Wondering what are the best POS softwares for a garden center? Are you looking for a POS software tailored to your needs? In this article, discover 5 of the most popular point of sale softwares used in garden centers. Pick the right POS for you by comparing their pricing, features and customer support.

Not all POS softwares have features tailored for the management of a garden center. Here are 5 point of sale softwares that are perfect for the needs of garden centers and nurseries:

The table below summarizes the different pros of the best POS softwares for a garden center: 

Windward SoftwareAlice POSPOS NationRapid Garden POSLightspeed
Based in Canadaxxx
LanguagesEnglishFrench, EnglishEnglishEnglish, SpanishEnglish, French, Dutch
Multi-store managementxx
Personalized tagsxx
E-commercexxx
Re-commerce featuresxx
Remote stock managementxx

The information in this article has been found on those companies’ websites, and this information is subject to change.

1. Windward Software

This Canadian company has been offering its services since 1984 all over the world and has developed a software capable of meeting the needs of its customers in several types of industries such as garden centers.

Pricing

Initial payment: CAD $9819 to $11,919
Annual payment: CAD $4644 to $5844

Windward Software offers access to its POS software through a one-time payment and annual subscription. Windward Software’s POS System Five offers 3 packages that allow 3 registers on the same licence. The one-time payment to own the software is: CAD $9819 (without advanced reports), CAD $10,269 (with advanced reports) and CAD $11,919 (with e-commerce). The recurring costs after the first year of software purchase are CAD $4644 to $5844 depending on the chosen plan.

Specific Features for Garden Centers

What makes Windward Software different from other POS is its accessibility, its customer service and the adaptability of its platform for users with at most 3 registers.

24/7 Technical Assistance

Windward Software emphasizes its flexibility in terms of its customer service, which can be reached at all times to accommodate the customers located in several time zones.

Suitable for Medium-Sized Businesses

The POS software of Windward Software is designed and optimized to meet the needs of businesses with 3 or more registers. The software is suitable for medium-sized SMEs in the retail sector.

Customer’s Support

Technical support is available 24/7 via chat or telephone in English. 

Customer’s Service Location

  • Canada (British Columbia)
  • Philippines
  • India
deux femmes qui regardent des plantes best POS garden center

2. Alice POS

logo alice best POS garden center

Alice POS offers a cloud-based point of sale solution designed for stores such as garden centers and store networks such as franchises or buying groups. This software is designed to increase income and save time while offering specific features to stay one of the best POS for a garden center.

Pricing

CAD $69 to $250/month + $500 one-time startup fee

Alice POS pricing plans are varied and tailored to your needs. You can choose from four types of plans: Basic, Advanced, Premium and Enterprise. To have access to the maximum profitable features for the management of a garden center, you should favour the Premium plan at CAD $250 per month. This package includes integration with garden center suppliers catalogues through the OrderEase platform and unlimited registers! Payment options are also possible in two ways: monthly or yearly.

Specific Features for Garden Centers

Alice POS has several features made to help you manage your garden center. Revenue-generating features, supplier catalogues integrations and multi-store management are major assets for a garden center.

Best Revenue-Generating POS Features for a Garden Center

Alice POS is not only a point of sale software, it is also a tool to multiply the income of your business. The re-commerce features as well as the customer fidelity features integrated into Alice POS enable modernized and profitable sales.

Re-commerce Features

Re-commerce (also known as circular economy) consists in revaluing practices such as rental, repair, purchase of used products and product exchanges within a company’s economic model. 

This modernized economic system makes it possible to offer versatile goods and services to your customers in order to meet all of their needs. Alice POS can help you manage:

  • Rentals
  • Repairs
  • Used products
  • Product exchanges

With these circular economy features, it is possible for you to increase your revenue with the help of Alice POS software. 

Why not offer a gardening tool rental service in your garden center? This will allow you to generate more income, without requiring a lot of extra effort!

Customer Fidelity Features

To help you build customer loyalty, Alice POS offers features such as:

  • Membership cards
  • Rewards programs
  • Discount management

These are managed directly in Alice POS. So you don’t need to use any third party apps!

With these features, you can generate more revenue simply by giving your customers reasons to shop at your garden center again. It is easier to sell to your loyal customers!

Integration With Garden Centers Suppliers’ Catalogues

Alice POS offers an integration with garden centers supplier catalogues through the OrderEase platform. This would make your daily work much easier!

The synchronization of Alice POS and OrderEase makes it possible to have the suppliers catalogues in your point of sale software. Synchronizing the images and product descriptions allows for faster management of your online store. Use images taken from the suppliers catalogues for your own listings!

Orders made in OrderEase are also directly sent to Alice POS. When your order is delivered to you, you can then transform it into inventory! This will make you save a lot of precious time. You no longer need to manually add each item!

Multi-Store Management POS for a Garden Center

The Alice POS software is recognized for its powerful features for multi-store management and it might be one of the reasons why it’s one of the best POS for a garden center! These allow quick and easy inventory transfers, synchronization of inventories and prices, and much more! Alice POS is suitable for franchises and corporate chains. 

Here are some multi-store features offered by Alice POS that would be useful for an owner of several garden centers or a franchisee:

  • Master and sub-master accounts
  • Transfer of inventory between stores
  • Multi-store promotions
  • Standardized pricing
  • Local products and prices
  • Advanced reports

Customer’s Support

Technical support at Alice POS is available every weekday from 8:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. (UTC-4) and on special requests every other day with the Advanced, Premium and Enterprise plan (by phone). This support service is available in French and English.

Knowledge Base

A knowledge base is available to all Alice POS users. This knowledge base is a self-help tool for users to learn how to navigate the POS software and be able to use it to its full potential.

Customer’s Service Location

  • Canada (Quebec)
femme qui arrose des plantes best POS garden center

3. POS Nation

This North Carolina-based company offers a generalized point of sale software with comprehensive plans for new merchants. POS Nation focuses on selling the software and all the necessary POS hardware like scanners and card readers.

Pricing

CAD $81 to $136 /month

POS Nation has two plans for its users. The first: by monthly payment (between CAD $81 and $136); the second: by annual payment (between CAD $685 and $1370). 

To have access to technical support, you will have to pay an additional CAD $54/month.

The monthly payment plan makes you the tenant of the POS hardware, while the annual payment plan makes you the owner of this equipment. The POS hardware includes the point of sale software, a touchscreen monitor, a receipt printer, a cash drawer and a card reader.

Specific Features for Garden Centers

POS Nation stands out for its offer focused on the sale of the POS hardware, as well as the POS software. Garden centers owners also like that they can print personalized barcodes for their items.

Compatibility With the POS Hardware

POS Nation stands out for offering a complete retail kit. If you have the budget to purchase new equipment directly from your POS software, POS Nation could be an option for you. You can also rent the equipment if that’s something you would like.

Creation of Personalized Barcodes

The creation of personalized barcodes can be useful in a garden center, since the products often have unconventional dimensions. 

POS Nation’s software allows custom barcode printing to help garden center owners properly identify their products. 

Customer’s Support

The company that developed this point of sale software is based in North Carolina and offers 24/7 customer support in English only and requires a monthly fee of CAD $54 per month to access this service.

Customer’s Service Location

  • United States (North Carolina, Texas, Florida)
un panier en premier plan devant un centre jardin extérieur best POS garden center

4. Rapid Garden POS

This software developed in California is one of the best POS software for a garden center. This system is designed to meet the demand of huge horticultural farms and garden centers. Since 1985, this company has offered a solution to the giant American producers.

Pricing

Initial payment: CAD $10,983
Annual payment: N/A (see below why)

The only payment option Rapid Garden POS offers to access the POS is an annual payment (price N/A on their website, contact RapidGarden POS support directly for more information). The one-time payment plan is over CAD $10,983. In this way, you will have access to the Rapid Garden POS platform and its advantages: 

  • Technical assistance
  • Custom Features
  • Integrations on request

Specific Features for Garden Centers

Rapid Garden POS is a POS software that provides service to garden centers and the Californian horticultural world. Its features are, unsurprisingly, related to this industry. The software is therefore suitable for huge garden centers. It can also be used by other businesses that have the same needs.

A Software Developed for Garden Centers

The strength of Rapid Garden POS is its specialized point of sale system for garden center owners. Indeed, the Rapid Garden POS will be able to link the inventory of a nursery to its retail business (garden center). The users can manage different inventories under the same licence.

Printing Plant Instructions

Plants can sometimes be tricky to care for. Each plant is different and requires different care. Rapid Garden POS has included in its POS software the ability to print plant care instruction labels.

Customer’s Support

Technical support at Rapid Garden POS is based in San Diego, so their service is in both English and Spanish.

Customer’s Service Location

  • United States (California)
centre jardin exterieur best POS garden center

5. Lightspeed

Since 2014, Lightspeed has been a notable player in the POS software market providing POS solutions to small and medium businesses in retail. This company operates in North America, Europe and Oceania by distributing point of sale systems online.

Pricing

CAD $139 to $369/month (for one register)

Lightspeed’s pricing ranges from CAD $139 to CAD $369 per month depending on the plan chosen and the features required by the user. The most popular plan is the one at CAD $209 per month and it only includes one register per licence. Each additional register will become an additional charge. However, you have the choice of paying annually or monthly.

Specific Features for Garden Centers

Lightspeed offers a product that is not particularly aimed at garden centers or other businesses of the kind. Indeed, this company rather offers a general product suitable for most. This company relies instead on its e-commerce integrations and 24/7 customer support. This is still a POS used by many garden centers.

E-commerce

Lightspeed integrates with several online sales software (e-commerce) like Ecwid and NuOrder. It’s the link between the POS software and the e-commerce platform that makes the big selling points for this software. 

24/7 Customer Support

Lightspeed offers its users 24/7 technical support in English and can therefore cover the territory in several time zones. 

Ex. North America, Europe and Oceania.

Customer’s Support

Technical support is available 24/7 from Lightspeed. It is available in multiple languages, including English, Dutch and French.

Customer’s Service Location

  • Philippines
  • United States
  • Canada

Regardless of the POS software that you chose, the use of one of those softwares is essential for the proper functioning of a retail business such as a garden center. Choose the option that will be most suitable for you while remembering the pros of each (multi-store management, circular economy, spoken languages ​​of the service, etc.). This way, you will be able to find what’s the best POS software for you or your garden center.

See What Alice POS Can do For You

No obligation. No fees.