You want your grocery store to be a pillar of your community, providing food and comfort to everyone in your area. With the rising adoption of Electronic Benefit Transfer (EBT) programs, store owners must find the best point of sale (POS) systems that seamlessly accept EBT payments.
For grocery store owners, embracing EBT payments is a gateway to fostering inclusivity in your store. These systems ensure that every customer can easily purchase groceries, enabling store owners to maintain accurate records and receive timely reimbursements from government agencies.
Finding the perfect EBT-compatible POS system might seem daunting, but have no fear! We’ve already done the research.
This post covers five top options for POS systems that accept EBT. We’ll cover their other features, pricing, and provide real customer reviews for each.
Benefits of POS Systems That Accept EBT
Before we dive into the top point of sale systems with flexible payment options that accept EBT you may want to consider for your grocery store, let’s establish some baseline information about EBT!
Electronic Benefit Transfer is a government assistance program that provides eligible parties with cards, similar to debit cards, that allow them to purchase food and groceries. These cards are an essential lifeline for low-income individuals and families, helping them access essential food items. Now, you might wonder, what are the benefits of accepting EBT in your store? Well, let’s take a closer look!
- Expanded Customer Base: When you accept EBT payments, your grocery store opens its doors to a broader customer base. Low-income individuals and families who rely on government assistance for their food purchases can now shop at your store. By embracing EBT, you create a more inclusive shopping environment, welcoming everyone in the community.
- Increased Sales Revenue: With more customers able to use EBT cards for purchases, your grocery store's sales revenue may experience a boost. In areas with a significant population eligible for EBT benefits, the potential for increased sales becomes even more evident. Catering to a diverse range of customers can have a positive impact on your bottom line.
- Community Support: Accepting EBT goes beyond business benefits; it shows your commitment to supporting the local community. By providing access to essential groceries for those in need, you play an integral role in improving food security and helping individuals and families put food on their tables during tough times.
Related Read: 5 Ways A Grocery Store Inventory Database Leads to Happy Customers
- Compliance with Government Programs: Being able to process EBT payments ensures that your grocery store remains compliant with government assistance programs. This compliance is crucial for maintaining eligibility for other business-related benefits and grants that may be available through various government initiatives.
So, by accepting EBT payments in your grocery store, you're expanding your potential customer base, increasing sales, and demonstrating your commitment to community support and compliance with essential government programs. It's a win-win situation for your business and the people you serve.
Bearing this in mind, let’s examine our list of the top five grocery store POS systems that accept EBT.
1. POS Nation
POS Nation offers specialty market and grocery store POS solutions designed to meet the unique needs of grocery stores and markets. With features like inventory tracking, speedy checkout, and vendor management, their POS software empowers business owners to take control of their operations.
In addition to EBT payments, the system allows for in-store promotions, custom coupons, and mix and match pricing to attract and retain customers. Integration with scanner scales and hotkeys with photos simplifies the checkout process, while the ability to create and accept coupons enhances customer engagement. POS Nation also provides robust data analytics and reporting, employee management, and an unlimited database of items for smooth transactions.
Pricing:
Pricing for POS Nation starts at $149 per month.
Review:
“Our delightful Customer Success Manager has been by our side since day one helping us get our new POS system up and running. We have found the software rather intuitive and easy to use so far.” –POS Nation Customer
2. Markt POS
Markt POS offers an all-in-one solution designed specifically for local markets to streamline operations and create an unmatched customer experience. We offer EBT and other flexible payment options, but that’s only the tip of the iceberg when it comes to our incredible grocery-specific features!
With our inventory management features, you can efficiently track stock levels, receive low stock notifications, and easily create vendor purchase orders.
Our self-checkout option reduces wait times and empowers your employees to handle more customers effectively. Our state-of-the-art POS hardware optimizes efficiency with advanced checkout technology and fast, accurate scale hardware.
Accessible cloud-based technology ensures your store runs smoothly with reliable service that can be accessed from anywhere. Our easy-to-use software is designed for everyone, speeding up checkout lines and providing an incredible customer experience. With dedicated 24/7 support and flexible payment options, including contactless payments, we're committed to ensuring customer security every step of the way.
Pricing:
Get a custom quote for your exact needs using our transparent build and price tool!
Review:
“What we love about Markt POS is our ability to access our data from anywhere. Whether it is on my cell phone, tablet, or laptop at home, I can always have my finger on the pulse of the business.” –Charlie Bougas, Mckinnon’s Meat Market
3. eHopper
eHopper offers an all-in-one, completely cloud-based POS platform. Their platform caters to restaurants and retail stores, providing easy sales processing, offline capabilities, and access to real-time reports.
The system supports multiple devices and platforms, including Android, Windows, and the Poynt mobile terminal, offering flexibility for business owners and employees. With an all-in-one solution for business management, eHopper streamlines operations, manages inventory, handles payments, and supports online ordering.
Pricing:
Omnichannel pricing for eHopper starts at $29.99 per month.
Review:
“I chose eHopper because they look quite easy to get started with and to incorporate with our retail store and to get up and going very quickly. I also chose and continue to be very pleased with eHopper; their support is unparalleled to any other support I have ever experienced.” –eHopper Customer
4. Plexis POS
Plexis POS is a powerful and affordable point of sale software designed for small businesses. It offers cash register mode with a touchscreen or barcode scanning interface for quick and accurate sales entries.
Plexis POS’ software includes inventory tracking to reduce errors and prevent shrinkage, allowing instant reports on current inventory value and reorder status. Accounting modules such as General Ledger, Accounts Receivable, Purchase Orders, and more are integrated, along with EMV-compliant credit, debit, and EBT processing.
Pricing:
Single-station plans start at $39.99 with Plexis POS.
Review:
“No recurring monthly charges — ideal for small mom and pop type business. Good starting price and multi station capable. Good screen appearance and arrangement for touch.” –Plexis POS Customer
5. IT Retail
IT Retail offers a reliable and efficient grocery point of sale system that ensures smooth operations even during busy times. Their system is designed to work seamlessly offline, allowing uninterrupted payment processing.
With a focus on durability, elegance, and affordability, IT Retail's rugged hardware is built to last over five years. Backed by a world-class support team with practical experience in grocery stores, their POS solution is tailored to meet the industry's specific needs. IT Retail's cloud-based back office management suite enables easy access from anywhere, providing instant sales analytics, inventory management, and machine learning-powered reports.
Their grocery-specific payment terminals accept a variety of payment options, including EMV, debit, EBT Food, contactless payments, and more, ensuring a smooth checkout experience for customers.
Pricing:
Get a custom quote on IT Retail’s website.
Review:
“IT Retail POS accompanies a smooth, natural interface that makes it simple to set up and learn. The POS programming has a few inherent applications that are explicit for taking care of specific requirements. These applications separate IT Retail's various capacities, so you can discover the things you need rapidly, keeping everything straightforward.” –IT Retail Customer
POS Systems That Accept EBT… and Do So Much More!
The five point of sale solutions discussed in this post are all excellent choices for processing EBT payments. However, as a grocery store owner, you need your POS system to do much more.
Grocers need their POS systems to handle a variety of tasks like robust inventory management, strong reporting and analytics, and even self-checkout and contactless payment options.
Markt POS offers all these features and more. You can use our build and price tool to create the perfect hardware and software solution for your business, getting all the features you need and none of the expensive extras you don’t.
Schedule a free software demo today to see if Markt POS is the right solution for your store!
