Shopify POS: physical and online store with one inventory

What Shopify POS is

Shopify POS is Shopify's point-of-sale app. You install it on an iPad, an iPhone or a compatible Android device, and it turns that device into a register connected to your store. Products, prices, customers, discounts and gift cards are the same as on the website, because there are not two systems: there is one with two sales channels.

Each physical store is set up as a location in the admin. When you sell at the register, Shopify deducts stock from that location; when an online order comes in, it is assigned to the right location according to your rules. As a result, you see in real time how many units you have at each location and in total.

POS included in your plan and POS Pro

Every Shopify plan includes the POS app with the basic features: taking payments, applying discounts, looking up customers, issuing receipts and handling returns and exchanges at the store where the purchase was made. For a small store with one or two people, that may be enough.

The limit usually shows up when the store team grows or you open a second store. Without roles, every staff member can do the same things at the register, including applying discounts or processing returns. And if a customer buys in one store and wants to exchange the size in another, you cannot do it with basic POS.

POS Pro is a paid add-on billed per location. According to Shopify's website, it adds unlimited staff access to POS with roles and permissions, returns and exchanges at any store, omnichannel selling (such as buy online, pick up in store), more detailed inventory reports, purchase orders to suppliers and retail sales reports. On Shopify Plus, POS Pro is included for a number of locations.

• Roles and permissions per staff member
• Returns and exchanges at any store
• Omnichannel selling and in-store pickup
• Inventory reports and purchase orders

One inventory for every channel

The key to POS is that inventory is shared. If you have one unit left in a size and someone buys it in the physical store, it disappears from the website at that moment. That prevents selling what you do not have and gives you a real view of stock without reconciling spreadsheets.

For this to work, the catalog has to be well built: each variant with its SKU and, if you use a scanner, its barcode. Before opening the register, do a full count at each location and load it into Shopify. If you start with stock figures that do not add up, the problem carries over to both channels.

In-store pickup and cross-channel orders

With local pickup turned on at a location, customers can buy online and choose to collect the order at your store. The order appears in the admin and in that store's POS, the team prepares it, marks it as ready and the customer gets a notification. When they collect it, it is marked as picked up.

You can also do the reverse: sell in the physical store a product that is not there and ship it to the customer from the warehouse or another store. It is how you avoid losing a sale over a missing size. Check on Shopify's website which omnichannel features require POS Pro at each location.

Hardware and payments

Shopify sells compatible card readers, stands, receipt printers, barcode scanners and cash drawers. Before buying, check in Shopify's hardware store which models are available in Spain and which devices (iPad, iPhone or Android) work with each reader.

To take card payments in the physical store you need Shopify Payments active, which is the same processor you use online. That way payments from both channels arrive together, with the same reports and the same payouts to your account. Customers who buy in store can also be registered with their email, so their online and offline history appears together on their profile. Cash and other manual methods are also recorded in POS so the register balances at closing.

How to set it up step by step

This is the order we follow in projects with a physical store. First, the online catalog is put in order, because it is the foundation of everything. Next, locations are created and the real stock for each is loaded. Then POS, staff and hardware are configured, and there is a one-week trial running in parallel with the previous system before switching it off.

• Catalog with SKU and barcode per variant
• One location per store and per warehouse
• Initial count and stock upload per location
• Staff with their PIN and permissions
• Hardware tested: reader, printer and scanner
• In-store pickup turned on if you plan to offer it
• Test sales, returns and register closing

What to review with your advisor

Issuing receipts and invoices in a physical store comes with specific tax obligations in Spain, and the rules on invoicing systems are changing. Shopify POS issues receipts, but if you need to meet specific invoicing requirements or integrate with your accounting software, check with your tax advisor and review which App Store apps cover your case.