Thrift Store POS System Reviews
Thrift store POS systems handle unique operations like managing one-of-a-kind inventory, offering variable pricing, and processing donations. The software comes with many advantages, including better inventory management, faster and more efficient checkout for customers, donation tracking, and even generating tax-deductible receipts. We identified the best thrift store POS providers by looking at features, pricing, reputation, and customer support. To learn more about how we made our list, read our methodology section.
Epicor Propello – Best Cloud-Based POS for Thrift Shops
Propello is Epicor’s point-of-sale system, designed to advance your business, simplify tasks, and drive revenue growth. Propello is a cloud-based retail management system that’s easy to use, offering comprehensive capabilities to help thrift store retailers streamline operations and increase sales.
Propello’s cloud-based POS software helps you serve customers quickly and efficiently, bringing them back with flexible rewards. Propello features built-in learning tools and best practices, helping your team members excel in their roles and enhancing return on investment (ROI). Epicor Propello is built 100% for the cloud, making it accessible from standard web browsers to simplify usability.
The tool helps thrift retailers manage all aspects of operations, including donor capture, production processing, analytics, POS throughput & POS roundup, and walk-up donation support. Other features include inventory management, purchasing and receiving, pricing and promotions, customer management, customer loyalty, mobility, analytics & reporting, and accounts receivable.
- Mobile access
- Intuitive, user-friendly interface
- APIs and Integrations
- High monthly fees
- Some customer support issues
Chat with Sales Visit Epicor Propello’s website
Epicor Propello features
- Inventory management: Automates reordering and features forecasting capabilities. Identifies top-selling and slow-moving items, and easily tracks and balances inventory across multiple locations.
- Purchasing and Receiving: Ensures a quick checkout experience, accepts walk-up donations, and captures donor information on the spot.
- Customer Management: Captures customer information on the spot, enables flexible reward systems, customer profiles, membership types, rules, and incentives to keep customers returning.
- Reporting & Analytics: Offers analytics that help you fine-tune your operations through actionable insights, embedded analytics, and dashboards.
How Epicor Propello pricing works
Epicor Propello does not list pricing online. It offers a flexible, rule-based pricing engine that allows retailers to find a package that best suits their business needs.
What markets does Epicor Propello serve?
Epicor Propello serves independent retailers and wholesalers. It is great for retailers in industries like pet care, building supply, lawn & garden, thrift stores, hardware, and more.
Read our full Epicor Propello Review.
KORONA POS – Best for Inventory Management
KORONA POS helps thrift stores run a more organized store with POS software that keeps your inventory levels in check and operations running smoothly, creating a better shopping experience for customers and increasing loyalty. KORONA POS is a complete solution, not just a cash register, specializing in inventory management, e-commerce integration, multi-location management, and powerful CRM integrations.
KORONA POS integrates with WooCommerce, an online store that automatically uploads your existing database, exists in real-time with all physical locations, and has built-in SEO optimization. Additionally, KORONA POS helps businesses expand by seamlessly connecting to all locations, which can all be managed remotely through the cloud-based system. The POS provider also integrates with powerful loyalty and CRM solutions, rewarding loyal customers while improving marketing strategies and building customer retention.
- Responsive customer support
- Built-in SEO optimization
- CRM Integrations
- Not as many integrations as competitors
- Learning curve
Schedule a Demo Visit the KORONA POS website.
KORONA POS features
- Inventory management: Automates real-time inventory tracking, provides ordering processes, sends stock notifications, and generates over- and understock reports.
- Purchasing and Receiving: Enables you to order or accept donated items and seamlessly categorize them by various pricing categories.
- Customer Management: Powerful CRM software allows you to increase customer retention through better marketing strategies and customer loyalty programs.
- Reporting & Analytics: Receive accurate cloud reporting, access comprehensive reports, and remotely evaluate sales trends for one or all of your stores to make important business decisions faster.
How KORONA POS pricing works
KORONA POS has two main plans: Core and Retail. The Core plan starts at $59 per month and is more suitable for standard businesses. The Retail plan starts at $69 per month and includes retail-specific features, such as inventory management. Several add-ons are available, ranging from $10 per month per terminal to $50 per month per gate. These include food, invoicing, ticketing, and integration. Both plans have a free trial.
What markets does KORONA POS serve?
KORONA POS is ideal for retail outlets, including pet stores, liquor stores, and convenience stores. It can track the shelf life of perishable items, place age restrictions on specific inventory, and scan licenses at checkout.
Read our full KORONA POS Review.
Shopify POS – Best for Consignment Stores
Shopify’s POS solution is ideal for thrift stores specializing in clothing, shoes, and accessories. The all-in-one platform helps you bring your in-store merchandise and online store together, increasing sales and boosting customer experiences. Shopify POS lets you run your entire retail store from one place. It keeps stock and orders in sync, reducing online purchase errors. The tool sends reorder alerts and updates inventory instantly everywhere you sell.
Shopify POS has specialized features for clothing, shoe, and accessory stores, including inventory planning, omnichannel shopping, returns and exchanges, customer profiles, mobile checkout, and real-time data. Retail businesses can quickly spot bestsellers and simply manage with centralized reports and clear insights. With mobile checkout, your customers can use Tap to Pay—even when the internet is down.
Shopify’s easy-to-use POS offers unlimited users and customizable roles, making onboarding fast and cutting training time. Additionally, omnichannel shopping lets your customers buy online, pick up in-store, and order items (even if they aren’t in stock in-store). You can sell gift cards that work anywhere, as well as view customer history across channels.
- Supports multiple selling platforms
- Includes marketing tools
- All plans include Shopify POS Lite
- Hardware is an added cost
- Requires an e-commerce platform
Shopify POS features
- Inventory management: Offers instant stock visibility, turning questions into sales with real-time visibility of every item, size, and location. Allows you to predict demand and track sizes, colors, and styles across your entire business.
- Purchasing and Receiving: Accepts returns and exchanges in-store and online, even without receipts, allowing shoppers to buy, receive, return, and exchange items with ease.
- Customer Management: View customers’ purchase history across all channels; increase return shoppers with restock notifications, order updates, and personalized service.
- Reporting & Analytics: View stock by size and color, monitor customer preferences, track sales, and collect metrics all in your POS.
How Shopify POS pricing works
Shopify has two categories: Sell in Person and Sell Everywhere. The Sell in Person has two pricing options, and the Sell Everywhere category has three pricing plans.
Sell in Person
- Starter plan—$5/month with 1 POS login and a limited online store.
- Retail plan—$89/month with unlimited POS logins and a limited online store.
Sell Everywhere
- Basic plan—$39/month with unlimited POS logins and a full-featured online store.
- Grow plan—$105/month with 5 staff accounts, unlimited POS logins, and a limited online store.
- Advanced plan—$399/month with 15 staff accounts, unlimited POS logins, and a limited online store.
All plans have a 3-day free trial, and then cost $1/month for the first 3 months.
What markets does Shopify POS serve?
Shopify’s unique omnichannel selling features make it ideal for retailers with an existing online storefront or those looking to set up an online store.
Read our full Shopify Review.
ThriftCart – Best Thrift Store POS for Nonprofits
ThriftCart is one of the top-rated point-of-sale software solutions for nonprofit thrift stores. It offers advanced inventory management, streamlines donation pickups with tailored tools, offers route optimization, and transforms tracking and management. ThriftCart features a tracking tool that tracks your resale shop’s drop-offs, providing e-receipts.
The cloud-based software provides you access from anywhere and works with Mac, PC, and tablets. ThriftCart also secures AWS servers for redundant backup. ThriftCart’s POS system accepts all major payment methods, including credit cards and debit cards, mobile payments, and cash. Additionally, it offers real-time tracking and management, enhancing your inventory management, allowing you to print barcodes with ease, scan price tags, offer discounts, and display your stock online.
- Multi-user functionality
- Great customer support
- Donation scheduling system
- Limited integrations
- Initial setup can be tricky
ThriftCart features
- Inventory management: Helps maintain optimal inventory levels and handles bulk sales with precise data tracking. Allows you to display your inventory online.
- Purchasing and Receiving: Precise data tracking lets you handle bulk sales and optimize donation routes, saving time and fuel.
- Customer Management: Multiple forms of payment processing ensure that your donors and customers can contribute and make purchases in the most convenient way for them. Additionally, time-based discounts keep customers engaged and returning.
- Reporting & Analytics: Provides actionable insights, creates custom reports, and generates real-time data specific to your thrift shop, ensuring you can identify needs and make informed decisions.
How ThriftCart pricing works
ThriftCart does not list pricing online. You can go to their website and fill out a form to schedule a free, custom demo that will give you hands-on experience with ThriftCart to see if it’s good for your small business.
What markets does ThriftCart serve?
ThriftCart is designed specifically for nonprofit thrift shops. Its intuitive interface ensures that even volunteers and those with limited tech experience can navigate the system with ease.
Compare the best thrift store POS systems side-by-side
| Software Name | Why we picked It | Starting price for the cheapest plan | Highlights |
|---|---|---|---|
| Epicor Propello | Best Cloud-Based POS for Thrift Retailers | Custom Pricing | Mobile onboarding and training |
| KORONA POS | Best for Inventory Management | $59 / month | Great for scalability |
| Shopify POS | Best for Consignment Stores | $5 / month | Supports omnichannel selling |
| ThriftCart | Best Thrift Store POS for Nonprofits | Request Demo | Comprehensive donation management system |
What is a Thrift Store Pos System?
A thrift store’s point-of-sale (POS) system is specialized software that helps thrift stores manage inventory, track donations, process sales, and automate tasks like pricing and reporting. Unlike traditional retail POS systems, these are designed to meet the specific challenges of a thrift store, like processing a high volume of one-of-a-kind items and managing donation intake.
The best POS systems for thrift stores also improve customer experiences by speeding up the checkout process, offering discounts, offering many payment options, and rewarding loyalty. They will also offer various integrations to streamline operations. This could include integrating with accounting software, like QuickBooks, or various customer relationship management (CRM) software, like Salesforce.
What Features Should I Look for in a Pos System for Thrift Stores?
When shopping for a thrift store POS system, look for features like specialized inventory management for unique, donated items, simple checkout interface for volunteers, and donation tracking to generate tax receipts.
Other key features to consider include:
- Easy logging of donated items
- Automatic SKU generation
- Flexible pricing and discounts
- System to track and log incoming donations
- Generate tax-deductible receipts
- Mobile checkout
- Barcode printing
- Detailed inventory and sales reports
- Performance tracking for multiple locations
- E-commerce integrations
- Employee management
Benefits of Thrift Store Point-of-Sale Systems
Thrift stores can experience numerous benefits by using a specialized POS system. These tools streamline unique operations, such as managing new items and one-of-kind inventory with barcode generation and condition tracking. Thrift store POS systems also improve the donation process by tracking donation intakes and screening product quality.
Many thrift store POS systems can also boost customer loyalty, offering features like reward programs, personalized marketing, and efficient checkouts with reduced errors. Additionally, most of these POS systems provide valuable data through customizable reports.
How Much Do Thrift Store POS Systems Cost?
The cost of thrift store POS systems varies widely, ranging anywhere from $5 to $400 per month, depending on the number of features used, your business needs, the number of locations and registers, and the POS provider.
Most thrift store POS providers have a custom-pricing model, so costs are tailored to each business’s specific needs. However, Shopify POS has plans starting at just $5 a month, which offer you basic POS tools. Shopify’s most expensive plan starts at $399 per month, which offers advanced features and allows you to sell from anywhere.
The other provider on our list that has set pricing is Korona POS. It offers plans between $59 and $69 per month. Korona POS also offers add-ons, allowing you to create the perfect POS system for your business without paying for unnecessary features. These additional modules range from $10 to $50 a month.
Thrift store POS system frequently asked questions (FAQ)
What POS system does Goodwill use?
Goodwill uses Bridge Solutions for its POS functionality. The solution is based in California and specializes in thrift and retail stores.
Can you sell online with a thrift store POS system?
Yes, you can sell online with many thrift store POS systems, especially those with integrated ecommerce platforms. These allow you to connect your physical store with your online sales, allowing you to manage inventory, sales, and customer data across various channels.
What are the disadvantages of a POS system?
The main disadvantages of a POS system are the initial and ongoing costs. Other risks include the potential for technical issues due to hardware or internet problems, potential security risks, integration challenges, and potential contractual obligations. However, many business owners feel the costs are worth it for the many benefits.
How we chose the best thrift store POS systems
To determine the best POS providers for thrift stores, we compiled a list of the most reputable retail POS systems that specifically serve thrift shops. We then narrowed that list to the top four based on the features they offered, the markets they serve, brand reputation, and pricing transparency.
- Variety of features: We looked for vendors that offered inventory management, purchasing and receiving tools, customer management, and reporting & analytics.
- Pricing transparency: We sought companies that offer transparent pricing information or were clear that pricing is based on your business needs.
- Onboarding and support: We selected providers that offer multiple customer support options and demonstrate a history of continual improvement.
- Brand reputation: We gathered data on customer reviews and ratings from reputable third-party review sites to assess each vendor’s reputation among its customers.