Setting up Shopify POS takes three core steps: choose a POS plan, connect the hardware, and configure payments. Once those are in place, a few settings — locations, staff, and product assignments — finish the job. Because Shopify POS runs on the same account as the online store, an in-person sale updates online inventory automatically, which is the main reason existing Shopify merchants add it rather than running a separate register.

Step 1: Choose a POS plan

Shopify POS comes in two tiers:

POS Lite is included free with every Shopify plan. It handles payments, inventory tracking, customer and order management, gift cards, discounts, and offline cash sales — enough for pop-ups, markets, and single-location or low-volume retail.
POS Pro costs $89 per location per month (or $79 billed annually) and adds staff roles and permissions, sales attribution, advanced inventory, exchanges, local pickup and delivery, and in-store analytics. It earns its cost once in-person retail is a primary channel or spans multiple locations.

Start with Lite if in-person selling is occasional; move to Pro when staff management, multiple locations, or detailed retail reporting become necessary. The Shopify POS app overview breaks down the feature differences in more detail.

Step 2: Get and connect the hardware

Shopify POS runs on iOS and Android, so the starting point is a compatible tablet or phone plus a card reader. Depending on the setup, a store may also add a barcode scanner, receipt printer, and cash drawer. Shopify supports only approved hardware, and the device price is only part of the cost — the Shopify POS hardware review covers the lineup, pricing, and total cost of ownership.

Pairing is done in the POS app under Settings > Hardware: select the device, put it into pairing mode, and connect. Test each piece while online before relying on it at an event — connection type affects whether printers and drawers behave during an outage. For what continues to work without internet, see Shopify POS offline mode.

Step 3: Set up payments

The main configuration step is enabling Shopify Payments, which lets the app process cards and digital wallets and keeps in-person and online earnings in one place. Shopify POS also accepts gift cards, cash, and custom payment methods. Setting up Shopify Payments is guided step by step in the admin, and once active the POS is ready to take its first sale.

Finish the essential settings

Three settings are worth confirming before going live:

Locations. Give each selling location a unique name and accurate address so stock, fulfillment, and reporting attribute correctly.
Staff accounts. Create an account or PIN for each staff member and grant the appropriate permission level — associate through manager — so actions are tracked to the right person.
Products. Confirm each product has correct details, variants, and pricing, and is assigned to the POS sales channel and the right location, so it appears at checkout.

Using Shopify POS day to day

At checkout, staff build a cart by scanning barcodes or searching the catalog, adjust quantities as needed, and apply discounts through the cart's actions menu. At payment, the app accepts cards, digital wallets, gift cards, and cash, and can capture tips on supported readers. Saved carts let a customer step away and return, and receipts can be branded and sent by email or SMS.

The bottom line

Setting up Shopify POS is mostly a matter of choosing the right plan, connecting approved hardware, and enabling Shopify Payments — then confirming locations, staff, and product assignments before the first sale. The payoff is a single system across online and in-person sales, with inventory and customer data that stay in sync automatically.

If you would like help planning or configuring a Shopify POS setup, get in touch.