Top 5 POS Systems For Rental Business
By Sam Nguyen
This article will discuss the top five point-of-sale (POS) systems that can help you efficiently manage your rental business.
Key Takeaways
- The 5 POS systems, including Shopify POS, Square Appointments, Clover POS for Personal Services, Lightspeed Retail, and Ezrentout, offer tailored features and benefits to meet the specific needs of rental businesses.
- Shopify POS stands out with its integration and multi-location management ability, making it an ideal choice for small to mid-sized businesses looking for an affordable all-in-one POS solution.
Why Do Rental Businesses Need A POS System?
A rental business makes money by letting customers use its equipment for a specific time and then return it. This is different from regular retail sales and rental businesses that need a point-of-sale (POS) system for several following reasons:
Automated tasks
A POS system automates various tasks involved in the rental process, making things more accessible while reducing manual errors. It streamlines reservations, inventory checks, rental scheduling, time and location tracking, fee calculations, billing, and inventory updates upon returns. This saves time for both the rental business and customers.
Enhanced security
A POS system can help check and store customer identification (ID, passport, driver’s license, etc.) if you rent out equipment with specific skill requirements or age restrictions, like car rentals. It also helps with handling situations like damages or non-returns.
The ability to preauthorize payments is a valuable feature of a rental POS system. This helps prevent fake or stolen cards and avoids unpaid cho insufficient funds. It’s especially useful for high-priced rental products like cars, electronic devices, or musical instruments
Efficient inventory management
Managing inventory is a big challenge for rental businesses. A POS system keeps track of rental items in real-time. It lets businesses see which items are currently rented out and when they are due for return. This helps with planning, avoiding overbooking, and ensuring prompt customer service.
Detailed reports and analytics
A POS system generates detailed sales, revenue, and customer data reports. It helps identify popular rental items and understand customer preferences. These insights assist managers in adjusting offerings, optimizing prices, and improving customer satisfaction.
Top 5 POS Systems For Rental Businesses
The following point-of-sale (POS) systems are considered the best options available. They are specifically designed to meet the needs of rental businesses or offer features and add-ons that are suitable for managing a rental store.
Shopify POS
While Shopify POS may not be specifically designed for rental merchants, it offers many features and integrations to manage rental operations effectively.
Pricing
- Software fees: Start at $0/month
- Hardware fees : From $39 to $399
- Processing fees: Start at 2.4% + 0¢
Pros and cons
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Why We Chose Shopify POS For Rental Business
Ecommerce integration and Omnichannel experience
Shopify POS offers an online store feature that enables you to reach more people and grow your customer base. Having an online store allows you to showcase your rental offerings and gives customers the convenience of booking online.
It also provides an omnichannel experience where customers can make reservations online and choose to pick up their rentals in-store or have them delivered to their preferred location. With Shopify POS, customers can return their rentals at any of your locations, making the return process convenient for them.
Multi-location and multi-channel inventory management
Shopify POS allows you to manage up to 1,000 locations within one unified platform. The inventory updates in real-time across all channels. Whether a customer makes an online booking, picks up, or returns their rentals at any of your stores, you can be confident that the inventory information is accurate and consistent across all your outlets. This guarantees smooth operations and enables you to organize your business quickly and efficiently.
Shopify POS works best for
- Residential, office, and commercial property rentals
- Vehicle rental stores
- Clothing and costume stores
Square Appointments
Square Appointments has gained a strong reputation for its scheduling and booking management capabilities, which are highly beneficial for rental businesses.
Pricing
- Software fees: Start at $0/month for a single location.
- Hardware fees: From $0 for a Reader for magstripe to $1,389 for a Station kit
- Processing fees: Start at 2.5% + 10¢
Pros and cons
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Why We Chose Square Appointments For Rental Business
Smart scheduling
With Square, you can easily enable online bookings for your customers. The system ensures no double bookings by checking the calendar availability in real time. To ensure that your customers don’t miss their appointments, Square can automatically send appointment reminders via SMS and/or email to ensure that your customers don’t miss their appointments. This convenient feature helps keep everyone on track and reduces the chances of any scheduling conflicts.
Rich customer profiles with Card on file
With Square Appointments, you can establish strong customer relationships by storing customer profiles. By reviewing the services and products your customers have previously rented, you can make personalized recommendations for their future visits, enhancing their overall experience. Additionally, Square enables you to create a loyalty program, incentivizing customers to return.
Furthermore, Square offers the convenience of keeping a card on file, which can be used to secure appointments and charge cancellation or late return fees, helping you manage any inconveniences effectively.
Square Appointments works best for
- Local solopreneurs with a single location
- Local solopreneurs with limited budgets and locations
- Event and party supplies store.
Clover POS For Personal Services
Clover is a great option for rental businesses due to its robust feature set specifically tailored for service-based operations.
Pricing
- Software fees: Start at $14.95/month with hardware included or $50/month with the software alone.
- Hardware fees: From $599 for a Handheld POS to $1,889 for a Station Duo
- Processing fees: Start at 2.3% + 10¢
Pros and cons
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Why We Chose Clover POS For Rental Business
Advanced employee management
The employees of a rental business are vital resources who play a crucial role in keeping the business running smoothly. Clover’s employee management software solutions are designed to foster teamwork and drive growth. With Clover POS, you can easily add and manage employees for your store: assign roles, create and manage shifts, track working hours, and more. The system also allows you to calculate commissions accurately, ensuring that your employees are recognized and rewarded for their efforts.
Loyalty programs included
With the Clover POS app, rental businesses can create custom loyalty programs that foster brand loyalty and encourages customers to keep coming back. Moreover, the app offers a way to enhance store visits and drive sales through the use of physical and digital gift cards. These gift cards are convenient for customers to buy and share with loved ones, effectively promoting the business and increasing customer engagement.
Clover POS works best for
- Clothing and costume rental businesses
- Sports equipment rental stores
- Vehicle rental stores
Lightspeed Retail
The Lightspeed R Series offers integration with rental-specific apps, enhancing store functionality to meet the specific needs of rental businesses.
Pricing
- Software fees: Start at $69/month/location
- Hardware fees: From $39 to $429
- Processing fees: Start at 2.6% + 10¢
Pros and cons
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Why We Chose Lightspeed Retail For Rental Business
Rental Shop Manager app integration
By integrating a rental-specific app with your Lightspeed POS, you can streamline and enhance the management of your rental business with all the necessary tools to handle every aspect of your rentals efficiently.
With this solution, you can effectively manage your inventory, handle reservations, process payments, track maintenance tasks, manage waivers, coordinate deliveries, and generate comprehensive reports. Additionally, the app offers the convenience of free online bookings, displaying live availability to help expand your rental business.
Advanced inventory management
Lightspeed Retail is widely recognized for its outstanding inventory management capabilities. With this POS, your business can easily handle all aspects of inventory, including planning, tracking, and re-rental. By leveraging low stock alerts, Lightspeed Retail ensures that your business maintains optimal stock levels consistently.
Lightspeed Retail works best for
- Vehicles rental businesses
- Equipment and electronic devices rental stores
- Books and comics rental stores
Ezrentout
EzRentout consistently appears on the list of best POS systems for rental businesses, as reviewed by users on platforms like G2 and Capterra.
Pricing
- Software fees: Start at $79/month
- Hardware fees: Prices vary depending on the providers
- Processing fees: Via third-party providers
Pros and cons
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Why We Chose Ezrentout For Rental Business
A POS designed for rental businesses
Ezrentout offers a comprehensive set of features that cover all aspects of running a rental business. You can easily manage reservations and scheduling to streamline your operations. The software also includes robust inventory management features, enabling you to track and organize your rental items easily. Furthermore, it integrates with an online store, allowing you to showcase your rental offerings and accept online bookings conveniently.
B2B customer management
B2B Customer Management allows you to have a clear view of your most valuable customers, empowering you to provide exceptional service and boost revenue growth. With this feature, you can create a profile and hierarchy with information, including contacts, shipping and billing addresses, payment methods, and business-level pricing.
Ezrentout works best for
- Real estate agencies
- Party planning companies
- Medical equipment lenders,
- Construction companies
Our Methodology for Selecting the Best POS Systems for Rental Businesses
To determine the best POS systems for rental businesses, we analyzed various factors, including the features provided, ease of use, and user interface. We considered the unique requirements of rental businesses, such as the ability to accept reservations, schedule bookings, create customer profiles, pre-authorize payments, set custom pricing, and manage inventory across multiple locations.
Additionally, we took into account the overall cost of each POS system and compared these costs with the features they offered. To further refine our selection, we also read reviews from actual users who shared their experiences with these systems. Through this process, we identified the top five POS systems that are well-suited for rental businesses.
Top 5 POS System For Rental Business: FAQs
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Bottom Line
Whether you operate a house rental business, a vehicle rental store, or a clothing and costumes store, these top-rated POS systems provide the tools and functionalities needed to effectively manage your rentals and take your business to new heights.
