My colleague Hillary Crawford wrote this edition of Starting Small. Hillary is our team’s business software expert. She’s QuickBooks certified and has spent more than four years covering accounting software, payment processing, point-of-sale software and more.

Let me know if you have questions you’d like us to answer! You can always reach me, Rosalie, at [email protected].

Here’s Hillary.

When my husband opened Nocturnal Bloom Brewing in July, it was time to put my business software expertise to the test. Each week, I spend hours researching POS systems for NerdWallet’s readers. So, I said I’d spearhead the brewery’s hunt for the best POS system.

Making decisions for a real-life business was pretty daunting. But I took it back to the basics and followed my own advice: decide which features matter most.

Here’s what my POS system checklist looked like:

At the end of the day, I chose Square. Its free restaurant plan felt substantial enough for the brewery (especially since it doesn’t serve food). And Square’s hardware is generally more affordable than options from other industry competitors, like Toast. This gave me peace of mind — if, for some reason, Square didn’t work out, at least the brewery didn’t spend a fortune on it. Square’s cost is just one of the reasons NerdWallet gives it 5 stars.

Clover is the only other POS system I seriously considered. I liked that it lets you choose your own payment processor (Square makes you use its in-house payment processing services). This would’ve also allowed the brewery to use an interchange-plus processor as opposed to a flat-rate one.

But working with two companies instead of one felt like more work. And interchange-plus pricing doesn’t help all small businesses save money — mostly just the higher-volume ones.

Even if you check off all your boxes, you’ll probably still run into issues. The POS systems that get praised for being the most intuitive are, at times, not.

Square felt familiar to me since I’ve used it as both a customer and an employee. But when it came time to show employees how to use the POS system, I forgot how to start a bar tab. I’ve had to read a lot more “help” articles than I expected. Just give yourself grace and know that it takes time to get familiar with these workflows — regardless of which system you choose.

You may need to adjust your budget after you choose a POS system, too. The brewery ended up purchasing an extra handheld POS device from Square, which increased the monthly software cost by $20. And it had to pay an extra $4 per month per employee to evenly divide tips among the employees who were clocked in when the tips were received.

On Aug. 31, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that the unemployment rate edged up from 4.1% to 4.2% in July 2025. It also revised job gains from May and June, showing way fewer new jobs than initially thought.

A slowing labor market could lead to a decrease in consumer spending. And this has the potential to impact small businesses’ bottom line.

No small business can control the economy. But one small thing you can control in times of uncertainty is your recurring costs.

Check in on your business software bills and ask: Do they all still make sense or seem worth it? If you run a freelance business, for example, you may do just fine with free software instead of a paid plan.

Here are our resources to help you find the least expensive options for your business:

You should probably be asking your payment processor more questions about your credit card processing fees.

Some deals, like volume discounts, aren’t available unless you inquire. I’ve run into a lot of payment processors who don’t list these publicly. (Typically, businesses need to meet a minimum monthly or annual revenue to qualify. For Square, for example, it’s $250,000 per year.)

And sometimes, processors advertise flat-rate processing models, but also offer interchange-plus plans. If you run a high-volume business, switching to an interchange-plus pricing model can help you save money in the long run. Ask your processor if they offer one.

One more tip: Competitive processors shouldn’t charge extra for PCI compliance, termination, basic fraud protection or setup. For the most part, these features should be included. But some companies sneak those expenses into your bill.

Ask your processor if they’re charging you for any of these things. If they are, try negotiating an exemption or consider other options. NerdWallet’s list of the best credit card processing companies includes multiple companies that fit the bill.