Feb 13, 2023

Shopify and Shopify Plus services: what is POS Pro?

Shopify and Shopify Plus services: what is POS Pro?

If you've got a Shopify site, or are thinking of setting one up, it's important to know as much as possible about Shopify's different services, or the platform's latest update - POS Pro. Shopify can help you to manage everything from eCommerce sales and payment processing to stock control and even staff management, with powerful analytics and reporting capabilities.
In this guide, we will explore what Shopify POS is, its main features and how it can benefit your store. Also, we will discuss how POS Pro can be integrated into Shopify, and how it compares to POS Lite.

Click on the relevant link to jump to that section:

• What is Shopify POS?
• What are the main features of Shopify POS Pro?
• How can Shopify POS Pro benefit me and my store?
• How do I integrate POS Pro with Shopify?
• Shopify POS Lite vs. Shopify POS Pro: which is better?
• How Milk Bottle Labs can help

What is Shopify POS?

Shopify POS is a popular Point of Sale system that retailers can use in-person in their retail stores, or online for e-commerce stores, to sync with their Shopify platform. Shopify POS features work on any mobile device via the Shopify POS app, and you can also get a fully personalised POS system for your business. This lets each Shopify merchant keep discounts, products and popular apps at the touch of a button so you can help customers through their purchase in moments.

Shopify POS is designed to connect with other compatible hardware devices and with Shopify card readers. It's a convenient and powerful way to manage sales in an online store, and now, the basic Shopify service has been enhanced with Shopify POS Pro to make processes easier for the Shopify admin.

What are the main features of Shopify POS Pro?

Now that the advanced Shopify POS system has evolved to include Shopify POS Pro, online merchants can benefit from a wide range of feature-packed services for their online business, including:

• Inventory management, for automated stock control
• Optimised checkout processes for fast and hassle-free credit card, debit card and other types of Shopify payment transactions
• Omnichannel selling to integrate your e-commerce channels for easier management
• Staff management features
• Rich data, with automated reporting and custom analytics
• Options to manage products and customers
• Additional hardware options, such as cash drawers, barcode scanners, iPad stands, receipt printers, and credit card readers
• Marketing features
• Multiple payment options, to meet your business and customer needs

All of these Shopify development features can benefit the customer experience as they make an online sale, but they can be hard to navigate for a novice. Contact Milk Bottle Labs today to see how our Shopify experts can help you.

How can Shopify POS Pro benefit me and my store?

Shopify POS Pro can offer your business a wide range of benefits on the browser and via the Shopify app. Some of the main ones for online retailers include:

• The ease of the system, which is intuitive and quick to integrate
• The extremely powerful multi-channel selling features make use of automation to reduce human input (whilst reducing the cost to serve and the risk of manual errors)
• Simple, integrated payment processes that offer secure and resilient payment in a way customers value and recognise
• Powerful inventory management so that retailers and merchants always know where their stock levels stand, to boost profits with better stock control
• Staff performance management to assist with training, development, and other HR processes

How do I integrate POS Pro with Shopify?

You'll need to integrate POS Pro with your Shopify store by connecting your POS system with your e-commerce system. The Shopify POS integration facilitates omnichannel sales by sharing product info, sales data, inventory levels and customer information between the systems so that data remains reliable and up to date.

First, check that your POS system is either Square, Vend or Lightspeed, as these are designed to integrate with Shopify. You'll then need to install the relevant API to allow the two systems to communicate and integrate. If you have an in-house web developer, then he or she should be able to run the API and test the outcome, to ensure the integration has been successful.

Alternatively, and for most businesses, it makes sense to use a specialist Shopify and POS pro developer such as Milk Bottle Labs. Milk Bottle labs will manage, authenticate and test your integration to ensure it has been successful so that your business can continue to operate without any downtime, operational data loss or customer issues. You can view our extensive range of services here to see how we can assist you.

Shopify POS Lite vs. Shopify POS Pro: which is better?

Although Shopify POS can be used to sell products anywhere - including pop-up stores, traditional shops and e-commerce sites - there are two different levels of POS app subscription available. Each has its own features and benefits, which retail business owners will need to consider.

Both Shopify POS Lite and Shopify POS Pro offer the following:

• Integrated payment hardware, powered by Shopify Payments
• Retail hardware integration for non-payments extras (iPad stands, tills etc)
• The ability to add and edit customer profiles
• Customisable smart grid set-up for easy access to common features
• A customer view in the app
• Multiple-location inventory management, plus orders and customer management
• The ability to set and manage individual discount codes
• Automated SMS and email receipts
• The ability to sell and redeem store gift cards
• Custom sales
• Camera scanning for barcodes
• Multiple payment types, including cash payments and staff pins for staff discounts
• Product refunds

Shopify POS Pro offers extras such as:

• Customisable receipts
• Automatic discount set up
• Sales attribution
• Product exchanges
• Delivery and fulfilment booking and management
• Advanced stock control
• Daily sales reporting
• Retail store analytics within the app

POS pricing plans adjust to each business's requirement, with a free trial available to begin. Customers choose the level of support and package that they need, based on the size of their business and the expected order volumes and features they want to make use of. This can just be adjusted at any time. The Shopify POS family can be used immediately with cloud deployment in the same way that Shopify can.

How Milk Bottle Labs can help

Whether you choose Shopify Plus or Shopify POS Lite as a store owner, your Shopify plan offers a myriad of benefits. Milk Bottle Labs is here to help you integrate Shopify into your website and to get the most from this powerful platform. As well as optimising the functional set-up of your Shopify products, we can ensure your branding is correctly applied, your online store and apps are optimised for customer UX and that integration is completely smooth between your digital business platforms for the most successful outcomes.

If you're keen to get it right the first time, grow your business and see a powerful return from your digital software investments, contact a Shopify expert today.

Related content
Why you should move to Shopify Plus
Shopify Plus features: API
A guide to Shopify POS