Free POS software: what is really free and what you pay

In short: Free POS software exists, but most of it is free with conditions: a limited plan, paid add-ons or a trial. It suits a simple start with no staff and no e-invoicing. Beyond that, add up the full yearly cost. Ghalleh is free for 14 days with no card, then from 5 JOD a month.

Yes, there is free POS software, but most of it is free with conditions: a limited plan, paid add-ons, or a trial of a few days. Free is the strongest word in any ad, and a shop owner starting out is right to look for it. But a cashier app is not something you try and forget. It holds your sales, products and customer debts for years. This guide covers the kinds of free POS software, what you pay without noticing, and when free genuinely makes sense. We will say it up front: Ghalleh is free for 14 days only, then from 5 JOD a month, and we explain why.

Four kinds of 'free'

• A free plan with paid add-ons: basic selling costs nothing, but advanced stock, staff or full sales history are separate subscriptions, often in US dollars.
• A free app with limits: a cap on invoices or products, or sales history kept for only a short time.
• A trial period: the software is paid, but you use all of it for a limited number of days. Not free, but clear about it.
• Pirated copies of paid software: free on the surface, and the most dangerous for your data and your device.

The costs that do not show in the price

• Your time: every hour spent working around limits, or re-entering what the app will not store, is an hour taken from your shop.
• Your history: if the free version keeps only a few weeks of sales, you cannot compare this month with the same month last year.
• Add-ons: free turns paid the moment you need a second employee, a branch or a report, and add-ons together can cost more than a full subscription elsewhere.
• E-invoicing: if your shop uses JoFotara, an app that does not send invoices to JoFotara leaves you with daily manual work or a second tool to pay for.
• Help: when sales stop on the night before Eid, nobody is obliged to help with software you never paid for.
• Stopping payment: does your data stay saved, and can you still view it?

Free POS software for life?

When something says 'free for life', it usually means one of three things: a limited plan that stays free as long as you need nothing more, an old version that no longer gets updates, or an offer that ends when the owner changes their mind. Read the terms before you put your shop's records on it.

Ghalleh has no lifetime offer. The closest thing is the Start plan paid once, 79 JOD for three years, about 2.194 JOD a month, with every feature and no automatic renewal.

Pirated software is a real risk

An unlicensed copy of paid software can come bundled with malware, never receives updates, and can stop working without warning. Worse, your sales and customer data sit inside software you cannot trust, changed by someone you do not know. Saving a few dinars is not worth putting your whole shop's records at risk.

A free cashier app for Android

If you have an Android phone or tablet, download Ghalleh from Google Play, sign in with your mobile number and a code sent by SMS, then create your shop. Your 14-day free trial starts with every feature and no card, once per mobile number, and you sell in your real shop from day one.

The trial lets you use up to 5 selling devices, 2 branches and 10 staff, with a smaller allowance for voice selling and invoice reading: 50 voice orders and 5 invoice photos. If you do not subscribe afterwards, the shop becomes read only and your data stays saved.

Free POS software for PC and Windows

Ghalleh has a Windows PC app you download straight from the download page, and the same trial covers it: 14 days free on the same account. You create your shop on your phone first, then link the PC with a code shown on your phone. The POS for PC page has the details and requirements.

When free is a sensible choice

Free is not bad in itself. It fits if you sell on your own with no staff, have a small range of products, do not need the app to send your invoices, and want to get used to recording sales before committing. In that case, start free, but keep an eye on the day you stop: check from the start that your data stays saved and that you can still view it if you stop paying.

If you have an employee at the counter, customer debts to track, or a JoFotara obligation, free will cost you more than it saves, not in dinars but in time and control.

Compare the yearly cost, not the monthly one

When comparing, work out the cost for a full year, including every add-on you will actually need. One add-on at $5 a month is $60 a year, and three of them come to $180. Put that full yearly figure next to software with a fixed price in dinars and you will see which is really cheaper.

Add hardware too, if the app forces a particular device, and any separate tool you would need for e-invoicing.

Questions before you pick a free app

• How many days or months of sales history does the free version keep?
• What needs a subscription: staff, branches, stock or reports?
• Does it send invoices to JoFotara by itself?
• Are the screens and receipt in Arabic your staff and customers read?
• If you stop paying, does your data stay saved and can you still view it?

Why Ghalleh has no free-forever plan

Ghalleh chose to be paid and to say so plainly. There is a 14-day free trial with every feature and no card, then you choose a plan inside the app through Google Play. Start is 5 JOD a month, 35 JOD a year or 79 JOD once for three years, for 2 selling devices, 1 branch, the owner and 3 staff. Pro is 12 JOD a month, 99 JOD a year or 199 JOD for three years, for 5 devices, 2 branches and 10 staff.

Every plan has every feature, the yearly Start plan works out under 10 piastres a day, and no sales tax is added to the price. The reason is simple: software that holds your sales and sends your invoices to JoFotara needs people working on it and updating it all the time, and you deserve to know its cost on day one rather than discover it after you depend on it.

Common questions