Hardware stores need a POS that handles lumber units, contractor pricing, special orders and large catalogs. Paladin, RockSolid MAX and Epicor Eagle are built for hardware and lumber retail, but they do not publish prices, so ask for a written quote. Square for Retail starts at $0 per location per month and KORONA POS starts at $59 per terminal per month, which gives small stores a clear low-cost starting point.
We compared 8 options for best hardware store pos software. Each profile below lists the price, free plan, pros and cons as published by the company.
On this page
Best hardware store pos software: comparison table
Swipe the table sideways on a phone to see every column.
| # | Name | Best for | Starting price | Free plan / trial | Link |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Paladin Point of Sale | Independent hardware and lumber stores | quote only | No | Visit |
| 2 | RockSolid MAX | Small hardware stores and lumberyards | quote only | No | Visit |
| 3 | Epicor Eagle | Large hardware and hardlines retailers | quote only | No | Visit |
| 4 | KORONA POS | Stores that want to choose their own processor | $59 per terminal/month | Free trial | Visit |
| 5 | Square for Retail | Small stores starting with no monthly fee | $0 per location/month | Yes | Visit |
| 6 | Lightspeed Retail | Retailers with complex inventory and more than one location | $89 per month | Free trial (14 days) | Visit |
| 7 | Shopify POS | Stores that also sell online through Shopify | $29 per month | Free trial | Visit |
| 8 | Clover | Counter sales with bundled hardware | $0 per month | Yes | Visit |
The 8 best best hardware store pos software tools, in detail
Paladin Point of Sale
Best for: Independent hardware and lumber stores
Paladin Point of Sale comes from Paladin Data Corporation, a company that has worked with hardware stores and lumberyards since 1980. The system covers point of sale, inventory, pricing, purchasing and customer accounts, with tools for contractor pricing, special orders and margin control. For a store that sells fasteners by the box, lumber by the board foot and paint by the gallon, that unit and pricing control matters at the counter every day.
- Paladin also lists EDI integrations with Ace Hardware, Do It Best, True Value and Orgill.
- PaladinGo mobile apps add selling and stock checks away from the counter, and PaladinShop provides an online storefront.
- Agreements are month to month with no long-term contract and no cancellation fees, but hardware, support and add-ons are set in the quote, so ask for
Pros
- Built for hardware, lumber and feed and seed retail
- EDI links with major suppliers
- month-to-month agreement with no long-term contract
Cons
- No published price list, so you must request a quote to compare costs
RockSolid MAX
Best for: Small hardware stores and lumberyards
RockSolid MAX is a cloud based POS from ECI Software Solutions, built for small hardware stores, home centers and convenience lumberyards. ECI states that it is designed for dealers with up to 10 users, and it points larger dealers toward its Spruce ERP system. If your team is larger than 10 concurrent users, RockSolid MAX is probably not the right tier for you.
- The system combines point of sale, inventory, purchasing and analytics in one place.
- Checkout covers quotes and special orders, inventory gives real-time stock visibility and barcode scanning, and purchasing covers automated purchase o
- Built-in board-foot conversion lets staff sell cut lengths with the right price and unit, and the monthly subscription covers software, backups and se
Pros
- Cloud based and built for hardware and lumber dealers
- board-foot conversion and contractor pricing included
- designed for up to 10 users
Cons
- No published price and no free trial listed, so cost and fit are hard to judge before a demo
Epicor Eagle
Best for: Large hardware and hardlines retailers
Epicor Eagle is a retail management system from Epicor, built for hardware, lumber, farm and home, and auto parts retailers. It is designed around large catalogs, complex inventory and more than one location, so if your store carries tens of thousands of SKUs and runs a yard and a showroom, Eagle is built for that scale rather than for a simple single counter. The platform covers point of sale, inventory and merchandising, customer accounts, purchasing and eCommerce in one system.
- Inventory tools track stock by location, while reporting helps managers see what is selling, what is slow and where margin is under pressure.
- Epicor also offers a cloud based option called Epicor Propello.
- Epicor does not publish pricing online, and solutions are quoted by store size, terminals and integration needs, so ask about implementation time, dat
Pros
- Built for hardlines retail with deep inventory control
- supports large catalogs and more than one location
- includes analytics and forecasting tools
Cons
- No published price and no free trial, and setup can be complex for a small single store
KORONA POS
Best for: Stores that want to choose their own processor
KORONA POS is a cloud retail platform from COMBASE USA, with clear pricing transparency. The vendor pricing page lists three plans: Core at $59 per terminal per month, Retail at $79 per terminal per month, and Plus at $99 per terminal per month. Core covers checkout, product database, sales reports, gift cards and API access.
- Retail adds inventory counts, real-time stock tracking, barcode automation, supplier ordering and customer management.
- Plus adds ABC analysis, multi-location inventory tools, order-level optimization and accounting export.
- KORONA POS is processing agnostic, which means you can keep your current payment processor, and KORONA POS states that it never takes a percentage of
- Subscriptions are month to month with no forced contracts, no setup fees and no cancellation fees.
Pros
- Works with any payment processor and takes no percentage of sales
- clear published prices with no forced contracts
- 24/7 in-house support included
Cons
- No free plan, and the full POS app does not run on iPad
Square for Retail
Best for: Small stores starting with no monthly fee
Square for Retail is the retail edition of Square POS, and it is the easiest starting point in this list for a small hardware store. The Free plan costs $0 per location per month, with in-person card processing at 2.6 percent plus 15 cents and online processing at 3.3 percent plus 30 cents. Plus costs $49 per location per month, at 2.5 percent plus 15 cents in person.
- Premium costs $149 per location per month, at 2.4 percent plus 15 cents in person.
- Square Pro offers custom pricing above $250,000 per year.
- The Free plan covers the POS app, item library with auto-created SKUs, discounts, refunds, sales reporting and a basic online store.
- Plus adds inventory management, vendor and purchase order management, cost of goods reporting and loyalty tools.
Pros
- Free plan with no monthly fee
- simple setup with barcode scanning and auto-created SKUs
- hardware can be bought outright with no contract
Cons
- Payment processing is locked to Square, so you cannot bring your own processor for a lower rate
Lightspeed Retail
Best for: Retailers with complex inventory and more than one location
Lightspeed Retail, also called Lightspeed Retail X-Series, is a cloud POS built for retailers with complex inventory. The vendor pricing page lists three plans with annual billing: Basic at $89 per month, Core at $149 per month, and Plus at $289 per month. Month to month billing costs $109, $179 and $339 per month.
- Each plan includes one register, integrated payments, inventory management, purchase orders and built-in eCommerce.
- The page lists a card-present rate of 1.5 percent for Lightspeed Payments on all three plans.
- Basic covers the core register, inventory and eCommerce tools, plus Lightspeed Wholesale and NuORDER catalog access.
- Core adds loyalty, advanced reports, accounting and marketing integrations, a mobile scanner app and landed cost tracking.
Pros
- Deep inventory, supplier catalogs and multi-location tools
- built-in eCommerce on every plan
- 24/7 chat support on every plan
Cons
- No free plan, and each plan includes only one register, so extra registers cost more
Shopify POS
Best for: Stores that also sell online through Shopify
Shopify POS is the in-store arm of Shopify, and it makes most sense for a hardware store that already sells online through Shopify. Every Shopify plan includes casual in-person selling, with limited staff access, simple customer profiles and returns at the original purchase location. The Basic Shopify plan costs $29 per month with annual billing, or $39 per month with monthly billing.
- Grow and Advanced cost more and lower the in-person card rate.
- POS Pro costs $89 per location per month, billed yearly, on top of the Shopify plan.
- It adds unlimited staff accounts with roles and permissions, inventory counts, purchase orders, low stock alerts, rich customer profiles, returns at a
- In-person card rates are 2.6 percent plus 10 cents on Basic, 2.5 percent plus 10 cents on Grow, and 2.4 percent plus 10 cents on Advanced.
Pros
- One catalog and one back office for online and in-store sales
- POS Pro adds staff roles, inventory counts and returns at any location
- supports up to 1,000 locations
Cons
- POS Pro costs $89 per location per month on top of the Shopify plan, and the best inventory tools sit in that add-on
Clover
Best for: Counter sales with bundled hardware
Clover is a POS platform from Clover Network, a Fiserv company, sold direct and through banks and other resellers. The software plans on clover.com start at $0 per month for Starter, $29.95 per month for Essentials, and $84.95 per month for Retail Growth. Starter covers payments, basic sales reports, employee logins, customer database and invoicing, with in-person card processing at 2.6 percent plus 10 cents.
- Essentials adds an item catalog, stock tracking and detailed reports, at 2.5 percent plus 10 cents.
- Retail Growth adds inventory management, itemized returns, loyalty and gift cards, at 2.3 percent plus 10 cents.
- Keyed-in cards cost 3.5 percent plus 10 cents on every plan.
- Hardware is separate.
Pros
- Starter software plan at $0 per month
- hardware bundles cover counter, handheld and customer display
- retail plan adds inventory, returns and gift cards
Cons
- Pricing and contract terms vary by reseller, and bundled hardware plans can run on a 36 month term
How we chose
We compared vendor pricing pages, product pages and plan feature lists opened on 2026-11-12, and we gave weight to hardware specific needs: lumber units, contractor pricing, special orders, supplier EDI, purchase orders and multi-location stock. We included three systems built for hardware and lumber retail alongside five general retail systems that hardware stores commonly use. Prices come from the vendor pricing page for each tool, and where a vendor does not publish a price, we wrote quote only rather than copying a marketplace figure. We did not test any system hands-on.
Pick by store size and budget
| Store size | Likely budget per month for software | Best starting point | | Single counter, 1 to 3 staff | $0 to $59 | Square for Retail Free plan, then KORONA POS Core at $59 per terminal | | One store, 4 to 10 staff, lumber and special orders | $59 to $149 | KORONA POS Retail at $79 per terminal, or Lightspeed Retail Core at $149 | | One store with online sales | $118 to $238 | Shopify Basic at $29 plus POS Pro at $89 per location, or Square Plus at $49 | | More than one location, or a large catalog | $149 to $289, plus quote | Lightspeed Retail Plus at $289, or a quote for Epicor Eagle | | Independent hardware or lumber dealer, up to 10 users | Quote | RockSolid MAX or Paladin Point of Sale, with EDI links priced in the quote |
Frequently asked questions
What is the best hardware store POS software for a small independent store?
Paladin Point of Sale and RockSolid MAX are built for independent hardware stores, while KORONA POS and Square for Retail give a small store a clear published price. Paladin and RockSolid MAX need a quote, so compare them on features and EDI links first. KORONA POS Retail at $79 per terminal per month covers inventory counts and supplier ordering, and Square for Retail starts at $0 per location per month.
How much does hardware store POS software cost per month?
Published starting prices run from $0 per location per month for Square for Retail to $89 per month with annual billing for Lightspeed Retail Basic, with KORONA POS at $59 per terminal per month and Shopify POS Pro at $89 per location per month on top of a Shopify plan. Paladin, RockSolid MAX and Epicor Eagle do not publish prices, so their cost is quote only. Card processing, hardware, extra registers and add-ons sit on top of the software fee.
Does a hardware store need a POS built for lumber and building materials?
A store that sells lumber, building materials and contractor orders gains from a system built for that work, because board-foot pricing, cut lengths, special orders and supplier EDI are hard to add to a general till. A small store that sells mainly packaged tools and paint can often run on Square, KORONA POS or Lightspeed Retail. Ask each vendor to show your own lumber and special order flow before you decide.
Can I use Square or Shopify POS for a hardware store?
Yes, both can work, with limits. Square for Retail suits a small store with a simple catalog, barcode scanning and a basic online store, but it locks processing to Square and lacks supplier EDI. Shopify POS suits a store that also sells online through Shopify, but POS Pro costs $89 per location per month on top of the Shopify plan. Neither includes board-foot conversion as a core feature.
What is EDI, and why does it matter for a hardware store?
EDI, or electronic data interchange, lets your POS send purchase orders to a supplier and receive invoices and price updates without retyping the data. Paladin lists EDI links with Ace Hardware, Do It Best, True Value and Orgill, and RockSolid MAX lists vendor EDI tools as well. That link cuts entry errors and speeds up ordering.
Should I choose a cloud POS or an on-premise POS for a hardware store?
A cloud POS gives you access from more than one device, automatic backups and no server to maintain, which suits most small and mid-size stores. An on-premise system can keep selling during an internet outage, which matters for a busy counter and a yard. Paladin uses a hybrid setup with an in-store server plus cloud and local backup, while the other tools here are cloud based. Ask each vendor how the register behaves offline.
Sources
- https://paladinpointofsale.com/
- https://www.ecisolutions.com/products/rocksolid-max/
- https://www.epicor.com/
- https://koronapos.com/
- https://koronapos.com/pricing/
- https://squareup.com/us/en/point-of-sale/retail
- https://squareup.com/us/en/point-of-sale/retail/pricing?country_redirection=true
- https://www.lightspeedhq.com/
- https://www.lightspeedhq.com/pos/retail/pricing/
- https://www.shopify.com/pos
- https://www.shopify.com/pos/pricing
- https://www.clover.com/
- https://www.clover.com/pricing
Prices and features were read on each company’s own website in November 2026. They change often, so confirm the current offer on the official site before you sign up or buy.