Square is a household name for retail stores across the country. It’s reliable, flexible, and simple, which makes it a great fit for a lot of small businesses.
But your independent boutique has its own set of challenges. Fashion retail comes with hurdles unique to the industry, like inventory variance for size, color, and style, and ever-changing trends. These challenges call for a specific type of point of sale (POS) solution — one built specifically for boutiques.
This blog covers four POS platforms built with features just for independent apparel stores, so keep these in mind during your search for the right setup.
Square’s simple interface makes it easy to navigate, but that simplicity comes at a cost because it lacks some key features necessary for any growing fashion retailer.
For one, Square doesn’t connect with popular fashion vendors. You could contact each vendor directly, but a POS with a built-in vendor catalog lets you browse and order without the extra legwork — a feature some boutique-specific platforms include.
Square also offers its own e-commerce website builder, but it may not suit boutiques with more complex catalogs. If you carry multiple brands and want a dedicated page for browsing one brand’s products, Square’s website tools make that difficult to pull off.
These factors are worth weighing as you search for the right solution. If Square isn’t meeting your boutique’s needs, there are more targeted POS solutions that you can count on.
Overview
Rain POS was purpose-built with boutiques in mind. It’s packed with a full suite of features designed to help your clothing business run smoothly, including in-depth reporting, detailed customer profiles, and a website builder for your e-commerce needs.
Notable features
Considerations
Note that Rain POS is a cloud-based system, so a weak or interrupted internet connection could temporarily limit access to certain features.
Pricing
Contact Rain POS to schedule a demo and get pricing details. Plans start at $99 per month.
Overview
Heartland, now a Global Payments brand, was built for retailers and gives fashion stores an all-in-one platform for inventory, e-commerce, and customer loyalty management.
Notable features
Considerations
Like Rain POS, Heartland is cloud-based, so a spotty internet connection could block you out of some features.
Pricing
Heartland starts at $89 per month for one POS station, and the payment processing fee starts at 2.6% of each transaction total plus 10 cents. Contact Heartland directly for a custom quote based on your store’s needs.
Overview
Lightspeed serves a broad range of retail businesses and offers powerful sales reporting alongside features like AI-powered suggestions and insights based on your sales data.
Notable features
Considerations
Opting for Lightspeed’s more affordable plan means giving up features many fashion retailers rely on, such as integrations and in-depth sales reports.
Pricing
Lightspeed’s pricing starts at $89 per month for the Basic plan.
Overview
Shopify POS works well for boutiques that want to see a large volume of online sales. Not only does Shopify POS already connect to your Shopify online store (if you already have one), it also lets you use inventory management predictions to maximize your sales.
Notable features
Considerations
Essential features like inventory management and sales reports aren’t accessible on Shopify POS’ most budget-friendly plan. To take advantage of those tools, you need to purchase POS Pro for an additional $89 per month — on top of your subscription. Purchasing their most expensive plan at $2,300 per month locks you into a one- to three-year subscription.
Pricing
Shopify POS pricing starts at $39 per month for the Basic plan.
Square has certainly made a name for itself thanks to its simple, easy-to-use POS software. But if you’re looking for something that empowers your business and helps you see sales numbers more clearly, it might be best to look elsewhere.
Rain POS was designed exactly for boutiques like yours. It comes with a complete set of tools that makes the day-to-day business easier, including checkout, vendor orders, customer engagement, and sales data analysis.
Features like our clothing rental system, individualized customer profiles, and inventory management for color, size, and style variants set Rain POS apart from generalized retail software.
Ready to see how Rain POS can transform your store? Schedule a live demo today.
Q: What is a POS for boutiques?
A POS solution for boutiques typically includes hardware and software that allows staff to process transactions, along with features built specifically for fashion retail. For example, a boutique POS solution helps track and manage inventory by color, size, and style variants, and often includes personalized customer style profiles.
Q: Why should I look for a Square alternative for my boutique?
Square’s simple interface makes it easy to use, but it lacks features specifically made for fashion retailers, like access to apparel vendor catalogs. Growing boutiques with more complex inventory (size, color, style variants) might need something more specific and robust.
Q: What is a good alternative to Square for clothing stores?
Good Square alternatives for fashion retail include Rain POS, Heartland, Lightspeed, and Shopify POS. These POS systems offer boutique-specific features that simplify everyday operations, such as tools for managing inventory variants (color, size, season, etc.), apparel vendor catalogs, and individual shopper profiles.