White Label POS Systems: A Complete Guide For Resellers & Merchant Services

Struggling to offer a branded POS solution without the massive development costs and time commitment? White label POS systems provide a powerful answer, allowing businesses, like VARs and ISOs, to rebrand existing software as your own. 

This guide will walk you through how these systems work, their benefits, potential drawbacks, and various revenue streams, ensuring you have a complete understanding to make informed decisions for your business.

What is a White Label POS System?

A white label POS system is essentially a ready-made POS software or service developed by one company, which a different company then rebrands and sells as its own.

Think of it like buying a generic product and putting your own store’s logo on it. The original developer handles the underlying technology, maintenance, and updates.

The reseller, often a merchant service provider or another business, gets a fully functional system that looks 100% like their own, complete with their logo, colors, and specific features, without having to build the complicated software from scratch. It’s a fast, cost-effective way to offer a branded POS solution.

How a White Label POS Works For Resellers and Merchant Services?

Here’s a breakdown of how the white label POS works:

The Core Product is Built (The Developer):

• A specialized software company (the developer) builds and maintains a robust, full-featured POS system.
• They handle all the tough stuff: coding, security, compliance, and ongoing updates.

Rebranding and Customization (The Reseller/MSP): 

• The reseller (or Merchant Service Provider/MSP) licenses the core software from the developer. 
• They then apply their own brand logo, color scheme, domain name, receipts, and user interface to make it look like they built it. 
• They can also often select or customize specific features to fit their niche market (e.g., more restaurant features vs. more retail features).

Selling and Onboarding (The Reseller/MSP): 

• The reseller sells this newly branded POS system directly to their merchant clients. 
• Resellers earn money through subscription fees, transaction fees, or a percentage of sales from merchants using the POS.
• The reseller owns the customer relationship, sets the pricing, handles the initial setup, and often integrates it with their own payment processing services.

Support and Maintenance (Shared):

• The developer continues to release updates and features for the core system. 
• The reseller typically handles frontline (Tier 1) support for their merchants, while the original developer provides backend (Tier 2) technical support to the reseller.

The reseller boosts their brand, controls the client experience, and earns recurring revenue without spending years and millions of dollars on software development.

Benefits of White Labeled POS Systems

White-labeled POS systems enable businesses to offer branded, ready-made payment solutions without having to build them from scratch. They save time, boost revenue, and enhance merchant efficiency.

Here are the main benefits:

1. Rapid Time-to-Market

You don’t have to spend years and massive capital designing, coding, testing, and debugging software. The core product is already built and proven.

You simply add your branding and customizations, allowing you to launch a new, reliable product almost immediately and start generating revenue faster.

2. Reduced Development Costs

Building a modern POS system from scratch is extremely expensive. By white labeling, you skip all the major engineering costs. You pay a licensing fee instead, which is a fraction of the price of starting a development team.

3. Enhanced Brand Loyalty and Control

Because the system is fully branded with your logo, colors, and domain, your merchant clients interact with your company daily. It strengthens your brand’s presence, fosters customer trust, and makes it much harder for clients to switch to a competitor. You become the sole provider for a critical business tool.

4. Focus on Core Business

Since the white-label developer manages the complex backend, including technology, security, and continuous updates, your business is free to focus on what it does best: sales, customer service, and growing its market share. You don’t need to hire and manage an in-house software development team.

5. Full Control Over Pricing and Profits

Unlike referring a third-party POS where commissions are fixed, white labeling allows you to set your own pricing structure, service fees, and terms. You have full control over your profit margins and can tailor pricing strategies to better compete or maximize revenue. Check our guide about selling pos system.

6. Customization and Integration

While the core system is pre-built, most white-label providers allow for significant customization. You can tailor specific features and workflow logic to meet the needs of a particular industry (like quick-service restaurants or specialty retail). Crucially, you can also easily integrate the POS with your existing payment processing, accounting, or loyalty solutions.

7. Stronger Brand Ownership and Client Retention

Since the POS system is fully customized to display your brand, logo, and colors, it strengthens your market position and relationship with the merchant.

Your clients see you as the sole technology provider. This reinforces brand loyalty and creates a “sticky” service, making it much harder for a competitor to poach your customers.

Cons of White Labeling POS Systems

The primary challenge of white labeling is the inherent reliance on a third-party developer. This relationship dictates the overall technology roadmap and places limits on the level of unique customization or control you can exercise over the core platform.

Dependence on the Developer’s Roadmap

Since you don’t own the source code, you are bound to the developer’s vision for future feature development and updates.

If the developer decides to discontinue a feature or prioritize an update that doesn’t align with your specific market needs, you have limited recourse. You can request changes, but you can’t force them.

If the provider fails to maintain the system, faces outages, or goes out of business, resellers and their merchants may face disruptions.

Limits on Deep Customization

While branding is flexible, making fundamental changes to the core functionality or database structure is often impossible or prohibitively expensive.

Potential for Quality and Support Issues

Your reputation is tied to the quality of the white-labeled product. If the original developer is slow to fix bugs, has downtime, your brand suffers the consequences. Vetting the partner for reliability, security compliance (like PCI DSS), and POS customer support quality is therefore a critical step.

How to Make Money With White Label POS Systems?

A white label POS system provides a reseller with multiple ways to generate revenue. It’s all about controlling the full customer relationship and the entire tech stack. Here are the main ways to make money with a white label POS system:

1. Recurring Software Subscription Fees (SaaS Model)

This is the most critical source of stable income. You charge your merchant clients a recurring monthly or annual fee to use the software.

As the reseller, you determine the pricing tiers (e.g., Basic, Pro, Enterprise) based on features, the number of registers, or the number of user accounts.

You profit from the difference between the wholesale cost you pay the developer and the retail price you charge the merchant. This creates predictable, scalable monthly recurring revenue (MRR).

2. Payment Processing Revenue (Interchange/Transaction Fees)

For merchant service providers (MSPs) and payment processors, this is the biggest money-maker. By offering a branded POS, you control the gateway to the customer’s transactions.

You ensure the POS is integrated with your processing service. You then earn a small slice (a margin or markup) on every single credit card, debit card, or mobile payment transaction processed through the system.

3. Hardware Sales and Leasing

The POS software requires specific hardware, including tablets, touch-screen terminals, receipt printers, cash drawers, and card readers. You can make money on two fronts here:

• Upfront Sales: Purchase the hardware at wholesale cost and sell it to the merchant at a retail markup, generating a profit on the initial sale.
• Leasing/Rental Fees: Offer merchants the option to rent the hardware on a monthly basis, generating an additional, consistent revenue stream alongside the software subscription.

4. Setup, Installation, and Onboarding Fees

Merchants often need professional help to get their new system up and running. You can charge a one-time fee for professional services, including:

• Initial installation and wiring
• Customizing the software (menu programming, inventory setup)
• Staff training and in-person onboarding

5. Value-Added Features and Upsells

The core POS is the entry point, but you can drive extra revenue by offering premium add-on features and integrations, often in tiered packages:

• Loyalty/Gift Card Programs: Charge an extra fee for the ability to run integrated customer loyalty programs.
• Advanced Analytics: Offer premium access to deeper business intelligence and reporting tools.
• eCommerce/Online Ordering: Charge a separate, higher fee for integrated online storefronts, commission-free ordering, or delivery management modules.

6. Technical Support and Maintenance Packages

While the core developer manages backend updates, you can monetize the support you provide. You can charge a premium for higher-tier service agreements:

• 24/7 phone support and faster response times
• On-site maintenance and troubleshooting for hardware issues
• Proactive monitoring and health checks of the system

White Label vs. Traditional POS Systems

The core difference between a label and a traditional POS system is simple: White Label is about brand control and rapid deployment, while a traditional POS is about a straightforward, ready-to-use product.

For a reseller or a large business, the choice boils down to how much you prioritize your brand versus convenience.

Feature	White Label POS System	Traditional/Branded POS
Brand Identity	Your Brand. Fully customizable with your logo, colors, domain, and UI. Merchants see your company.	Vendor’s Brand. Displays the name and logo of the software developer (e.g., KORONA POS, Square, Toast).
Development Cost	Low/Medium. You pay a licensing fee, avoiding the massive cost of building software from scratch.	Zero. The cost is folded into a subscription or upfront fee.
Time-to-Market	Fast. Ready to launch in weeks or months after branding and minor customization.	Immediate. It’s a plug-and-play solution right out of the box.
Monetization	High Control. You set the subscription price, control hardware sales, and maximize payment processing revenue.	Limited Control. You earn fixed commissions or referrals; the vendor controls the pricing.
Customization	Flexible. You can often select modular features and tailor workflows for specific industries.	Minimal. Features and workflows are static and designed for a general market.
Support Model	Two-Tiered. You handle first-line (Tier 1) support; the developer handles deep technical issues.	Single-Tiered. The vendor manages all customer support and maintenance.

How to Choose the Right White-Labelled Point of Sale Solution?

Choosing the right white-labeled POS solution is one of the biggest decisions a reseller or large business will make. You’re essentially choosing the foundation for your own branded technology product, so finding a reliable partner that aligns with your financial and technical goals is crucial for long-term success.

Cost and Revenue Model

Look beyond the basic licensing fee. What are the long-term costs for maintenance and updates? More importantly, how flexible is the revenue model?

A strong partner will enable you to set your own retail prices for subscriptions. Be aware of hidden fees for high transaction volumes or premium features.

Ease of Integration

A great white-label POS must integrate seamlessly with other systems. Check the system’s API to see how easily it integrates with accounting platforms, eCommerce sites, and, most critically, various payment processors. Seamless integration reduces friction for your merchant clients and expands the services you can offer.

Security and Compliance

Since you’re the face of the product, you need assurance that the developer is taking all necessary steps to protect sensitive customer and transaction data from breaches and fraud.

Customization Capabilities

While you can always brand the logo and colors, true customization means being able to tailor the functionality. Can you create industry-specific features, modify workflows, or adjust terminology to suit the needs of your target market (e.g., bakeries needing recipe management versus vape shops needing age verification)? The level of flexibility dictates your competitive edge.

Customer Support and Partnership

Your white-label partner should offer you strong back-end support (Tier 2). Ask about their guaranteed response times and access to documentation. Crucially, the best partnerships encompass sales and marketing materials, staff training, and even reciprocal leads to help you grow your business.

KORONA POS as a Reseller Choice

KORONA POS is a well-established, traditional system that serves specialty retail verticals like liquor, smoke, convenience, and quick-service restaurants. While it isn’t a white-label solution, it offers a major advantage for resellers: it is payment processing-agnostic.

For you, this means you can decide which payment processor to integrate with for each of your merchant clients. The flexibility is a massive benefit because it allows you to shop for the best possible residual rate.

Resellers can maintain their biggest revenue stream while still providing merchants with a reliable, specialized POS platform.

KORONA POS: Developed for Merchants and VARs Alike

KORONA POS isn’t a white-labeled system in the traditional sense. Resellers and ISOs can’t slap their own logo on it or rebrand it as their own product. That said, it’s built to be a straightforward resale option that fits right into your lineup without the hassle.

Not only is KORONA POS processing agnostic, but it also brings features that today’s merchants and VARs demand, like dual pricing and cash discounting options.

On top of that, KORONA POS has award-winning customer support. It’s 24/7, in-house, and available by phone, chat, or email. Don’t just take our word for it: check out reviews on Capterra, G2, and Trustpilot to see what customers say about reliability and responsiveness. Or call 833-200-0213 to test it out for yourself.

Ready to add a low-friction, high-value POS to your offerings? Sign up for a quick demo today and see how it slots into your business by clicking the button below.