POS Software Review & Rating Methodology

POS systems are vital small business products, so we take our reviews and ratings very seriously, following a precise methodology. Here are just some of the reasons readers can trust the Merchant Maverick rating system:

• Merchant Maverick has been reviewing POS systems for more than a decade.
• Over the years, we’ve evaluated over 100 POS software and hardware systems.
• Each review involves 10-15 hours of initial research, followed by 5-10 hours of research for each review update.
• We update our POS reviews at least every 12 months, though most reviews are updated twice a year, and a few of the platforms most popular with our readers receive quarterly updates.

While we research and compare many different systems, the reviews displayed on the site have been handpicked based on metrics like overall popularity, availability, and quality. The goal is to provide the most actionable and accurate information to our readers, so while we love to recommend great products, we don’t shy away from pointing out the areas where popular providers fall short.

Our expert writers engage in independent research and testing for each POS review, evaluating usability, cost, depth of features, customer service, contract length, and more. When determining the star rating for a vendor, we score the following areas:

• Pricing
• Ease Of Use
• Features
• Customer Support
• User Reviews

Each section’s score is weighted differently, with the highest weights going to pricing, features, and ease of use. The scores for each section are displayed openly in the review and then combined to create a holistic rating for the product out of 5 stars.

Read on for a more minute explanation of how we determine the individual section ratings.

Note: We look at slightly different elements when evaluating aspects of restaurant, retail, and service-based POS. 

Pricing

40% of the total score

The Pricing score is broken into three sections:

• Software Plans (40% of the total section rating)
• Hardware Options (30% of the total section rating)
• Payment Processing Fees (30% of the total section rating)

Our expert reviewer looks at many things when determining the Pricing score, including the number of software plans available, the relative cost compared to similar products, what kind of hardware is available, whether payment processing is included, if there are hidden fees, free trial availability, and more.

Ease Of Use

15% of the total score

The Ease Of Use score is broken into three sections:

• Initial Setup (35% of the total section rating)
• Customization (35% of the total section rating)
• Everyday Use (30% of the total section rating)

When determining the Ease Of Use score, we evaluate how intuitive the software and hardware setup is, how hard or easy it is to train employees, the navigability of the UI, how much time is involved to get the product up and running, and more.

Features

30% of the total score

The Features score is broken down into several sections, depending on the type of POS software being evaluated.

Restaurant POS Software

• Ordering System (40% of the total section rating)
• Kitchen/Order Management (40% of the total section rating)
• Niche Features (20% of the total section rating)

Our expert reviewers look at things like online order management, self-service kiosk availability, table/seat management, menu creation, inventory management, and reservation/seat management when scoring the features of Restaurant POS software.

Retail POS Software

• Register Features (30% of the total section rating)
• Multichannel Sales (25% of the total section rating)
• Store Management (30% of the total section rating)
• Niche Features (15% of the total section rating)

We look at elements such as ease of returns/exchanges, theft prevention features, eCommerce options, automated inventory tracking, sales reporting, and more when scoring Retail POS software.

Service-Based POS Software

• Register Features (20% of the total section rating)
• Booking/Calendar Management (30% of the total section rating)
• Admin Management (20% of the total section rating)
• Invoicing (20% of the total section rating)
• Niche Features (10% of the total section rating)

When scoring Service-Based POS systems, we examine online booking tools, calendar usability, ability to charge service fees, in-person sales features, customer profile setup, and many other features.

Customer Service

10% of the total score

The Customer Service score is broken down into two sections.

• Personal Support (50% of the total section rating)
• Self-Service (50% of the total section rating)

When scoring customer service, we pay the most attention to the number of support options available (phone, email, in-person, etc.), the quality of personal support received, the training options available, and the usability and depth of any online training materials, such as wikis, videos, and webinars.

User Reviews

5% of the total score

The Customer Reviews score is comprised of two sections.

• User Feedback (30% of the total section rating)
• Review Site Aggregate (70% of the total section rating)

We scour the internet for user feedback on all the products we review, looking for positive and negative feedback. Merchant Maverick is not a user review platform, so for part of this total rating we rely on aggregate user scores from review sites such as GetApp, TrustPilot, the App store, and more.