To learn how to set up Shopify POS, the fast version is three steps: install the Shopify POS app on your phone or tablet, activate Shopify Payments so you can take card transactions, and connect a card reader or use Tap to Pay on a compatible device. Once that is done, your in-person sales and your online store share one inventory, one catalog, and one customer list. Here is the full setup, how to actually sell in person, and how payments and shipping fit together.
Key takeaways
- To set up Shopify POS, install the free POS app and connect it to your existing Shopify account, then decide whether the free POS Lite or the paid POS Pro fits your retail needs.
- To sell on Shopify in person, use the POS app as your checkout wherever you are, because it works the same at a market stall, a pop-up, or a permanent store.
- To set up Shopify Payments, activate it in your Shopify admin and complete the business and bank verification, since Shopify Payments must be active before any card reader can process...
How to Set Up Shopify POS
To set up Shopify POS, install the free POS app and connect it to your existing Shopify account, then decide whether the free POS Lite or the paid POS Pro fits your retail needs. Follow this order:
- - Install the app. Download Shopify POS on an iPhone, iPad, or Android device and sign in with your store login.
- - Choose your POS plan. POS Lite is included with your Shopify plan for basic in-person selling. POS Pro (around $89 per location per month, verify current pricing) adds advanced retail tools, staff roles, and richer inventory management.
- - Sync your catalog. Your online products, prices, and inventory flow into POS automatically, so you sell from one source of truth.
- - Set up staff and locations. Add team members with the right permissions and register each selling location.
The core advantage is unity: one system runs your online and in-person sales together, so stock and sales never drift apart between channels.
How to Sell on Shopify in Person
To sell on Shopify in person, use the POS app as your checkout wherever you are, because it works the same at a market stall, a pop-up, or a permanent store. What in-person selling looks like:
1. Ring up the sale. Add products by tapping, scanning a barcode, or searching your catalog in the POS app. 2. Take the payment. Accept tap, chip, and mobile wallets through a connected reader or Tap to Pay on a supported phone. 3. Send the receipt. Offer a printed, emailed, or texted receipt, and capture the customer for future marketing. 4. Keep inventory honest. Every in-person sale updates the same stock count as your online store in real time.
Because inventory and customers are shared, a buyer you meet at a weekend market becomes part of the same email list and data as your online shoppers. That single view is what makes selling in person on Shopify more than just a card machine.
How to Set Up Shopify Payments
To set up Shopify Payments, activate it in your Shopify admin and complete the business and bank verification, since Shopify Payments must be active before any card reader can process an in-person transaction. Here is what the setup involves:
| Step | What you do | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| Activate in admin | Turn on Shopify Payments in Settings | Unlocks card payments online and in person |
| Verify your details | Add business info and a valid tax ID | Required for identity and payout compliance |
| Connect a bank account | Add where payouts land | So your sales actually reach you |
| Confirm eligibility | Check it is supported in your country | Availability and requirements vary by region |
Once Shopify Payments is live, both your website checkout and your POS card reader run through the same system, giving you one place to see every sale and one payout stream instead of juggling a separate processor.
Ready to run in-person and online sales as one?
Unifying retail and online is where many growing brands lose time, mismatched stock, split reporting, and clunky checkouts cost you sales. Shaazford runs ecommerce operations for 130+ brands with 98% partner retention, building setups where in-person and online work as one clean system. If you want your channels unified and converting, talk to Shaazford.