QuickBooks is a popular accounting software used not only to manage personal but also business finances. It works with most point-of-sale (POS) software and lets you automatically keep track of transaction details; account for tips, discounts, refunds, and taxes; and assist with POS reconciliation.
Until October of last year, QuickBooks also had its own POS. If you are seeking a replacement POS software or recently decided to use QuickBooks for business accounting, here are the best POS systems that integrate with QuickBooks:
- Square: Best overall multipurpose POS system
- Shopify POS: Best for online selling
- Lightspeed: Best for strong inventory management
- Toast: Best for full-service restaurants
- KORONA POS: Best for high-risk retailers
- Odoo: Best for businesses with complex operational needs
- Loyverse: Best for quick-service restaurants
Best POS Systems With QuickBooks Integration Compared
This article will focus on POS systems that integrate with QuickBooks. For more detailed information about QuickBooks itself (including plans, features, and pricing), see our in-depth reviews and guides:
- Free QuickBooks Online Tutorials
- QuickBooks Online Review
- QuickBooks Online Plans Comparison
Why You Can Trust Us
I applied my 6-plus years of experience evaluating POS systems with my background in finance, POS, and payment technology to these recommendations, prioritizing functionality, affordability, and ease of use.
For this editorially-independent evaluation, my recommendations build on those of David Rivera, who has previously authored this guide. See my full methodology below.
- 6+ years evaluating POS systems
- Evaluated 28 POS systems for small businesses
- Regular updates and fact-checking
Anna Lynn Dizon
Retail Staff Writer at FitSmallBusiness
Square: Best Overall Multipurpose POS System
Pros
- Flexible, multipurpose POS
- Native online store builder
- Free plan available
- Free hardware included (card reader)
Cons
- Limited or inconsistent support
- Does not process age-restricted products online
- Inventory management is not matrix or ingredient-level
- Limited customization options
Square POS Review
Overview
Who should use it:
Small businesses and startups that require basic POS features. Paid plans provide industry-specific versions for retailers, restaurants, and appointment-based businesses.
Why we like it:
Square’s free baseline plan will get you basic reporting and inventory management, ecommerce capability, and order management and fulfillment. Affordable upgrades will unlock more advanced POS features.
When integrating with QuickBooks, your sales transactions and item details will be captured in a sales receipt. This helps you easily account not only for transactions, but also tips, discounts, refunds, additional fees, and even taxes. You can also review transactions before they are logged, and undo them beforehand if necessary. This also speeds up your POS reconciliation.
User reviews:
Third-party review sites give Square POS an average score of 4.65 out of 5 from thousands of real-life users.
Square POS Review
POS subscription:
- Basic POS: $0
- Paid plans: per month, per location
- Retail: $89
- Restaurants: $60/$192
- Appointments: $29/$69
Payment processing:
- In-person: 2.6% + 10 cents per transaction
- Online: 2.9% + 30 cents per transaction
- Invoices: 3.3% + 30 cents per transaction
- Keyed-in payments: 3.5% + 15 cents per transaction
Hardware:
- Mobile card readers: $0-$59
- Terminals: $149-$799 (financing available)
You’ll need to follow specific procedures depending on whether you’re integrating QuickBooks via the Connect to Square app or the Commerce Sync app, which transfers sales activity processed by your Square POS into QuickBooks.
Note that the QuickBooks Desktop integration currently does not work with Square’s multiple location feature.
Square is a free, multipurpose, and easy-to-use POS system; in fact, it is our most highly recommended system overall. Read our guide to Square to learn more.
Shopify POS: Best for Online Selling
Pros
- Best-in-class ecommerce platform
- Great for businesses needing a multichannel POS or online store
- Customizable mobile checkout
- Well-suited to social media selling
Cons
- Selling at storefront requires higher POS plan
- Not suitable for brick-and-mortar-only businesses
- Offline mode has limited functionality
- Limited inventory features in the free plan
Shopify POS Review
Overview
Who should use it:
Multichannel sellers, primarily ecommerce businesses expanding to in-person sales.
Why we like it:
Shopify POS is generally easy to use, has a streamlined and customizable checkout process, and, of course, offers outstanding ecommerce and online ordering capabilities. Shopify POS has a three-day free trial available, so you can try all these features yourself.
Intuit recommends Shopify POS as an alternative so if you are transitioning from QuickBooks POS to Shopify POS, you may be eligible for an exclusive discount. Contact QuickBooks to know more.
Integrating with QuickBooks will let you track payments, refunds, fees, and split receipts if necessary. You can categorize payments to simplify accounting, determine top-performing revenue channels, and get a better idea of your profits and losses at a glance.
User reviews:
Real-life users gave Shopify POS an average score of 4.5 out of 5 from around 500 reviews.
Shopify POS Review
POS subscription:
- Basic POS: $0 (with ecommerce subscription)
- Paid plans: $89 per month, per location (Pro)
Payment processing:
- In-person: 2.4-2.7% per transaction
- Online: 2.4% + 30 cents to 2.9% + 30 cents per transaction
Hardware:
- Mobile card readers: $49
- Terminals: $299-$459
If you’re using QuickBooks Desktop, you can integrate this with your Shopify POS. Briefly, the steps to do this include:
- Setting up your tax preferences
- Generating an app token
- Mapping data fields and selecting a data-sharing method
For a more detailed guide, review the step-by-step instructions from Shopify.
If you plan to run an online business or expand your physical store channels, Shopify is your best bet for a POS system. It consistently makes our lists of best retail POS systems and top-recommended POS systems.
Lightspeed: Best for Strong Inventory Management
Pros
- Granular matrix inventory management
- Comprehensive reporting tools (pre-set and customizable)
- Ecommerce tools available
- Choice of native or third-party payment processors
Cons
- Higher monthly fees when using third-party payment processors
- Limited shipping integrations
- Pricey for very small/new businesses
Lightspeed Retail Review
Overview
Who should use it:
Niche businesses and those that require complex inventory management.
Why we like it:
While Lightspeed has many great features, its main strength is its granular inventory management system. This allows for purchase ordering, low-stock alerts, work order management, multilocation syncing, and more.
Lightspeed’s QuickBooks integration automates data entry, saving you time and reducing the chance of input errors. You can stay on top of daily POS reconciliation, invoices, customer and vendor details, tips, and tax tracking. You can also determine the sales volume and costs of each product you offer, letting you know which items are performing well.
User reviews:
Lightspeed POS users gave the system an average score of 4.05 out of 5 based on third-party review sites
Lightspeed Retail Review
POS subscription:
- Retail paid plans: $89-$239 per month (annual) or $109-$289 per month (monthly)
- Restaurant paid plans: $69-$399 per month
Payment processing:
- In-person: 2.6%+ 10 cents per transaction
- Keyed-in: 2.6% + 30 cents per transaction
Hardware:
- Mobile card readers: $49
- Terminals: $199-$399
Lightspeed Retail
To integrate Lightspeed Retail (X-Series) with QuickBooks online, you’ll need to go into the Lightspeed POS back-office and ensure you have the proper permissions. You’ll then either sign up for a QuickBooks account or link an existing account to the POS. Then, use the POS integrations menu to connect to QuickBooks.
Note that with Lightspeed Retail, you will have to manually export data to QuickBooks unless you upgrade to the Accounting add-on.
A comprehensive settings and register guide is available from Lightspeed.
Lightspeed for Restaurants
You will need to get the Lightspeed Accounting add-on to integrate Lightspeed Restaurants with QuickBooks. See Lightspeed’s quick guide to integrating QuickBooks for Lightspeed for Restaurants. Lightspeed also has a guide for setting up QuickBooks Desktop with Lightspeed Accounting.
Lightspeed offers exceptional inventory functionality and tops our list of leading POS inventory management systems.
Toast: Best for Full-Service Restaurants
Pros
- Free plan available
- Pay-as-you-go options for hardware kits (with higher processing fees)
- Restaurant-specific software and hardware
- Insightful payroll and HR tools
Cons
- 2-year contract required
- Locked into default payment processor
- Required hardware purchases
Toast POS Review
Overview
Who should use it:
Full-service restaurants and food trucks.
Why we like it:
Toast is the premier POS system for restaurants with pay-as-you-go options for hardware kits allowing you to start operating your restaurant with all the hardware you need, without worrying about upfront costs. You could hardly ask for a better POS system if you’re running a restaurant of any size. It comes with an optional xtraCHEF subscription that gives you additional features like invoice automation and costing.
xtraCHEF is also what you’ll use to integrate with Quickbooks. This integration will help you manage your restaurant costs as well as see profits and losses. Cost of goods, sales taxes, and other incoming and outgoing funds become easier to track. This is especially important in a restaurant, as there is usually a lot of complex inventory, dishes, and ingredients to keep track of, not to mention tips.
User reviews:
Toast earned an average score of 4.2 out of 5 from around 700 real-life user reviews from third-party sites.
Toast POS Review
All-in-one POS subscription:
- Quick-start bundle: From $0 per month
- Core: From $69 per month
- Growth: From $165 per month
- Build Your Own: Custom pricing (suggested for multilocation restaurants wanting high customizability)
Payment processing:
- Quick-start bundle: 2.99% plus 15 cents
- Core: 2.49% plus 15 cents
- Growth: Custom quoted
- Build Your Own: Custom-quoted
Hardware:
- Quick-start bundle: $0
- Upfront: $627 + $60 per month—$1,234 + $99 per month
Integrating Toast with QuickBooks involves several steps, including setting up your restaurant’s chart of accounts and updating general ledger codes and vendor lists.
Toast provides a guide with more information, as well as some benefits of integrating with QuickBooks.
Toast is our top-ranking restaurant POS system boasting industry-specific features, customizable reporting and marketing tools, and industry-grade hardware.
KORONA POS: Best for High-risk Retailers
Pros
- Strong inventory tools including case-break functions and stock alerts
- Choice of payment processor
- Built-in settings for managing age-restricted products
Cons
- Limited ecommerce integrations
- Not the best fit for full-service restaurants
- No native subscription management tools
KORONA POS Review
Overview
Who should use it:
Businesses selling age-restricted/high-risk products.
Why we like it:
KORONA POS comes with built-in age-verification features that prompt you to check your customers’ age before allowing the sale of restricted products. The POS has a customizable dashboard, tax categorization tools, and a native loyalty program.
Integration with QuickBooks lets you import all sales data, commodity categories, taxes and payments, discounts, and the value of your inventory items. Syncing end-of-day statements is also automated, taking one daily task off your mind and reducing errors in your accounting and reconciliation.
User reviews:
Nearly 100 real-life users gave KORONA POS an average score of 4.75 out of 5 on third-party review sites.
KORONA POS Review
POS Subscription:
- Core: $59 per month
- Retail: $69 per month
Payment processing:
- Depends on merchant’s payment processor
Hardware:
- Contact KORONA for pricing
You’ll need an existing QuickBooks Online account to integrate with KORONA POS; you can make the connection quickly from your POS dashboard. You’ll need to choose your organizational units, view and set up end-of-day statements and other reports, and sync inventory and stock receipts.
KORONA has provided a detailed integration guide for QuickBooks.
KORONA POS is tailor-made for high-risk retailers, such as those selling liquor or vape products. More of KORONA POS in our guides to best POS systems for liquor stores, convenient stores, and vape shops.
Odoo: Best for Businesses with Complex Operational Needs
Pros
- Free POS includes invoice and inventory functions
- Many downloadable apps for sales, CRM, accounting, marketing, and more
- Many payment providers available (Authorize.net, PayPal, Stripe, etc.)
Cons
- Paid Odoo integrations/apps—costs can add up fast when buying modules
- Implementation and customization are unintuitive
- No free ecommerce functions
Odoo Review
Overview
Who should use it:
Growing businesses with complex operations such as manufacturers, warehousing, distribution, and more.
Why we like it:
The core Odoo POS is quite bare-bones (only including invoice and inventory functions), but you can choose from a large array of available add-on apps for CRM, marketing, HR, and more. You’ll also be able to choose from several payment providers, including major names such as PayPal. When you use Odoo, the name of the game is customization.
This POS integration with QuickBooks can entirely automate your accounting processes such as the creation of sales orders and invoicing. You can view a wealth of data, including information about orders, customers, vendors, inventory, taxes, and more. What’s more, all recorded transactions will be synchronized across all your business’ sales channels.
User reviews:
Odoo received an average score of 4.2 out of 5 from real-life users on third-party review sites
Odoo Review
POS Subscription:
- Free plan available (for one app only)
- Standard
- Monthly: $31.10 per user, per month
- Annual: $24.90 per user, per month
- Custom
- Monthly: $46.80 per user, per month
- Annual: $37.40 per user, per month
Payment processing:
- Depends on merchant’s preferred payment processor
Hardware:
- Visit Odoo for recommended partners and pricing
When buying additional apps for sales, marketing, and the like, you can choose to pay for these individually. This is where things can get expensive if you start adding lots of extra features; Odoo has listed pricing details for POS apps.
It is possible to integrate the latest version of Odoo with Quickbooks, but because Odoo is open-source, the process isn’t as straightforward as other POS systems on this list.
You will need to integrate using a QuickBooks connector app; these are developed by third parties, each with their own procedures, user guides, and pricing (which can exceed $200). Here are two examples:
Odoo is the top-ranking system on our list of best open-source POS software.
Loyverse: Best for Quick-Service Restaurants
Pros
- Forever-free POS system
- Advanced inventory features
- Loyalty tools included in baseline POS
- Integrates with a number of payment processors
Cons
- Lacks features for full-service restaurants
- Lacks native ecommerce tools
- Limited feature upgrades
- No phone support option
Loyverse Review
Overview
Who should use it:
Quick-service restaurants and small food-based retailers looking for a free POS.
Why we like it:
Loyverse is a free POS with industry-specific features for restaurants such as kitchen and customer display systems, inventory, and analytics. Loyverse also comes with free loyalty management features you won’t find in most popular POS systems like Square.
When integrated with QuickBooks, your sales data gets automatically summarized by sales account or product category. You can also share any sales invoice and receipts created or updated and map tax codes without having to log into a separate system.
User reviews:
Loyverse earned an average score of 4.75 out of 5 from around 500 real-life user reviews on third-party sites.
Loyverse Review
POS Subscription:
- Basic POS: Free
- Add-on features: $5-$25 per month (with a 14-day free trial)
Payment processing:
- Integrated with SumUp, Zettle, and Worldpay
Hardware:
- Visit Loyverse for partner brands and pricing
Loyverse integrates with QuickBooks Online. If you already have a QuickBooks account, all you need to do is go to the Apps section, search for Loyverse, and select Connect. You will be prompted to log in to your Loyverse account to complete the integration.
Loyverse is among our recommended, most cost-effective free POS systems and iPad POS systems.
How to Choose the Best POS Systems That Integrate with QuickBooks
While QuickBooks integrates with a number of POS software, not all options available can work with all business types. It’s important to consider the nature of your business, the ease of integration and use, and the overall cost-effectiveness of the system.
Step 1: Research POS Systems That Match Your Business
It goes without saying that you will need to look for POS systems that work with your business type and size. Narrow your list with POS systems that offer specific features that your business needs such as the level of inventory management, sales channels, and payment processing options.
A quick check on the provider websites will also let you know if the POS can integrate with QuickBooks.
Step 2: Compare Integration Types
Some integration methods are easier and/or more affordable than others. As with choosing a POS system base, you need to know what type of integration is provided. Ideally, you want a pre-built or direct QuickBooks integration as this is the easiest and fastest method.
A pre-built/direct QuickBooks integration can likely offer a two-way sync, which simply means any update you make on QuickBooks will be reflected in the POS system and vice versa. However, some POS systems charge extra for a two-way integration, while a one-way sync (which we discuss below) is usually free.
The other method is by using a connector app. This can be a simple app that does not do anything else, or a payment gateway. More often, this type of integration only offers a one-way sync, meaning only the POS system can automatically send business data to QuickBooks on a frequency you set.
Most connector apps are free but some may charge a monthly fee, especially if it supports two-way sync. If you are using a third-party payment gateway, chances are you may be already paying for a QuickBooks integration included in the monthly fee.
Lastly, you have the manual push vs the automatic sync integrations. Ideally, you should look for a QuickBooks integration that automates the data syncing process instead of having to remember to upload your sales data to QuickBooks at the end of the day.
Step 3: Compare Costs
Cost should also be a major consideration. Once you have a list of compatible POS software, compare monthly and add-on fees. Ideally, you should try to get as many features out of a low (or even free) monthly fee. However, you should also look into the cost of growing your business with available paid POS plans, add-on tools, and hardware. It’s also important to find out if there’s a fee for integrating QuickBooks.
Step 4: Check for User Feedback
Research popular third-party review sites to get an idea of what real-life users think of your shortlisted POS systems. Consider not only the score but also the number of reviews it received, which can be telling of the system’s popularity. Lastly, visit QuickBooks Apps and check out user reviews that specifically give feedback on their experience integrating QuickBooks with the POS system.
How We Evaluated the Best POS Systems that Integrate with QuickBooks
When considering which point-of-sale systems are compatible with QuickBooks for this list, our primary goal was to present options suitable for a variety of business types.
We looked for POS systems that business owners could use for retail, restaurants, and service or appointment-based business models; as well as specific features such as tools for restricted industries, inventory management, online selling, and payment processing flexibility.
We also compared each system’s basic POS functionality such as speed and convenience of checkout, reporting, CRM, and multilocation management, as well as overall cost-effectiveness and ease of use. Finally, we looked into real-life user reviews of each POS system and their experience integrating the software with QuickBooks.
Almost all the systems here are also on our list of the best overall POS systems for small businesses.
Click through the tabs below to see the full evaluation criteria:
- Breakdown
- Pricing
- Register features
- Management tools
- Ease of use
- Expert score
30%
Pricing
20%
Register features
15%
Management tools
15%
Ease of use
20%
Expert score
30% of Overall Score
We prioritized POS systems that include a free plan or free trial, affordable subscriptions, and additional plans so that you won’t grow out of the system. We also awarded points to systems with affordable integrated payment processing, flexible hardware options, and no restrictions on the number of users, inventory, and transactions. Finally, we penalized systems that require long-term contracts and hefty installation fees.
20% of Overall Score
Businesses need speedy and customizable checkout tools, easy customer management, mobility to sell anywhere, a process to track orders, and a way to process online orders. Because the way businesses operate has changed so much in recent years, we also considered contactless payments, integrated online ordering, and online store features.
15% of Overall Score
The most important feature we considered was inventory tracking. We also considered how sophisticated and user-friendly the reporting dashboard of each system is and what marketing and employee management tools are available.
15% of Overall Score
We prioritized POS systems with 24/7 phone support. We also considered help tickets and email or chat support, installation processes, and whether the system has an offline mode or hybrid installation so that you can continue operations when you lose internet access. Finally, we considered if the system has an online knowledge base, training videos, or a training mode to help bring new employees up to speed.
20% of Overall Score
We considered the overall quality of each system’s features, along with system stability, and security. We evaluated whether it offers a good value for its price point and standout features. Finally, we accounted for our experts’ personal experience using each system and interacting with customer service representatives (CSRs), its reviews, and the personal experience of other small business owners.
*Percentages of overall score
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
These are some of the most common questions we get about POS systems that integrate with QuickBooks.
Most popular POS systems offer ready integration with QuickBooks, however, it’s important to be able to choose the right POS software that matches your business needs.
QuickBooks has its own payment system, QuickBooks Payments. And as with POS software, QuickBooks also works with most payment processing systems. This makes it easier to choose a POS to use and integrate with QuickBooks.
Yes, Square POS readily integrates with QuickBooks. Square is our top recommendation because of its affordability and available features for different industries.
Bottom Line
If you’re using QuickBooks for your business accounting and need a POS system that integrates with it, you have lots of options—there are choices available whether you’re running a retail shop, restaurant, service business, or online store. If you’re still undecided on which POS system to use, try Square; it has a free plan including an online store and card reader, and it works well for any business type.
