The average credit card processing fee ranges from 1.5 – 3.5%. This figure doesn’t sound like much, but if your store brings in $100,000 in annual credit card revenue, you’re shelling out more than $15,000 a year just in processing fees.
The increasing fees present complex challenges for liquor store owners. On one hand, you want to provide competitive prices and incentivize customers to pay with cash to avoid these costly fees. On the other, you also need to cater to customers who prefer the convenience of paying by card.
Is there a solution that gives you the best of both worlds?
Yes! Dual pricing.
In this post, we'll explore the best credit card processing tools and strategies, giving you everything you need to manage dual pricing in your liquor store.
What Is Dual Pricing (+ Why Does It Matter)?
Before we dive into the benefits of dual pricing, let’s explore what dual pricing is and what it can offer your liquor store.
Also known as cash discounting, dual pricing is a system that allows businesses to offer different prices for cash and card transactions. The main idea behind this approach is to help offset the costs of credit card processing fees. Many store owners implement dual pricing to encourage customers to pay with cash, which can be beneficial for several reasons.
Some of the advantages you can enjoy when you implement dual pricing in your store include:
- Cost savings: By encouraging cash payments, you can significantly reduce expenses related to credit card processing fees. These fees might seem small on individual transactions, but they can add up over time.
- Encourage cash payments: With dual pricing, you'll likely see an increase in cash transactions, leading to increased liquidity, which can be particularly helpful for managing day-to-day expenses or making quick inventory purchases.
- Flexibility: By offering customers the choice between paying with cash or card (with different price points), you improve their shopping experience. Some customers prefer the convenience of cards, while others appreciate the option to save money using cash.
Related Read: 8 Liquor Store POS System Benefits You Can't Afford To Miss
With this information in mind, let’s explore the top point of sale tools you can use to easily implement and manage dual pricing in your liquor store.
1. POS Nation
POS Nation is an all-in-one retail point of sale software designed to help small- to mid-sized retailers manage their operations. It caters to multiple industries, including liquor stores, convenience stores, and markets. POS Nation offers a range of features designed to help streamline business operations.
Payment processing features:
- Multiple payment options: The system supports various payment methods, including cash, credit cards, and contactless payments, catering to customer preferences.
- Dual pricing: This feature allows store owners to pass credit card processing fees to customers or offer discounts for cash payments, helping manage costs.
- Mobile checkout: Enables transactions to be completed anywhere in the store, reducing wait times and improving customer satisfaction.
- Scale integration: This feature ensures accurate pricing during checkout, and it is particularly useful for stores selling items by weight.
Other top features for liquor stores:
- Case break inventory: POS Nation allows for precise inventory management, tracking stock down to individual bottles from cases.
- Age validation: Manage compliance with legal requirements with prompts for age verification during alcohol sales.
- Mix and match pricing: Create product bundles to sell slow-moving inventory and increase sales.
- Customer loyalty programs: Build a loyal customer base through rewards and personalized marketing.
Pricing: Get a custom quote using their online pricing tool.
2. Bottle POS
Bottle POS is a cloud-based point of sale system designed specifically for liquor stores. Our solution was created by liquor store owners for liquor store owners, meaning we understand your unique needs and offer all the features you need to improve your operations. Our all-in-one solution has everything liquor store owners need to manage inventory, process payments, maintain compliance, and more.
Payment processing features:
- Flexible payment processing: Bottle POS supports various payment methods to accommodate customer preferences.
- Dual pricing: Give customers a percentage off their purchase when paying with cash, while those using credit cards absorb the associated fees.
- Secure cloud-based and offline functionality: The system works securely through the cloud and can also function offline, ensuring uninterrupted service.
- Compatible with most hardware: Bottle POS can integrate with a wide range of POS hardware, providing store owners with flexibility.
Other top features for liquor stores:
- Centralized product database: Bottle POS maintains a comprehensive database of common liquor products, simplifying inventory management and updates.
- Auto ranking: This AI-driven feature grades products on an A-B-C-D scale based on sales patterns, helping owners quickly identify top sellers and dead stock.
- Automated invoicing: The auto invoicing feature saves time by automatically importing and processing inventory invoices upon arrival.
- 24/7 inventory management: Owners can manage stock levels and add inventory anytime, anywhere, using the POS, back office, or mobile device.
- Customer loyalty program: Encourage repeat business with our built-in loyalty program features.
- E-commerce integration: Our BottleZoo integration allows store owners to easily set up online ordering and even offer integrated third-party delivery services.
- Marketing tools: The system includes SMS marketing capabilities and integration with Pointy for Google search marketing to promote new products and deals.
- Reporting and analytics: Bottle POS offers critical reports, including daily sales, item performance, and "item not found" reports for comprehensive business insights.
Pricing: Get a custom-built price for your perfect package using our transparent build and price tool.
3. Clover POS
Clover POS offers point of sale solutions for restaurants, retail, and service industry businesses. This cloud-based solution has a broad feature set that can be applied to a wide range of businesses. Though it offers features for many types of businesses, it does have several key features that apply to liquor stores.
Payment processing features:
- Accepts multiple payment types: Clover supports tap, dip, and swipe transactions for all major credit and debit cards, as well as mobile wallet and contactless payments.
- Check scanning: The system can safely and securely scan checks.
- One-touch tipping: Streamlines the tipping process for customers.
- Digital receipts: Clover offers environmentally friendly and convenient digital receipt options.
Other top features for liquor stores:
- Customer Relationship Management (CRM): This tool stores customer information, including order histories and contact details, to enhance customer service.
- Marketing tools: Clover allows businesses to send announcements, promotions, and marketing campaigns via email, text, or the Clover mobile app.
- Employee management: Facilitate staff scheduling, set individual employee permissions, and track sales performance.
- Real-time reporting: See live and trending sales data with customizable reports in the Clover dashboard.
Pricing: Clover starts at $135/month for 36 months.
Related Read: Managing Your Liquor Store Back Office: POS Solutions
4. Square for Retail
Square offers a point of sale system for small businesses, solopreneurs, and mobile businesses. It offers solutions for numerous industries, including wine and liquor stores. This solution includes features for payments, inventory management, and e-commerce needs.
Payment processing features:
- Multiple payment options: Square accepts all major payment types, including credit cards, debit cards, and contactless payments.
- Afterpay integration: Allow customers to use buy-now-pay-later services.
- Tap to pay on iPhone: Use Square to accept payments directly through iPhones without additional hardware.
Other top features for liquor stores:
- Inventory management: Track inventory across bottles, cases, and kegs and automatically generate purchase orders when stock runs low.
- Customer Relationship Management: Track customer preferences and purchase history, manage membership programs, and create automatic discounts for specific categories or customer segments.
- Marketing tools: Use the Square Marketing integration for email and text message campaigns.
- Multi-location management: Control multiple stores, locations, and channels from a single, centralized inventory management dashboard.
Pricing: Square’s Plus package starts at $29/month plus processing fees.
5. Lightspeed Retail
Lightspeed Retail is a comprehensive point of sale system designed for retailers, restaurants, and golf courses. This solution offers features ideal for wine and liquor stores, including inventory management and robust reporting features.
Payment processing features:
- Integrated payments: Lightspeed Payments is built into the POS system, offering a unified platform for processing sales and getting paid.
- Multiple payment options: Accepts all major credit and debit cards, as well as Apple Pay and Google Pay.
- Secure transactions: Provides PCI compliance and end-to-end encryption for secure payments.
Other top features for liquor stores:
- Inventory management: Effectively manage multiple product types (bottles, cases, kegs) and take advantage of quick product import features to get set up quickly.
- Age verification: Lightspeed offers automatic prompts for staff to verify customer age on every purchase.
- Omnichannel selling: Use Lightspeed’s integrated e-commerce platform and built-in SEO tools to manage online and in-store sales.
- Promotions and discounts: Create and manage discounts and promotions in a single, centralized dashboard.
Pricing: Lightspeed’s Core package starts at $149/month.
Managing Dual Pricing the Easy Way
Any business owner knows that every penny counts. That’s why dual pricing can be such a game changer for store owners. When you offer different pricing for cash and card transactions, you can offset credit card processing fees while offering flexible payment methods.
However, managing dual pricing can be a headache at best without the right tools. The five solutions listed in this article all offer strong dual pricing features, but dual pricing is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to point of sale features you need for your store.
That's where a comprehensive solution like Bottle POS comes into play.
Bottle POS offers an all-in-one point of sale system designed specifically for liquor stores and wine shops. We offer critical features you can use to optimize operations, including:
- Case break inventory management: Keep track of your stock down to the last bottle, ensuring you're never caught off guard by inventory issues.
- Age verification: Stay compliant with local laws and protect your business with robust age verification features.
- Customer loyalty programs: Build a dedicated customer base and keep them coming back with targeted promotions and rewards.
- Customizable employee permissions: Maintain control over your operations by setting specific access levels for each staff member.
Ready to take your liquor store to the next level? Schedule a demo of Bottle POS today.
