Vend POS Review 2023

Vend POS — also known as ‘Vend by Lightspeed' or ‘Lightspeed X-Series' after being acquired by Lightspeed in 2021 — is a retail-specific point of sale (POS) system with a very competitive stack of features. In fact, in our independent research, the POS received full marks (5/5) for its stock management and support tools, and offers one of the best training modes we’ve reviewed — making it a solid choice for growing stores that onboard staff regularly.

However, with its POS packages starting at $69 per month, and no free plan in sight, Vend is much less affordable than alternatives like Square and Zettle. This, in conjunction with its lackluster small business score of 3.8/5 and fairly basic business growth tools, suggest that the solution is less suited to smaller retailers like market stalls and kiosks. We'll cover Vend POS pricing plans, features, rivals and everything you need to know on this page.

The POS market is filled with worthy contenders, however, so if you're still playing the field you can use our free comparison tool to receive tailored quotes from the top providers.

In this review:

• Vend: At a Glance
• Vend POS: Core Features
• Vend Setup and Customer Support
• Vend POS Plans and Pricing
• Vend POS Rivals
• Methodology
• Vend POS – The Verdict

Here at Tech.co, our research team has spent hours analyzing the POS market in order to find the perfect solution for your business. We take a wide variety of metrics into account when making our verdicts, including the presence of industry-specific features, quality help and support tools, and affordability. Jump to our methodology section to learn more.

Vend POS: At a Glance

To help you see whether Vend is right for you at a glance, here's a summary of its price points, peaks, and pitfalls.

• Vend was acquired by Lightspeed in 2021 and is now also referred to as ‘Vend by Lightspeed' and Lightspeed X-Series'
• Vend achieved an overall score of 3.9/5 in our independent testing, which makes it the 6th strongest POS system we've reviewed.
• Vend offers four paid packages and its cheapest plan, Lean, comes in at $69 per month.
• Vend integrates with a broad scope of payment systems, including PayPal, Square, and Shopify.
• Vend's retail till features only scored 3.4/5, which lags behind providers like Zettle and Clover.
• Like its rivals Square, Lightspeed, and NCR Retail, Vend received a perfect 5/5 score for inventory management.
• Vend offers one of the best onboarding systems on the market, with a training mode that lets users use the POS without affecting store data.
• Unlike Square and Clover, Vend offers support via live chat, email, and phone, helping it to secure a perfect 5/5 score in our help and support testing category.
• Our research suggests Vend is the best hotel POS system because of its solid integrations and till features.

Vend POS: Core Features

Sales and Payments

When it comes to sales and payments, Vend is one of the most fully-featured POS providers on the market.

Vend's payment processor integrations allow users to process their credit and debit sales through a range of top brands, including Paypal, Shopify, and Square. Gift cards, split payments, and partial payments are all supported by Vend's platform as well.

Staffers can even create custom buttons to more easily accept cash, checks, and different types of cards, unlocking different revenue streams for businesses and making it easier to drive up revenue. You can customize receipts with your business's branding and other useful information too, which is a great way to boost your brand awareness.

Inventory

With a perfect 5/5 score in this research category, Vend offers a robust suite of inventory features — making Vend a great contender for retail stores with large of complex stocks.

The service uses one central product catalog that syncs across all channels, to ensure pricing and stock counts stay the same regardless of discounts or markups. This means that if you sell the last product in-store, it will automatically update as being out of stock on your website.

Managers can import or add products, along with barcode information and variants (since one product can come in multiple sizes, colors, or materials). Stock orders can also be automated in order to ensure fast-selling products never run out.

Ecommerce

Another area where Vend's third-party integrations stand out is ecommerce, making Vend a stand out solution for retail businesses that sell across multiple channels.

Users with Shopify or WooCommerce accounts can take advantage of those services' online stores, connecting them to the Vend POS to deliver a streamlined omnichannel sales experience to their customers. Products, inventory, customers, and sales can all be synced up to Vend within minutes too, or users can create their online store from scratch and connect it to Vend immediately.

Customers

CRM tools are included on all Vend POS plans, meaning that you can start incentivizing your customers to return time-and-again right from the get-go.

Customer profiles can be created in order to help managers better understand the habits and interests of their regulars. Profiles log the customer's purchase history, loyalty account, and available balance, while custom loyalty programs can be created to retain customers. In another example of Vend's flexibility, existing customer lists can be imported through a CSV upload.

However, with a score of 4/5 for business growth features in our independent testing, Vend's CRM toolkit isn't quite as strong as Square, which landed a perfect score in the category.

Add-Ons

Yes, Vend's third-party integrations cover even more than ecommerce and payments. Here are a few more common POS features that Vend users can access through Vend's interface:

• Employee management — Add staff scheduling functions with Deputy
• Appointment management — Schedule customer appointments with Timely
• Sales channels — Add Amazon or eBay sales channels to your ecommerce options
• Accounting features — Quickly process store data with Xero or Quickbooks Online
• Email marketing — Log and manage customer email addresses with MailSync

Hardware

Vend supports loads of different devices to run its POS software, including Windows PCs, MacOS devices, and iPads. However, it won't work on Android.

You can take a look at the recommended hardware specs here.

However, Vend also sells loads of peripherals – such as barcode scanners, receipt printers, cash drawers, and tablet stands – to help make sure your shop runs smoothly. You can buy these items outright from Vend here.

Vend POS Setup and Customer Support

Vend offers 24/7 global support for its clients via a range of channels, including phone, email, and live chat. Its support center is so strong in fact that it scored full marks 5/5 in the category, a feat that only two other POS providers, Square and TouchBistro, have been able to achieve.

Aside from these support channels, its online help center can answer common concerns, while another online hub – called Vend University – lets users complete web courses packed with webinars, resources, and meetups.

Dedicated Launch Specialists can walk new Vend POS users through the setup process with enhanced training programs. A local Vend Expert may also be available, depending on your location. Vend also has a dedicated training mode, which allows new users to get to grips with the system without affecting real-world data.

Support & Training

Vend POS Plans and Pricing

Vend offers four paid service plan tiers: Lean, Standard, Advanced, and Enterprise, with Standard being the most popular.

The Vend Leanplan costs $69 per month, billed annually. It's aimed at smaller retailers, and offers core POS functions for one register. Additional registers are $49 per register, per month. Monthly turnover is capped at $20,000; if your operation exceeds the limit three times in any 12-month period, you'll be bumped up to the Vend Standard plan.

The Standard plan costs $119 per month, billed annually, with each additional register after the first one costing another $49 per register, per month if billed annually. It offers more advanced reporting and loyalty features, includes all add-ons and ecommerce channels, and supports multiple locations with unlimited turnover.

The Advanced plan costs $199 per month when billed annually, with additional registers still costing $49 per register, per month. It adds customer loyalty features, an advanced analytics suite, and a serial number tracking function that's useful when selling warrenties for specific products.

Finally, the Enterprise plan: Users will need to request a quote from Vend to learn the exact cost for their business. This plan includes a dedicated account manager, plus a customized onboarding package.

All prices are correct as of 23/1/2023.

Vend POS Rivals

Of course, Vend isn't the only POS system on the market. In fact, it has some big competition from POS giants such as Square and Shopify.

So how does Vend compare? Well, we think it's the best software on the market for retail businesses. It has exceptional sales and inventory tools, as well as impressive hardware compatibility.

However, Vend doesn't work with restaurant businesses. Instead, we'd recommend Square or Clover.

Vend is a great choice for businesses of all sizes, and the fact that it works with a range of third-party hardware makes it a great fit for growing companies.

Research and Methodology

The right POS system can streamline almost every aspect of a retail store. To make sure we only give useful and informed recommendations to businesses, we’ve designed a unique research process specifically for ranking the best POS systems. 

As part of this process, we’ve analyzed the POS systems against six main metrics: till features, business management and development tools, stock tracking features, price point, and help and support. 

In addition to these main categories, we also reviewed the system’s industry-specific capabilities, including their presence of retail and restaurant features, to establish how suitable they'll be for different types of businesses. 

After we collected our data, we gave each provider a score out of five for each category, as well as an overall score. These scores make it easy to see where each POS excels and falls short and to understand how they compare to their alternatives. 

This is only part of the story though. Check out our research page to learn more about how we research products and services across our site.

Vend POS Review – The Verdict

With stand-out help and support options, stock management tools, and onboarding features, Vend is a great POS system – especially for large and growing businesses. The system is flexible and can integrate well with existing hardware and payment processors too, making it an easy system to switch to too.

However, due to the system's relatively steep entry point of $69 per month, and its lack of a free plan, the system won't meet the needs of smaller retail stores. What's more, Vend with a retail feature score of 3.5/5, businesses would be better off opting for competitors like Square and Clover if they're after an advanced toolkit.

If Vend isn't right for you, you can compare tailored quotes from all the leading POS providers using our quick, easy, no-obligation price comparison form to find the best deal for your specific needs.

Vend POS FAQs