For a small NZ grocer, dairy or superette, Hike is our pick: it reads the weight-embedded barcodes that label scales print, on every plan, and integrates with NZ EFTPOS terminals. Loyverse does the same barcode trick for free, with fewer EFTPOS options. Lightspeed has strong stock control, but doesn't publish how it handles weighed items.
Be clear about one thing first: none of these is a dedicated grocery system. They're general retail POS systems that handle a small store well. None of the seven systems we cover publishes support for a live scale connected to the till in New Zealand. If you run a supermarket-sized store with in-counter scanner scales, skip to when you need a specialist.
This is our own desk research from vendor pages, help centres and Trading Standards, checked on 5 October 2026. We haven't run these systems in a store ourselves. Compare all seven systems in the comparison table.
What a grocery POS has to do
Barcode scanning and stock for thousands of lines
A dairy can carry a lot of small lines, so fast barcode scanning and solid stock control matter more than anything fancy. Hike's features page lists purchase orders, supplier management and low-stock alerts. Loyverse's grocery page lists low-stock emails and purchase orders to suppliers, and works with barcode scanners, label printers, receipt printers and cash drawers. Its pricing page puts purchase orders in the Advanced inventory add-on, US$25 a month per store (prices exclude taxes), so budget for that on top of the free plan. Our barcode scanner guide covers which scanner to buy.
Selling by weight: typed weight vs weight-embedded barcodes
There are two realistic ways to sell loose produce, deli meat or bulk foods:
- A label-printing scale. Weigh the item, the scale prints a sticker with a weight-embedded barcode, and the till scans it. In the format Loyverse describes (EAN-13), the barcode starts with 20 or 02, then the item code, then the weight in grams: "01750" is 1.750 kg. Hike reads UPC-A and EAN-13 barcodes with embedded weight with no setting needed. Loyverse reads them once you switch on "Barcodes with embedded weight".
- Type the weight in. Staff read the scale and key the weight or price into the till. It works, but it's slower and easier to get wrong, so ask any vendor exactly how it sells by weight.
A scanner scale (scanner and scale built into the counter, the classic supermarket setup) needs the POS to read the scale live. We found no NZ live-scale support published for any of our seven. Our scanner scales guide goes into the options.
Scales: trade approval and verification in NZ
This one is the law, not a preference. In Trading Standards' words: "Under the weights and measures legislation, your weighing or measuring equipment must be of an approved type and stamped with a mark of verification." Equipment used for trade must be "verified by a Trading Standards Officer or an Accredited Person", and that has to happen before it's used for trade. A certificate of accuracy lasts 12 months; Trading Standards says keeping one current "is voluntary", though it may give you a defence if your scale is found to be inaccurate.
The rule applies to shops, and also to stalls and itinerant vendors. A scale that isn't an approved type doesn't qualify, however accurate it seems.
Integrated EFTPOS
Integrated EFTPOS means the POS sends the total to the terminal, so staff don't re-key it. That matters in a busy dairy:
- Hike: HikePay, Eftpos NZ (Verifone), Windcave
- Loyverse: Shift4 (formerly Smartpay), iOS only
- Lightspeed: Windcave, Shift4 (formerly Smartpay), Eftpos NZ (Verifone)
If you already rent a terminal, check it with our EFTPOS checker. More in our EFTPOS terminal guide.
Offline matters too if your connection is patchy: Hike Yes; Loyverse Partial (refunds are disabled offline and integrated terminals stop); Lightspeed Yes (Restaurant); Retail not published.
Dairies and convenience stores
A dairy's day is lots of small, fast sales: scan, tap, done. Integrated EFTPOS and quick scanning matter more than deep reporting. Hike or Loyverse suit most dairies; Loyverse keeps the software cost at zero if you're happy with Shift4 on an iPad.
Selling beer and wine as well? Off-licences for supermarkets and grocery stores must carry a "single area" condition that limits where alcohol is displayed and promoted (Sale and Supply of Alcohol Act, s 112). Our bottle store picks cover age checks at the till.
Unit pricing (price per kg or litre on shelf labels) only applies to grocery retailers with over 1,000 m² of floor space selling all the listed food categories, plus online grocers, according to Retail NZ's guide. Most dairies and superettes are outside it.
The 2026 grocery setup
The old grocery bundle was a Windows PC, an impact receipt printer, an in-counter scanner scale, a cash drawer and a magstripe reader running Microsoft RMS. A small store today usually runs:
- a tablet or small PC with the POS app
- a barcode scanner (barcode scanners)
- a trade-approved label-printing scale, with its mark of verification, for weighed goods (scanner scales)
- a receipt printer and cash drawer (receipt printers)
- an integrated EFTPOS terminal
Still on Microsoft RMS? Read our Microsoft RMS alternatives guide.
When you need a specialist grocery system
If you need in-counter scanner scales, many registers and tens of thousands of lines, a general retail POS will feel thin. Grocery-focused systems that come up in NZ include Retail Express (on the Windcave and Eftpos NZ integration lists) and IdealPOS (on the Eftpos NZ and Shift4 lists). We don't review them. If you talk to a specialist, ask:
- Does it read my scanner scale live, and which scale models?
- Which barcode formats with embedded weight or price does it read?
- Which NZ EFTPOS terminals does it integrate with?
- Does it work offline, and what stops when it does?
- What does it cost per register, per month, including support?
For a regular shop rather than a grocer, see our retail picks.
Read our Hike review. Read our Loyverse review. Read our Lightspeed review.