If you sell liquor to a minor, your store will face steep consequences. Fines, license suspensions — you may even have to close your doors for good.
Thanks to a sting operation, a store in northwest Washington D.C. was forced to pay $2,000 for one offense. Fines can reach $10,000 per offense. Can your store afford to shell out thousands of dollars in fines?
Relying on quick visual ID checks by cashiers is not enough to prevent compliance violations. To avoid these ramifications, you need to invest in an age verification system or software.
This article will highlight the top five modern age verification and liquor management software solutions to prevent illegal sales, improve compliance training, and deploy the best line of defense for your liquor store.
Age Verification Systems: Key Features and Benefits
Before we dive into our list of top age verification solutions, let’s discuss age verification more broadly. To begin, what exactly is an age verification system? It's a tool that helps businesses ensure that customers meet the legal age requirements for purchasing certain products, such as alcohol or tobacco. Let's explore the different ways stores can verify age:
- Carding: Carding is the most common method of age verification. In this approach, cashiers ask customers for a valid government-issued ID, like a driver's license or passport. However, the reliability of carding is compromised by the presence of fake IDs on the market.
- Electronic Verification: This method involves scanning the ID barcode and cross-referencing the information with official records. It often integrates with your point of sale (POS) system, making it efficient and accurate.
- Age Verification Apps: Some businesses opt for apps that can scan IDs and instantly confirm a customer's age. However, this method relies on customers downloading and using the app, which can be a hurdle.
The standout option for age verification for small businesses is integrating age verification software into your point of sale solution. This option has the accuracy of some of the more technical solutions without the expensive and cumbersome hurdles. So, how does it work?
When an age-restricted item is scanned, the POS system prompts the cashier to verify the customer's age. The cashier can then scan the customer's ID or driver's license using a barcode scanner or magnetic stripe reader.
Related Read: Liquor Store POS Systems: 4 Must-Have Features
The system then calculates the customer's age by checking their date of birth against the current date. If the customer is of legal age, the sale proceeds. Otherwise, the point of sale system flags the sale and won’t let it process. Some systems may require the cashier to manually input the birthdate from the ID if it cannot be scanned.
Finally, many of these systems maintain logs for auditing purposes, documenting all transactions that require age verification for easy reference later on.
Age verification software helps you keep up with regulations, minimize human error, speed up transactions, and make sure you're accountable. With this in mind, let’s take a look at some of the top solutions on the market today for age verification software.
1. Bottle POS
Best for: Independent liquor stores
Bottle POS offers an all-in-one liquor store point of sale system designed to meet the specific needs of liquor store owners. With a centralized database of common products, inventory management becomes more efficient, and the system provides insights into sales patterns — helping liquor store owners identify top-performing brands and manage stock effectively. The automatic inventory-receiving feature streamlines data entry, saving time for store owners.
Key features of Bottle POS include:
- Dual pricing (cash discounting) options
- Customer loyalty programs
- Case break inventory management
- Automated inventory invoicing
- E-commerce integration
Pricing: Bottle POS offers a transparent build and price tool, allowing you to price out your custom solution.
2. POS Nation
Best for: Small to mid-sized businesses
POS Nation offers an all-inclusive liquor store POS solution designed to support small businesses. Inventory is easier with a mobile inventory feature and a handheld inventory device. With built-in sales reporting, you’ll know what’s selling and what isn’t, giving you all the data you need to drive sales and profitability. Our solution is complete with hardware, software features, and payment processing, backed by 24/7 customer support.
Some of our top features, in addition to age verification, include:
- Unlimited database of items
- Case break inventory tracking
- Mix and match bottle pricing
- Dual pricing (cash discounting) options
- Automated inventory receiving
Pricing: We offer multiple packages and options, but our flexible monthly package starts at $149 per month.
3. KORONA POS
Best for: Multi-location stores
KORONA POS is a liquor store point of sale system that offers convenience and efficiency for businesses in the liquor industry. Known for its exceptional customer service and fair pricing, KORONA POS has received positive reviews from liquor store owners who appreciate its ease of customization.
Some key features of KORONA POS include:
- Handheld device inventory tracking system
- Printable, detailed cashier reports
- Time tracking and payroll
- Employee management
Related Read: 9 Must-Have Features for Your Next Small Business Retail POS System
Pricing: KORONA POS offers multiple pricing packages starting at $59 per month.
4. Lightspeed
Best for: Enterprise businesses
Lightspeed offers an efficient wine and liquor store point of sale solution that empowers businesses to enhance customer loyalty through both online and offline sales channels. With Lightspeed, store owners can streamline inventory management by adding products, counting items, and maintaining their catalog.
Some of Lightspeed’s key features include:
- Integrated discounts and promotions
- Customer loyalty programs
- Importable product catalog
- Built-in inventory management
Pricing: Lightspeed’s Standard package starts at $119 per month.
5. Veratad
Best for: E-commerce stores
Veratad provides a rapid customer identity validation process, safeguarding brick-and-mortar and e-commerce transactions. Their automated systems are capable of verifying documents, biometrics, and more, ensuring higher confidence levels in transactions. With custom solutions applicable to various industries, Veratad assists brick-and-mortar retailers worldwide in verifying age and identity for a wide array of transactions, such as those involving furniture, electronics, e-cigarettes, high-value items, jewelry, vehicles, equipment rentals, and mobile phones.
Some key features of Veratad include:
- Document verification
- Multi-factor authentication
- Biometric verification
- Customer and employee onboarding features
Pricing: Veratad’s pricing options are available upon request and custom quote only.
The Best Age Verification for Your Liquor Store
In this post, we’ve explored five strong options for age verification solutions for your liquor store. But which solution should you choose?
Remember that age verification systems play a crucial role in ensuring your liquor store remains compliant with the law and regulations in your state or locality. But age verification is just one piece of the puzzle when it comes to operating your business.
Running a successful liquor store involves various facets, from inventory management to vendor relationships. That's where a robust POS system tailored for liquor store owners comes into play.
If you're looking for more than just age verification, consider a POS system that offers intuitive inventory management, case break tracking, vendor management features, and more. POS Nation is designed with the unique needs of liquor store owners in mind, helping you streamline operations and boost efficiency.
To see how our POS system can benefit your liquor store, we invite you to schedule a free software demo of POS Nation today.
