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What's the Average Liquor Store Profit Margin? 6 Key Insights
Is a 20% profit margin strong enough for a liquor store, or is it slowly draining your bottom line?
Running a liquor store is a nonstop job.
Between providing shoppers with top-shelf service, managing the constant flow of bottles in and out of your store, and keeping up with the other day-to-day demands of running a small business, you might feel stretched thin.
Fortunately, you don’t have to handle all of these to-do’s alone. The right liquor store point of sale (POS) system can carry some of the load, giving you more time to connect with customers and grow your business.
In this blog, we’ll explore everything you need to know about shopping for a liquor store POS system, including the essential features you need, how to evaluate providers, and a curated list of our top seven options.
Cheers to your liquor store’s more efficient and profitable future!
How To Shop for a Liquor Store POS System
Owning a liquor store comes with a unique set of challenges.
Along with the standard demands of small business ownership like customer service and marketing, you have to juggle hundreds (if not thousands) of bottles with different SKUs, abide by complex legal requirements, and prevent underage sales at all costs.
That’s why you can’t rely on just any POS system to meet your needs; you need one designed with the liquor industry in mind.
Here’s what to look for:
- Inventory management with advanced features like case breaking, purchase order automation, and real-time stock monitoring
- Speedy, secure checkout features like integrated payment processing and built-in age verification
- Advanced reporting and analytics to help you understand customers’ preferences and shopping habits
- Marketing features like customer loyalty, liquor promotions, integrations to help you make more sales
While a comprehensive suite of features is essential for the right liquor store POS system, it’s not the only factor in your decision.
Your POS provider will play a crucial role in your liquor store’s success, helping you learn about your new POS system, resolve technical issues when they arise, and make the most of its features.
We recommend choosing a provider that offers 24/7 support at no additional cost during onboarding and beyond. Whether you’re brand-new to small business ownership or a liquor industry veteran, you’ll benefit from constant access to experts dedicated to your store’s success.
The 5 Best Liquor Store POS Systems
We know how intimidating it can be to dive headfirst into the world of POS providers, so we’ve done the hard work for you.
Keep reading to explore our handpicked list of the best liquor store POS systems and their most impressive features.
1. Square
Square is one of the most popular POS choices for retailers in all industries — and it’s easy to see why.
This provider’s sleek hardware and user-friendly interface make it a great option for new business owners looking for the basics. It’s easy to learn and use, and can help you handle everyday tasks like processing payments and monitoring inventory levels.
Here are a few of our favorite things about Square:
- Simplicity: Square is a no-frills solution that you and your team members can quickly get familiar with.
- Affordability: Square is one of the most affordable all-in-one POS solutions on our list.
- Mobility: Square offers convenient mobile options to help you count inventory and process transactions from the sales floor.
Since they don’t offer advanced, liquor-specific features, Square might not be the best fit for growth-focused liquor industry veterans looking to grow their businesses.
Square’s standard plan costs $29/month, but they offer custom options for larger businesses that need advanced features.
2. Retail Pro
Looking for something more powerful than Square? Retail Pro might be a good fit.
Retail Pro is a highly customizable POS system designed to help you run your store more efficiently and profitably, whether you sell online or in-store.
Here’s what we like about Retail Pro:
- Customization options: Retail Pro is a great option if you want complete control over your POS system’s interface and settings.
- Device flexibility: Retail Pro’s software works on various devices, including iOS and Android mobile devices and computers.
- Omnichannel selling: Retail Pro can help you manage online and in-store sales.
Retail Pro will work best for tech-savvy liquor store owners, but it doesn’t seem to be the most user-friendly.
Retail Pro has a user-based pricing system, which means you’ll pay a fee for each employee who accesses the system. You can expect to pay $119/month for an initial user, than $99/month for subsequent employees.
3. POS Nation
Next on our list of the best liquor store POS systems is POS Nation.
This trusted provider offers all-in-one POS solutions to small business owners in the liquor, grocery, and tobacco industries.
Here’s why we included POS Nation:
- Industry-leading support: POS Nation offers free, 24/7 customer support from liquor store experts.
- Flexible pricing options: POS Nation offers software subscriptions and payment processing plans to meet all types of budgets.
- Comprehensive features: POS Nation’s software includes liquor-specific features like built-in age verification and case breaking.
We recommend POS Nation if you’re looking for a system that offers robust features while still being user-friendly.
POS Nation offers custom pricing plans to meet retailers’ unique needs and budgets. You can get an instant quote using their pricing tool.
4. mPower POS
mPower POS is a provider that caters to liquor, beer, and wine shops.
With mPower POS, you can make sales, track your store’s inventory, analyze customers’ purchase history, and more.
Here are a few more of mPower POS’ top features:
- Multi-location management: mPower POS offers centralized reporting, pricing, and promotions to make managing multiple stores easy.
- Flexible integrations: You can extend mPower POS’ functionality through e-commerce, accounting, and other integrations.
- 24/7 support: mPower POS’ support team is always available over the phone or by email.
If you’re looking for a fully-featured POS solution to run your chain of liquor stores, mPower POS might be the right fit.
mPower POS costs $1000 upfront, then $120/month for one register. After that, you can add additional registers for a discounted price.
5. Lightspeed
Lightspeed is a reliable POS provider that caters to retailers, restaurants, and golf courses.
While Lightspeed offers all the standard features you need to run a brick and mortar liquor store, their main strength is e-commerce.
Let’s take a closer look at Lightspeed’s offerings:
- Cloud-based: You can access Lightspeed’s software and manage your store from anywhere, anytime.
- E-commerce options: Lightspeed includes a website builder and online order management system to help you take advantage of the liquor e-commerce boom.
- Open API: Lightspeed is highly customizable and easily integrates with other accounting, marketing, and e-commerce tools.
- If you’re hoping to capitalize on the growing liquor e-commerce trend, Lightspeed is definitely worth checking out.
Lightspeed is one of the most expensive options on our list, with prices ranging from $109 to $339/month. However, you can get a slight discount by investing in an annual plan instead of paying month-to-month.
6. KORONA POS
KORONA POS is a POS provider catering to retailers and quick-service restaurants. They promise a complete solution to help small business owners manage their day-to-day operations and grow.
Here are our favorite things about KORONA POS:
- ID scanning: KORONA POS speeds up the liquor checkout process by letting you scan customers’ IDs to verify age.
- Promotion options: You can offer various sales-boosting promotions through KORONA POS, including coupons and bundle deals.
- Customer relationship management (CRM): KORONA POS tracks customers’ purchase history, manages their purchase history and contact information, and lets you send personalized offers through email and SMS.
With its unique selection of marketing tools, KORONA POS could be the right fit if your main goal is to attract and retain customers.
KORONA POS’ pricing options start at $59/month.
7. Bottle POS
Bottle POS is our top pick as the best all-around POS system for liquor stores.
Designed by and for liquor store owners just like you, our software has everything you need to simplify your operations and make more sales — including speedy age verification, case-bottle inventory tracking, a built-in customer loyalty program, and more.
Here’s what else we have to offer:
- Time-saving automation: Our software makes tasks like tracking inventory and creating purchase orders effortless.
- Flexible pricing: Use our build and price tool to get an instant quote tailored to your liquor store’s needs.
- 24/7 expert support: Get in touch with our liquor industry experts during the onboarding process and beyond to help you solve problems and make the most of your new POS system.
Whether you’re planning your grand opening or you’ve been in business for years, Bottle POS can help you accomplish your liquor store goals.
You can explore our range of affordable pricing options here.
Get Started With the Best Liquor Store POS System
Investing in a liquor store POS system doesn’t have to be a tough decision. All you need is a provider that offers reliable hardware, liquor-specific software, flexible pricing, and 24/7 support.
Searching for a solution that checks the right boxes? Look no further than Bottle POS!
Our powerful software makes keeping your shelves perfectly stocked, customers happy, and profits high a breeze. Plus, our expert team will support you throughout your liquor store journey — whether you’re planning your grand opening or your store’s 10th anniversary celebration.
See Bottle POS in action by scheduling your personalized demo today.
