4 Best Open Source POS Software for Small Businesses

The use of POS software is growing in popularity for small businesses. This technology offers a range of benefits, including the ability to accept online payments, manage inventory and generate reports. The 4 best open-source POS software platforms are discussed here.

Square is a popular open source POS software that is used by many small businesses. The 4 best open source POS software for small businesses are Square, Shopify, PayPal Here, and Paydex. Read more in detail here: square pos.

Open source point-of-sale (POS) software is flexible and may be used with almost any PC or iOS device. Although open source POS systems are often less expensive up front than commercial POS systems, they might be more complicated to set up and maintain. This makes open source POS systems ideal for small businesses who are comfortable modifying and maintaining their software, as well as bigger enterprises looking to design a customized POS solution.

We assessed nine options to discover the best open source POS software for small businesses and refined our selection down to our top four recommendations:

• Odoo is the best open source point-of-sale system for small and growing enterprises.
• uniCenta: This platform is ideal for worldwide enterprises since it supports many languages, currencies, and has a presence in more than 150 countries.
• Imonggo: Best for tiny businesses that only accept cash, such as pawn shops, tourist attractions, and mom-and-pop shops.
• POS Floreant is ideal for restaurants on the go.

Comparing the Best Open Source POS Systems

Odoo is the best open source point-of-sale system.

Odoo

3.91 OUT OF 5 I I I I I I I I I I I Our ranking is based on our experts’ weighted assessment of hundreds of comparable items and services.

What We Enjoy

• POS, Invoice, and Inventory are all available for free.
• Inventory monitoring and forecasting across stores
• Store and restaurant modules

What Isn’t There

• When you add modules, the price jumps dramatically.
• There is no mention of ecommerce.
• Customization and implementation are not simple.

Pricing for Odoo

• Software fees: The POS/Invoicing/Inventory package is free for unrestricted use; adding modules raises the price by $42.50 per user, each month.
• Hardware is not included in the price. Most business POS systems, iPads, and PCs are compatible.
• Odoo charges no processing fees. You’ll need a separate merchant account, and there are just a few possibilities for payment processing integration.

Odoo is a fantastic point-of-sale system that comes with a free base version and a plethora of add-on packages. While add-ons range from $12–$24 per user and may quickly add up, the free edition has all of the tools most small companies need to manage a retail store or restaurant.

Odoo received a 3.91 out of 5 rating in our review. Odoo’s UI isn’t as cutting-edge as some of the other suppliers on our list, but it’s simple and easy to use. It also lacks the depth of restaurant and inventory features seen in other systems, but it makes up for it in breadth—most companies will find plenty of everything.

Odoo Advantages

• Several registers, touch-screen devices (tablets or mobile devices) compatible, cloud-based with offline mode (for open tickets), conduct multiple checks concurrently, barcodes, discounts, customisable with pictures, pricing, taxes, and loyalty programs
• Split checks, kitchen and bar printing, numerous customers, product sorting, and a floor layout with table order status are some of the restaurant’s features.
• Customer management and loyalty programs include customer history, email marketing, rewards and loyalty programs based on points or discounts (identifying is done via cards or barcode IDs), and after-sales support services such as refunds, warranty tracking, and customer claim follow-up. (Odoo is also one of our top open source CRM software recommendations.)
• Double-entry, real-time updates across all locations, programmable reorder points and automatic purchase orders, drop-shipping, numerous warehouses, and inventory reports are just a few of the inventory capabilities. (Odoo is a free inventory management program that we highly suggest.)
• Quotes-to-invoices and sales analysis reports are examples of invoicing.
• Cash, credit cards, PayPal, Buckaroo, Stripe, Authorize.net, Adyen; Ingenico, Worldline, and Worldpay need the use of an IoT Box (an extra charge)

What Odoo Isn’t Including

Odoo is minimal, as you’d expect from a free application, and you’ll have to pay for other modules like ecommerce or CRM. Employee features and cashier logins are missing. If personnel management is critical to your organization and having a free POS system is a top priority, POS Floreant is the way to go. This functionality is included in most commercial POS systems’ premium levels.

uniCenta is the best option for international companies.

uniCenta

3.54 OUT OF 5 I I I I I I I I I I I Our ranking is based on our experts’ weighted assessment of hundreds of comparable items and services.

What We Enjoy

• It’s available in 17 languages and has several locations.
• Reservations and table management
• Customer relationship management, loyalty programs

What Isn’t There

• Customer service is mostly provided via forums; email assistance for bespoke plan modules is also available.
• Special programming may be required for key features (tipping).
• There is no free plan available.

Pricing at uniCenta

• There are no software license costs, however support plans start at £60 (about $82.21) for a Basic plan. A Plus package costs £136 (about $186). (Based on current foreign exchange rates and are subject to change)

• Hardware is not included in the price. Most business POS systems, iPads, and PCs are compatible.
  • Java 8 and MySQL 5.7 are the minimum system requirements.
• UniCenta does not charge any processing fees. The fees you pay will be determined by the payment processor you use.

Because it is based on GNU GPL2 licence, uniCenta’s POS software is free to operate, copy, distribute, and modify. Customer service, on the other hand, is paid, and premium membership gives you access to the knowledgebase and user forum. uniCenta is a very customizable program that can be used not just in retail and restaurants, but also in hospitality and event planning. It supports 17 languages, several currencies, and foreign payment processors, making it an excellent solution for tech-savvy shops with operations in many countries or who need multiple languages.

Based on our review criteria, uniCenta received 3.54 out of 5 stars, in part because we had trouble discovering specific functions in its backend. We couldn’t find a method to program tipping, and there was no mention of it in the company’s web materials or demonstrations. However, based on several online user evaluations and almost a million downloads in 150 countries, uniCenta remains a popular option among consumers. In comparison to other systems that charge extra for add-on modules, its yearly pricing for customer support is also relatively inexpensive. Odoo, for instance, is free—but its add-ons may quickly mount up and become costly.

Features of uniCenta

• Bundling, numerous payment options on a single bill, vouchers, and barcode scanning are all examples of POS.
• Table bookings and mapping, kitchen display system, and check-splitting
• Keep track of units of measurement, purchase orders, and variations in your inventory.
• Online: Reservation management and ecommerce integration
• Payment Processing: uniCenta integrates with Dejavoo and PaymentSense.

What is missing from uniCenta?

We were unable to locate tip management options, which are critical to many restaurant and hospitality organizations, as well as payroll-specific information. Although it seems to update and monitor supplies, it does not appear to provide low-inventory notifications.

Imonggo is ideal for pawn shops, tourist attractions, and mom-and-pop shops.

Imonggo

3.40 OUT OF 5 I I I I I I I I I I I Our ranking is based on our experts’ weighted assessment of hundreds of comparable items and services.

What We Enjoy

• The user interface is simple.
• Instruments for international trade
• Inventory management software that works

What Isn’t There

• Use of the free plan is restricted.
• Apps for mobile devices are limited.
• There is no personnel management.

Pricing for Imonggo

• There are two types of Fees for software: none and premium.
  • Free: One user, one branch, and 100 monthly transactions are all you get.
  • Unlimited users, goods, and monthly transactions ($30/month/branch)
• Imonggo does not offer point-of-sale hardware. It may be used on an iPad, a laptop, or a desktop. Any receipt printer or even a typical office printer would suffice. Card readers are provided by your payment processor.
• Processing costs are determined by the service provider you choose.

Imonggo is a simple POS system for small businesses that need inventory management and a loyalty program based on points. It’s cheap (Imonggo is one of our top selections for the best free POS systems) and works with different currencies. As a result, it’s great for tiny businesses, pawn shops, and tourist shops.

This app has a 3.40 out of 5 rating. Its ranking was severely harmed by its failure to handle credit card payments and limits in the free plan, as well as the absence of payroll reports (even on the premium plan) (compared to POS Floreant which offers all these under a free plan). It is, nevertheless, simple to use, offers an offline option, and impressive inventory features.

Features of Imonggo

• Browser-based POS with barcode scanning, discounts (per item or overall), split payments, gift cards, and the ability to accept several currencies.
• Multinational capabilities include the ability to handle several currencies, manage client nationalities, and more (this is why it is perfect for multinational stores like tourist shops or border towns where you may deal with different currencies). It is, however, only available in English.
• Ecommerce: Imonggo or your own online shop are both free; Shopify connection is also available.
• Inventory management includes online and in-store inventory monitoring, product stock descriptions (such as photos, pricing, barcodes, and stock numbers), low-stock alerts, price modifications (for example, broken products), and kitting and bundling options.
• Customer information, memberships, and special remarks for customers, such as whether they are tax-exempt, nonprofit, or belong to a customer group
• Loyalty programs: In its Groups option, it offers a simple loyalty scheme, but it also enables users to earn points for purchases.
• Employee: Does not have time sheets or tips, which are required for payroll processing.
• Payment Processing: The free version does not accept credit cards and only accepts cash or paper checks. Every other piece of software on our list has a processor. If you choose the premium plan, you may use Authorize.net or Worldpay as your payment processor.

What Imonggo Isn’t Telling You

If being on a free plan is important to you, Imonggo’s free plan may be too restrictive. For one thing, it only accepts cash, so if you need to process credit cards, POS Floreant, which connects with multiple processors, is a better option. Imonggo also lacks scheduling and clock-in/out features. Other systems, like as Odoo and Floreant, include built-in personnel scheduling features if you require them.

POS Floreant is ideal for restaurants on the go. Including Food Trucks and Popup Stalls

POS Floreant

2.73 OUT OF 5 I I I I I I I I I I I Our ranking is based on our experts’ weighted assessment of hundreds of comparable items and services.

What We Enjoy

• Installation time is short, and the system requirements are minimal.
• Doesn’t need internet access
• Open-source software allows us more freedom.

What Isn’t There

• Paid add-ons are available for advanced functionality.
• Integrations are limited.
• Customer management tools are lacking.

Pricing

• Fees for software: none
• Floreant Cust (home delivery and pickup), Floreant Inventory, and Floreant Floorplan are software add-ons that cost $9.99 per terminal, each month (visual floor planning)
• Hardware costs: You are not forced to buy hardware from Floreant, however the company’s website offers a list of suggested hardware equipment and accessories.
  • Minimum system requirements: Any operating system that supports Java 8, a monitor with a resolution of 1024×786 or greater, a dual-core Intel CPU, 4GB of RAM, and a 64GB hard drive.
• Processing fees: None from POS Floreant. Fees will depend on the payment processor, Authorize.net.

POS Floreant was specifically developed for a famous restaurant chain, so it comes as no surprise that its features are tailor-made for the food industry. Its minimum system requirements make for a quick local installation and allow for mobile device and tablet use. Customization is limitless (since it’s open source), but upon installation, basic features already include point-of-sale, table service, kitchen control, user-level permissions, and a mobile register.

In our evaluation, POS Floreant earned a 2.73 out of 5. The lack of cloud hosting, 24/7 customer support, and checkout features—such as online ordering and a loyalty program—kept it from getting a higher score. For example, loyalty programs are included in the free plans of Imonggo. It is also the only software in this guide that does not offer hybrid installation (cloud-hosted).

Not sure if POS Floreant is right for you? See our guide to the best food truck POS systems. All the options on this list are commercially available products.

POS Floreant Features

• Cash monitoring, loyalty programs, gift cards, and payroll reporting are all available at the point of sale.
• Tipping, split checks, table mapping, bar tabs, recipe management, specific cooking instructions, and a pizza ordering system are all available at a restaurant.
• Low-stock warnings, inventory counts, barcode scanning, purchase orders, and stock tracking by ingredients are all available as paid add-ons.
• Employee: Payroll and productivity (clocking in and out of employees)
• As of this writing, only Authorize.net is used for payment processing.

What POS Floreant Is Missing

While POS Floreant can be customized as much as you want if you are techie enough, its basic functions still do not include advanced POS features such as customer management, email marketing, a customer-facing display, and an online ordering system integration. These are features that some businesses might deem essential to scale. However, ORO POS, Floreant’s paid version, includes tips payout, more flexible reporting features, and the ability to split tabs.

How We Assessed Open Source Point-of-Sale Systems

We examined nine open source POS systems, comparing features that company owners demand from POS software and taking into account the benefits of open source platforms, such as flexibility, community support, and compatibility with various operating systems. We sought for a user-friendly UI, frequent updates, and a wide range of functions.

Odoo is the top open source POS system for small companies, according to our review, with a 3.91 out of 5 rating. It stood out from the crowd, with the most favorable customer evaluations across several sites and a variety of handy features that make it ideal for retail and restaurant enterprises. Inventory management is included into the system, and it works with most POS hardware, so you won’t have to acquire anything special. Odoo is also free.

To view our complete assessment criteria, click through the categories below.

30% of the overall score

We graded inventory, customer service, and personnel management (including logins and clock in/out) on a scale of one to ten. We also took into account the amount and worth of reports, as well as whether or not they were customisable or offered template versions. Bonus points were awarded to those who also provide email marketing. Odoo was the apparent victor in this area, despite the fact that all of the software in our list has effective management features.

20% of the overall score

We thought tipping management to be important for retail and/or restaurants. Cash monitoring and the ability to reconcile registers at the end of the day were also prioritized. We also looked at loyalty programs, gift cards, contactless payments, and internet buying. Every system on our list could handle barcodes and credit cards, but Odoo came out on top here, with most of the features we listed being free.

20% of the overall score

We examined the interface but also looked for user comments and complaints about features and backend issues. Since point of sale systems are used round-the-clock in business operations, it is critical that it is intuitive and easy to troubleshoot. We also paid attention to the software’s customer service hours and whether the program can run offline or is cloud-based. All the platforms can do hybrid installations (cloud-hosted but can go on offline mode) except for POS Floreant, which is locally-installed.

20% of the overall score

This score took into account a holistic examination of features vs. cost, customer service, and user popularity. We looked at internet user evaluations, including those from rivals, with an average rating of 4+ being regarded optimal. For popularity and above-average user evaluations, Odoo and uniCenta are the top choices.

10% of the overall score

Nearly all open source software is free, but the ones that ranked well charged a small fee or offered paid add-ons or upgrades. Aside from the free versions, we also considered the maximum number of users, devices, inventory, and transactions a platform can support. Integrated payment processing options were considered as well. Based on these criteria, Odoo and POS Floreant had perfect scores. Their free versions were enough to run a business.

*Percentages based on total score

Conclusion

Open source POS systems are extremely adaptable, making them an excellent alternative for small firms with unique requirements or software-savvy owners that like customizing. Most are free or demand a little fee, and they work on PC, Mac, Android, or iOS. We chose Odoo as the best overall solution because of its extensive feature set and user-friendly design, as well as its large and passionate user community. Join the ranks of others who have chosen Odoo as their point-of-sale system.

Odoo is a great place to visit.

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Open source POS software is a solution for small businesses that want to run their own point of sale system. There are four open source options on GitHub that offer a wide range of features. Reference: open source pos github.

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