The Top Open Source POS providers

1. OPENSOURCEPOSopen source pos

Open Source POS (Point of Sale) is a web based point of sale system written in the PHP language. It uses MySQL as the data storage back-end and has a simple user interface.  This software is available for download for free. And you or a programmer can modify the software to tailor the software directly to your needs. It has customer tracking, supplier tracking, employee permissions / tracking, and all the basic functionality that you need in a POS system.  The software can be run locally or on a server with many clients.  Additional features such as gift cards, special pricing are added bonuses to this versatile / inexpensive point of sale solution.  This free, open source POS does have negative reviews regarding support.  But honestly, if you are a free point of sale software, you wouldn’t expect support to help you at the drop of a hat.  I still recommend this option for those who understand technology enough to take the reigns a little bit.   If you are a small retail store, this software will do everything you need.

2. LEMONPOS

Lemon is an open source POS software that is tailored to small-medium sized businesses.  It uses a MySQL database and has multiple terminal capability.  This open source POS has a ton of inventory control, reporting, and item catagorizing functionality. Reporting includes transactional break-down, low inventory report, cash-flow analysis. Reports have advanced filtering that allows managers or supervisors to customize their reports to view almost anything that they want. The one negative about Lemon is that there wasn’t a long list of acceptable hardware for the system, which makes me nervous about hardware compatibility. The list also looked like it hadn’t been updated in a long time. Here is a video that shows the installation of Lemon POS.  Lemon has a bunch of other videos on youtube that show adding menu, discounts, etc, so check those out of you’d like to investigate them further.

3. UNICENTA OPOS

UniCenta oPOS is a completely free open source POS. There are no annual license or maintenance fees.  It is available for Windows, Linux, and Mac OSX and it is quite easy to install and manage.  There is a ton of flexibility when it comes to choosing your databases, printers, peripherals,  etc.  Database choices include Apache Derby (embedded or client / server), HSQLDB, MySQL, Oracle, and PostgreSQL.  The system has capability of multiple printers per terminal, kitchen displays, and both local and network printing. It is also configurable with mag’ card readers, barcode scanners, weighing scales, and cash drawers.  It is suitable in many different types of businesses ranging from retail to bars, to restaurants and cafes. Here is a great article that was written about uniCenta. Below is a pretty thorough tutorial on the uniCenta installation.

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4. FLOREANT

Floreant POS is a platform independent, open source POS application that benefits restaurants by simplifying order management, automation of kitchen and control of cash.  If you are looking for a restaurant point of sale system, Floreant is a great open source choice.  It can handle complex food items and item modifications, dine in or carry out options, and multiple printer options (kitchen, receipt, etc).  The touch screen interface is intuitive and quite responsive (great for fast pace environments).  The back office is robust and works in real time so menu changes, sales reports, price alterations all happen immediately.

open source pos

5. UBER POS

UberPOS is an open source POS system that is built on top of the Drupal Content Management System.  It is a basic point of sale system that will definitely do the trick if you are a smaller retail business.  It has the capability to quickly add/remove products with scanner, accept multiple tender types, customize receipts, set membership discounts, and more.

6. SQUIRREL

Squirrel POS solutions are built on an open technology platform, which gives you a ton of add-on modules, hardware options and much more.  Its build on a native Microsoft SQL platform which allows it to easily integrate with many third party products. This is extremely helpful when attempting to automate and streamline time consuming parts of your business.  If you are looking for complete control of your data, Squirrel POS’s open source product gives you access to data and the ability to manipulate it for reports and ongoing maintenance.  As far as point of sale features, Squirrel is loaded.  Table service can accommodate casual dining, family dining, and even pubs. The efficient order taking and menu item selection is perfect for fast-pace night clubs, bars, and fast dining establishments. We did a detailed review of Squirrel POS HERE.

7. CYBERMATRIX POINT OF SALE

CyberMatrix is an open source pos product that focuses on Retail businesses. It has excellent inventory management, employee management, customer management, accounting features, and reporting. It will run on any ordinary windows PC.  This is something you might want to check out if you are thinking of using any tablets, or mobile ordering.  I do not think this software has the capability to utilize these yet.  But if you are managing a retail store and need a server based application to run a few stations (or a few stores), this software will suite you.  You can get more information here.

The sound quality of this video isn’t the best, but it is a pretty good demo.
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8. JRESTAURANT

jRestaurant is an open source POS system that focuses on retail businesses.  It has a ton of integrated eCommerce features, in addition to awesome inventory, employee, and customer management features. It has all main features required for restaurants; order taking, table reservations, banqueting & outside catering, kitchen screen ordering, and wireless order taking.  It also has features that are great for fast food type businesses; home delivery, pizzeria, cafeteria, clubs.  jRestaurant even has modules to support the needs of Hotels; built-in hotel reservation, guest card printing, room/guest billing.  Menu items can be sorted into categories and sub-categories, which is extremely helpful to businesses with large menus.  The quality of this video is not very good, but the content is pretty helpful.