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

Published 27 September 2026 · Updated 27 September 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 free program. 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 staff scan 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 it free.
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 member list stays yours whatever till you use, and you can download it as a spreadsheet on every plan.

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, and on Rewardtree the loyalty program is free forever.

Here's how Rewardtree works beside your till:

1. Your customers scan a QR code at the counter and get your card in Apple Wallet or Google Wallet in about 20 seconds. They never need an app.
2. Your staff scan the card with the free Rewardtree Merchant app on a phone.
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#

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