Helcim's free POS software is easy to use and offers features suitable for retail, service, and subscription-based businesses in the US and Canada.
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Expert Contributor
Last updated onUpdated
REVIEWED BY
Lead Staff Writer
| Total Rating | 4.2 |
|---|---|
| Pricing4.1 | |
| Ease Of Use4.8 | |
| Features3.9 | |
| Customer Service4.5 | |
| User Reviews4.0 | |
Pricing Range
$0Helcim is a payment processor and point of sale (POS) system provider catering to small/midsize subscription, service-based, and B2B/B2G businesses in the US and Canada. Helcim POS is free and includes an invoice builder, customer manager, online store builder, and a POS register app that can be installed on unlimited devices.
Table of Contents
| Pricing4.1 |
|---|
| Software Plans 5.0 |
| Hardware Options 4.0 |
| Payment Processing Fees 3.0 |
Helcim scores highly in terms of software plans and hardware options since Helcim POS software is completely free and you can install it on just about any device. We also appreciate that you can create your own free account with no credit card required, and can even process $5 worth of transactions just to test out the checkout process.
| Helcim POS Plans | Price | When To Use |
|---|---|---|
| Free Plan | $0 | If you need free in-person POS software, an online store builder, subscription manager, and/or customer account manager |
The only hardware needed to purchase is the $99 Helcim card reader. Alternatively, you can purchase the $329 Helcim Smart Terminal if you’re looking for an all-in-one mobile POS device. The company offers financing options on its hardware if you can’t pay the $329 all at once.
The only points that Helcim lost are in the payment processing area, and only for very small business owners. Very small business owners processing small transactions ($0-$50) will benefit more from flat-rate payment processing offered by many of the best POS systems for small businesses.
The only other fee you may see on a monthly statement is for chargebacks. Helcim will refund the $15 chargeback fee if you win a chargeback dispute.
US and Canadian service, subscription-based, and retail business owners looking for transparent interchange-plus payment processing and no monthly software fees. Helcim’s payment processing model is best for B2C, B2B, and B2G businesses making $5,000+/month with an average transaction size of at least $50.
| Features3.9 |
|---|
| Register Features 3.8 |
| Booking/Calendar Management 3.0 |
| Admin Management 4.6 |
| Invoicing 5.0 |
| Niche Features 3.0 |
To test out Helcim’s features, I set up a test Helcim account for an art store and performed several test transactions. In doing this, I could test inventory management functions, online sales capabilities, admin management features, and niche features such as comprehensive invoicing and B2B customer management. I also created an example bridal shop to test out service appointments such as dress preservations and item rentals such as veils.
Helcim scored highest in invoicing, register, and niche features like B2B customer portal and subscription management. It scored lower on booking and calendar management features, which is why Helcim does not make our list of the best salon POS systems.
Here are Helcim’s features:
| Helcim POS Features | Availability |
|---|---|
| Multi-Store Support | |
| Contactless Payments | |
| Multi-Channel Selling | |
| Gift Cards | |
| Customer Loyalty | |
| Marketing Tools | |
| Online Ordering | |
| Inventory Management | |
| Reporting | |
| Menu Management | |
| Delivery Management | |
| EBT Acceptance | |
| Employee Management | |
| Text Messaging |
Helcim scores well in register features because it’s easy to accept all major credit card types, including Visa, Discover, Amex, and American Express. Helcim also accepts digital wallet payments like Apple Pay and Google Pay. It’s also easy to charge service fees, enable tipping, create new items on the spot on the register, create and update invoices, add transaction notes to orders (great for taking custom orders), and save orders for later (great for keeping lines moving if someone forgets a credit card, needs to check the price on an item, etc.). You can also add discount codes and custom discounts during checkout for things like reduced pricing on damaged items.
You can add a cash drawer, barcode scanner, and receipt printer to your POS setup. Helcim has a custom receipt designer so you can add all the information you want and your own logo to receipts, plus allow customers to choose whether to have their receipt emailed or printed.
Helcim is a good retail POS for inventory management and offers a lot of preset options when it comes to entering products and services. You can enter a product name, brand, cost, and price (in multiple currencies), create item variants, include add-ons, add products to a catalog, create tiered pricing structures, add wholesale pricing, and add advanced product details. Advanced product details include features like weight and dimensions, plus Level 3 data like units of measure and commodity codes.
Wholesale products are only available to designated wholesale customers, and you can set wholesale products to require a customer to log in to view wholesale pricing information. Helcim’s wholesale features and invoicing capabilities make Helcim one of the best retail POS systems for B2B businesses.
You can track inventory, easily modify inventory, and set low-stock alerts. If you use QuickBooks Online or another spreadsheet-based inventory/finance management tool, you can import and export product and service information.
Helcim has very basic employee management features such as employee logins and user role permissions. There are no time tracking, scheduling, or team management tools built into Helcim. You can use one of Helcim’s accounting integrations or look into our best payroll software for small businesses to fill the employee payroll gaps.
Helcim offers excellent invoicing features, including:
Helcim makes it easy to set up B2B customer accounts and includes information such as:
Helcim also offers some niche features, including a subscription manager and Level 3 card data entry. The subscription manager allows you to create very specific subscription settings and monitor customer activity. Level 3 card data entry is a great way to lower payment processing fees because there is more information available on payments from B2B/B2G (business to government), and transactions are more secure.
Helcim integrates with QuickBooks Online, Xero, Magneto, WooCommerce, Foxy.io, and Great Exposure. The company also offers an open API so businesses can work with developers to create custom solutions.
| Ease Of Use4.8 |
|---|
| Initial Setup 4.8 |
| Customization 4.7 |
| Everyday Use 5.0 |
From my experience with a free account and the experience of real customers, Helcim POS is very easy to set up, customize, and use daily.
When I set up my account, I ran through an initial setup of signing up for an account on the Helcim website (no credit card was required), filling out some basic business information like my location and contact information, and then setting up some inventory on the web-based dashboard. It was easy to install the POS app on my devices (desktop and smartphone). You can connect your card reader via USB or Bluetooth, depending on your POS device.
Helcim’s POS user interface is straightforward and while it doesn’t have as many customization features as other POS software, it is easy to manage. The invoice customizer is extensive but also intuitive and connects nicely to the customer manager. The online store builder is also not complicated, which makes it easy to customize.
Everyday use is also straightforward, as the POS app and inventory manager are clean and minimalist. Invoice and subscription management just requires an initial setup but is then easy to monitor.
Helcim started as a payment processing company and only seriously started expanding its POS software offering in 2021. Since then, it has created a POS app that works for all device types, launched its own card reader, and configured both credit/debit and ACH bank account payments. In late 2022, the company raised $16 million in funding to hire over 150 customer service, developer, and sales representatives by the end of 2024.
In June 2023, the company launched its own handheld POS system that, like the Square Terminal and Clover Flex, includes an integrated POS register, card and mobile wallet reader, and receipt printer.
In June 2023, the company also rolled out a cash discount program with merchant accounts for business owners who would like to pass their credit/debit card processing fees to customers. The company uniquely allows business owners to give customers the choice to pay a “convenience fee” if they choose to pay with a card or pay through a bank account, which has lower fees for business owners than card payments.
| Customer Service4.5 |
|---|
| Personal Support 4.8 |
| Self-Service 4.2 |
Helcim scores very highly in personal customer service because customers praise the service provided, there are several customer support options, and I have personally had great experiences with Helcim’s technical support team.
| Helcim POS Customer Service | Availability |
|---|---|
| Phone Support | |
| Email Support | |
| Support Tickets | |
| Live Chat | |
| Dedicated Support Representative | |
| Knowledge Base or Help Center | |
| Videos & Tutorials | |
| Company Blog | |
| Social Media |
Helcim offers fast, high-quality customer support for US and Canadian merchants. Business owners can call customer support Monday – Friday from 7AM – 5PM MT, submit a support ticket from their Helcim dashboard, or send a help email and get a response within one business day.
The company also scores highly in self-service support because Helcim’s learning center and YouTube videos are straightforward and informative.
Helcim offers merchant accounts with transparent interchange-plus payment processing for all business owners, without any minimum amount of revenue or time in business. Helcim has a tiered interchange-plus pricing model, which means that the more money your company makes and the higher your average transaction size, the lower your payment processing rates are.
It’s important to note that companies with low monthly sales ($5,000 or less) and/or low average transaction sizes ($15 – $25) will not benefit from Helcim’s payment processing fee model.
Your payment processing rates will update automatically based on your sales volumes over an average of three months. This means that if your business performs really well in the summer, you’ll have lower payment processing rates at the end of it. If your business has a rough few months, though, you may see your processing rates increase by some measure.
Helcim is a great option for accepting premium, corporate, and government spend cards because you can enter Level 3 transaction data for any product or service.
Adding Level 3 data allows you to minimize payment processing risks and reduce payment processing fees when other businesses and government organizations use credit cards to make larger purchases. Examples of Level 3 data include invoice and order numbers, product and commodity codes, item description and quantity with the unit of measure, freight information, and duty information.
Business owners can estimate their payment processing rates on the company’s pricing page based on their monthly sales volume, average transaction size, card type, percentage of in-person and online/keyed-in transactions, and industry.
Helcim is extremely honest about its merchant agreement, with a detailed breakdown of merchant fees on the company website and a copy of Helcim’s merchant agreement available online for anyone to view.
Contracts are month-to-month and you are only charged when you process transactions.
You can easily terminate your agreement with Helcim at any time by emailing [email protected] and following the instructions you are provided. There is no early cancellation fee associated with canceling your account.
Helcim may require a reserve of funding to cover any debt for transactions (chargeback fees, late fees, fees related to court decisions) initiated prior to your agreement. The company will release any funding held after any debt is paid or after six months of termination, whichever comes first. This is a rare occurrence, and as long as your business operates above board, you won’t run into this situation.
The main concerns about Helcim are ensuring that your business type is supported before signing up for an account, making sure your business is verified by a Helcim representative, and making sure that Helcim has enough functionalities for your business type.
Helcim users have reported account cancellations due to their businesses being considered high-risk. The company provides an acceptable use policy online explicitly detailing what types of businesses it will not work with. If you’re not sure whether your business can work with Helcim, contact a Helcim representative before signing up for a merchant account.
| User Reviews4.0 |
|---|
| Customer Feedback 4.0 |
| Review Site Aggregate 4.0 |
Our review rating is based on the number of real, recent, and unincentivized customer reviews available, as well as the overall sentiment of reviews.
Helcim has several great reviews on all software review sites, earning the following scores from popular user review platforms:
Note: Helcim’s POS app is relatively new, which explains the lower number of software reviews on G2 and GetApp. The Trustpilot rating is for the company as a whole, not just the POS software.
To get started with Helcim POS, sign up for a free account on the Helcim website. You only need your SSN (social security number) or your registered business information if you already have an established business with an EIN (employer identification number).
Then decide which tools you think you may use and book a free 30-minute introductory phone call if you’d like. Helcim generates a web-based user dashboard for you immediately while working in the background to verify your personal and business information, so you can start setting up your inventory and invoices while you wait.
To access the POS payments app itself, download the app on your smartphone or tablet device from the Apple App Store or Google Play Store. If you want to download the desktop app, go to the “App Devices” tab on your web-based admin dashboard, click “Download” on the left side of the page, and download the right version for your device.
Once you’ve downloaded the app, log in with your email and password, then create a PIN for your user account. If you have received your card reader, you’ll connect it via Bluetooth or USB depending on your POS device. If you haven’t received it yet, skip connecting your card reader and you’ll be directly taken to the POS register interface.
Square, Stripe, and Clover are good Helcim alternatives. Square and Stripe are better for very small business owners because they offer free POS software as well as flat-rate payment processing. Like Helcim, Clover offers merchant accounts, but Clover has more POS features for retail and restaurant businesses.
| Helcim POS Review Summary | |
|---|---|
| Pricing Range | $0 |
| Choose If You Need |
|
We believe that Helcim is one of the best POS systems for businesses in the retail, subscription, and/or service industry, especially B2B and B2G businesses, with higher average transaction sizes and higher monthly sales volumes. This is because larger businesses will be charged lower per-transaction payment processing fees under Helcim’s interchange-plus payment processing model.
We appreciate Helcim’s transparent pricing structure, month-to-month contracts, free POS and online store builder, invoicing features, and B2B/subscription customer management portals. We also appreciate a free POS system, especially one that works on any device, and believe that Helcim is one of the best free POS systems available.
We do not recommend Helcim for restaurants or businesses with a lot of small transactions. If you own a restaurant, look into our best restaurant POS systems.
We evaluate and test each software system that we review at Merchant Maverick, placing special emphasis on certain key software characteristics in order to generate our granular product ratings.
For service-based POS software in particular, we have a 68-point rubric we use to evaluate the system in terms of its pricing, ease of use, features, and user reviews. These points are based on attributes relevant to the appointment or service-based POS niche—such as the availability of features like online scheduling, subscription services, calendar functionality, and marketing tools.
Our rating system also takes into account attributes that are desirable for POS systems and cloud-based software in general, such as the availability of monthly pricing plans, free trials, and transparent software contracts.
The Merchant Maverick Seal of Approval 🏆
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Helcim POS
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|---|
After hours of in-depth research and evaluation, we can confidently recommend this brand to our readers. Get started today and see Helcim POS for yourself.
The Merchant Maverick Seal of Approval 🏆
|
Helcim POS
|
|---|
After hours of in-depth research and evaluation, we can confidently recommend this brand to our readers. Get started today and see Helcim POS for yourself.
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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.
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Our team of experts spends hours on every review so that we can find the best companies to recommend to our readers. Helcim POS made the cut.
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