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QuickBooks is the overwhelming favorite small business accounting software in the U.S. While QuickBooks helps with seamless accounting and reporting, if your company uses a point-of-sale (POS) system, QuickBooks POS integration will save you time and money while seamlessly syncing your sales data.

Here's an overview of POS systems and a look at how the best POS systems stack up when it comes to QuickBooks POS integration.

Did you know? How your POS system integrates depends on the version of QuickBooks you use – QuickBooks Online or QuickBooks Desktop.

A POS system is a combination of hardware and software that helps you sell and manage your goods and services. In its most basic form, a POS system is an interface a cashier uses at checkout to ring up purchases. 

However, most modern POS software includes sophisticated features to help with inventory management and replenishment, employee scheduling and permissions, bundling and discounting and customer management. 

While you can obtain a general-purpose POS system, you can also set up a POS system that's tailored for your industry with unique functionality to help you manage your business and improve its efficiency.

A typical POS hardware setup has the following components.

Retailers and restaurant businesses have very different needs when it comes to POS systems, so there are specialized POS systems for each industry. 

Here are the standard features of retail POS systems:

These are the standard features of restaurant POS systems:

FYI: Restaurants benefit from mobile POS systems because they are easy to use, allow for quick checkout, and enhance customer service.

Although most POS systems are sold through payment processors, there are also third-party POS systems. If you have an existing payment processor, you may be limited to its POS system, but you can always ask about compatible third-party POS systems if you're not satisfied with the in-house system's features. 

For startups, choosing a credit card processing partner is a critical decision. You'll need to factor in POS hardware and software, and payment processing rates, fees, and services. 

Since most POS systems are compatible with QuickBooks, you'll have plenty of choices. Depending on your company's size, industry, and operations, some systems may better suit your needs. 

The following POS offerings are general-use systems that work well for businesses with relatively straightforward operations. 

The Square POS system is an excellent choice for small businesses. Here are some of its key features: 

Square is a payment processor, so to use the Square POS, you must also use its payment processing services. Square charges 2.6% plus 10 cents per transaction, and there's no monthly fee. Additionally, new merchants can receive a free mobile credit card reader. 

Square's POS hardware includes the Square Terminal for $299 and the Square Register for $799. After the free 15-day trial, you'll pay $10 per month for each location using Square POS with QuickBooks Online, and $19 per month for each location using QuickBooks Desktop. Full support is available by email or chat.

Here is a breakdown of Square's POS integration with both QuickBooks Online and Desktop:

If you're using QuickBooks Online, you'll use the free Sync with Square app to connect your Square data to QuickBooks. The app will then have the ability to complete these tasks: 

Within your QuickBooks Online account, select My Apps to manage your app settings.

If you're using QuickBooks Desktop, you'll download the Commerce Sync app to connect your Square account with your QuickBooks software on your computer. 

Tip: Read our in-depth Square review to learn more about Square's payment processing and POS system features.

For completely seamless integration, you can use the QuickBooks POS system. There's nothing special you need to download or do, since no integration is needed.

Payment processing rates are 2.7% with no monthly fee, or 2.3% plus 25 cents per transaction with a $20 per month fee. Hardware is available from third-party vendors.

There are three tiers available – QuickBooks POS Basic, POS Pro and POS Multi-Store. 

Did you know? QuickBooks POS is one of the few systems that does not charge additional monthly fees to integrate with QuickBooks. If its basic functionality works for your business, it's a good choice for startups.

Clover is another payment processor that provides its own POS system. Clover's POS system is a robust customer management module with these highlights:

Clover has proprietary POS hardware that the company sells individually or in bundles. Its Mini system costs $749. The Station Solo – which includes a full-size tablet, tablet stand, cash drawer, credit card reader and receipt printer – sells for $1,349. 

The POS software costs $14 per month for Register Lite, and a payment processing fee of 2.7% plus 10 cents per transaction. The higher tier – Register – is $29 per month with payment processing at 2.3% plus 10 cents per transaction.

To integrate QuickBooks with Clover, you'll need to sign up for an Essential or Expert plan with the Commerce Sync tool. Here are the steps you'll need to follow: 

The software will now run through several steps. Once they all have a green checkmark, your first data transfer will happen the following day and then daily after that.

Tip: For more information, read our full review of the Clover POS system.

Restaurant POS systems that integrate with QuickBooks include Toast, Lightspeed Restaurant and TouchBistro.

Because Toast is the most popular, we'll take a more in-depth look at this one. 

Toast is one of the most comprehensive restaurant POS systems on the market. Here are some of its notable abilities: 

The cost for the software is $79 per month for one terminal and $50 per month for each additional terminal. Toast sells its own proprietary POS hardware, including $450 for a handheld tablet and up to $1,350 for a countertop terminal. Furthermore, you can buy kitchen display, user-facing and kiosk devices separately. 

Toast does not publish its payment processing fees because it creates a custom rate for each business. The company handles QuickBooks integration through a service called xtraCHEF by Toast. This software will sync your Toast data with QuickBooks, but you'll need to sign up for a premium membership with xtraCHEF. 

Tip: For more information, read our in-depth Toast review.

As with restaurant POS systems, retailers have several choices, including Lightspeed Retail POS, Square Retail, Revel and Vend.

We'll take a deeper look at Lightspeed Retail POS. (For even more information, read our complete Lightspeed review.)

Lightspeed Retail has plenty of features that support both in-store and online sales. These are some of its notable attributes:  

Lightspeed offers three cost tiers: $69 per month for the Lean program, $119 per month for Standard and $199 for Advanced. These costs include one register, while additional registers are $29 per month. 

Payment processing is 2.6% plus 10 cents per transaction. Lightspeed also has various hardware options; however, you'll need to fill out a form and talk to a salesperson for further pricing information.

Lightspeed comes with a module called Lightspeed Accounting. To integrate Lightspeed Accounting with QuickBooks, follow these steps: 

To keep QuickBooks up to date with your future sales and other information, follow these steps: