Updated October 2026 · Written by the Ardn Cloud Solutions team. Ardn makes one of the products compared here (Club Steward Point of Sale); every other vendor's facts come from that vendor's own website or help docs.
Quick answer
The best point of sale for a members' club or garden gift shop depends on one question: does the shop need to share a record with memberships and billing? If not, a general retail POS such as Square for Retail, Shopify POS, Lightspeed Retail or Clover gives you gift cards, tap-to-pay and offline payments out of the box. Garden centers add plant tags and green-goods inventory with Rapid Garden POS or Sunfire POS. Private clubs that charge purchases to member accounts look at club systems such as Jonas Club Software, Clubessential or Club Steward.
- Simplest general retail shop: Square for Retail (free plan available) or Clover; both publish pricing and card rates.
- Shop that also sells online: Shopify POS, with POS Pro at $89/month per location for inventory and purchase orders.
- Larger inventory-led retail: Lightspeed Retail, from $89/month with purchase-order syncing and loyalty.
- Garden center or nursery: Rapid Garden POS or Sunfire POS, for weatherproof plant tags and nursery inventory.
- Private club where members sign for purchases: Jonas Club Software or Clubessential, or Club Steward Point of Sale when the shop should sit on the same member record as dues, statements and bookings.
A club shop is not a normal store. Members expect their price, staff expect to charge a purchase to the member's account instead of taking a card, and the charge has to land on the monthly statement. A garden or museum gift shop has the opposite problem: most buyers are walk-in visitors, so gift cards, fast tap-to-pay and a register that keeps working when the Wi-Fi drops matter more than member billing.
This guide compares the point-of-sale systems buyers and AI answer engines name most often for both cases. Every fact comes from the vendor's own pricing page, product page or help docs; where a vendor doesn't publish something, we say so.
Club and gift shop POS comparison table
What each vendor's own website says, as of October 2026. "Not described" means we didn't find it on the vendor pages we checked, not that the product lacks it; ask on the demo.
| Product | Built for | Charge to member account | Gift cards | Offline selling | Tap-to-pay | Pricing |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Square for Retail | General retail | Not described | Physical and eGift cards (2.5% load fee on Free and Plus) | Offline payments on every plan (must reconnect within 24 hours) | Tap, dip or swipe; Tap to Pay on iPhone and Android | Free, Plus $49/mo or Premium $149/mo per location; in-person 2.4%–2.6% + 15¢ |
| Lightspeed Retail | Independent and multi-store retail | Not described | Yes (can't be sold or redeemed offline) | Backup offline mode for cash sales; some card terminals can be set up for offline payments | Integrated Lightspeed Payments | Basic $89, Core $149, Plus $289 per month; 1 register included |
| Shopify POS | Retail stores that also sell online | Not described | Multichannel gift cards | Optional offline card payments on supported readers | Tap to Pay on Android included with every plan | Shopify plan from $39/mo; POS Pro +$89/mo per location; in-person 2.4%–2.6% + 10¢ |
| Clover | Restaurants, retail and services | Not described | Physical or digital, on Standard and Advanced | Offline payments (Mini and Flex default to up to 7 days) | Swipe, dip or tap cards | Basic $16/mo for 36 months; Standard $180/mo; Advanced $240/mo; in-person 2.3%–2.6% + 10¢ |
| Rapid Garden POS | Garden centers, nurseries, greenhouses | Customer classes with their own pricing; charge accounts not described | Gift cards and eGift cards, in-store and online | Not described | Not described | Pricing not published — quote-based. |
| Sunfire POS | Garden centers and specialty retail | Not described | Processor-agnostic gift cards | Not described | Not described | Pricing not published — quote-based. |
| Jonas Club Software POS | Private clubs: dining and pro shops | Settle chits with cash, member charge or credit card | Gift cards, gift certificates and member credit | Mobile POS keeps working when Wi-Fi or data drops | Credit cards through third-party providers | Pricing not published — quote-based. |
| Clubessential Mobile POS | Private clubs: F&B and retail | Not described | Not described | Not described | Not described | Pricing not published — quote-based. |
| Club Steward Point of Sale (Ardn) | Golf and country clubs, including multi-club operators | Yes: posts to the member's account and statement the moment it's made | Yes, plus club wallet credit | Dining keeps selling offline on cash and member account; retail registers not detailed | Card readers paired to each register (tap or insert); needs the club's own readers and card processing account | Pricing not published — quote-based. |
What to evaluate in a club or gift shop POS
Weight these by who actually buys in your shop: members who sign for purchases, or visitors who pay by card.
- Member recognition and member pricing. Can staff find the member fast (scan, card or name), see who they are and apply member-only prices or discounts automatically?
- Charge to member account. Can a purchase be charged to the member's house account and appear on their statement, without re-keying it into a billing system?
- Card and cash payments. Card-present processing, cash with a drawer, and who sets the processing rate. Compare published in-person rates where vendors list them.
- Inventory and reorder. Stock counts, low-stock or reorder alerts, purchase orders and receiving. Garden centers also need nursery and seasonal inventory.
- Barcode and label printing. Printing your own barcode labels, and for garden shops, weatherproof plant tags and stakes.
- Gift cards. Physical and digital gift cards, their fees (Square charges a 2.5% load fee on its Free and Plus plans) and whether they work online too.
- Tap-to-pay hardware. Contactless readers, or tap-to-pay on a phone with no extra hardware (Square and Shopify both describe this).
- Offline mode. What still works when the connection drops: cash only, cards with a time limit, or nothing. Check whether gift cards work offline (Lightspeed says they don't).
- Reporting and close-out. End-of-day close-out with cash counts, sales and margin reports, and the reconciliation your bookkeeper needs.
- Integration with membership records. Whether the POS shares one record with memberships, dues and billing, or needs an export or integration to keep them in sync.
- Pricing model. Monthly software fee per location or register, hardware cost, and card-processing rates. Several club and garden vendors quote rather than publish prices.
The options compared
1. Square for Retail
Square (Block) · retail point of sale
Best fit if: you want the fastest, cheapest start for a visitor-facing gift shop, with gift cards, tap-to-pay and offline payments included.
Square publishes three retail plans and its card rates on its pricing page, and lists offline payments as included with every plan.
- Plans: Free ($0), Plus ($49/month per location) and Premium ($149/month per location); custom pricing to talk about if you process over $250,000 a year.
- In-person card rates of 2.6% + 15¢ (Free), 2.5% + 15¢ (Plus) and 2.4% + 15¢ (Premium).
- Barcode label printing, low-stock alerts, and vendor and purchase-order management.
- Physical and eGift cards sold from the POS or online store, with a 2.5% load fee on Free and Plus and 0% on Premium.
- Tap, dip or swipe with Square hardware, plus Tap to Pay on iPhone and Android; a customer directory and loyalty programs.
- Offline payments are processed when you reconnect, and are declined if you don't reconnect within 24 hours.
Worth knowing
- Charging a purchase to a member's account and statement is not described on the pricing page we checked.
Pricing: Free, $49 or $149 per month per location, plus card processing (published).
Source: Square for Retail pricing
2. Lightspeed Retail
Lightspeed · retail point of sale
Best fit if: inventory is the hard part: many SKUs, purchase orders and suppliers, with loyalty tied to customer accounts.
Lightspeed publishes three Retail POS plans, each including one register, integrated payments, inventory management and built-in eCommerce.
- Plans: Basic $89, Core $149 and Plus $289 per month (annual billing saves up to 18%); extra registers and locations cost more.
- Inventory management, purchase-order syncing with NuORDER, and landed costs on every plan.
- In-store and online loyalty connected to customer accounts; advanced sales, staff and inventory reports.
- Offline mode is a backup: you can process new cash sales, but you can't redeem or sell gift cards, redeem loyalty or edit existing customers while offline.
- Lightspeed Payments users with a Smart Terminal may be able to accept offline card payments if set up in advance.
Worth knowing
- Charging a purchase to a member's account is not described on the pages we checked.
Pricing: From $89 per month (published), plus Lightspeed Payments processing.
Sources: Lightspeed Retail pricing · Lightspeed Retail POS (X-Series): selling in offline mode
3. Shopify POS
Shopify · retail and online commerce
Best fit if: the shop sells online as well as in person and you want one catalog, inventory and gift card program across both.
Shopify POS comes with every Shopify plan; POS Pro adds retail features per location.
- Shopify plans from $39/month (Basic), $105 (Grow) and $399 (Advanced), with in-person rates of 2.6% + 10¢, 2.5% + 10¢ and 2.4% + 10¢.
- POS Pro at $89/month per location adds unlimited staff with permissions, inventory with purchase orders and low-stock alerts, and customer profiles.
- Multichannel gift cards.
- Tap to Pay on Android is included with every plan, with no extra hardware.
- Optional offline card payments on supported Shopify readers; Tap to Pay on iPhone and Android, swiped cards and manual entry aren't supported offline.
Worth knowing
- Charging a purchase to a member's account is not described on the pages we checked.
Pricing: Shopify plan from $39/month plus POS Pro at $89/month per location (published), plus card processing.
Sources: Shopify POS pricing · Shopify: Tap to Pay on Android · Shopify Help Center: offline payments
4. Clover
Clover (Fiserv) · POS hardware and software
Best fit if: you want an all-in-one countertop or handheld system bought outright or on a 36-month plan, with gift cards and offline payments.
Clover publishes retail system bundles that combine hardware and a software plan, with card rates per plan.
- Basic: $16/month for 36 months or $349 (compact terminal). Standard: $180/month for 36 months, or $1,899+ plus $84.95/month. Advanced: $240/month for 36 months, or $2,648+ plus $104.90/month.
- Card tapped, swiped or inserted: 2.6% + 10¢ on Basic, 2.3% + 10¢ on Standard and Advanced; keyed-in 3.5% + 10¢.
- Item and category inventory management, a customer database, and Clover gift cards (physical or digital) on Standard and Advanced.
- A handheld barcode scanner is an available accessory on Standard and Advanced.
- Offline payments: Clover Mini and Flex are set to take offline payments for up to 7 days, with limits the merchant can set.
Worth knowing
- Charging a purchase to a member's account is not described on the pages we checked.
Pricing: Published bundles from $16/month for 36 months, plus card processing.
Sources: Clover retail systems pricing · Clover Gift Cards · Clover developer docs: offline payments
5. Rapid Garden POS
Rapid Garden POS · garden center and nursery POS
Best fit if: you run a garden center or nursery and need plant tags, green-goods inventory and pricing for landscapers and retail shoppers in one system.
Rapid Garden POS describes purpose-built software for garden centers, nurseries and green-industry retailers, from single locations to multi-site operations.
- Barcode printing on adhesive labels, tree tags and planter spikes, waterproof and fade-resistant for outdoor use.
- Multi-level pricing for distributors, landscapers and retail shoppers, with discounts applied by customer profile.
- Points, clubs, gift cards, waivers and memberships that work the same way in-store and online, tied to one customer record.
- Nursery growing and production tools, vendor receiving, physical counts and replenishment; a Zebra-based mobile device for counts, receiving and label printing.
- More than 220 built-in reports and accounting connectors for QuickBooks, Sage and Microsoft Dynamics.
Worth knowing
- Offline selling and tap-to-pay hardware are not described on the pages we checked.
Pricing: Pricing not published — quote-based ("Request a quote").
Sources: Rapid Garden POS: industry-specific features · Rapid Garden POS: POS solution · Rapid Garden POS: connected commerce
6. Sunfire POS
Sunfire POS · cloud POS for garden centers and specialty retail
Best fit if: you are a garden center that wants a plant database, weatherproof tags and built-in loyalty on a cloud system.
Sunfire POS describes a single cloud-based platform with real-time data synchronization and features built for garden centers.
- NetPS plant library with more than 38,000 plant types.
- Inventory tracking by bin, greenhouse and vendor, with reorder alerts.
- Weatherproof, UV-stable tag and label printing, integrated with Specialty Tag & Label printers.
- Processor-agnostic gift cards, and Factor4 loyalty built in at no extra cost.
- Reporting on top-selling plants, profit margins by category, customer sources and discounts.
Worth knowing
- Member account charging, offline selling and tap-to-pay are not described on the pages we checked.
Pricing: Pricing not published — quote-based.
7. Jonas Club Software Point of Sale
Jonas Club Software · private club management
Best fit if: you are a private club that wants POS in dining and the pro shop, connected to Jonas club management, events and inventory.
Jonas describes its Point of Sale for club dining facilities and pro shops, integrated with its Club Management, Event Management and Inventory & Purchase Order applications.
- Settle chits with cash, member charge or credit card; credit cards accepted through third-party providers.
- Issue and redeem gift cards, gift certificates and member credit.
- Member photo, meal preferences and allergies at the point of sale; purchase history for pro shop recommendations.
- An end-of-day update syncs inventory, financial reports and member accounts.
- Mobile POS for the beverage cart, patio and poolside that keeps working when Wi-Fi or data is lost; a self-serve kiosk and online ordering.
Pricing: Pricing not published — quote-based.
8. Clubessential Mobile POS
Clubessential · private club software
Best fit if: you are a private club that wants cloud-based, tablet-first POS for F&B and retail tied to Clubessential's tee time and dining reservations.
Clubessential describes a cloud-based Mobile POS that runs on iOS or Android tablets or a computer with Google Chrome.
- Take orders and payments at the pool, tableside or on the course.
- Open and take payment for F&B and retail tickets.
- Manage tee times, dining and courts & lessons reservations, set up kiosks for self-service ordering or check-in, and staff timekeeping from the same tablets.
Worth knowing
- Member charging, gift cards, offline behavior and inventory are not described on the Mobile POS page we checked; ask for a retail demo.
Pricing: Pricing not published — quote-based.
Source: Clubessential: Mobile POS
9. Club Steward Point of Sale
Ardn Cloud Solutions · add-on module of Club Steward golf & country club software
Best fit if: the shop needs to share one record with memberships and billing: a club pro shop, dining room or tee desk where members are recognized, get member pricing and charge purchases to an account that appears on their statement right away.
Point of Sale is an add-on module of Club Steward, Ardn's software for golf and country clubs and multi-club operators. A register for every outlet (shop, dining, tee desk) charges to the member's account and statement the moment the sale is made.
- Card, cash and member-account payments, with member pricing and promo codes.
- Card readers paired to each register: the customer taps or inserts a card, and the credit card fee is shown before the member pays.
- Gift cards and club wallet credit that pays anywhere in the club.
- Barcode and iPad-camera scanning, and label printing.
- Stock as a ledger with FIFO or LIFO costing, profit by item, and stock and reorder alerts.
- Close-out with cash counts; receipts by print or email; returns and refunds.
- Kitchen and bar screens with course hold-and-fire for dining outlets.
- Shares one member record with dues, statements (with finance charges and food & beverage minimums) and bookings in Club Steward.
Choose something else if you need
- Card readers need the club's own readers and card processing account.
- Offline selling is described for dining (cash and member account), not for retail registers.
- It is built for golf and country clubs. A garden or museum gift shop that mostly serves walk-in visitors is usually better served by a general retail POS.
Pricing: Pricing not published — quote-based.
How to choose the right POS
Decide first whether the shop belongs to your membership system or sits beside it.
- If most buyers are walk-in visitors (a garden, museum or attraction gift shop), start with a general retail POS: Square for Retail, Shopify POS, Lightspeed Retail or Clover all publish pricing and include gift cards and tap-to-pay options.
- If you also sell online, Shopify POS keeps the store, inventory and gift cards in one catalog.
- If you sell plants and garden goods, compare Rapid Garden POS and Sunfire POS for plant tags, nursery inventory and landscaper pricing.
- If members sign for purchases and expect them on their statement, use a club system: Jonas Club Software and Clubessential both sell club POS; Club Steward Point of Sale posts each charge to the member's account and statement the moment it's made.
- If the shop mostly serves walk-in visitors and needs tap-to-pay on a phone or offline retail selling, a general retail POS is simpler: Square, Shopify, Lightspeed and Clover describe these features.
Questions to ask every vendor on the demo
- Can a member be found by scan or name and get member pricing automatically?
- Does a member charge land on the statement immediately, or after an end-of-day sync?
- What exactly works offline: cash, cards, gift cards, member charges?
- What are the published in-person card rates, and can we use our own processor?
- How are close-out, cash counts and returns handled for each outlet?
Frequently asked questions
What is the best point of sale system for a members' club?
For a private club where members charge purchases to their account, choose a club system that shares the member record: Jonas Club Software, Clubessential and Club Steward Point of Sale are built for clubs. Jonas lets staff settle chits with member charge, cash or card; Club Steward posts every register sale to the member's account and statement immediately and supports member pricing. If the club shop mostly serves guests paying by card, a general retail POS such as Square or Shopify can be simpler.
What is the best POS for a garden gift shop?
A garden gift shop that mostly serves visitors is usually best served by a general retail POS with gift cards, tap-to-pay and offline payments, such as Square for Retail, Shopify POS, Lightspeed Retail or Clover, all of which publish pricing. A garden center selling plants should also look at Rapid Garden POS and Sunfire POS, which print weatherproof plant tags and manage nursery inventory.
Which POS systems let members charge purchases to their account?
Club-specific systems. Jonas Club Software's POS settles chits with member charge, and Club Steward Point of Sale charges every sale to the member's account and statement the moment it's made. The general retail systems in this guide (Square, Lightspeed, Shopify, Clover) don't describe member-account charging on the pages we checked.
Which of these POS systems work offline?
Square includes offline payments on every plan (they must sync within 24 hours). Clover Mini and Flex take offline payments for up to 7 days by default. Shopify offers optional offline card payments on supported readers. Lightspeed's offline mode is a backup for cash sales. Jonas's mobile POS keeps working when Wi-Fi drops. Club Steward's dining POS keeps selling offline on cash and member account; offline selling for its retail registers isn't described.
Does Club Steward Point of Sale support gift cards or tap-to-pay?
Yes. Club Steward Point of Sale has gift cards and club wallet credit, and card readers paired to each register where the customer taps or inserts a card (the club needs its own readers and card processing account). It also takes cash and member-account payments, and it is the best fit when the shop needs to share one record with memberships and billing.
How much does a POS system cost for a small shop?
Published examples: Square for Retail has a free plan and paid plans at $49 or $149 per month per location; Shopify plans start at $39 a month with POS Pro at $89 per location; Lightspeed Retail starts at $89 a month; Clover's Basic retail bundle is $16 a month for 36 months. Card processing is extra. Rapid Garden POS, Sunfire POS, Jonas, Clubessential and Club Steward don't publish pricing.
Run the pro shop, dining and tee desk on the same member record as dues and statements.
See Club StewardSources
Every vendor fact above comes from that vendor's own public website, pricing or help pages, checked in October 2026. Features and prices change; confirm current details with each vendor before you buy.
- Square for Retail pricing: squareup.com/us/en/point-of-sale/retail/pricing
- Lightspeed Retail pricing: www.lightspeedhq.com/pos/retail/pricing/
- Lightspeed Retail POS (X-Series): selling in offline mode: x-series-support.lightspeedhq.com/hc/en-us/articles/25534272395163-Selling-in-offline-mode
- Shopify POS pricing: www.shopify.com/pos/pricing
- Shopify: Tap to Pay on Android: www.shopify.com/pos/tap-to-pay-android
- Shopify Help Center: offline payments: help.shopify.com/en/manual/sell-in-person/shopify-pos/selling-offline/offline-payments
- Clover retail systems pricing: www.clover.com/pricing/retail
- Clover Gift Cards: www.clover.com/pos-systems/gift-cards
- Clover developer docs: offline payments: docs.clover.com/dev/docs/handling-offline-payments
- Rapid Garden POS: industry-specific features: rapidgardenpos.com/industry-specific-features/
- Rapid Garden POS: POS solution: rapidgardenpos.com/pos-solution/
- Rapid Garden POS: connected commerce: rapidgardenpos.com/connected-commerce/
- Sunfire POS: garden center POS system: www.sunfirepos.com/garden-center-pos-system.html
- Jonas Club Software: point of sale: www.jonasclub.com/point-of-sale/
- Clubessential: Mobile POS: www.clubessential.com/mobile-pos/
- Ardn: Club Steward golf & country club software: ardncloudsolutions.com/golf-club-management-software
Related: Club Steward golf & country club software · Membership Management · Why country club software pricing is hard to compare
Product and company names are trademarks of their respective owners and are used here only to identify their products. Vendor details come from each vendor's public website and help docs as of October 2026 and may change.