How to choose the best POS software for a garden centre in Australia or New Zealand

The best POS software for a garden centre is built for living stock and bulk landscape supplies. It sells soil and mulch by measure or fraction, reprices plants as they grow, records plant losses, runs landscaper accounts and manages deliveries. It also comes with local support and no transaction fees. Use the checklist below to compare any system you’re considering.

Garden centres don’t work like other shops. Stock grows, dies, gets re-potted and goes out the gate on a truck. One customer buys a single punnet. The next is a landscaper who wants three tonnes of sand on account by Thursday. A basic till or general POS app can take the payment, but it usually can’t handle the rest.

We’ve made POS software for independent specialty retailers since 1981, and hundreds of garden centre owners have shaped the garden centre features in our software. This guide draws on that experience, but the checklist works whichever system you choose.

Our garden centre software has been chosen by hundreds.

When a general POS is enough

Not every garden centre needs specialist software. If you sell potted plants and giftware by the unit, with no bulk yard, trade accounts or deliveries, a general retail POS may do the job well and cost less.

That changes once you add bulk soils and mulches, trade customers, a delivery truck, a nursery that grows its own stock, or supplier invoices that run to hundreds of lines in spring. General systems then start relying on workarounds, spreadsheets and the owner’s memory. That’s usually where margin leaks.

Ten things the best garden centre POS software should do

1. Sell by measure, weight and fraction. A customer who wants one and a half cubic metres of mulch should pay for exactly that. Look for selling by measure, weight or length in whole numbers or fractions, and integration with counter scales. In Australia, check that the weighing setup is approved by the National Measurement Institute (NMI) for trade use.
2. Reprice plants as they grow. Living stock gains value. When you re-pot a plant into a larger container, you should be able to update its record and price, so your margin covers the labour and materials you’ve put in. Most retail software has no idea what to do with stock that’s worth more next month.
3. Record plant losses properly. Some plants don’t make it. A write-off facility takes dead and damaged stock off the books and reports it by category and season. Without one, losses only turn up as an unexplained gap at stocktake.
4. Serve landscapers and trade customers. Trade customers expect trade pricing, quotes that become orders, sales on account, credit limits and month-end statements. In the demo, ask to see the whole process from quote to invoice.
5. Manage deliveries. If you deliver, look for dispatch tools that handle several trucks with several drops each, plus picking slips and delivery notes. Larger fleets benefit from a link to a logistics platform such as Allotrac.
6. Load supplier invoices automatically. Spring deliveries can swamp the back office. The software should import electronic invoices and stock files from major suppliers, for example through Evergreen Connect, and ideally read PDF invoices using AI.
7. Print weatherproof labels. Labels that fade or peel in the sun cost you sales and pricing accuracy. Ask whether the system prints high-resolution, weatherproof outdoor labels with barcodes.
8. Bring customers back. Garden centres sell advice as much as plants. Look for plant care tips on the receipt, bundles that put a plant, pot and fertiliser at one price, and loyalty that’s built in rather than charged as an extra.
9. Keep the shop and website in step. If you sell online, the POS should connect directly to your ecommerce platform, such as Shopify, BigCommerce, WooCommerce or Magento, so one set of stock sits behind both.
10. Report on the season. A wet Monday is the time to look at aged stock, best sellers, gross profit by category, supplier performance and reorders based on last season. If the reports are hard to run, they won’t get run.

The costs that are easy to miss

The monthly fee is only part of the cost. When you compare systems, add up the total over two years and include:

• Transaction fees. Some POS providers take a percentage of every card sale. On a busy spring weekend, that adds up fast.
• Fees per terminal. Adding a second or third counter for peak season shouldn’t bring a bigger invoice.
• Support. Check whether phone support is included, what hours it runs and whether weekends are covered. Saturday is often a garden centre’s biggest day.
• Add-ons. Ecommerce, loyalty, dispatch and accounting links are sometimes extra.
• Contracts. A lock-in contract makes a poor choice expensive to undo.

For comparison, Tower Systems charges no transaction fees and has no lock-in contract. As at November 2026, plans start at $145 a month including GST, billed annually. Standard and above include unlimited terminals at one location. See our pricing page for current prices and which plan includes each feature.

Questions to ask in a demonstration

Ask for a demonstration set up around your business, rather than a standard script. Take these questions with you:

1. Show me a sale of 1.5 cubic metres of mulch, then the stock movement it creates.
2. Show me how a re-potted plant is repriced.
3. Show me a landscaper quote becoming an order, then an account sale, then a statement.
4. Show me a delivery with two trucks and five drops.
5. Show me a supplier invoice from my main nursery being imported.
6. What does support cost, and who answers the phone on a Saturday in October?
7. Can I speak with a garden centre that uses your software?

Switching without disrupting spring

For most owners, the hardest part is the changeover. Three things help it go smoothly:

• Have your data reviewed before you commit, so you know exactly what can be brought across. Tower Systems released a streamlined data conversion service in mid 2026, based on what we’ve learned from many conversions. It’s fast and accurate.
• Choose the timing. Nobody should change systems the week before a spring long weekend. Plan the changeover around your trading year, ideally in the quieter winter months.
• Ask how training works. One-on-one training, plus a video library your staff can use at any hour, makes the first busy weekend far less stressful.

“Our transition to Tower Systems has been smooth with plenty of training and support when needed. Highly recommend!” — Garden Centre customer, May 2026

Australia and New Zealand

If you trade on either side of the Tasman, check that the software handles GST correctly for your country, that support is available in your time zone and that the supplier has people on the ground. Tower Systems supports garden centres in both countries, with help desk staff based in Australia and New Zealand, open six days a week, and after-hours help when a system is down.

Frequently asked questions

What is the best POS software for a garden centre in Australia?

It’s software built for the work: selling bulk supplies by measure or fraction, repricing plants as they grow, writing off losses, running trade accounts and managing deliveries. Compare systems against those needs, the total cost over two years and the quality of local support.

Can POS software sell soil and mulch by the cubic metre?

Yes, if it supports selling by measure. Tower Systems sells by measure, weight or length in whole numbers or fractions, so one and a half cubic metres of mulch is priced correctly. It also connects to counter scales, including the CAS PDN Scale Series.

Does garden centre POS software work in New Zealand?

Yes. Tower Systems supports garden centres in Australia and New Zealand, with help desk staff in both countries. The New Zealand sales line is 0800 444 367.

How much does garden centre POS software cost?

It varies widely, so compare the total cost, including transaction fees, terminal fees, support and add-ons. As at 2 November 2026, Tower Systems plans start at $145 a month including GST, billed annually, with no transaction fees and no lock-in contract.

Book a garden centre demonstration

See Tower Systems set up for a garden centre like yours. Book a demo. We’ll answer your questions and record the demonstration so you can review it later. Call 1300 662 957 in Australia or 0800 444 367 in New Zealand, or email sales@towersystems.com.au.