Market · US dollar (USD)
A retail POS for US shops that prices sales tax, serials and stock correctly
RetailPOS Studio is a hosted point-of-sale system for independent US retailers: general stores, gift shops and mobile-phone and electronics shops. It adds state and local sales tax at checkout through tax groups, tracks every IMEI and serial number, prints barcode labels and keeps stock right across one shop or several. Plans start at $35 per location per month, with a 21-day free trial, no contract and no card-processing markup, because you keep your own processor.
The facts
Selling in United States, at a glance.
- Currency
- US dollar (USD)$1,234.56
- Dates
- MM/DD/YYYY
- Tax
- Sales tax is set by states, counties and cities and is added on top of the shelf price at checkout. Rates and exemptions vary by address, so your POS needs combined tax groups rather than one flat rate.
- Week
- Saturday and Sunday are the busiest trading days for retail; most offices close on weekends.
- How shops sell
- Web and phone first, then email and text; WhatsApp is common with immigrant-owned shops.
- Languages
- English, Spanish, Chinese, Arabic, Urdu
- Payments (works with)
- Credit and debit cards through your own processor
- Apple Pay and Google Pay through your card terminal
- Cash
- Store credit and gift cards via custom payment methods
Prices in US dollar (USD)
What it costs in United States.
Sales tax is added at checkout where it applies. Prices are set for United States, not converted from another currency.
How does sales tax work on a US retail POS?
In the US, sales tax is added at checkout rather than included in the shelf price. The rate depends on where the sale happens: a state rate, plus county, city and sometimes special-district rates. In RetailPOS Studio you build a tax group for each location (for example state + county + city) and attach it to products, so the receipt shows each component and the total. This is general information, not tax advice; your accountant or your state's revenue department has the final word on rates.
Some items are exempt or taxed at a reduced rate in many states, such as certain groceries or clothing under a price threshold. You can mark a product as exempt or give it its own tax rate, and prices can be entered tax-exclusive, which is how US shoppers expect to see them.
If you sell online as well, remote-seller rules (economic nexus) may require you to collect tax in other states once you pass their thresholds. The software records the tax collected per location and per rate, so the figures you need for filing come out of the tax report rather than a spreadsheet.
Local habits
How do US shoppers actually pay and buy?
Cards and phones at the counter
Most US retail sales are paid by card or a phone wallet. RetailPOS Studio works with your own card processor and terminal, so you are not locked into one provider's rates, and cash is still counted per register at open and close.
Returns are expected
US shoppers expect easy returns and exchanges. Sell returns go back against the original invoice, put stock back on the shelf and, for serialized items, release the exact serial number back into stock.
Holiday peaks decide the year
Black Friday through Christmas, back-to-school in August and Mother's Day carry many gift and electronics shops. Purchase orders and reorder levels let you buy ahead instead of running out in the week that matters.
Online and in store, one catalogue
Shoppers check stock online before they visit. Your auto-generated online store reads the same catalogue and stock as the register, so a product that sells out in the shop stops showing as available online.
Many US independent shops are family-run by owners who speak Spanish, Chinese, Arabic, Urdu, Hindi, Korean or Vietnamese at home and English with customers. RetailPOS Studio lets each staff member use the interface in their own language while receipts print in the language your customers read, so a Spanish-speaking cashier and an English receipt can work side by side. Languages
Cities
Where we look closer.
New York
47th Street and Midtown electronics · Canal Street, Chinatown · Jackson Heights, 74th Street · Flushing, Main Street
POS in New York 02Houston
Harwin Drive · Hillcroft and the Mahatma Gandhi District · Bellaire Boulevard Chinatown
POS in Houston 03Los Angeles
Santee Alley and the Fashion District · Broadway, downtown · Koreatown
POS in Los AngelesSpec sheet · FAQ