5 Top Options for Smoke Shop POS System for 2024

Running a smoke shop isn't just about selling products; it's about creating an experience for your customers.

But you need to do more than just create that experience — you need to manage your operations, inventory, and more. And what's the superhero behind the scenes? Your point of sale (POS) system. But how can you find the best point of sale solution for your smoke shop?

This post covers the best smoke shop POS systems you might want to explore this year. Check it out to get the baseline information you need to make the right choice for your store. 

Why You Need a Smoke Shop POS System 

Before we cover our top options for smoke shop POS systems, let’s answer one question: Do you really need a point of sale system for your smoke shop? The short answer is yes. 

A specialized smoke shop POS can change your business operations game in many ways. The first critical benefit relates to inventory management. Your point of sale system gives you access to real-time stock levels, so you always know what you have on hand. This visibility saves time on manual counts and helps prevent running out of stock. 

Related Read: Mastering Smoke Shop Inventory Management: 4 Top Tips

A point of sale system also allows you to provide better customer service. Your POS can make personalized recommendations based on past purchases, manage loyalty programs, and help your staff make customers feel special and appreciated. 

At checkout, you’ll save time and headaches with fast, integrated payments. Robust point of sale systems offer options like credit card, mobile pay, and contactless payments, allowing you to accept any payment seamlessly. This convenience keeps lines moving fast, so customers can get through the checkout quickly and without frustration.

Finally, built-in reporting and analytics give you visibility into your sales, inventory, and employee performance. This data gives you the insights to optimize operations and boost long-term profit margins.

But not all point of sale systems are created equal. Smoke shop owners need specific features and functionality from their POS systems. Let’s take a look at some key features for smoke shops:

• Case break inventory: Track stock by the case or carton for all products.
• Carton-pack inventory: Maintain visibility at the pack level, allowing you to sell products by the pack or carton.
• Age verification: Guard against underage purchases with built-in age verification measures at checkout.
• Custom label printing: Promote brands, run specials, and comply with warning label laws with a custom label printer. 
• Scan data reporting: Learn from robust analytics on all transactions and enjoy kickbacks from manufacturers by sharing this data. 

The right smoke shop POS centralizes all these specialized capabilities to help you enhance customer service, increase efficiency, and make better decisions. With this in mind, let’s examine some of the top options on the market today. 

1. Lightspeed Retail 

Lightspeed Retail offers a cloud-based point of sale solution that allows you to access your sales and inventory data from anywhere, so you can manage operations across multiple store locations. 

Lightspeed helps you easily collect sales data across various channels, including in-store and e-commerce sales. This transparency lets you centralize your inventory management, sales, and reporting across different store locations and channels. You can also use Lightspeed for contactless payments and advanced sales reporting. 

Pricing: Lightspeed’s Standard package starts at $119 per month.

Review: “Lightspeed has been great. We have been using it for over a year and it has met my expectations. Whenever I request help, which isn't that often anymore, they are quick to respond.” –Lightspeed User

2. POS Nation 

POS Nation offers an efficient, secure point of sale system for tobacco stores and other small retailers. This solution also offers robust inventory management tools and detailed reporting capabilities, helping with stock control and giving you the data you need to make better business decisions.

Another strong point of POS Nation is customer support. 24/7 customer support options ensure you always have technical support no matter what your store’s hours of operation are, or when your tech challenges occur. POS Nation also offers features like age verification, flexible payment processing, and carton-pack inventory — all critical to tobacco store operations. 

Pricing: Get a custom quote with their pricing tool.

Review: “I have enjoyed using POS Nation. With each fix or call to the tech team, I learn the system more and more. The POS Nation employees have been wonderful, and the hardware has held up well for the time we have had it.” –POS Nation User

3. KORONA POS 

KORONA POS offers point of sale solutions to various business types, including quick-service restaurants, retailers, and more. Smoke shop owners can benefit from real-time inventory visibility and insights, giving them the data they need to make better ordering decisions and avoid stockouts. 

You can also use KORONA’s employee management features to analyze sales trends and peak hours to optimize staff scheduling. Additionally, KORONA provides insights into top-selling items and inventory turnover, helping you track your store’s top performers and worst-selling items.

Pricing: KORONA’s Core solution starts at $59 per month.

Review: “I had such an antiquated system before, implementing Korona has been a huge game changer for my overall profitability. Implementation was seamless and painless! The support staff is great and always ready to help. Had I known it would be this easy, I would have made the switch sooner!” –KORONA POS User

4. NCR 

NCR delivers a cloud-based POS solution that retailers can access from any device. This cloud-based access enables retailers to handle reporting, track inventory levels, and suspend transactions away from the registers. 

Smoke shop owners benefit from NCR’s accelerated checkout processes, including barcode integrations, streamlined customer returns, built-in discounts, and gift card processing capabilities. You can also use NCR to create custom loyalty programs to reward your regular customers. 

Pricing: NCR’s pricing is not available on their website, and you must contact sales to get a quote.

Review: “We have quick and efficient checkout and return processes. More control of discounts and markdowns. Offers an easy interface for our employees to learn to use.” –NCR Silver User

5. Cigars POS 

Cigars POS is a point of sale solution designed specifically for smoke shops and tobacco retailers. Our all-in-one POS solution offers all the necessary features, including advanced inventory with carton-pack tracking, age verification software, and custom label printing capabilities, allowing you to brand your products and elevate the customer experience.

Additionally, Cigars POS offers built-in customer loyalty programs and scan data reporting, giving you the data and functionality you need to optimize profits and keep customers happy all in one. Granular sales data lets you plan and send targeted promotions to your most frequent customers, driving additional revenue and sales volume.  

Pricing: Use our transparent build and price tool to price out your perfect solution.

Review: “One of my favorite aspects of working with Cigars POS has been the customer service. They’ve been very helpful and supportive in helping us get better with our software.” –Craig Cass, Tinder Box

Choosing the Right Smoke Shop POS System for Your Store 

The smoke shop POS solutions discussed in this post all offer strong features you may enjoy for your store. However, no solution is right for every business. You need to weigh the features, pricing, and customer support options to find the right system for your store. 

If you want a point of sale system built with tobacco and smoke shops in mind, Cigars POS might be the right solution for you. Our system offers robust tobacco inventory management, built-in loyalty programs, age verification, and flexible payment options. The best part? You can build and price out your ideal, customized solution, meaning you get all the hardware and features you need — and none of the expensive bells and whistles you don’t. 

If you want to experience how seamlessly a smoke shop POS can elevate your business firsthand, schedule a personalized demo of Cigars POS today.