Do you feel like you’re buried up to your neck in soil?
From managing seasonal plant inventory to nurturing customer loyalty, running a garden center can be overwhelming without the right processes and tools in place.
There’s one tool that can be your best friend when it comes to running your store — a garden center point of sale (POS) system. It can help manage complex inventory, prevent shrinkage, and cater to your customers’ needs.
However, not all POS systems are built the same. So, how do you choose? We can help.
This article highlights five excellent garden center POS systems, including features and prices, so you can make an informed decision and grow your garden center.
Your garden center falls under the general umbrella of retail, but it’s quite different from a boutique or hardware store.
You have unique challenges like living inventory that changes by the season. You sell seeds, bulbs, shrubs, and trees. Each has specific planting times, care instructions, and shelf lives —not to mention you have to manage inventory across shaded greenhouses, outdoor nurseries, and your store.
On top of organizing and selling thousands of plants, you sell soil, pots, and gardening tools. And without the right systems in place, it’s not surprising that you’re overworked and overwhelmed.
Enter: a garden center POS system.
Beyond transactions and inventory management, the right system gives you customizable options to categorize every product type accurately, prevent shrinkage through permissions and surveillance, and optimize day-to-day operations year-round.
Only a tailored solution will do for your garden center. Let’s look at some of the top garden center POS systems on the market.
Best for: Small to mid-sized garden centers with online stores
Features: Comcash, trusted by thousands of businesses, offers a comprehensive suite of POS software features that can help garden centers thrive, including:
… and more!
The platform is designed to cater to retailers of various sizes, and its robust features and hardware support various payment methods.
Pricing: Use the build and price feature to get the right solution for your store.
Best for: Nurseries and growing businesses
Features: POS Nation offers a tailored solution for lawn care stores, garden centers, and nurseries with features such as weather-resistant barcodes, custom tree tags, equipment rental management, real-time inventory control, and actionable sales reporting.
The POS system is designed to address unique challenges faced by businesses in the gardening industry, including tracking equipment rentals, generating work orders, and handling diverse inventory units. With over 10,000 satisfied customers, POS Nation provides hardware variety, software features, and 24/7 support.
Pricing: There are various options and pricing is transparent on the POS Nation website, but your best bet is to build your own custom system.
Best for: Free POS software and garden centers on a budget
Features: Square helps your garden center run smoothly with flexible POS software. Top features include payment acceptance, sales tracking, inventory control, and online order management.
Square is easy to use, requires no training, and comes with flexible hardware options for quick and secure payments. Multi-location, brick-and-mortar, in-person and online, on-the-go, and seasonal businesses are all supported.
Related: E-Commerce vs. Retail Store: Which Should You Focus On?
The software allows inventory management across multiple locations, online selling, and sales from any location. Advanced tools require a paid plan, and customer loyalty features are a paid add-on, too.
Pricing: The Basic POS is free, but to add inventory management and other POS features, prices start at $60/month per location.
Best for: Greenhouses, florists, and landscapers
Features: The custom-built software addresses the unique needs of businesses in the green industry. Its rugged and mobile system hardware can support customers and manage inventory anywhere. You can handle transactions on the move, and it comes with a world-class warranty and replacement program.
Rapid Garden POS supports multiple common, botanical, and Spanish names for single items. You can combine individual items for planters and gift baskets, and generate and print barcodes in multiple formats.
Overall, Rapid Garden aims to speed up checkout processes, simplify accounting, and help garden centers use data to make better decisions.
Pricing: Pricing isn’t available on the Rapid Garden POS website, but you can request a free quote.
Best for: Online garden centers
Features: Shopify POS lets garden centers sell in-store and online, with a strong emphasis on the online side of things. Its omnichannel capabilities include seamless integration between online and offline sales, managing staff, inventory control, and building customer relationships.
With 11,000 stores in the garden and landscaping category already using Shopify, its strengths lie beyond just e-commerce. It’s worth mentioning that the majority of those stores are small, selling under 100 products.
Pricing: The retail-only option starts at $89/month.
From complex inventory needs to rental management, your garden center has unique needs.
You need more than a basic POS system to thrive. From robust inventory management that adapts to seasonal availability to weather-resistant barcodes and actionable sales reporting — the right POS system is critical.
The five options above all have pros and cons. Price might be a deciding factor. Garden center-specific features might sway your decision. Whatever the case, your best bet is to schedule demos of each point of sale solution and make an informed decision.
Comcash provides the tools and visibility you need to nurture your garden center. Let us show you — schedule a demo with our garden center experts today.