POS software can range from basic inventory management applications to full-featured sales systems with integrated accounting software.

TIP: Want to learn more about our retail POS systems? Check out our website for retail pos software and pos hardware!

On the other hand, POS hardware includes devices such as a cash drawer/cash drawers, barcode scanner/ barcode scanners, receipt printer / receipt printers, touch screens, and more. These components are essential for streamlining your liquor store operations and making them more efficient.

POS system features

When looking for the best system for your liquor store, it's important to consider the available features and functionalities. Many POS systems offer different levels of functionality which can vary based on price and include:

Inventory management:

This feature allows business owners to track and monitor their current inventory levels, as well as order new items when needed. Suppose you own a small liquor store that specializes in craft beers. With inventory management, you can easily keep track of the different brands and varieties you stock in your store.

Sales promotions:

This feature allows you to run sales, discounts, and special offers tailored specifically to your liquor store. For example, you might offer a discount on certain products when they reach a certain threshold of sales, or you might create loyalty programs for customers who frequently shop at your store.

Customer relationship management:

This feature lets you track customer data and interactions. With this information, you can better understand your customers' needs and create marketing campaigns tailored to their preferences. Additionally, with CRM technology, you can also track loyalty rewards for customers who frequently shop at your store.

Payment processing:

Making sure that payments are processed efficiently is essential for any business. With POS systems, you can accept different forms of payment - both physical and online payment processing, such as credit/debit cards, cash, or mobile wallets. 

Additionally, some POS systems offer online payments or in-store installment plans.

Types of POS systems

POS systems can either be cloud based, mobile-based, or a combination of both. 

Cloud-based point of sale systems are great for those looking to integrate their existing technology and systems into one cohesive platform. Mobile POS systems often require additional hardware, such as tablets, smartphones, card readers, and scanners, but they can add more flexibility to your operations by allowing you to take sales on the go.

#1 Epos Now

Our top choice for liquor store POS systems is Epos Now's all-in-one point of sale solution. Epos Now are experts in creating retail POS and hospitality point of sale software and hardware for small and mid sized businesses.

This system offers a range of features, such as inventory management, customer relationship management, sales promotions, and payment processing. It also integrates with your existing Back Office tools, so that you can manage all aspects of your business from one place. Additionally, Epos Now has an app that allows you to take orders and payments on the go.

Let's take an in-depth look at how each feature can benefit your liquor store so you can better understand why Epos Now is our top choice.

TIP: Run a hospitality business? Check out how our hospitality POS systems can help improve your business operations and business performance.

Stock control and inventory management features

Epos Now's inventory management feature allows you to track real-time stock levels and history, so you're always aware when items are getting low. You can:

• Import and export products in bulk to save time: Gone are the days of spending hours in Excel spreadsheets and updating your stock manually. With Epos Now, you can quickly import and update thousands of products with real-time precision. So that means your liquor store POS system can keep up with your ever-changing inventory.
• Generate your own barcodes: Generating product barcodes not only speeds up the checkout process but also prevents mis-scanning items. With Epos Now's software, you can generate barcodes for all of your products with just a few clicks.
• Receive automated purchase orders: With Epos Now's automated purchase orders, you'll never miss an opportunity to replenish stock. The system will notify you when levels become too low, so you're always prepared.
• Manage your inventory at any location from your Back Office: With Epos Now's inventory management feature, you can easily keep track of your current stock levels and order new items when needed. Plus, as Epos Now is cloud-based, you can thrive with multi store management features. This means you'll never run out of products, even if you own multiple liquor store locations.

Enjoy integrated payments with Epos Now's in-house payment processing

Payment processing is essential to any business, and Epos Now offers an in-house payment processing solution that ensures all payments are secure. So how can Epos Now Payments help your liquor store?

• Enjoy complete payment flexibility: Epos Now Payments offers one fixed rate no matter what card you use. This means you can accept payments from any type of card and enjoy the same low fee every time—an ideal solution for those who want to save money on processing fees.
• Streamline checkout processes: With Epos Now Payments, you can reduce the time spent at the checkout. The integrated payment system allows customers to pay quickly and securely with a few simple clicks.
• The tools you need to grow: Epos Now has a wide range of payment hardware solutions, from fixed and portable card readers to all-in-one handheld systems. And with multiple connectivity options, you always have access to your business data no matter where you are. This hardware seamlessly integrates with your liquor store pos software and hardware and offers near-instant payments.
• Safe and secure payments: Security is the number one priority for Epos Now. All payments are encrypted and processed via PCI-compliant infrastructure, so you can rest assured that your customer's data is always protected.

TIP: Want to learn more about our payment processing services? Check out how Epos Now's integrated payment solutions can help your liquor store.

Cut costs and boost profits with detailed sales insights

Epos Now's dedicated reporting tool provides detailed insights into your liquor store sales, staff performance, and customer behavior. This data empowers you to make informed decisions that can instantly increase your profits. Here are some of the features available:

• Receive daily, weekly, and monthly reports: Epos Now's point of sale solution offers complete transparency regarding your liquor store sales. With daily, weekly, and monthly reports, you can easily identify high-margin items for promotions, accurately forecast, and make informed decisions on stock levels.
• View detailed staff performance: Epos Now's point of sale software allows you to monitor staff performance in real time from any location or device. You can track their sales data, tips received, and even shift duration—allowing you to identify your top performers and reward them accordingly.
• Understand customer behavior: With Epos Now, you can track individual customers and their purchases to gain valuable insights into their buying habits. This data allows you to understand their needs better and create tailored campaigns encouraging repeat purchases.
• Identify your top-performing team members: With Epos Now, you can track individual staff member performance in real time and identify your top performers. This allows you to reward your team members accordingly and build a motivated and successful workforce that will help drive sales.

Integrate with leading third-party apps

Epos Now's liquor store POS is a powerful tool that can be integrated with some of the leading third-party apps. This includes:

• Accounting and bookkeeping apps: Epos Now can be integrated with accounting and bookkeeping apps such as Xero and Quickbooks. This allows you to seamlessly manage all your sales data, accounts receivable, invoices, and more in one place.
• Loyalty and marketing apps: With Epos Now, you can take advantage of loyalty and marketing apps like Epos Now loyalty, which allows you to increase revenue and encourage repeat business with your own customizable loyalty scheme, and Mailchimp, which helps you create targeted campaigns for your liquor store to boost sales.
• Delivery: Food and drink delivery is a trending solution for liquor stores. With Epos Now's liquor store pos software, you can integrate seamlessly into Epos Now Delivery. This allows you to take orders for delivery and assists with inventory tracking and advanced reporting spreadsheets in real time. Connect with leading third-party delivery apps such as Uber Eats and Just Eat, and GrubHub.

Whether you're a small start-up or an established liquor store, Epos Now's liquor store pos system offers all the features you need to streamline your business operations, increase sales and boost profits. With integrated hardware solutions, payment processing, reporting tools, and third-party integrations.

Keep your business and customers secure

With security being paramount, Epos Now is PCI-compliant and encrypts all payments to make sure customers' banking information is always protected.

• Age verification tools: With our age verification tools, you can easily ensure compliance with liquor licensing laws and regulations.
• Assign staff login codes: Assigning your staff unique login codes helps to prevent unauthorized access.
• Record all sales: With Epos Now's advanced stock management, you can record all sales to identify any potential theft.

Build an eCommerce store for online sales

It's vital that your liquor store is accessible online, and with Epos Now's eCommerce solution, you can do just that.

• Create an online store quickly and easily to reach customers beyond the physical store.
• Drive organic traffic with SEO and SEM: Utilise the power of SEO and SEM to rank higher on search engine results pages and drive more organic traffic to your store.
• Integrate payment gateways: Easily accept payments with Epos Now's integrations with leading providers such as Stripe, Worldpay, and PayPal
• Manage all orders in one place: Manage orders, customer data, stock levels, shipping info, and more from one central hub—your eCommerce dashboard.
• Reward customers with loyalty schemes: Create custom loyalty programs that reward customers for their repeat purchases and increase footfall at your liquor store.

Liquor store POS systems: alternatives to Epos Now

While Epos Now's liquor store POS software offers many features and benefits, there are other alternatives you may want to consider. These include:

#2 KORONA POS

Korona's liquor store POS software and hardware is a comprehensive solution that offers all the features you need to manage your stock, process payments, and track customers. Some features include:

• Liquor inventory management tools: Korona's liquor store POS software helps you manage your inventory in real time with advanced stock tracking and reporting tools.
• Anti-theft features: Korona supports unlimited users and customizable permissions, so you can control what information each employee can access. It also tracks voids, refunds, and blind cash drops to help you spot any potential theft.
• Age verification: Korona supports several ways to prompt age verification. You can set the system to prompt cashiers to enter a date of birth before processing a transaction, attach ID scanners to your POS, and swipe IDs for age verification. Age verification prompts are added by product sector, so you don't need to manually assign age restrictions to individual products.
• Liquor integrations: Korona doesn't have a wide variety of integrations, but it has several supporting liquor store operations. Integrations with bLoyal and BottlecApps allow you to extend your loyalty features, create a customer-facing app, add shipping and an integrated eCommerce site, or offer local delivery (where local law permits)

#3 Lightspeed Retail POS

Lightspeed retail POS is an all-in-one system that provides features to help you manage your liquor store. Features include:

• Various steps to age verification: Lightspeed's liquor store point of sale system takes age verification seriously. Your cashiers can scan customer IDs and then check that the scanned information matches the front of the ID with a two-step process.
• Appointment booking: Lightspeed Retail includes appointment booking tools that allow you to create in-store shopping appointments. This is a great tool to offer VIPs or wine clubs or to use when you receive shipments of allocated bottles.
• Marketing tools: Want to increase sales? Lightspeed Retail includes direct email and SMS text messaging marketing tools. Users can add Lightspeed Retail built-in tools at the Advanced subscription tier or rely on integrations Mailchimp for targeted emails.

#4 mPower Beverage POS

mPower Beverage POS is a comprehensive solution for liquor stores that offers all the features you need to manage your business. Some of their key features include:

• Detailed reporting: The mPower report dashboard includes a wealth of sales data and inventory tracking reports to help you track your stock by the case or bottle and generate new orders. You can drill down into your sales and cost data and convert any report into a chart.
• Multiple eCommerce integrations: This is one of mPower's biggest selling points. It integrates with ten different eCommerce tools, including BottlecApps and Drync (to create a branded mobile app), Drizly and Minibar (for local delivery), CityHive, Sellr, and WineFetch (to help you create an integrated website), and The BottleRoom 3 platform (to expand your store's reach with rebates, coupons, and promotions).
• Reserve: Create reserve transactions so customers can order ahead for a specific date. This is useful if your store carries allocated bottles like high-end reserve wines or small-batch bourbons or if you rent kegs for private events.

#5 POS Nation

POS Nation offers customers a complete liquor store POS solution with integrated hardware, software, training, support, and advanced payment processing designed to meet the needs of their business. POS Nation's liquor store POS software offers features like:

• Inventory management: Keep track of your entire inventory with POS Nation, including different bottle sizes and types. Monitor stock levels, order new products easily, and quickly process sales.
• Customer loyalty: Reward customers for their loyalty with a virtual gift card system or discounts on frequently purchased items with POS Nation.
• Employee management: Keep track of employee hours with POS Nation, record tips, and manage staff information all in one place.
• Case break pricing: POS Nation includes break-pack pricing that allows you to track multiple items with the same UPC so that your bottle and case counts are always accurate. Product variants include container volumes and vintages.

#6 IT Retail

Owned by former grocery store owners, IT Retail is a hybrid POS system designed to handle high-volume liquor stores. Its features include:

• Protection against theft: IT Retail analyzes every transaction for suspicious activity and flags transactions that managers should review. The system also integrates with Remote Eyes, a video surveillance system, to coordinate suspicious POS transactions with video clips.
• Rewards: IT Retail's loyalty and rewards program allow customers to earn points for every purchase. Customers can then redeem these points for discounts or store credit.
• Mobile reporting: IT Retail's mobile reporting app allows you to see your store's business insights from your phone, tablet, or off-site computer. You can track real-time revenue and sales, view customer activity data over time and monitor inventory levels on the go.
• Detailed reports and analysis: IT Retail's reports include robust sales and inventory reports. You can see the value of your current inventory at a glance and set low stock alerts to prompt new orders. You can segment reports to get a clear view of what stock is not selling. The system also includes detailed employee tracking. You can compare a single cashier's

How to create a kick-ass strategy for choosing a liquor store POS system

So, there you have it. Our top choices for liquor store POS systems. But before you jump in and start exploring each of these options, there are a few things to consider when creating a strategy for choosing the right system. Here are some tips to help you get started:

1. Determine your needs:

Take stock of what features would be most beneficial for your business, like inventory control, payment processing, customer loyalty programs, customer management, and employee management.

Suppose you're opening up a liquor store in a bustling city neighborhood. In that case, you'll probably want a system with features like remote access and contactless payment processing to provide convenience for busy customers on the go. In contrast, if you're running a rural liquor store, you'll likely prefer one with robust reporting and analytics for sales tracking.

1. Take advantage of demos:

Once you've narrowed down your list of contenders, take advantage of any available demos to get a better feel for each system's user interface and features. This will help you confirm that the system meets your specific needs and can handle transactions quickly and accurately.

A typical demo will run you through the following:

• Setting up and configuring the POS system
• Working with the checkout screen and processing payments
• Customizing receipts, loyalty programs, customer management, and employee management tools

By the end of the demo, you should have a good understanding of how the system works and whether it's right for your store.

1. Research customer reviews

Don't forget to read online reviews from other liquor store owners who are using the same point of sale system you're considering. These first-hand accounts will help you identify any potential issues or problems that you might encounter with each one.

You can also join online forums or communities centered around liquor store POS systems. This is a great way to get advice from experienced owners and experts in the field.

1. Choose a reliable support team

Make sure you're working with an experienced, knowledgeable support team that can help you troubleshoot any issues or answer questions as they arise.

A good POS system should come with 24/7 customer service so you can feel confident that your business is always running smoothly.

1. Compare prices

When it comes to pricing, consider both the upfront liquor pos system cost of the system and any monthly or annual fees that come with it.

Remember, the cheapest option isn't always the best choice—you want a POS system that offers all the features your business needs at an affordable price.

1. Make the switch

Once you've chosen your liquor store POS software and hardware, it's time to make the switch. Though it may take some time and effort to get used to a new system, investing in the right POS solution can increase efficiency, save you money over time and help with customer retention.

Conclusion

Choosing the best liquor store POS system for your business isn't easy. But by researching your options carefully and taking advantage of demos, customer reviews, and expert advice, you'll be able to find a reliable point of sale system that meets your needs.

With the right liquor pos software in place, you can streamline operations at your store, boost sales productivity, increase customer spending and create an exceptional experience for customers.

Good luck!

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