What is Open Source POS used for?

Open Source POS is a web-based point of sale system built with PHP and MySQL, covering inventory, sales, invoicing, reporting and multi-user permissions. It is a good fit for small retail shops, restaurants managing tables and orders, and tracking inventory and suppliers.

Is Open Source POS open source?

Yes. Open Source POS is open source under a custom licence. Its source code is on GitHub at opensourcepos/opensourcepos and is written mainly in PHP.

Is Open Source POS free?

Yes. Open Source POS is open source, so the software itself is free to use under the terms of its own licence.

Can I self-host Open Source POS?

Yes. Open Source POS can be self-hosted on your own server or infrastructure.

What is Open Source POS an alternative to?

Open Source POS is an open-source alternative to Square, Lightspeed, Square Online and Toast. Other open-source alternatives to Square include Odoo and ERPNext.

Is Open Source POS actively maintained?

Yes. The most recent commit to Open Source POS was on 2 October 2026, and the latest release is 3.4.2, published on 2 October 2026. The project has 4.4k stars on GitHub.

Open Source POS: open-source alternative to Square

About Open Source POS

Open Source Point of Sale is a web-based point of sale application written in PHP. It stores data in MySQL or MariaDB and has a simple, intuitive interface; the 3.4 release is described as a complete overhaul, moving to CodeIgniter 4 with a Bootstrap 3 and Bootswatch based design.

Its feature list covers stock management for items and kits, VAT, GST and multi-tier taxation, a sale register with transaction logging, quotations and invoicing, expenses, cash-up, printing and emailing of receipts, barcode generation, customer and supplier databases, gift cards, rewards, restaurant tables, SMS messaging and reports on sales, orders, expenses and inventory.

Access is multiuser with permission control, the interface is multilingual, MailChimp integration is available, and Google reCAPTCHA can protect the login page against brute force attacks. The project describes itself as GDPR ready, provides a live demo, and is written in PHP.

Key features

Stock management for items and kits
Sale register with transaction logging
Quotations and invoicing
Multi-tier tax support including VAT and GST
Barcode generation and receipt printing
Multiuser permission control
Reports on sales and inventory
Gift cards and rewards

Good fit for

→Small retail shops
→Restaurants managing tables and orders
→Tracking inventory and suppliers

Built with: PHP
Tags: point-of-sale; pos; inventory-management; retail; invoicing; php; mysql; reporting

Open Source POS: questions and answers

What is Open Source POS used for?: Open Source POS is a web-based point of sale system built with PHP and MySQL, covering inventory, sales, invoicing, reporting and multi-user permissions. It is a good fit for small retail shops, restaurants managing tables and orders, and tracking inventory and suppliers.
Is Open Source POS open source?: Yes. Open Source POS is open source under a custom licence. Its source code is on GitHub at opensourcepos/opensourcepos and is written mainly in PHP.
Is Open Source POS free?: Yes. Open Source POS is open source, so the software itself is free to use under the terms of its own licence.
Can I self-host Open Source POS?: Yes. Open Source POS can be self-hosted on your own server or infrastructure.
What is Open Source POS an alternative to?: Open Source POS is an open-source alternative to Square, Lightspeed, Square Online and Toast. Other open-source alternatives to Square include Odoo and ERPNext.
Is Open Source POS actively maintained?: Yes. The most recent commit to Open Source POS was on 2 October 2026, and the latest release is 3.4.2, published on 2 October 2026. The project has 4.4k stars on GitHub.