The 3 Best Cloud-Based Grocery POS Systems [Features, Pricing, & Reviews]

As a business owner, being away from your store can feel painful — but overseeing your operations in person during every single open hour simply isn’t realistic. 

A cloud-based point of sale (POS) system is the next best thing. 

In this blog, we’ll explore how this powerful tool helps you manage your store from anywhere, at any time. Plus, we’ll explore the top three cloud-based grocery POS systems to consider, along with their standout features, pricing options, and reviews. 

Want to skip straight to our top picks? 

• Lightspeed
• Toast
• IT Retail

Why Should You Choose a Cloud-Based Grocery POS?

Let’s start with the basics: What is a cloud-based POS system? 

Some POS systems operate on physical servers, usually located in the back office of retail stores. This on-premise configuration means you can only access your POS data when you’re physically in your store’s office — making it tough to monitor your business from afar. 

In contrast, cloud-based grocery POS systems operate on remote servers. 

Here are some of the benefits of this setup: 

• Remote access: The biggest benefit of a cloud-based POS system is that you can track inventory, monitor sales, adjust prices, and schedule promotions on the go. 
• Simpler onboarding: Cloud-based POS systems are often easier to use from the very beginning. Most are “plug and play” and can be up and running within minutes — no server setup required. 
• Backup and recovery: Natural disasters and power outages pose a serious risk to in-store servers, but cloud-based systems constantly back up your POS data, ensuring you never lose your historical sales, inventory, and customer reports. 
• Better technical support: Your POS provider’s support team can provide more effective troubleshooting and problem-solving on cloud-based systems than physical servers located in your store. 
• Multilocation options: Cloud-based systems can grow with you as you open new grocery stores, allowing you to sync data between all of your locations. 
• E-commerce integration: Cloud-based systems often have more e-commerce integration options since they can sync inventory and sales data across your online and in-store sales. 

In short, a cloud-based grocery POS system can make it easier to manage and grow your store.  

How To Find the Perfect Cloud-Based Grocery POS

Now that you understand the why behind cloud-based POS technology, you’re ready to start searching for the right system for your grocery store. 

Before we dive into our provider recommendations, let’s look at a few core features and functions of a grocery POS system: 

• Perishable inventory management: Your POS system should help you prevent stockouts and spoilage with features like real-time inventory tracking. 
• Integrated payment processing: Look for a system that can handle cash, card, contactless, and EBT payments quickly and securely. 
• Marketing tools: Your POS system should include sales-boosting features like a customer loyalty program and flexible promotions. 
• Reporting and analytics: Your POS system should analyze your sales and inventory data to provide valuable insights about your profits and customers’ shopping habits. 
• E-commerce: If you want to take advantage of the online grocery boom, your POS system should seamlessly integrate with popular e-commerce platforms. 

You’ve got your shopping list, so let’s explore our three favorite cloud-based grocery POS systems. 

3. Lightspeed: Best for Multilocation Grocery Stores

First on our list is Lightspeed, a cloud-based POS system designed to help retailers manage expanding businesses. 

While Lightspeed isn’t a grocery-specific solution, its powerful e-commerce and multilocation management features make it a great fit if growth is your number-one goal. 

Let’s look at a few of Lightspeed’s most unique features: 

• Built-in e-commerce: Lightspeed includes all the tools you need to launch and manage an online store, letting you run a thriving brick-and-mortar and e-commerce business from one platform. 
• Multilocation management: Instead of requiring you to switch back and forth between your different stores, Lightspeed shows your inventory and sales data in one single place. 
• Open API: Lightspeed has an open API, which means it easily integrates with additional software tools for accounting, advanced inventory management, and marketing. 

Pricing

Lightspeed’s pricing options range from $109 to $339 for one store and one register. 

Reviews

This provider has a 3.9-star rating on Trustpilot, and most reviewers say they’ve enjoyed the software’s features and the quality of Lightspeed’s customer support. Here’s a snippet from one positive review: 

“Lightspeed has everything in one place, which is excellent: POS, inventory, loyalty programs, web creation, etc. The system is so user-friendly!” 

However, Lightspeed has a higher-than-average number of low ratings, with 17% of users giving it one star. Many of these negative reviews mention complicated pricing and frequent bugs, so we recommend getting a comprehensive quote and taking advantage of a free trial before committing. 

2. Toast: Best for Food Service-Focused Grocers

Does your grocery store offer a fantastic selection of fresh bakery items and ready-to-eat meals? Toast’s POS solution might be the right fit. 

Toast mainly caters to restaurants, but they also offer a retail POS solution for grocery store and restaurant hybrids. Here’s what Toast has to offer: 

• Quick-service restaurant functionality: Customers can interact with your menu and order custom, made-to-order meals with Toast’s QSR features. 

• Flexible hardware options: Toast’s software can run on several different hardware configurations — from traditional cashier lanes to self-checkout kiosks. 
• Mobile inventory counts: Since you can use Toast on your mobile device, you can perform quick and easy stock counts from the sales floor. 

Pricing

Toast’s most popular pricing plan starts at $69/month. 

Reviews

Toast has a 3.2-star rating on Trustpilot, with most reviewers saying the system is reliable and user-friendly. Here’s what one reviewer had to say: 

“We love Toast! It's easy to use and efficient. Makes it easy to see the day's numbers.”

Keep in mind that most of these reviews come from restaurant owners, so be sure that Toast’s features are the right fit if you own a traditional grocery store or supermarket.  

1. IT Retail: Best All Around

Our final recommendation is IT Retail. Our cloud-based POS software is specifically designed for grocery stores like yours. 

Along with cloud-based functionality and an offline option in case of internet outages, IT Retail has all the features you need to run an efficient and profitable grocery store. 

Here are a few of our favorite IT Retail tools: 

• Real-time inventory tracking: Check inventory levels at a glance — including a breakdown of your perishable items like produce and weight-based inventory like meat and cheese. 

• Customer loyalty: Learn more about your most valuable customers, encourage repeat business, and boost average basket sizes with our built-in, customizable loyalty program. 
• Self-checkout options: Keep checkout lines short and serve more customers in less time with our affordable, easy-to-use self-checkout machines. 

Pricing

We offer flexible pricing options to meet every grocer’s needs and budget. Use our build and price tool to generate an instant, custom quote. 

Reviews

IT Retail has a 4.7-star rating on Trustpilot, with most customers raving about our easy setup process and friendly support team. Here’s what one IT Retail user said about their experience: 

“IT Retail is a great POS solution. It was founded by a grocer and has very practical applications. I've been using it for over ten years, and it works great for our operations. Also, their support team is really responsive!”

Simplify Grocery Store Management With Our Cloud-Based POS System

Ready to see how a cloud-based grocery POS system can help you manage your store?

The next step is to schedule your live, personalized demo of IT Retail.

During your demo, you can see our software in action, explore the features that matter most to you, and connect with one of our grocery industry experts to discover if IT Retail is the right fit for your business. 

Schedule yours today!