Lightspeed POS Review and Pricing

Why We Chose Lightspeed for Retail Businesses

Lightspeed has all the features necessary to successfully run a brick-and-mortar or e-commerce retail business. We like that its four retail POS plans include essential retail POS features. For example, Lightspeed streamlines inventory management – typically a massive undertaking for many retailers. When testing the software, we were also impressed that Lightspeed has preloaded catalogs with more than 8 million items – something most competitors don’t offer. Preloaded catalogs can significantly reduce the time spent adding new inventory items to your POS system.

Other retail-specific features we appreciated include bulk uploads, low-stock alerts and integration with clients’ e-commerce stores. We like that Lightspeed also supports popular payment methods and offers free customer service 24/7 by phone and email; not all competitors are this accessible. Another huge perk is the one-on-one training Lightspeed provides at no extra cost.

We were also impressed by Lightspeed’s customer loyalty, employee management and reporting functionality, along with its extensive integrations. You can use its internal payment processing system or partner with a third party – a crucial option that allows retailers to manage sales and processing rates.

While Lightspeed doesn’t come with a free plan like some competitors we reviewed, we like that it includes a 14-day free trial so businesses can try it and decide if its features are a fit.

Lightspeed’s inventory management tools let you track stock, manage inventory levels, set reorder points and much more. Image source: Lightspeed

Ease of Use

Lightspeed offers user-friendly software for various businesses. We really like that Lightspeed’s industry-specific POS plans increase the software’s usability for each business type.

• Retail: Lightspeed’s POS features are ideal for retail stores in industries like apparel, CBD, electronics, gifts, health, home decor, jewelry, liquor, pets, sporting goods, and toys. 
• Restaurants: Lightspeed is also among the best restaurant POS systems and can serve as a hotel or bar POS system. 
• Golf: Lightspeed has customized solutions for golf businesses (multicourse, municipal, private, semi-private, public and resorts). 

When testing the platform, we were impressed by Lightspeed’s mobile-friendly interface, allowing businesses to operate seamlessly while on the go. We also appreciated Lightspeed’s hundreds of integrations that can help streamline business processes. It integrates with top credit card processors, analytics programs, marketing services, the best accounting software and other business programs. Many competitors offer far fewer integrations. 

Additionally, you and your team can easily set up personalized dashboards and access customizable templates, making the software effortless to navigate for each user. After customizing the Lightspeed dashboard, it didn’t take us more than a few minutes to memorize where everything was. When we used the platform, we were appreciative of how easy and seamless Lightspeed made implementation and how helpful the guides are if clients run into issues.

Along with retail and restaurant POS functionality, Lightspeed’s golf business management tools are unparalleled. Image source: Lightspeed

Lightspeed Features

We chose Lightspeed as the best POS system for retail businesses for many reasons, including the must-have retail POS features that come with its Lean package and the e-commerce and loyalty tools in higher-tier plans. We were impressed by Lightspeed’s standout SEO tools that can assist you in marketing your retail store. Additionally, it regularly updates its software with new features.

Inventory Management

When testing out the system, we loved Lightspeed’s full suite of inventory management tools designed for retailers, such as free inventory management spreadsheet templates and free purchase order templates. The software lets you track inventory, bundle items, create product variations, and manage vendors and inventory across multiple locations.

The Lightspeed Retail POS software includes the following inventory management features:

• Preloaded catalogs with more than 8 million items
• Bulk uploads of up to 10,000 stock-keeping units (SKUs) at a time
• Low-stock alerts
• The ability to add, maintain and make reports of inventory from physical stores and online with e-commerce tools

Customer Management and Loyalty Programs

We like Lightspeed’s customer management tools that help businesses earn repeat business and customer loyalty. Through Lightspeed’s built-in customer relationship management (CRM) tools, you can create customer profiles, add notes about preferences and run analytics reports on their sales. You can also see your customers’ purchase histories, assign VIP status, and offer rewards and promotions.

During our testing process, we found that Lightspeed has a robust set of loyalty tools to ensure repeat business. Here are some of the loyalty tool functions we noted: 

• Create tiered rewards and customer loyalty programs for online and offline sales channels to encourage customers to explore other perks.
• Send personalized deals and recommendations on birthdays or for VIP customers.
• Design email promotions with drag-and-drop tools and built-in templates while creating email flows based on customer behavior.
• Digitally track loyalty points to keep things organized and in a central location.

Lightspeed’s customer management and loyalty features are similar to what we saw from its competitors, but they’re significant value-adds.

Lightspeed makes it easy to track customer information. Image source: Lightspeed

Employee Management

During our analysis, We found Lightspeed’s employee management features to be competitive. Lightspeed offers useful options like assigning roles and designating which employees have system access and when. We liked that the POS system makes employee management even easier with a built-in time clock and the ability to run reports on employees’ hours, sales and profits.

E-Commerce

We were impressed by Lightspeed’s e-commerce focus. It provides the necessary tools for setting up an online store, selling products from any location and building a strong e-commerce marketing strategy. Choose from more than 50 professional themes and several mobile-responsive and customizable templates. You can even showcase products in high definition. We appreciate these features’ importance to retailers that want to sell their products online.

We also liked that Lightspeed Retail lets retailers sync online and provides in-store analytics. By syncing your POS system to your website, you’ll have a more organized inventory workflow across all channels. 

Reporting

We liked that Lightspeed’s POS reports can be as simple or detailed as you like, thanks to its more than 50 built-in reports. Lightspeed’s reporting capabilities include the following:

• Revenue reports showing sales, profits and trends
• Inventory reports tracking costs, margins, negative inventory and transfers
• Employee performance reports based on sales, voids and other criteria
• Product performance reports to gauge how specific products are doing

Lightspeed’s reports and analytics are straightforward to read and understand. Image source: Lightspeed

Hardware

We really like that Lightspeed’s software works on any laptop or desktop computer with a web browser. It’s also compatible with iPads, giving you additional flexibility. For example, you can use it as a mobile POS system for checking out customers or as a stationary POS terminal when you pair it with a stand. With Lightspeed’s retail POS software, you can also use an iPad as a customer-facing display.

You can purchase third-party POS hardware directly from Lightspeed as a bundled package or on a stand-alone basis. While Lightspeed’s website doesn’t list hardware prices, it notes which third-party hardware it supports, which is helpful. We appreciate this because you may be able to reuse old POS hardware and save money. We also like that Lightspeed is an authorized Apple reseller, so you can purchase the iPad kit (and other third-party POS hardware) directly from the company – this wasn’t something all competitors offered.

You also have the option of purchasing Lightspeed’s desktop hardware kit – an ideal solution for retail stores that want an organized, clean look.

Lightspeed’s desktop hardware kit helps retailers get up and running quickly. Image source: Lightspeed

Lightspeed Pricing

When it comes to POS system costs, we like that Lightspeed gives you the option of paying monthly, annually or for multiple years upfront. The longer the contract term you commit to, the less it will cost you. We appreciate that there are no setup or installation fees, unlike some competitors. Contact Lightspeed for a custom quote if your business has several locations. Lightspeed offers a demo and a 14-day free trial, which is on par with competitors.

Instead of limiting you to one or two POS plans like some competitors do, Lightspeed offers various tiered plans specifically for retailers, restaurants and golf businesses, which we’ll outline below. Although some POS vendors require you to purchase hardware and software separately, Lightspeed includes one free POS register with each software plan; each additional register costs $29 monthly. Plans also come with the ability to accept payments with Lightspeed Payments, Lightspeed’s payment processor. Lightspeed’s payment processing rate (2.6 percent plus $0.10) is on par with the industry standard.

Lightspeed Retail POS

Lightspeed offers retailers a choice of four plans, all of which include the Lightspeed Payments processing service.

• Lean: Lightspeed’s Lean plan costs $69 per month if billed annually or $89 per month if billed monthly. It includes one register, Lightspeed Retail POS software, integrated payments, 24/7 customer support, one-on-one onboarding and training, and a dedicated account manager.
• Standard: This plan costs $119 per month if billed annually or $149 per month if billed monthly. It includes everything in the Lean plan, plus e-commerce and accounting integration.
• Advanced: This plan costs $199 per month if billed annually or $269 per month if billed monthly. It includes everything in the Standard plan, plus an omnichannel loyalty module and analytics.
• Enterprise: Pricing for this plan is based on your needs. It includes everything in the Advanced plan, plus personalized onboarding and consultation services, a dedicated customer success manager, a premium support team, API consultation and support, and preferred Lightspeed Payments rates.

Lightspeed Restaurant POS

Although we chose Lightspeed as the best POS system for retail businesses, its restaurant POS software is also impressive.  It offers four different tiered plans, starting at $69. Its range of restaurant features – menu and floor management, takeout and delivery, CRM and loyalty programs, online ordering, and multilocation management – are on par with what we found in other restaurant systems. However, if you’re searching for a restaurant-specific POS system with additional features, check out our TouchBistro review.

Each register costs $39 per month. Its selection of add-on features – such as loyalty programs, gift cards, and advanced inventory and insights – is on par with what we found in other restaurant systems. However, if you’re searching for a restaurant-specific POS system with additional features, check out our TouchBistro review. 

Payment Processing

Lightspeed has its own payment processing service, Lightspeed Payments, with flat-rate pricing and no additional POS charges and fees. This is yet another reason we chose Lightspeed as the best POS system for retailers, as not all POS providers offer in-house payment processing.

Lightspeed Payments rates are as follows:

• Credit cards accepted in person using a card reader: 2.6 percent plus $0.10 per transaction
• Manually keyed-in cards and online transactions: 2.6 percent plus $0.30 per transaction

Money deposited with Lightspeed Payments will be in your account within two business days after the initial transaction is made. 

We like that you can also use one of Lightspeed’s payment processing partners, like Cayan, Worldpay, Vantiv Express or Mercury Payment Services, giving you more payment processing flexibility. 

Implementation and Onboarding

We were impressed that Lightspeed offers one-on-one onboarding to help business owners get started with its POS system. It also offers free training for you and your staff to ensure the software is used to its fullest potential throughout your company. We love that Lightspeed provides a dedicated account manager with each plan, which many competitors don’t offer. These services ensure a smooth implementation and onboarding process.

Most users will run into few or no issues while setting up Lightspeed. If users do have trouble, Lightspeed provides a detailed guide to help them through many common problems.

If you are looking for better access to funding, we recommend asking a Lightspeed representative about Lightspeed Capital during the implementation process. Lightspeed Capital is a new feature that helps companies secure a merhcant cash advance. It is avaialble to retailers, restaurants and golf merchants. 

Customer Service

We like that Lightspeed offers 24/7 customer support; its representatives can answer questions about the company’s hardware or software anytime. Although this is standard in the POS industry, we always like to see it in our best picks. We also appreciate that Lightspeed’s plans include one-on-one onboarding, additional free training and a dedicated account manager. 

We found Lightspeed’s customer service very responsive, patient and efficient at resolving customer issues and using customer feedback to improve operations. All of this adds up to robust customer service for retailers using Lightspeed’s POS system.

Lightspeed’s online help center offers robust resources for clients, along with a community forum. Image source: Lightspeed

If you are interested in accessing online resources, Lightspeed offers free tools specifically geared towards golf courses, restaurants and retailers. For example, you can access blogs, guidebooks, videos, and templates. We found its free barcode generator and preloaded retail catalogs to be especially supportive. Lightspeed’s prebuilt templates can also save retailers hours on organizing and managing their inventory.

If you want to connect with other entrepreneurs to collaborate or learn more about the product, Lightspeed offers a community forum online. It’s free to join. To hear from other Lightspeed users about their experiences, you can also listen to testimonials on Lightspeed’s YouTube page as well.

Limitations

While Lightspeed is an excellent POS for retailers, we discovered a couple potential drawbacks:  

• Hardware prices not transparent: Lightspeed’s website doesn’t disclose third-party POS hardware pricing, so getting an accurate full-system price estimate is challenging. You can check the list of compatible products and then comparison shop on your own, but this can be time-consuming. If you’re looking for a POS provider with transparent hardware prices, check out our Clover review.
• Fewer payment processors: Lightspeed offers fewer payment processor choices than some rivals, so you may have to forgo your current processor to use Lightspeed. In that case, you could take advantage of Lightspeed Payments, its internal processing service, but some competitors give you more freedom to choose your payment processor. Check out our Epos Now review if you want a solution with more robust payment processor options. 

Methodology

We researched and analyzed dozens of POS systems to identify the top solutions on the market. We looked at pricing, contracts, hardware, platform compatibility, crucial POS features, reports, payment processing, integrations, usability and customer support to help businesses choose the right POS system for their needs. We even got hands-on experience with product videos and demos when possible. When looking for the best POS system for retail businesses specifically, we prioritized features like inventory management, customer management, loyalty programs, employee management, reporting, e-commerce and integrations.

Bottom Line

We recommend Lightspeed for …

• Retail businesses.
• Businesses looking for short- or long-term POS plans.
• Retailers that need extensive inventory management features.
• Businesses that want an iPad-based POS system.

We do not recommend Lightspeed for …

• Businesses looking for a variety of hardware with transparent pricing.
• Businesses that want an Android-based POS system.

Quinn Springett contributed to this article.