DaySmart Salon vs RetailPOS

DaySmart Salon is salon management software for scheduling, payments, reminders, reporting, and related business work. It is intended for hair salons, barbershops, nail salons, skin clinics, independent stylists, and suite renters, and supports multiple locations. Clients can book through a salon website, Instagram, Facebook, or a Google Business listing; bookings can require salon approval. Automated text and email reminders, two-way text confirmations, cancellations, rescheduling, and upfront deposits help manage appointments. The built-in payment processing accepts card, contactless, and mobile payments, with funds deposited the next business day. Staff tools include commission calculations, performance tracking, digital time clocks, and per-staff reporting. The mobile app lets users add, book, and check out clients, and a desktop version is available. Basic costs $29 a month and includes one user, online booking, appointment confirmations, social booking, payment processing, and online deposits. There is no free plan, though a 14-day trial is listed. QuickBooks Online connection requires a separate subscription and is limited to eligible US customers on Deluxe, Premier, or Platinum.

RetailPOS is an open-source point-of-sale system for physical stores that connects store activity with e-commerce platforms. It syncs inventory, orders, and customer information with services including Shopify, WooCommerce, BigCommerce, Magento, Sylius, Wix, PrestaShop, Squarespace, and Commercefull. The system can keep working offline using SQLite, then queue orders for automatic synchronization when connectivity returns. Checkout supports barcode scanning, receipt printing, cash drawers, and card payments through listed options including Stripe Terminal, Stripe NFC tap-to-pay, Square, and Worldpay. Hardware connections include USB, Bluetooth, camera, and network. Inventory tools cover variants, low-stock alerts, manual adjustments, and an audit trail; reports provide sales summaries, payment breakdowns, cashier rankings, and CSV export. Role-based access distinguishes Admin, Manager, and Cashier. Registers in server-and-client mode share orders, inventory, and settings over a local network. RetailPOS is free: free, with no monthly fees. Security updates cover version 2.0.x; earlier versions are unsupported.