Hardware store POS

The hardware store POS system for counter sales and trade accounts.

POS2026 gives hardware shops, DIY stores and smaller builders merchants a catalogue organised for a wide range, units that match how you sell, and trade accounts with invoices and a Due List.

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A shop worker arranging stock on wooden shelving in a store
A wide range, organised the way your aisles are.

In short

A hardware store POS system is till and stock software built for a wide range of parts sold in different units. POS2026 lets hardware shops, DIY stores and builders merchants sell by the metre, box or each, organise a big catalogue by category, and run trade customers on account, with an invoice for each sale and a Due List showing who owes what and when.

Few shops carry a range as wide as a hardware store. Screws, nails and wall plugs, loose and boxed. Chain, rope and hose by the metre. Paint, sealant, tools, plumbing fittings and electrical sundries, each in several sizes. The customer at the counter might be a homeowner buying one hinge or a builder collecting half a van load on account.

POS2026 serves both properly. Products carry the unit you sell them in, so the till and the stock count agree. Trade customers have their own records, their purchases go on account with an invoice, and the balance appears on the Due List with the date it is due. One catalogue serves the walk-in DIY customer and the trade counter alike.

Why hardware shops switch

What a hardware or DIY shop POS has to cope with.

A wide range, awkward units and customers who expect credit.

  • Items sold in different units

    Some lines go out per metre, some by the box and some singly. If the till and the stock count use different units, neither figure is right.

  • A catalogue that never stops growing

    Every screw size, fitting and paint colour is another line. Without structure, finding an item at the till takes longer than fetching it from the shelf.

  • Trade customers on account

    Builders, plumbers and electricians expect to collect now and pay at month end. Unpaid accounts are cash the shop cannot use.

  • Paperwork for every trade sale

    Trade customers need an invoice to charge materials on to their own clients. Handwritten dockets get lost and are hard to total.

A small shop with wooden shelves of goods and blue crates on the floor
Sold in one unit, counted in the same one.

01 · Units of sale

Sell per metre, per box or each.

Give every product the unit it is sold in: chain and hose by the metre, screws and fixings by the box of 100 or 200, hinges and handles each. The till charges for that unit and stock is counted in the same unit, so the shelf and the screen agree.

If you sell the same fixing both loose and boxed, set them up as two products, each with its own price, barcode and count. It is a simple rule that keeps stock figures honest.

Unit per product

Metre, box, pack or each, set once.

Barcodes on packaged lines

Boxed and carded items scan at the counter.

Prices per unit

The right price for the unit, every time.

How Products works
A woman checking a tablet among clothing rails in a shop
Find any line in a couple of taps.

02 · A big catalogue

A wide range that is still easy to find.

Organise the catalogue the way the aisles are: fixings, hand tools, power tool accessories, plumbing, electrical, paint and decorating, garden and so on. Add a picture to lines that look alike, such as fittings that differ by a few millimetres, so staff pick the right one. Barcoded lines scan straight in; the rest are a couple of taps away by category.

Low-stock alerts on core lines, such as the screws and fixings trade customers buy every week, prevent the most common "sorry, we are out" moment.

Categories by aisle

The till mirrors the shop floor.

Pictures for look-alikes

Tell similar fittings apart at a glance.

Low-stock alerts

Core fixings reordered before they run out.

How Stock works
A smiling man in a patterned shirt standing outside a large historic building
Collected today, paid at month end, never forgotten.

03 · Trade accounts

Trade customers on account, with an invoice every time.

Add each builder, plumber or contractor as a customer with their contact details. When they collect materials on account, record the sale against them and hand over the invoice there and then. The amount joins their balance, the Due List shows it with the payment date you agreed, such as the end of the month, and reminders prompt you when it falls due.

When they pay, record the payment and the balance drops. Their record keeps every sale and payment, which settles most queries about what was bought and when. Agreed trade discounts are applied at the till and saved with each sale.

Invoices

An invoice from every sale, for the customer's own paperwork.

Due List

Every trade balance with its due date.

Customer records

Sales and payments for each account.

How Due List works
A woman checking a delivered parcel with her phone beside a laptop and boxes
Deliveries in, costs current.

04 · Suppliers and costs

Many suppliers, one record of what you paid.

A hardware store buys from general wholesalers, specialist distributors and local suppliers. Record each order as a purchase against the supplier, and stock rises when it arrives while the cost on each product stays current. Loss/Profit then shows margin by product and for the whole business, after rent, wages, van costs and other expenses.

Supplier orders

Each delivery recorded against its supplier.

Purchase history

Past prices to check before the next order.

Margin by product

See which ranges carry the shop.

How Purchase works

The modules you will use

The hardware store software you will use most.

These carry both the walk-in counter and the trade accounts.

Getting started

Set up your hardware shop EPOS step by step.

Start with fast-moving consumables and your trade accounts. Specialist lines can follow.

  1. Begin a free trial and choose the currency you trade in.
  2. Create categories that match your aisles.
  3. Add products with their unit of sale, price, cost and barcode, beginning with fast-moving fixings and consumables.
  4. Add trade customers and any balances they owe today.
  5. Add your main suppliers and record the next delivery as a purchase.
  6. Serve a walk-in customer, then put a builder's first order on account.

Questions

Common questions.

Straight answers for shop owners, based on what POS2026 actually does.

Can I sell items by the metre?

Yes. Each product can be given a unit, such as metre, box, pack or each, and is sold and stocked in that unit. If you sell the same item loose and boxed, set it up as two products.

Can trade customers buy on account?

Yes. Record the sale against the customer, give them the invoice, and the balance appears on the Due List with its due date and reminders. Record their payments as they arrive and the balance reduces.

Can I give trade customers different prices?

POS2026 does not keep a separate price list for each customer. Apply the agreed trade discount at the till; it is saved with the sale and reflected in your reports and profit figures.

Can it work as builders merchant EPOS?

For a smaller builders merchant or trade counter, yes: units, trade accounts, invoices and supplier purchases are all covered. It does not schedule deliveries or manage tool hire, so merchants that rely on those need another system alongside. If you also sell car parts, see our auto parts store POS page.

Do I need special equipment?

No. POS2026 runs in a web browser on a computer, laptop or tablet. Scanners and receipt printers help at a busy trade counter but are not essential, and POS2026 is not a card processor, so you keep your own card terminal.

Keep reading

One system for the DIY customer and the trade counter.

Start your free trial, set up your core range and open your first trade account today.

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