Best POS Systems for Hardware Stores: A Guide to Choosing the Right Software

This blog post compares some of the four best POS systems for hardware stores – KORONA POS, Lightspeed Retail, Celerant, and Ari POS. It outlines the key features of each system, including inventory management, barcode scanning, reporting, multi-store capabilities, and integrations.

Additionally, the post provides details on pricing options and the pros and cons of each system. For hardware retailers evaluating their technology needs, this guide offers an overview of the leading POS solutions on the market to help identify the best option for managing retail operations, sales, and inventory.

1. KORONA POS: Best For Multi-Store Management And Purchasing Tools

Key Features

• Product variants and categories: KORONA POS enables hardware stores to manage inventory efficiently by creating parent products with customizable variants for size, color, material, and other characteristics. For example, a hardware store selling a particular drill can designate the generic item as the drill itself, with variants representing different sizes, power ratings, or specifications. KORONA POS can also help store owners add images and detailed specifications to each product and variant. The software also offers other great inventory management features.

• Robust barcode scanning capacities: Hardware stores carry a wide variety of inventory, including tools, building materials, gardening supplies, and more. Tracking all these products can be challenging. KORONA POS offers barcode scanning integration to help hardware stores manage their retail inventory efficiently. KORONA POS supports generating and printing barcodes and assigning pricing and container quantities to each code.

• Purchase orders and suppliers: Hardware stores can greatly benefit from KORONA POS’s robust purchase order management. The system allows hardware store owners to easily create, track, and manage purchase orders to keep inventory stocked. Owners can generate purchase orders and send them to vendors right from KORONA POS. As shipments are received, inventory levels automatically update so owners know what’s in stock. With par-level automation, KORONA POS can automatically place orders based on low inventory thresholds to prevent costly stockouts.

• Multi-store management: KORONA POS offers useful multi-store POS management features for hardware store chains. Hardware store owners can view sales data and inventory levels for individual locations or their entire chain of stores simultaneously. This allows them to compare performance across different regions and spot trends easily. Store managers can also customize data views for clusters of stores in a specific area, ignoring irrelevant data from other locations. The system facilitates logistics planning and targeted marketing campaigns.

• Solid reports & metrics for hardware stores: KORONA POS offers hardware stores a wealth of sales and inventory reports to gain remarkable business insights. Store owners can analyze product return rates, conversion rates, foot traffic, and average customer spending through annual comparisons. Owners can identify underperforming products, staff optimally during peak hours, and make pricing adjustments. Hardware stores can also leverage KORONA POS to prevent overstocking and understocking.

• Sales and discount features: KORONA POS offers hardware stores the ability to set up complex discounts and promotions easily to drive sales. For example, hardware stores can offer percentage-based discounts like 10% off for customers spending over $100. They can also do quantity-based discounts like buy 3 get the 4th item half off on power tools. Seasonal discounts around holidays, such as bundling grills, patio furniture, and accessories at a reduced price, are also simple to establish. The KORONA POS team will work with hardware stores during onboarding to understand the unique promotions they want to run and will set them up in the system.

Pros

• Personalized product demo
• Flat Rate with no contracts
• 60-day money-back guarantee
• Unlimited free trial

Cons

Steep learning curve

Pricing

KORONA POS offers two main monthly plans:

• The standard plan: $59/month with basic features
• The Retail plan: $69/month with inventory and automation
• Add-ons: Provides more integrations are also available, ranging from $10-$50 per month

2. Lightspeed Retail: Best For Omnichannel Capabilities

Key Features

• Online selling capacities: Hardware stores using Lightspeed Retail can go omnichannel and seamlessly integrate their physical and online stores. The software offers easy-to-use web store templates to get an eCommerce site up and running quickly. Once the online store is launched, Lightspeed’s omnichannel functionality allows inventory, orders, and customers to be synced and managed across both channels. Store associates can easily look up inventory levels and fulfill orders, whether they originated online or in-store. Customers also have a unified experience, with the ability to buy online and pick up in-store, or vice versa.

• Cloud-based POS: Hardware store owners and employees are always moving between the store and warehouse. That’s why Lightspeed Retail made their POS solution mobile and cloud-based. Store operations like inventory, sales, and customer data can be managed from any device, wherever one is in the store.

• Built-in work order: Lightspeed Retail offers hardware stores a built-in work order system to help them efficiently manage services for their customers. Store owners can create detailed work orders, attach them to customer profiles, and track the orders through every stage – from initial request to final completion. This allows the hardware store to provide reliable, organized services for clients.

• Reorder points: Lightspeed Retail for hardware stores includes a reorder points feature to manage inventory efficiently. This feature automatically restocks popular items, preventing shortages and potential sales losses. Users can set reorder thresholds to ensure timely replenishment and keep customers satisfied.

Pros

• Easy to use
• Great reporting and analytics 
• Great payment processing integration 

Cons 

• Expensive payment processing 
• Poor customer service
• No free trial is available 
• Constant software bugs

Pricing

Lightspeed Retail has pricing plans to meet the needs of different businesses. There are 3 set monthly plans:

• The Lean plan costs $119 per month: It provides a basic point of sale and inventory management.
• The Standard plan is $169 per month: Compared to Lean, it includes more accounting and e-commerce tools.
• The Advanced plan costs $249 per month: It has everything in Standard plus loyalty programs and analytics.
• The Enterprise plan is custom-priced: It includes all Advanced features and additional benefits like one-on-one consultation and payment processing discounts.

3. Celerant: Best For Integration With Online Marketplaces

Key Features

• Online marketplace integration: The online marketplace integration in Celerant allows hardware stores to easily list their products on major marketplaces like Amazon, Walmart, and eBay. By connecting their Celerant inventory system to these sites, hardware stores can automatically sync their product catalog and availability between the marketplaces and their internal system. This eliminates the need to upload items and update quantities on each site manually.

• Automated ordering: Celerant’s automated ordering feature ensures hardware stores’ fast-selling products are always in stock. Store owners can set minimum and maximum inventory levels for each product. When inventory drops below the minimum threshold, Celerant automatically generates and submits a purchase order to replenish that item. This takes the guesswork out of inventory management.

• Catalog imports: Celerant’s catalog imports feature allows hardware stores to import their vendors’ product catalogs directly into the point of sale system. This saves employees time by eliminating the need to enter product information one by one manually. When suppliers add or update new products, the Celerant system can simply import the latest vendor catalogs to keep the store’s inventory up-to-date.

• Corporate billing: The corporate billing feature in Celerant allows hardware stores to generate invoices and send statements for their commercial accounts. It establishes credit limits and billing terms specific to each account. Employees can make purchases that are charged against the corporate account while the system tracks who made each transaction. Invoices are generated according to set billing cycles and sent to the account contacts via email or postal mail.

Pros

• Offers customizable checkout
• Provides offline mode 
• Can be used on mobile pos

Cons

• No extensive reporting metrics  
• Advanced online features require the most expensive plan 
• Early termination fees issues 
• Poor customer service
• Recurring system malfunction

Pricing

Hardware stores have two main options when choosing a point of sale – Cumulus Retail or Stratus Enterprise. The right choice depends on each store’s specific needs and sales volume.

• POS system starts at $125 per month. 
• For stores that also need eCommerce, Cumulus Retail eCommerce starts at $250 per month. This includes the website, shopping cart, design, order fulfillment, and support for 2 back-office users. 
• An all-in-one package with both POS and eCommerce is available starting at $350 monthly. Pricing varies based on additional features.
• Stratus Enterprise is designed for high-volume stores needing advanced capabilities. It offers heavy customization options. Stratus is the choice for stores needing a more robust retail system to handle many sales transactions.

4. Ari POS: Best For Product Classification

Key Features

• Inventory management and classification: Ari POS offers robust inventory management and product classification features tailored for hardware stores. Store owners can define detailed product characteristics like size variants, features, custom attributes, multiple units of measurement, and images to represent their hardware inventory accurately. Ari supports managing all types of hardware products, including building materials, tools, plumbing supplies, housewares, locks, and more. The “Generic Items” feature enables adding parent products and child variants to represent product families. Each SKU can have unique serial numbers and barcodes assigned for accurate tracking.

• Streamlined inventory and sales tracking: The Ari Hardware Store POS System enables efficient inventory and sales tracking for hardware stores. Ari allows hardware store owners to monitor and adjust inventory easily by providing real-time visibility into stock levels. Slow-moving stock can be identified and discounted to move products. Damaged goods can be accounted for through the stock adjustment feature.

• In-store shopping experience: The Ari POS system for hardware stores enables excellent in-store customer service through features like Substitute and Link Items. Store associates can use the Generic Product feature to categorize product variants by size, features, etc., under a parent product listing. With the Substitute feature, associates can quickly show customers alternative brands or quality levels of an item. The Link Items feature allows associates to suggest relevant combo deals, like selling socket boards with complementary fittings, wirings, pipes, hoses, and accessories.

• Promotions and integration: Ari Hardware Store Software makes it easy for hardware store owners to grow sales through promotions and customer loyalty programs. The software has built-in templates for promotional deals and first-purchase discounts to attract new customers. It also includes a customer loyalty program that allows store owners to award points to frequent shoppers that can be redeemed for rewards.

• POS billing & transactions: The Ari retail software provides an efficient point of sale system for hardware stores to accelerate billing and transactions. The cashier can easily process various payment types, including cash, card, and digital payments. To quickly add items to the transaction, the cashier can scan barcodes or search for products by name or serial number.

• Multi-store management: With Ari, hardware store owners can manage inventory, promotions, sales, and user access on a store-by-store basis from one central dashboard. This allows for consolidated reporting and performance tracking at the individual store level. One of the key benefits of Ari is the ability to move stock between different hardware store locations as needed.

Pros

• Built-in capabilities for tracking inventory
• Multi-location support with reporting
• Promotion engine enables targeted sales
• Easy-to-use interface for generating retail invoices
• POS syncs automatically with the back office on a set schedule

Cons of Ari 

• Not great UI design
• Heavy software implementation operations
• No pricing available on the website 

Pricing Ari POS

Ari POS does not publicly disclose its pricing structure on its website. Instead, hardware store owners interested in the system must contact Ari POS’s sales team directly to inquire about pricing. This approach to pricing forces store owners to invest time communicating with sales representatives before they can access key details about the potential cost of the system for their business.

How To Choose The Best POS For Hardware Stores?

• Understanding your hardware store’s needs

Each store will need to have different demands and intricacies. Be sure to pay attention to the following. It’s essential to gauge the scale and intricacy of your hardware store’s inventory. Hardware stores often carry an array of products, each with its attributes. Your inventory might be more diverse than meets the eye, from different sizes and materials to varying colors and functionalities. If you own an eCommerce store, your POS software should seamlessly integrate with your eCommerce platform, creating a unified system that synchronizes in-store and online sales. This integration ensures that your customers receive a consistent experience whether they’re shopping in person or online.

• Budget and cost factors

Selecting the right POS software for your hardware store involves carefully considering budget and cost factors. Some POS software solutions come with licensing fees, which can vary based on the features and capabilities of the software. Depending on the chosen software, you might need to invest in hardware such as terminals, barcode scanners, receipt printers, and other peripherals. Also, implementing new POS software can involve setup costs, including installation, data migration, and training for your staff.

• Requesting demos and free trials

Before committing to a specific POS software, contact vendors and request demos or free trials. These opportunities allow you to explore the POS’s features, interface, and functionalities. During demos, vendors will show a software’s functionality in various aspects. On the other hand, free trials allow you to interact with the software in a real-world setting. Use this time to simulate actual transactions, manage inventory, and navigate the system. This hands-on experience offers a deeper understanding of how the software aligns with your hardware store’s operations.

Best POS System for Hardware Store: Wrapping Up

When choosing a POS system, hardware stores must evaluate their specific needs and priorities.

• KORONA POS offers robust multi-store management and purchasing tools.
• Lightspeed Retail provides a cloud-based system with strong omnichannel capabilities.
• Celerant automates inventory ordering and integrates with online marketplaces.
• Ari POS enables detailed product classification and streamlined inventory tracking.

If you’re looking for a POS system for hardware stores with extensive inventory management features, flexible payment processing options with great customer support, KORONA POS is definitely what you need. Click below to see how it works for free.