The right POS system for bookstores should be able to manage operations, inventory, and sales efficiently. This blog outlines some of the top POS systems well-suited for managing bookstores in 2024. We’ve based this list on key functionalities like inventory control, gift cards, loyalty programs, and online integration.
This blog will explore leading POS solutions, including KORONA POS, Bookmanager, Basil, and Shopify, to help bookstores find their ideal match based on business requirements.
KORONA POS: Best Bookstore POS for Budget-Conscious
When it comes to selecting a point of sale system for a bookstore, KORONA POS stands out as one of the top choices for its robust features tailored to the needs of booksellers.
Below are a few key strengths that make KORONA POS ideally suited for managing bookstore operations:
Real-Time Stock Levels
The system provides real-time visibility into inventory levels across all locations and sales channels. Staff can instantly check if a book is in stock and available for sale, ensuring a top-notch buying experience. Automated stock updates also simplify inventory management.
Integrated Payment Processing
As a processing-agnostic platform, KORONA POS integrates with all major payment processors to accept credit, debit, mobile payments, gift cards, and more. This flexibility suits the needs of every customer while keeping bookstores competitive.
Robust reporting provides insights into sales across all tenders too. Whether customers prefer credit cards, debit cards, or mobile payment options, KORONA POS accommodates them.
Robust Loyalty Programs
KORONA POS empowers booksellers to create tailored loyalty programs to incentivize customers and drive sales. Options like points or redeemable rewards on future purchases, gift cards, and referrals keep customers engaged. User-friendly management makes launching incentives simple.
KORONA POS also offers a native, unlimited gift card module, making it an economically sound choice for bookstores. The integrated gift card features save money and provide top-notch service, allowing bookstores to offer personalized gift options to their customers.
Integrated eCommerce Solutions
With support from leading eCommerce platforms, KORONA POS unifies in-store and online sales channels into a single intuitive interface. Core capabilities like inventory visibility, order management, and customer profiles are synchronized across channels for a seamless experience.
Bookstores can manage inventory, process orders, and track sales seamlessly across both platforms, offering customers a unified shopping experience.
How much does KORONA POS Cost?
KORONA POS offers two main pricing plans, each with varying features and costs: The first plan is KORONA Core and costs $59 per month per terminal. The second pricing plan, KORONA Retail, is $69 per month per terminal. KORONA POS also has add-on modules that are available for specific industries at varying costs.
With KORONA POS, you’ll also get a range of included features and services:
- Unlimited free trial
- Personalized product demo
- 60-Day money-back guarantee
- Flat-rate with no contracts
- 24/7 in-house support
Click on the video below to better understand KORONA POS’s pricing plan.
Bookmanager: Best Bookstore Point of Sale for Educational Institutions
Bookmanager is a versatile software tailored for bookstores, particularly beneficial for those collaborating with educational institutions. It streamlines logistical challenges by offering a user-friendly carton-level electronic receiving system. It also offers tailored services for large-volume buyers, especially schools, and includes efficient order management, personalized discounts, and meticulous invoicing tracking.
Carton Level Detail: Streamlining Shipments
Bookstore operations often involve managing large multi-box shipments, which can be a logistical challenge. Bookmanager addresses this pain point with its user-friendly carton-level electronic receiving system. Users can instantly access detailed information about its contents by scanning a box’s barcode. This feature streamlines the receiving process, enhancing efficiency and accuracy.
Tailored Services for Large Volume Buyers
Bookmanager recognizes the unique needs of large-volume buyers, especially educational institutions. The system facilitates fast and thorough service by enabling users to create quotes and manage large orders efficiently.
Moreover, it empowers businesses to assign special discounts or credit terms to specific accounts, fostering personalized relationships with educational clients. The integrated accounts receivable module ensures detailed invoicing tracking, adding a layer of financial control.
Suite of Specialized Features
Bookmanager goes beyond basic functionalities by offering a dedicated set of tools specifically designed for schools. From a robust accounts receivable system and automatic discounts, to credit terms and account locks, Bookmanager provides a comprehensive suite of features.
The detailed invoice generation process, coupled with ample space for notes and messages, simplifies the management of larger accounts, making it a seamless experience for users.
Instant Integration with Your Webstore
Bookmanager empowers bookstores to extend their reach and enhance customer experience with a single keystroke. Any title viewed in Bookmanager can be instantly loaded onto the eCommerce store. This integration gives customers access to cover and inside images, book descriptions, reviews, and links to popular bookselling sites. This feature facilitates efficient research and eliminates the need for extensive manual searching.
Secure and Reliable Backups: Safeguarding Your Business Continuity
Recognizing the critical importance of data security and business continuity, Bookmanager offers a robust backup system. Users can automate backups as frequently as needed, with options to store them locally on hard drives, flash drives, or over the network.
Additionally, Bookmanager provides the assurance of secure server storage, ensuring that your data is protected. In the event of unforeseen circumstances, there is an after-hours emergency line dedicated to backup retrieval.
How much does Bookmanager Cost?
Bookmanager’s pricing structure can be a bit complex, as it depends on several factors like your location (US or Canada), the number of locations you own, and your annual consumer order volume. The picture below gives you a glance at the pricing structure. You can also click here to learn more about their pricing.
US-based pricing
Canada-based pricing
Basil: Best Bookstore-Only POS
Basil is designed specifically for independent bookstores, with features tailored to the unique needs of selling books, gifts, and other merchandise. It stands out in several key areas that make it an excellent choice for bookstores:
ISBN Scanning
Basil allows for seamless ISBN barcode scanning to instantly retrieve book details like title, author, publisher, genre, and more. This automates the lookup process, saves staff time, and prevents errors that could occur with manual entry. The system is continuously updated with details on new book releases as well.
Gift Card Integration
Basil makes gift card management easy through integration with ValuTec for tracking balances and availability online. Gift cards can also be managed entirely within Basil across multiple store locations.
Ability to Sell Online
Basil facilitates selling inventory online by automatically syncing with major marketplaces like Amazon and AbeBooks every 15 minutes. It also interfaces with the affordable Chrislands platform for your own eCommerce site. Order management is streamlined by downloading orders and creating packing slips and shipping labels. This tight integration reduces overtime and refunds.
Book Fairs
Basil understands the importance of offsite events and book fairs.
Basil can function as a mobile POS terminal for offsite events, offering flexibility with either the standard version or the Basil iOS app.
When it comes to book fairs, Basil enables effective management by allowing the creation of shipments, inventory tracking, and post-event processes. Whether it’s an author signing or a book fair, Basil is a reliable resource for maintaining inventory accuracy and facilitating sales.
Automatic Purchase Orders
EDI purchasing through Basil saves time and reduces errors. It’s “Pubnet” feature allows electronic sending of purchase orders with acknowledgments processed automatically. Order status is updated in real-time, and custom ordering rules can be set by the supplier.
Flexibility
Beyond just books, Basil supports buying and selling CDs, DVDs, games, instruments, vinyl, and more. Sales data and competitor pricing help inform purchasing decisions. Customizable trade-in pricing rules ensure consistent margins. Items can then be posted online for additional sales channels.
How much does Basil Cost?
Here’s a breakdown of Basile’s pricing structure:
Standard Plan:
One-time setup fee: $250
Monthly fee: Starts at $225 but varies depending on store size, volume, and product type. All core features include point-of-sale, inventory management, customer management, and reporting.
No contracts, additional service fees, or update charges.
Basil Lite:
More affordable option with fewer features.
One-time setup fee: $50
Per-machine pricing: Starts at $65 per month per machine.
Add online selling for an additional $50 per month.
Shopify For Retail: Best For Online Bookstores
As an eCommerce-centric POS platform, Shopify Retail offers bookstores an unrivaled combination of brick-and-mortar and digital selling capabilities. Shopify delivers essential POS features for independent booksellers, especially those expanding into online channels.
Seamless Omnichannel Experience
One key feature that makes Shopify POS suitable for bookstores is its seamless integration with Shopify’s online platform. Bookstores often operate online and offline, and having a unified system synchronizing inventory, sales, and customer data across all channels is crucial.
Shopify Retail allows bookstores to manage their entire catalog from a centralized dashboard, including book listings, pricing, and availability. This ensures that the inventory is updated in real-time, whether a sale is made in-store or online, reducing the risk of overselling and improving overall efficiency.
Social Media Sales Channels
Further supplementing the online store, Shopify enables multi-channel social media sales capabilities right from the POS. Staff can create digital gift cards, customize QR codes, or fulfill orders from a bookstore’s Instagram, Facebook, and other connected profiles.
Add-On App Ecosystem
Shopify Retail also offers a range of customization options, allowing bookstores to tailor the POS interface to their specific needs. Booksellers can create a visually appealing and intuitive layout for easy navigation, helping staff process transactions swiftly. Booksellers can install apps to enable loyalty programs, special ordering, recommended product lists, advanced inventory tracking, self-checkout, accounting tools, and more – all integrated with the POS software.
How much does Shopify POS Cost?
Shopify Retail comprises two primary pricing structures: one tailored for businesses exclusively engaged in online sales and another for businesses operating both online and brick-and-mortar establishments.
Online pricing structure
In-person and online pricing structure
Best POS System for Bookstore: Wrapping Up
Bookstores have several excellent POS systems to choose from in 2024 based on their operational needs and sales models. Leading solutions like KORONA POS, Bookmanager, Basil, and Shopify Retail allow booksellers to control in-store and online inventory, process transactions seamlessly, manage customer data, and gain actionable insights through robust reporting.
While KORONA POS takes the spot for the best overall POS for the majority of bookstores with its unmatched combination of features and affordable pricing, niche solutions like Bookmanager and Basil cater specifically to educational clients for large-volume purchases. For bookstores looking to establish a stronger digital presence, Shopify brings together online and brick-and-mortar sales capabilities into one platform.
By evaluating integration needs, budget, and business objectives against solution offerings, bookstores can confidently select a POS poised to provide operational efficiency and sales growth.
To learn more about KORONA POS bookstore software, click the link below to set up a free product demo.