A mobile point-of-sale (mPOS) system consists of software and portable hardware that processes your shop’s transactions. It calculates sales totals, processes payments, tracks inventory, collects business data, and much more.
An mPOS system turns any tablet or smartphone into a checkout point. This capability enables you to ring customers up anywhere in your store, at pop-up shops, and even on the go. Our guide to mobile point-of-sale systems has what you need to know about this essential retail technology.
A mobile point-of-sale system (mPOS) is a portable hardware and software system that processes sales. An mPOS is nearly the same as a traditional point-of-sale (POS) system, except that it doesn’t have to be anchored to one checkout counter.
With a mobile POS solution, you can install POS software onto a tablet or smartphone and serve customers wherever they are. And because your checkout moves wherever you need it, your shop doesn’t necessarily need a checkout counter at all.
Here’s an overview of how transactions work on an mPOS system:
These are just some of the many advantages of using an mPOS terminal:
With a POS that moves wherever you need it instead of being tethered to a checkout counter, you can check out shoppers wherever they are.
Mobile checkout virtually eliminates lines at the checkout counter, creates a faster checkout experience, and helps with line busting.
With a POS system in the palm of your hand, you have the information and tools you need to better serve customers. You can, for example, check inventory without leaving the sales floor or email shoppers a pre-loaded cart of products they tried on so they can buy online when they’re ready.
If you often find yourself serving more than one customer at a time, mobile POS systems let you save the customer’s cart and retrieve it later. This lets you switch between customer interactions without losing order details or wasting time at checkout reentering products into the customers cart.
Mobile POS systems like Shopify come with built-in payment processing. Payment data encryption, PCI compliance, and 3D Secure compliance ensure that mobile payment information and business data are safe.
📌 GET STARTED: Shopify Payments is the fastest way to start accepting mobile payments in person, online, and on the go. It’s included in all Shopify plans, so you can skip lengthy third-party activations and go from setup to selling faster.
Getting up and running when you open a new location or sell at an event is quick and easy with an mPOS. The systems run on hardware you’re already familiar with and on software that’s similar to other iOS and Android apps, making them intuitive to use.
While some POS systems have a lengthy setup process, Dustin Kroft appreciated how straightforward it was to open his first Kroft’s retail store with Shopify POS’ user-friendly interface.
“I can set up Shopify POS in 10 minutes and it’ll already be synced with my Shopify online store’s inventory,” Dustin says. “I’m kind of blown away at how little I have to do to start transacting at the store.”
Choosing a mobile POS system is an important business decision. From assessing costs to confirming compatibility with existing tools, here’s how to choose the best mobile POS system for your retail store.
The right mPOS should handle your transaction volume, integrate with your inventory, and support the payment methods your customers prefer. A system that’s too basic may slow down transactions, while an overly complex platform can increase costs and complicate workflows.
To ensure your new system can process payments quickly and reliably, use reports from your current POS platform to estimate your average daily transaction volume. Combine this with feedback from your retail team: What challenges are they facing with your current platform? Can you solve them with a new mPOS system? Use those insights to define your greatest needs as you start evaluating platforms.
As you begin to compare potential mPOS providers, make a list of essential features to narrow down your shortlist. If a vendor doesn’t offer the basic features you need, strike it off your list.
Essential mPOS features include:
If you’re managing multiple locations (or plan to in the near future), consider features like customizable staff permissions, store inventory transfers, and cloud-based access. This helps avoid the need to switch POS platforms down the line.
POS vendors each have their own feature sets that justify different prices. However, pricing tends to be unclear—some include essential features as standard, while others have everything you’ll need right out of the box.
As part of your evaluation process, ask the vendor for a complete POS package cost that includes any features you shortlisted in the previous step, including:
Some providers use flat-rate pricing, charging the same percentage for every transaction, while others use interchange-plus, which passes through card network fees plus a small markup. Flat rate is simpler to forecast, while interchange-plus can be more cost effective for high-volume retailers.
💡Tip: Because Shopify is the only platform to natively unify POS and ecommerce in the same system, omnichannel retailers have just one platform to manage. A recent study found this approach delivers 22% better total cost of ownership (TCO) compared to competitors, on average.
Your mobile POS software is only as effective as the devices it works with. If the system doesn’t support the receipt printers, barcode scanners, or card readers you need, for example, you may have to manually process transactions or replace hardware later down the line.
A mobile POS system is the command center for a retail business. But if you’re selling through multiple channels, confirm that your shortlisted vendor integrates with that platform. Shopify POS, for instance, unifies customer, order, and inventory data wherever you sell—including your ecommerce website, social media storefronts, and marketplaces.
Aside from sales channels, evaluate your existing retail tech stack to shortlist which integrations your new mPOS should support. These include:
You don’t need much in the way of hardware to get started with an mPOS. That said, some merchants need additional POS hardware to keep their store running smoothly.
Most mobile POS software can run on any iOS or Android tablet or smartphone. Download your POS software onto these devices and you’re ready to sell.
💡Tip: Shopify Tap to Pay turns your smartphone into a POS system to take payments on the go. Customers can tap their contactless card or mobile wallet onto your phone to process their order—no external hardware required.
To take full advantage of an mPOS, you should have a mobile card reader that accepts magstripe swipes, NFC chips, and contactless and mobile wallet tap-to-pay transactions through technologies like Apple Pay and Google Pay.
Wireless barcode scanners make scanning products easy and convenient, both at the register and in the stockroom or warehouse for inventory management
However, barcode scanners are not a required part of an mPOS system—with most systems, you can scan products with your tablet or smartphone’s camera.
If you want to accept cash payments as part of your mPOS system, you’ll need to keep a cash register at one of your counters.
mPOS systems make it easy to go paperless with email receipts. But if you want to give customers printed receipts, keep a receipt printer next to your cash register.
📌 GET STARTED: Ready to start shopping for point-of-sale hardware? Head to the Shopify POS hardware store to shop for hardware designed to help you check out customers at the counter, curbside, and everywhere in between.
When it comes to mPOS providers, one stands out from the competition: Shopify POS. Shopify is easy to use, priced competitively, and comes with a robust feature set that helps your business grow.
The last thing you want is a complex POS interface that stalls checkout as cashiers struggle to find the functionality they’re looking for.
A big benefit of Shopify POS is its customizable checkout. You can build your own workflow and customize the Smart Grid—with both native Shopify features and integrated apps—to make the POS dashboard work for your needs.
This flexibility was a huge driver in Tomlinson’s decision to migrate to Shopify POS. Owner and operator Kate Knecht says their previous system “used to require multiple steps to apply a percentage off products that were part of a promotion. But with Shopify, the right discounts populate automatically when you add items to the cart. It’s a thing of beauty.”
If you have a Shopify online shop or warehouse, Shopify POS will connect with it and update inventory as it’s sold, returned, or exchanged, online or in-store.
This lets you forecast demand, set low-stock alerts, create purchase orders, know which items are selling or sitting on shelves, and count inventory accurately. You can spend less time on inventory and avoid stockouts and overstocking.
This unification pays dividends. According to an independent research firm, Shopify POS delivers an additional 5% gross merchandise value uplift on average through integrated inventory management, improved headquarters productivity, and enhanced marketing effectiveness.
Only Shopify POS lets you view detailed reports for brick-and-mortar and online stores in one place. Instead of working on several platforms, exporting data, and creating spreadsheets, you can find everything in a single dashboard.
Centralized reporting helps you access the information you need faster, identify trends, take advantage of opportunities, and reach the right business decisions sooner.
💡Tip: Only Shopify POS unifies your online and retail store data into one back office–from customer data to inventory, sales, and more. View easy-to-understand reports to spot trends faster, capitalize on opportunities, and jumpstart your brand’s growth.
When you use Shopify’s mPOS and a Shopify online store, you unlock features that unify sales channels and give customers a holistic shopping experience:
A mobile point of sale (mPOS) is a portable system—usually a tablet or smartphone with a card reader and POS app—that allows businesses to process payments, retrieve product details, track inventory, collect customer data, and manage receipts.
Shopify can turn your mobile into a POS system. Simply download the Shopify POS app for iOS or Android and sign into your account. With Tap to Pay, you can skip the need for a mobile card reader and process payments directly from your smartphone.
POS mobile devices are portable tools—like smartphones, tablets, or handheld terminals—used to process sales and payments on the go. They often run POS software and can connect to card readers or barcode scanners for full checkout functionality.
