Open Source Point of Sale

Overview

This POS combines checkout with inventory, receivings, expenses, cash-up, gift cards, rewards, and restaurant tables. Multiple users can work with permission controls, and multi-location support makes it relevant to businesses operating beyond one counter. The range is a strength for teams seeking one system for sales and daily operations, provided they can manage the infrastructure it runs on.

The MIT license permits broad use, but requires the visible footer signature to remain on every page. That condition may be workable for internal use; businesses that need every customer-facing screen to carry their own branding should look elsewhere.

Key features

Sales, stock, and tax

Stock management covers items and kits, with an extensible list of attributes. The register logs transactions and supports quotations, invoicing, and VAT, GST, customer, and multi-tier taxation. This mix suits operators with varied catalogues or tax rules. The software also supports barcode generation and printing, while scanning depends on third-party hardware.

Operations and customer workflows

Receivings, expense logging, cash-up, gift cards, customer rewards, and restaurant tables extend the system beyond checkout. Receipts, invoices, and quotations can be printed or emailed. Those tools make it a broader operational fit for retail and food service, though the feature range alone does not establish that a particular workflow will match a business's needs.

Users, reports, and integrations

Permission controls support multiple users, and reports cover sales, orders, expenses, and inventory status. MailChimp integration and SMS messaging are also included among its features. Optional Google reCAPTCHA can protect the login page from brute-force attacks; the project describes the software as GDPR ready.

Pricing

Open Source Point of Sale is free. The free plan is the software itself, licensed under MIT terms, with the visible footer signature required on every page. There is no paid tier described, so the cost advantage is clear for operators able to host and maintain it. That trade-off puts server work and the branding condition at the center of the decision.

The project supports multiple installation methods described in its INSTALL.md guide. Its stated server requirements are PHP 8.2 to 8.4, MySQL 5.7 or MariaDB 10.x, and Apache 2.4. Businesses should confirm their server meets those requirements before adopting the system. Security patches cover versions 3.4.2 and later; older versions are outside that support window. The security policy says vulnerability reports receive a response within 48 hours, with confirmed issues patched within a few days depending on complexity.

Platforms

It is web-based and self-hosted, with Linux, macOS, and Windows among its listed platforms. Its PHP and MySQL or MariaDB foundation makes it a server-side deployment rather than a turnkey hosted POS. Hardware support is third-party, so businesses should check that their intended devices are compatible.

Who it's for

This is a strong candidate for retailers and service businesses that need inventory, transactions, tax handling, reporting, and multi-location support, and have the capacity to run the required server. Restaurants may value the table support alongside the register and back-office tools. It is a weaker fit for businesses that want managed hosting, cannot maintain compatible infrastructure, or require removal of the footer signature.

Pros and cons

• Pro: The free MIT-licensed software combines item and kit stock, transaction logging, tax handling, receivings, expenses, and reporting in one system.
• Pro: Multi-location support, multiple users, and permission controls suit operations that need more than a single checkout account.
• Pro: Receipts and sales documents can be printed or emailed, with barcode generation and printing included.
• Con: The business must run a server meeting specific PHP, database, and Apache requirements.
• Con: The visible footer signature must remain on every page, limiting branding control.
• Con: Barcode scanning relies on third-party hardware, so device compatibility needs to be established separately.
• Con: Security patch support excludes versions earlier than 3.4.2.

Alternatives

Consider RetailPOS if Apache 2.0 licensing is preferable: its free, self-hosted plan has no monthly fees. Loyverse is a free-plan option for Android, iOS, or web, with a 31-day sales history on its POS plan and unlimited history for 5.00 USD per month. Posnic POS may suit teams seeking a free plan with a published AGPL-3.0-only desktop application source.

uniCenta oPOS is another freemium POS option, with a BASE subscription priced at 72.00 GBP per year. For grocery, convenience, fuel, department, or specialty retail, NCR Voyix POS offers a retail POS with custom pricing. eHopper has free and trial options, alongside monthly plans at 14.99 USD and 24.99 USD. Oracle Retail Xstore Point-of-Service and Runit RealTime are paid alternatives.

Browse more options in Retail POS Software and Point-of-Sale Software.

Verdict

Choose Open Source Point of Sale if you want a broad, free POS and can operate its PHP and database server. Its stock, tax, sales, and day-to-day operations tools are compelling for that audience. Look elsewhere if server upkeep or the required footer signature would compromise your operations or branding.