Ever wondered about the time investment required to build a POS system? In this post, insights are gathered from industry professionals such as a Founder and a Marketing Manager, providing valuable perspectives. The first expert suggests that building a POS can take between 2-5 months, while the last insight highlights a timeframe of 3-6 months for basic systems. Read on to discover a total of 2 expert insights on the intricacies of POS development timelines.
- POS Build Takes 2-5 Months
- Basic POS Systems Take 3-6 Months
POS Build Takes 2-5 Months
Having worked with numerous Shopify stores, I’ve seen POS systems take anywhere from 2-5 months to build and fully implement. One of our clients recently transitioned from a basic checkout to a custom POS solution—while the core functionality was ready in 6 weeks, integrating it with their existing inventory and customer management systems took another 6 weeks. I always tell my e-commerce clients to factor in at least a month of testing and staff training, as these often get overlooked in the initial timeline estimates.
Joshua Uebergang, Founder, Digital Darts
Basic POS Systems Take 3-6 Months
The time it takes to build a Point-of-Sale (POS) system depends on the system’s complexity, features, and the development team’s resources. A basic POS system with core functionalities like sales tracking, inventory management, and simple reporting can take 3 to 6 months. More advanced systems, including integrations with payment gateways, customer loyalty programs, multi-location support, and analytics dashboards, might require 9 to 12 months or more.
In my experience, projects often run longer than expected due to unforeseen challenges, such as integrating legacy systems or meeting industry compliance standards (like PCI DSS for payment processing). Agile development methods help streamline the process by breaking it into smaller, iterative phases. For example, one team I worked with built the MVP (minimum viable product) in 4 months, focusing on essential features, then rolled out updates every 6 weeks to add functionality.
If you’re aiming to reduce timelines, leveraging third-party APIs or platforms for payment processing and inventory can save months of development time. However, custom systems tend to take longer but offer the flexibility to tailor the POS specifically to your business needs.
Alex Cornici, Marketing Manager, Feed Pic
