Retail POS System

Part of the worlds-biggest-software-project initiative.

An AI-native, open-source cloud point-of-sale platform that gives independent and mid-market retailers enterprise-grade inventory sync, CRM, and offline resilience without enterprise-grade pricing.

A modern retail POS system that handles transaction processing, real-time multi-location inventory, customer relationship management, and omnichannel fulfilment. Built for independent retailers, specialty shops, and regional chains who need reliable offline operation and accurate cross-channel stock visibility but are priced out of platforms like Salesforce Commerce Cloud and locked in by proprietary hardware from vendors like Clover.

Why Retail POS System?

No cloud-native open-source option exists. The open-source POS landscape (Floreant, Chromis, uniCenta) is stuck on desktop Java with dated UIs and no cloud sync. Retailers who want open-source must accept 2010-era software.
Offline mode is still a pain point. Shopify POS limits offline transactions to short outages on its Pro tier. Square queues card swipes but little else. Lightspeed has acknowledged offline as a historical weak spot. Retailers in areas with unreliable connectivity have few good options.
Proprietary hardware lock-in inflates costs. Clover ties merchants to its own terminals; Square bundles its own readers. Switching POS provider often means replacing all store hardware.
AI-driven insights are gated behind enterprise pricing. Salesforce offers Einstein-powered recommendations and forecasting, but only at enterprise licence costs with SI partner implementation. SMB retailers get no access to demand forecasting, shrinkage detection, or personalised associate prompts.
Multi-location inventory sync remains fragile. Square's stock transfer features lag behind Lightspeed, while Shopify's multi-warehouse purchasing is weaker than vertical specialists. Phantom stock from sync lag causes real overselling problems.

Key Features

Transaction Processing & Payments

Barcode scanning, card and contactless payments, split tender, returns, exchanges, and store credit
Offline-first transaction queue with idempotent resync when connectivity returns
Integration with certified payment terminals (Stripe Terminal as default path) via public SDKs
Cash management with drawer counts, drops, payouts, and end-of-day reconciliation

Inventory & Supply Chain

Real-time stock levels by SKU and location with multi-store transfers and in-transit tracking
Purchase orders, supplier management, automated reorder thresholds
Matrix inventory support (size x colour) with bulk receiving
Ecommerce sync via documented connector spec (Shopify and WooCommerce as initial targets)

Customer & Loyalty

Customer directory with purchase history, notes, and store credit tracking
Built-in loyalty programme with points, tiers, expiry rules, and segmented promotions
Clienteling tools for associate-driven personalised selling
AI-powered next-best-action prompts: suggested upsells and loyalty redemptions at checkout

Reporting & Analytics

Daily Z-reports, margin analysis, sell-through rates, and ageing inventory views
Shrinkage and fraud anomaly detection from transaction-level patterns (voids, refunds, discount abuse)
Conversational reporting: natural-language queries like "How did socks sell vs last week in the Newtown store?"
Exportable data for accounting integration (Xero, QuickBooks)

Staff & Store Operations

Role-based access control, shift open/close, clock-in/out
Sales performance tracking per associate
AI-assisted onboarding and in-app coaching for new staff
Multi-store head-office vs store-level views for franchise and chain operations

AI-Native Advantage

Unlike incumbents that bolt AI onto legacy architectures or gate it behind enterprise tiers, this system is designed from the ground up with AI capabilities accessible to every retailer. Demand forecasting at the SKU/store level uses sales history, seasonality, and local signals to generate reorder suggestions -- functionality currently confined to Salesforce-tier pricing. Natural-language product search at the register lets associates find items conversationally ("the blue running shoes size 10") instead of navigating category trees. Transaction-pattern analysis surfaces shrinkage risks and anomalous void rates automatically, replacing manual end-of-day auditing.

Tech Stack & Deployment

Deployment: Cloud-native with self-hosted option; offline-first architecture stores full transaction capability locally and syncs without data loss on reconnection
Payments: Certified terminal integration via published public SDKs (Stripe Terminal, EMVCo-aligned interfaces); no re-implementation of payment cryptography; PCI DSS compliant by design
Hardware: Hardware-agnostic via abstraction layer supporting ESC/POS receipt printers, barcode scanners, cash drawers, and scales through OPOS, WebUSB, and Bluetooth
APIs: Public REST/GraphQL API with webhooks for orders, inventory, and refunds
Standards: IoT peripheral integration modelled on JavaPOS/OPOS standards; payment flows aligned with EMVCo specifications

Market Context

The global POS software market serves millions of retail locations, with cloud POS adoption accelerating through the mid-2020s. Incumbent pricing ranges from Square's transaction-fee model and Lightspeed's per-location subscriptions (mid-market) to Salesforce Commerce Cloud's enterprise licensing that typically requires a systems integrator. The primary buyers are independent retailers, specialty chains (apparel, sporting goods, home furnishings), and regional multi-store operators who need inventory accuracy and omnichannel capability but cannot justify enterprise POS costs.

Project Status

This project is in the research and specification phase. Contributions, feedback, and domain expertise are welcome.

Contributing

We welcome contributions from developers, domain experts, and potential users. See CONTRIBUTING.md for guidelines.

Important: All contributions must be your own original work or clearly attributed open-source material with a compatible licence. Copyright infringement and licence violations will not be tolerated and will result in immediate removal of the offending contribution. If you are unsure whether a piece of code, text, or other material is safe to contribute, open an issue and ask before submitting.

Licence

Licence to be determined. See discussion for context.

Note: The POS domain has specific IP considerations. Salesforce documents its POS offline mode as patented, so any offline architecture must be designed independently. Payment terminal SDKs from vendors like Verifone and Adyen may have NDA-bound terms restricting redistribution. Open-source predecessors that may inform design include Floreant POS (MPL 2.0) and Odoo POS Community (LGPLv3).