Best Cash Registers for Small Business 2023: Price and Feature Breakdown

We’ve tested numerous market-leading options and found that Square Register is the best cash register for small businesses in 2023. It accepts a wide variety of payment options, has an intuitive touchscreen interface and a customer-facing display, and helps users manage all aspects of their business, from staff performance to inventory. Toast’s Countertop Kit is another top cash register for small food businesses with excellent hospitality features and no start-up payments required.

Offering slick in-person customer experiences is more important than ever in 2023. But if you’re only looking for a way to process orders and take payments, Sam4s ER940 is the best traditional cash register for small business, while Sharp XEA207 is a great manual solution for retail businesses.

Scroll down to learn the differences between modern POS and traditional cash registers, to understand which may be a better fit for your business, and to find out which solutions performed the best in our research.

In this guide:

• Best Cash Registers for Small Business: Comparison Table
• Best POS Cash Registers
• Best Traditional Cash Registers
• Cash Registers vs POS Systems
• Our Research Methodology
• Verdict: Summary and Next Steps
• Cash Register FAQs

Best Cash Registers for Small Business Compared

In 2023, a good point of sale (POS) system is absolutely essential for managing your business’s operations. Aside from ringing up sales, they offer a wide range of capabilities for businesses — from in-store transactions to ecommerce sales and from marketing to analytics — and are the most valuable data sources for managers.

Here at Tech.co, our dedicated insights team has sunk hundreds of hours into researching the best POS systems for small businesses, so you can trust our impartial recommendations and find the system that will give you the best value for money.

After custom quotes? Use our quick and easy POS comparison questionnaire to cut through the noise and find the best deal for your store.

Best POS Cash Registers for Small Business

POS cash registers will let you do more than simply accept payments. You’ll be able to send email receipts, offer discounts and refunds, manage loyalty programs, and more.

Modern POS registers look nice, too. You’ll no longer have to besmirch your store or restaurant’s beautiful decor with a hunk of black plastic straight from the 1980s. Instead, you’ll be able to get slick, stylish hardware that gets the job done as well as catching the eye.

We list our favorite options below:

1. Square Register – Best all-round POS cash register
2. Clover Station Duo – Best POS cash register for food businesses
3. Vend Pro Hardware Kit – Best POS cash register for retail stores
4. EPOS Now POS System – Best POS register for easy setup
5. Toast Countertop Kit – Best Android-only POS cash register

1. Square Register

Best all-round POS system and cash register 
Price: $799

Square’s Register embodies everything that’s great about our favorite POS system. It has a slick iPad-esque design with a large touchscreen interface but a hefty adjustable mount reminiscent of Apple’s iMac desktop computers.

It even has an optional customer-facing card reader and display which attaches seamlessly to the back of the mount or can be placed further away on a tabletop — handy in these days of social distancing.

At $799, the Square Register isn’t the cheapest option on the list but we think its stylish design, combined with Square’s powerful software make it almost a no-brainer. If the near-$800 outlay seems a bit steep, you can get the Square Register from $39 per month for 24 months with Square’s financing service (subject to eligibility). That customer-facing display, meanwhile, costs just $12 extra.

Aside from the Register, Square will give you an almost unrivaled selection of features. You’ll be able to accept credit, debit, contactless, and chip payments as well as cash and gift cards. You can even create and send invoices from within Square’s software. Should your internet drop out, Square even has an offline mode so you’ll still be able to accept payments.

You can track sales performance by item or over a period of time. Customer purchase histories are also stored on the Register, allowing you to easily reward loyal patrons on the spot. Like Clover Station Duo, the hardware is available in different colors too, allowing you to easily match it to your interior style.

Like the sound of Square? Check out our full guide to its pricing structure, other hardware options, and extra features.

2. Clover Station Duo

Best POS cash register for food businesses

Price: From $1,799 + $49.95/month

Clover creates user-friendly hardware options for retail and hospitality businesses. While its starting price may seem steep, all of its cash registers come with in-built software packages which prevent businesses from having to purchase them separately.

Clover Station Duo includes a 14” merchant-facing POS, a 7” customer screen, a receipt printer, and a cash draw. Businesses can extend its user even further with the provider’s handheld POS device, Flex, but this comes at a premium.

Clover Station Duo is compatible with the provider’s retail and hospitality software plans: Register and Counter Service Restaurant. These plans offer many useful sector-specific features, from item variants, returns, and refunds to contactless dining options, takeout, and delivery tools. 

Clover Station Duo for retail and services, which grants users access to the provider’s Register software plan, costs $1,799 upfront plus an additional $49.95 per month, or just a monthly fee of $135. 

Conversely, Station Duo’s quick service dining package costs $1,799 up-front plus $54.95 per month, or a monthly fee of $140 per month. This cash register includes access to the provider Counter Service Restaurant package. 

Check out our Clover pricing guide for more information

3. Vend Pro Hardware Kit

Best POS cash register for retail stores
Price: $1,094

Vend is the best retail POS system on the market and its hardware options can go toe-to-toe with any rival. Vend works on a variety of devices ranging from iPads to iMacs and Windows PCs. However, its Pro Hardware Kit includes everything you need to get started including a brand new iPad to serve as your POS interface.

The Pro Hardware Kit includes:

• 10.2-inch iPad
• Heckler Design Windfall Landscape iPad Stand
• Epson TM-M30 Ethernet Receipt Printer
• Socket Mobile s700 Barcode Scanner
• APG Vasario 1616 Cash Drawer

This gives you all the tools your retail needs to get started quickly and easily. Spending more than $1,000 on a register might seem extortionate but, of course, you do get an iPad. Admittedly, Vend’s system isn’t quite as stylish as Square’s offering but, crucially, it has all the same functionality — and it’s certainly more appealing than traditional registers.

Aside from its high tech cash register system, Vend accepts all types of payments from cash to credit card. It also works with a range of payment processing companies including PayPal, Square, and Shopify.

What’s more, if you’re looking to kit out a range of stores with new cash registers, Vend has the features you need to centralize your operations. Your inventory, for example, is stored in one central catalog that syncs across all your sales channels — from ecommerce to in-store — and all your locations. This means that your operation will never be out of kilter.

Vend also throws in CRM tools with all of its plans, meaning that you can build customer profiles to reward repeat customers next time they’re checking out. Its more modular than Square’s register too, making it more equipt for businesses with unique hardware requirements.

4. EPOS Now Hospitality POS System

Best POS cash register for easy set up

Price: From $99

Epos Now’s Hospitality POS system is the perfect hardware bundle for restaurants, bars, cafes, and other hospitality businesses.

The bundle is centered around Epos Now’s proprietary Pro-C15W touchscreen terminal. It has a large, waterproof touchscreen that will help stop unwanted spillages causing a small disaster and it has a solid-state drive to bring super-speedy performance.

You get an 80mm Epos Now GX receipt printer and an all-metal cash drawer. Naturally, it also includes a license for Epos Now’s Hospitality software.

Epos Now also offers full installation, configuration, and training for you and your staff on how to use the system and software.

Beyond its impressive register, Epos Now’s software is one of our favorite choices for restaurant and hospitality businesses.

It has excellent employee management features, including employee permission rights and clock-in and clock-out functions. It also has detailed inventory and stock management features. You can bulk import products and split your inventory into different categories for easier management. You can also separate your inventory into eat-in and takeaway items.

Epos Now also offers more than 80 third-party integrations to help make your life easier including Xero accounting software, Nettl ecommerce, and Mailchimp for email marketing.

5. Toast Countertop Kit

Best Android-Only POS Cash Register

Price: No start-up costs required

If you’re looking for a durable, yet versatile Android cash register, look no further than Toast. Toast is a cloud-based restaurant POS provider that offers a wide array of hardware options.

Toast’s all-in-one countertop kit would be our top pick for small businesses. It features a point-of-sale terminal, access to Toast’s software plan, and Toast Tap, a device that takes payments via swipe, dip, and contractless. Cash draws are available separately, alongside a range of hardware accessories.

Since Toast was designed with restaurants in mind, its POS system is packed with sector-specific features that give managers a granular level of control over their operations including menu management, advanced inventory tools, and an impressive staff training mode.

Toast’s hardware and software packages are especially ideal for new businesses with little to no start-up costs. This is because the provider lets you get up and running for free – as long as you’re willing to pay slightly larger transaction fees.

If you choose this Pay-as-you-Go option, you can dodge upfront and monthly fees by paying 2.99% + 15¢ on each card transaction. Alternatively, Toast’s countertop kit costs $875 upfront or $69 per month and charges businesses smaller transaction fees of 2.49% 15¢.

Best Traditional Cash Registers for Small Businesses

Traditional cash registers have helped businesses ring through sales since the industrial era. While they’ve come a long way since then, they still offer businesses reliable ways to calculate and record sales.

If you’d prefer to keep things old school, here’s our list of the best traditional cash registers our there for small businesses.

1. Sam4s ER-940 –  Best traditional cash register for restaurants
2. Sharp XE-A207 – Best traditional cash register for stores
3. Casio PCR-T280 – Best Low-Cost Portable Cash Register
4. Casio SR-C4500 – Best cash register for small business
5. TFCFL 48 Keys – Best entry-level traditional cash register

1. Sam4s ER-940

Best traditional cash register for restaurants
Price: $589–$650

The ER-940 is purpose-built for restaurant businesses. It has a large, spill-proof 150-key keyboard. This means you can create almost limitless menu combinations.

What’s more, it can support up to 20,000 product lookup codes. The ER-940 can also export sales and product reports to your computer for analysis.

However, it is relatively expensive — especially compared to rival machines from POS software suppliers.

2. Sharp XE-A207

Best traditional cash register for retail stores
Price: From $349

The Sharp XE-A207 has excellent credit card reader support — essential for quick-service businesses.

You can add up to 25 clerks and store 2,500 product lookup codes. It also links with QuickBooks Pro to help automatically keep on top of your accounting and invoicing.

3. Casio PCR-T280

Best cheap cash register
Price: $179.99-$199.99

If you need a cheap register to help get your business off the ground, the PCR-T280 is your best bet.

However, don’t think it’s completely devoid of features. It has a rear-facing customer display and you can add up to 1,200 products. You can also manually enter discounts.

4. Casio SR-C4500

Best retail cash register for small business
Price: $429.95

The SR-C4500 is a very flexible cash register for small retail businesses. It has 72 programmable keys to speed up sales and you can add up to 50 clerks to ensure that all of your staff can sign in and start closing sales.

The SR-C4500 also comes with an integrated barcode scanner, saving you another purchase. In an attempt to rival the full POS registers we listed above, the SR-C4500 connects with your smartphone via Bluetooth to give you hourly sales information via the Casio app.

5. TFCFL 48 Keys Electronic Cash Register

Best traditional cash register get started on

Price: $129

If you’re new to cash registers, TFCFL is a solid piece of hardware to get started on. While its design isn’t as slick as some other options on this list, it’s easy to use and offers all the features small businesses need to get off the ground including versatile sale functions, reports support, and retail and catering tools.

With major US outlets like Walmart retailing the register, it’s easy to get your hands on TFCFL’s 48 keys model too. However, if you list lots of products, or require accounting integrations, we would recommend opting for Sam4s ER-940 or Sharp XE-A207, instead.

Cash Registers vs POS Systems for Small Businesses

Anyone running an entire business may be better off choosing a full POS system with a cash register, instead of a simple standalone cash register.

The big difference comes down to one word: centralization. A POS system tracks all that data, backs it up to the cloud to keep it safe, and lets you search through years of data in seconds. It’ll even auto-generate pie charts or graphs to help you understand it better. It’s this centralization that helps small businesses make smarter decisions.

Cash registers, on the other hand, work fine on a daily basis – but almost none can easily store or share digital information. This means it can take hours to find out how well your year-to-date sales have been or to gauge your year-over-year net revenue growth in the month of April.

Below is a table that compares cash registers for small businesses against POS systems, to offer a snapshot of why a POS offers a more complete solution.

Who should use a POS?

• Businesses looking to grow their base
• Businesses with large or complex inventories
• Businesses that depend on card payments
• Businesses looking to improve efficiency
• Businesses with multiple locations
• Mobile vendors
• Multi-location vendors

Who should use a cash register?

• Low-tech traditional brick-and-mortar vendors
• Businesses with smaller budgets
• Single-location businesses
• Cash-based businesses
• Businesses after a low-fuss solution

About Our Research

The best cash registers for small business is not just a random collection of options we found online. In fact, Tech.co takes research very seriously, which is why our team spend hours learning everything there is to know about cash registers in hopes of providing you with actionable data to help with your decision.

For cash registers and other POS systems, we focused on a specific set of criteria to hone our research, including features like business management, stock management, business development, help and support, till, and price. There was also a customer score, which is a aggregate of reviews and ratings across the web.

You can also learn more about how we analyze business tools like cash registers by heading over to our research guide, which outlines our process for rating and ranking these product.

Cash Registers for Small Business: FAQs