A point-of-sale (POS) system is the software at your counter: it prices items, takes payment, prints the receipt and keeps stock up to date. For many Sri Lankan shops it is the first business software they buy, and it is hard to change once your products, customers and sales history are in it.
This guide covers what to decide before you talk to vendors, what different kinds of shop need, the hardware involved, how POS software is usually priced, and the questions worth asking. At the end you can compare POS apps made by Sri Lankan developers and listed on AppKade.
What a POS system does
Billing. Scan or search items, apply discounts, take cash, card or QR payments, and print or send a receipt.
Stock. Each sale reduces stock; you record purchases from suppliers and get warned when items run low.
Customers and credit. Keep customer details, loyalty points and credit (“naya”) balances, and see who owes what.
Reports. Daily sales, cash-up at closing, best-selling items and profit by period.
Staff. Separate cashier logins, so you can see who made each sale and who can give discounts or refunds.
Cloud, installed, or both
Cloud (web) POS systems run in a browser or app and keep your data online. You can check sales from your phone, add a second counter or branch easily, and backups happen automatically. The catch is the internet: if the connection or power drops, billing must not stop.
Installed (offline) POS software runs on one computer without the internet. It keeps working through outages, but you are responsible for backups, and reports are only available on that computer.
Many shops in Sri Lanka choose a cloud system with an offline mode: billing carries on during an outage and syncs when the connection is back. Ask any vendor to show you exactly what happens when the internet goes off in the middle of a sale.
What your kind of shop needs
Grocery and retail. Fast barcode billing, weighing-scale support for loose items, stock alerts, supplier purchases and customer credit.
Pharmacy. Batch numbers and expiry dates, alerts before stock expires, and searching by generic and brand name.
Restaurant and café. Tables and takeaway orders, kitchen order tickets (KOT), split bills, service charge and menu changes without a developer.
Hardware and building supplies. Large catalogues, items sold in different units (pieces, kilos, metres), quotations and credit accounts for contractors.
Clothing and shoes. Sizes and colours as variants of one item, exchanges, and barcode labels you can print yourself.
Hardware
Check which devices the software supports before you buy anything. Ask for a list of tested printer and scanner models, and whether the vendor can supply or install them.
Computer, tablet or phone. Some systems need a Windows PC; others run on an Android tablet or in any browser.
Receipt printer. Usually a thermal printer, in 80 mm or 58 mm paper widths. Check Sinhala and Tamil printing if you need it.
Barcode scanner. USB or Bluetooth. Most work like a keyboard, so they work with most software.
Cash drawer and scale. A drawer usually opens through the receipt printer; a scale needs software support to read weights directly.
How POS software is priced
Most POS software in Sri Lanka is sold one of two ways: a one-time licence, often with a yearly fee for support and updates, or a monthly or yearly subscription. Listings on AppKade show the pricing model and, when the developer gives one, a starting price in LKR.
The software is rarely the only cost. Ask for the total for your first year, including setup and data entry, training, hardware, extra counters or branches, and support. A free trial or a demo with your own products is the best way to check fit before you pay.
Questions to ask a POS vendor
What happens offline?. Can I keep billing when the internet or power drops, and how does it sync later?
Where is my data, and can I export it?. Who can see it, how is it backed up, and can I export products, customers and sales to Excel if I leave?
What does the first year cost in total?. Software, setup, hardware, training, support and any per-counter or per-branch fees.
Which printers and scanners work?. Ask for tested models, and whether receipts print in Sinhala or Tamil.
Who helps when something goes wrong?. Support hours, phone or WhatsApp, and whether someone can come on site.
Can I try it with my own products?. A trial or demo with a few of your real items shows more than a sales presentation.
