Which POS system handles multiple stores best?

Lightspeed Retail is the only system in our comparison where running several stores feels like the core job rather than an add-on. You keep one product catalog, and each outlet keeps its own stock levels, reorder points and registers. When a size sells out in one store and sits on a shelf in another, you open a transfer. The sending outlet clicks "Mark as Sent", which takes the stock off its books. The receiving outlet then types the quantity that actually came out of the box, which adds it to theirs. Any gap shows up right there.

Pricing takes some digging. The public grid lists Basic at $89, Core at $149 and Plus at $289 a month, each with one register. Add a second location or more registers and Lightspeed sends you to a sales call. So get the per-location and per-register price in writing before you sign. Reviewers say the same thing in different words: the bill climbs fast as you add stores, and setting up the back office takes real time.

Two traps worth knowing. Transfers only work between outlets under the same company account, so a franchisee on a separate account sits outside the loop. And if you sync Lightspeed to a Shopify store, decide which location feeds the website, or in-store sales get split across locations and your counts drift.

Square treats each address as a location, and each item gets availability per location. You see every store's stock from one account, and you can turn items on or off per location. Square for Retail Plus, at $49 a month per location, adds the deeper retail tools most multi-store owners end up wanting. Premium, at $149 a month, is the plan that lists transfer orders and cross-location returns and fulfillment.

Run the numbers for three stores: $147 a month on Plus, $447 on Premium. That's a real jump, so check whether your transfer volume justifies Premium. A shop moving a dozen boxes a month between stores can live with manual stock adjustments; a chain moving stock every day can't.

Square's own community forums flag the gaps. Stock is tracked per location, and moving it has historically meant a manual process in the web dashboard. One merchant called it tedious. Others point out there's no packing slip or invoice generated for a transfer, and no built-in check of shipped versus received. Our fix: print the transfer list, have the receiving store sign it, and correct any gap the same day.

Shopify POS turns each store into a location of your Shopify store. Website stock and store stock live in the same catalog, and an online order can be picked from the nearest shop. The version included in every plan handles checkout. A real chain needs POS Pro, at $89 a month per location, billed yearly. It adds returns and exchanges at any location, faster stock transfer workflows, staff roles and permissions, and unlimited staff accounts.

Cost for three stores: $267 a month in POS Pro, plus your Shopify plan (Basic from $39). That's more than Square Plus, but you get a single product database for the website and the stores, with no connector in the middle.

The trap comes straight from Shopify's own documentation: a transfer received days after the box actually arrived leaves the website selling items that already moved. Have the receiving store confirm arrivals at the register as soon as they open the box.

In Odoo, each store is a point of sale linked to its own warehouse, in the same database as purchasing, accounting and your website. A store-to-store move is an internal transfer between two warehouses, created in the Inventory app: a document you prepare, adjust if quantities change, then validate. It's not a button on the register (community modules add one), but you get a full ERP history of every stock move.

The price depends on your setup. The free plan covers a single app: Point of Sale on its own, without full Inventory. Add a second app and you're on Standard, at $31.10 per user a month in year one ($38.90 after). If your stores are separate companies, for example franchisees or one entity per store, Odoo moves you to Custom at $61 per user in year one ($76.20 after), because multi-company lives there.

Our take: it's the right base if multi-store comes with a central warehouse, grouped supplier orders and accounting to consolidate. For two stores and no warehouse, setup is too heavy. Budget for an implementation partner or several weeks of configuration.

Loyverse runs several stores from one account for free: catalog, sales and per-store reports are included. Stock transfers live in the Advanced Inventory add-on, at $25 a month per store ($250 a year), along with purchase orders. For three stores, that's $75 a month if you need transfers, $0 if you don't.

The math is tempting. The catch is depth: reporting is basic, and its compliance and payment security score is the lowest in our comparison. Check what your accountant and your state require from a POS before making it your main system.

Our suggested use: a pop-up, a market stall or a trial second location before you invest in something heavier.