Should I use my POS loyalty program or a separate loyalty app?

Published 27 September 2026 · Updated 11 October 2026

Use your POS's loyalty program if every sale already goes through that POS and its monthly fee is small change: points add up with no scan. Use a separate wallet-card program if you use more than one till, might switch POS, or want a lower fee. Rewardtree works beside any till.

When your POS's loyalty makes sense#

Loyalty built into your till (your POS, or point-of-sale system) is a good choice when:

1. Every sale goes through that one POS, at every location.
2. The monthly fee is small change for your business.
3. You want points to add up by themselves, with no scan at the counter.
4. You're not planning to change POS any time soon.

When a separate app makes sense#

A separate loyalty program, one that's scanned at the counter, is a better fit when:

1. You use more than one till, different systems in different shops, or no till at all.
2. You might switch POS one day and don't want to rebuild your loyalty program.
3. You want a lower monthly fee.
4. You want the card in Apple Wallet and Google Wallet, so every customer has it on their phone.

Square#

Square Loyalty costs A$49, A$99 or A$149 a month per location, depending on loyalty visits, after a 30-day free trial (Square's Australian page, checked 27 September 2026). Square says points come from Square Point of Sale, Square Invoices or Square Online. Its loyalty pass is for Apple Wallet only at this time, according to Square's Australian help centre. The full breakdown is in how much Square Loyalty costs in Australia.

Lightspeed and Abacus#

• Lightspeed: its Australian restaurant loyalty page says loyalty "runs directly inside Lightspeed POS and Payments". There's no price shown on that page, so ask them.
• Abacus: its small business POS page says it offers points-earning schemes and a customer loyalty app. There's no price shown on that page, so ask them.

Both pages were checked 27 September 2026.

If you change POS#

With loyalty built into your POS, your members live inside that POS. Before you commit, ask how you'd take your member list with you if you ever leave. With Rewardtree, your customers stay on your Rewardtree page whatever till you use. (There's no download of the list, so if a spreadsheet matters to you, ask about it with any tool you consider.)

The trade-off#

• POS loyalty: no scan at the counter, but it's tied to that POS and may cost extra each month (Square Loyalty does).
• A separate wallet-card program: one quick scan per visit, but it works beside any till. On Rewardtree it's A$9.99 a month per shop after 60 days free. That's our end-of-year special for businesses that sign up by 31 December 2026: you keep it for every shop, including shops you add later, for as long as you stay. From 1 January 2027, businesses that sign up pay A$19.99 a month or A$199 a year.

Here's how Rewardtree works beside your till:

1. Your customers scan the QR on your counter with their phone camera and get your stamp card in Apple Wallet or Google Wallet. Nobody needs an app.
2. Each visit they scan the same QR for one stamp. Your staff type nothing.
3. Nothing connects to your POS, so nothing breaks if you change it.

We make Rewardtree. Every other company's facts link to its own page, checked 27 September 2026.

More questions, answered#

More guides & answers →