Customer list
Every sale can build a profile with purchase history and notes. Handy when a regular asks "what did I buy last time?"
What can a free POS system actually do?
Free POS software that does more than ring up sales
Good free POS software rings up sales, takes every kind of card, tracks your items, keeps a customer list and shows you what sold, all without a monthly software bill. You pay a processing fee when a customer pays by card, and that's it.
Free doesn't mean bare-bones anymore. Here's what to expect from any free POS worth using, and where the line usually sits between free and paid.
The everyday stuff
Six jobs every free POS should handle
If a free system can't do these well, it isn't really saving you anything.
Checkout
Ring up a sale in a few taps
The part you'll use a hundred times a day. Tap an item, take the payment, send the receipt.
- Cards, digital wallets and cash
- Tips, discounts and split payments
- Text or email receipts
- Refunds and exchanges in a couple of taps
Items and inventory
One item list, everywhere at once
Your product list lives in one place, so a price change shows up at the counter and online at the same time.
- Item library with photos, variants and modifiers
- Barcode scanning
- Simple stock counts and low-stock alerts
- Bulk import from a spreadsheet
What free covers and what needs a paid plan: see POS inventory software.
Reports
See what sold, and what you kept
Know what sold, when, and what you actually took home after fees.
- Daily sales summaries
- Sales by item, category and hour
- Fee and deposit reconciliation
- Exports for your bookkeeper
Selling online
A simple online store from the same item list
The items you already set up can power an online store or ordering page, so there's nothing to keep in sync.
- Online store or ordering page
- Pickup and local delivery
- Invoices and payment links
Team and timecards
Give everyone their own login
Each person gets a passcode, so you can see who rang up what, and the POS keeps the timesheet for you. On many free plans the deeper team tools are a paid add-on, so check before you count on them.
- Staff passcodes and permissions
- Clock in and out at the register
- Timecards you can export for payroll
Payments
Every way customers pay, one deposit
Tap, chip, swipe, phone wallets, invoices, cards on file. It all lands in the same bank account on a predictable schedule.
- Tap, chip, swipe and digital wallets
- Keyed-in cards and cards on file
- Next-business-day deposits are standard
Also worth having
And the rest of the toolbox
Smaller features that save real time once you're up and running.
Appointments
For salons, trainers and repair shops: an online booking page, reminders and deposits in the same app.
Invoices and payment links
Bill a customer by email or text and get paid by card without them coming in.
Offline payments
Some systems keep taking cards when the internet drops, then upload once you're back. Know the limits.
Export your data
Items, customers and sales out to a spreadsheet, for your bookkeeper or if you ever switch.
Runs on what you have
Most start on a free POS app on a phone or tablet. Many phones can take contactless cards with no extra hardware, which is the whole idea behind a mobile POS.
By business type
What you'll lean on most
Same system, different favorite features. Here's where most owners spend their time.
Restaurants
Open checks, tickets that print in the kitchen, tips on the screen and online orders in the same queue.
Retail
Scan barcodes, track stock, sell sizes and colors, and keep an online store in sync with the shelf.
Cafes and coffee
Quick taps for the morning rush, oat milk and extra shots as modifiers, and tips that add up.
Salons and barbers
Online booking, staff calendars, deposits that cut down on no-shows and notes on every client.
Food trucks and pop-ups
Take payments from a phone or a small reader, keep selling when the signal drops and change the menu on the fly.
Services and auto repair
Estimates that turn into invoices, deposits up front, cards on file and payments out on the job.
Bars and taprooms
Open tabs by name, ring the next round in a couple of taps, take tips on screen and send drink tickets to the bar printer.
Liquor stores
Scan bottles, prompt for ID on age-restricted items, add bottle deposits and keep a count that drops with every sale.
Grocery and convenience
Scan fast, sell produce and deli by weight, keep counts on what sells, and take EBT SNAP on supported hardware.
Square specifics
What's included on Square Free
Here's what you get on Square's free plan without paying a monthly fee.
$0 a monthIncluded free
- Square Point of Sale app for in-person, online, phone and field sales
- Tap, dip, swipe, Tap to Pay on iPhone and Android, manual entry and card on file
- Item library with simple stock counts and low-stock alerts
- Discounts, full and partial refunds, and store credit
- Online ordering profile, basic website or online store, and online booking site
- Invoices, estimates and contracts
- Appointment booking with unlimited staff calendars
- Customer directory built automatically from your sales
- Sales reports, reconciliation report and a daily sales summary email
- Offline payments when your internet drops
- Free Square Checking and savings accounts
OptionalWhat you'd pay extra for
These live on Square Plus ($49 a month per location) or Square Premium ($149 a month per location), or carry their own fee.
- Loyalty program
- Plus and Premium
- Email and text marketing
- Plus and Premium (500 texts included on Plus, 2,500 on Premium)
- Staff scheduling, timecards and tip pooling
- Plus and Premium
- Square KDS kitchen display app
- $30 a month per device on Plus, $20 on Premium
- Square Kiosk self-ordering
- $99 a month per device, requires Plus or Premium
- Gift cards
- Available on every plan, with a 2.5% load fee on Free and Plus
- 24/7 phone support
- Premium only
Checked against Square's site: prices, rates and hardware details come from Square's official pricing, hardware and support pages on squareup.com. Rates and prices change. Confirm the current figures on squareup.com before you sign up or buy. See Square processing fees and every Square card reader
Before you sign up
Which features do people forget to check?
The flashy stuff gets the attention. These are the things that bite you later if you don't ask up front.
Offline mode
Your internet will drop at the worst possible time. Can the POS keep taking cards offline, and for how long? Our offline POS guide covers the limits, and the cloud POS guide explains why it matters.
Getting your data out
Can you export items, customers and sales to a spreadsheet? If not, switching later gets painful.
Support hours
Free plans often mean chat or email support with limited phone hours. Know it before a Friday rush.
Payout timing
Next business day is normal. Same-day or instant usually costs a percentage.
Questions
Free POS software questions
Is free POS software good enough to run a real business?
For most small shops, cafes and service businesses, yes. Checkout, card payments, an item list, a customer list, sales reports and a basic online store are standard on a good free plan. The paid tiers mostly add loyalty, marketing and deeper staff tools, and plenty of owners never miss them.
Does free POS software track inventory?
Yes, at the level most small shops need. Stock counts drop with every sale, and you get a heads up when something runs low. If you're juggling purchase orders, several stockrooms or thousands of products, check what the paid tier adds before you commit.
How does Square Free compare with Loyverse's free plan?
Loyverse includes loyalty, a kitchen display and a customer display for free, with 31 days of sales analytics. Square Free keeps your full sales history, takes cards offline on supported Square hardware and adds a free online site, invoices and booking. See Square vs Loyverse for the full side by side.
What payments can I take on Square Free?
All the usual ones: tap, dip and swipe, Tap to Pay on iPhone and Android, manually keyed cards and cards on file, plus online orders and invoices. Rates for each are on our pricing page.
More answers on the FAQ page and in our free POS guides, or call (888) 243-3831.
Start on the free plan. Upgrade only if you need to.
Square Free costs $0 a month. You pay 2.6% + 15ยข when a customer taps, dips or swipes a card, and nothing on cash.
No monthly fee on the free plan. No long-term contract. Cancel anytime.
Free POS System is operated by POSUSA, an authorized Square reseller. POSUSA may earn compensation when you sign up through our link. It doesn't cost you a cent more. Read our disclosure.