Lightspeed Retail vs POS Nation for Retail

QuickBooks Enterprise

Square Point of Sale

QuickBooks Desktop

Clover

Toast POS

Shopify POS

Compare Lightspeed Retail and POS Nation for Retail based on features, pricing, verified reviews, integrations & more on GetApp. Find out which software is best for your business in 2026.

Square Point of Sale is a POS solution for Android and iOS devices which includes tools for managing payments, digital receipts, inventory, reports, and more.

Clover is an all-in-one platform designed to help on and offline retailers, quick service restaurants, and other service businesses manage their point-of-sale operations, with secure payment solutions and reliable business management features

Shopify Point of Sale (POS) is a retail management system that integrates everything needed to run a successful brick-and-mortar or omnichannel business. The POS software and hardware work seamlessly together to streamline daily operations, from inventory management and staff controls to smooth checkout and detailed reporting.

Lightspeed Retail is a complete point of sale (POS) & inventory management tool that simplifies time-consuming tasks like inventory & employee management. Access detailed sales reports in minutes and use built-in customer profiles to provide personalized service that will increase customer loyalty.

Access Controls/Permissions

Accounting

Accounting Integration

Activity Dashboard

Barcode Printing

Barcode Recognition

Barcode/Ticket Scanning

Barcoding/RFID

Billing & Invoicing

Cash Management

Catalog Management

Channel Management

Check-in/Check-out

Clock In/Out

Consignments

Content Management

Cost Tracking

Credit Card Processing

Customer Accounts

Customer Database

Customer History

Customer Management

Customer Segmentation

Customizable Branding

Customizable Fields

Customizable Reports

Customization

Data Import/Export

Data Synchronization

Discount Management

eCommerce Management

Electronic Payments

Email Marketing

Employee Management

For Bakeries

For iPad Devices

For Jewelry Stores

For Liquor Stores

For Retail

For Small Businesses

Gift Card Management

Inventory Auditing

Inventory Control

Inventory Management

Inventory Optimization

Inventory Replenishment

Inventory Tracking

Item Management

Kitting

Layaway Management

Loyalty Program

Mail Order

Marketing Automation

Merchandise Management

Mobile Access

Mobile Commerce

Multi-Channel Marketing

Multi-Location

Multi-Store

Order Entry

Order Management

Order Processing

Order Tracking

Ordering Automation

Payment Processing

Point of Sale (POS)

Price/Margin Management

Pricing Management

Product Catalog

Product Configurator

Product Identification

Product Management

Promotions Management

Purchase Order Management

Purchasing & Receiving

Real-Time Analytics

Real-Time Data

Real-Time Monitoring

Real-Time Reporting

Remote Access/Control

Reorder Management

Repair Tracking

Reporting & Statistics

Reporting/Analytics

Retail Inventory Management

Retail Management

Retail POS

Returns Management

Returns Tracking

Sales History

Sales Management

Sales Order Management

Sales Reports

Sales Tax Management

Search/Filter

SEO Management

Serial Number Tracking

Shopping Cart

Lightspeed Retail

Linux

Web-based

Windows

iPad

Web Manager

For example, today is a Friday and there have been 2 MAJOR OUTAGES in one day. Ultimately, this results in a terrible customer experience and literally costs thousands of dollars over time.

Owner

This POS system is terrible for retail shops doing anything more than a standard sale. It's unintuitive, confusing, easy to make errors and very frustrating.

When I have spoken to a tech they have been excellent in understanding my question and providing a solution. At times working outside the box to create the best result with the conditions present.

Manager

Overall we are happy with performance and support from LightSpeed. It's reliable and with the small amount of problems we have we are pleased.

Co-Owner

We love how easy this was to set up. It does not require buying $20,000 worth of equipment like our first POS system did back in 2008.

Store Manager

Lightspeed is very user friendly and easy to teach employees how to use it. The reporting is top-notch and they even can help you create custom reports which was very important to us.

It has been a wonderful experience from the start. The inventory tracking, the invoicing, Quickbooks integration, time clock, rewards program, and the list goes on of all the awesome features.

owner

Customer service is amazing. Have not had to call them in years over an issue, yet they do reach out to me to ask for any suggestions on improving their system.

I love that as my business expands Lightspeed has made it seamless. Everyone at Lightspeed has been wonderful in helping me with all and any questions that my team or myself might have.

Consultant

I worked with other POS systems in the past and find Lightspeed much more user friendly than the others. You can build your menu in literally a few hours and the flexibility is amazing.

Owner 

And as a bonus this is a Montreal based company with EXCELLENT customer service. I will be a loyal client for life.

Limited options for payment processing, having to go with a non integrated payment was frustrating, and we were also limited with payment processing options for our eCommerce site.

Area Sales Leader

The overall experience has been great. Lightspeed fills a need in the industry with great integration across a variety of POS/PMS systems.

Very intuitive platform, great visualizations and strong customizations. Most importantly, the integration between the restaurant POS and the hotel PMS system is key.

I also use the inventory counting program and have integrated my online site with Lightspeed to my brick/mortar store. The price is good and the service provided has been very helpful.

Only thing worse than their ecom is their customer service.

It’s extremely frustrating and not user friendly at all. In fact, I think the whole system is deeply flawed and unworkable.

Gallery Director

The eCom web development tool is based on a Wordpress format - cumbersome and non-intuitive with a very steep learning curve. You will feel overwhelmed and lost - for weeks.

Lightspeed Retail screenshot: Lightspeed Retail catalog


Lightspeed Retail screenshot: Lightspeed Retail supplier market


Lightspeed Retail screenshot: Lightspeed Retail product details


Lightspeed Retail screenshot: Lightspeed Retail checkout


Freelancers

Large Enterprises

Mid Size Business

Non Profit

Small Business

QuickBooks Desktop Enterprise is an accounting software for small businesses which provides users with real-time access to customer, employee, and vendor information. The software includes tools for managing inventory, shipping, sales orders, pricing, tasks, invoicing, reporting, and more.

Toast POS solution is a cloud-based restaurant management platform for restaurant owners to reduce staff & operational costs and improve customer experience

QuickBooks Desktop provides a comprehensive business management solution that integrates accounting, payroll, inventory, and multiple company management functionalities. The software offers industry-specific editions tailored for manufacturing, wholesale, contractors, and accountants, with features like advanced reporting, job costing, and automated pricing rules. Users can enhance their experience with cloud hosting capabilities that enable remote access and team collaboration.

POS Nation's retail point of sale supports retail businesses with a turnkey solution that includes software, hardware, support, and payment processing.

Alerts/Notifications

Commission Management

Electronic Signature

Forecasting

Lottery Management

Restaurant POS

Sales Trend Analysis

SKU/UPC Codes

Supplier Management

Touch Screen

User Management

POS Nation for Retail

Quartermaster

Our overall experience has been excellent. From setting up calls for training then training and implementing our system it has been great.

Very poor softwear We have to restart computer every 20 min as connection to the scanner scale , touchpad and printer lost one after another.

Intuitive, comprehensive, easy to learn, with a great team behind the product to offer help.

Ease of use and what i wanted out of it. The customer service is the best part great people who know what there doing and i get my problems resovled all the time.

IT/Sales

Awesome quality products ,very well trained staff and great costumer support.

Managing Member

It’s simplicity and the fact divey can resolve any issues. Excellent conversion process.

POS Nation and Agents have been amazing to the best of their ability.

President

The best customer service and IT support. Easy set up and the POS NATION teams care about you and your business.

Very professional and friendly. Ve never felt like I couldn’t accomplish the tasks after support I’ve been given.

VP / CoOwner

My only real complaint is that when I have an urgent call because a customer is waiting, I can never get through to someone right away. It can take some time for someone to get back with me.

It has a very robust capacity to handle challenges unique to our industry from case breaks to discounts and loyalty programs, PO system, inventory mgmt and beyond.

PR/Marketing Director

He has been kind and patient. We really appreciate the fact POS Nation is a US-based company and everyone we speak to is here in the US.

Great product thus far, Excellent customer service.

All of our needs have been met with this pos system. We appreciate that the learning curve for the software was easy and the process of integrating with our existing business was efficient.

partner/owner

We have been told that this is due to us using First Nashville, but it is hard to believe that a processor of this size is not set up in your system for this to be handled.

Software Support

It's pretty easy to set up and then train our customers to use it. CAP tailored the product to accommodate our PA beer distributors by creating an integrated PA PLCB Beverage report.

Sales Rep

There are a few bugs that have restricted me from completing my inventory on time.

Our largest benefit was the integrated Pennsylvania plcb report. We found that most of customers a re small business operators and they were not looking for a $25,000 software package.

POS Nation for Retail screenshot: Mobile Reporting

POS Nation for Retail screenshot: All in one touch screen monitor, receipt printer, barcode scanner, cash drawer powered by POS Nation point of sale software.

Lightspeed Retail vs POS Nation for Retail Comparison (2026)

Lightspeed Retail

POS Nation for Retail

Overview

Video & Screenshots

Pricing

User reviews

Key features

Integrations

Alternatives