Pawn Shop Software Guide: Leading Software Providers For Running A Pawn Shop

Q: What is pawn shop software?

Pawn shop software helps automate inventory management and record keeping at pawn shops.

What Is Pawn Shop Software?

Most pawn shops use software to help manage and run their daily operations. Pawn shop helps pawnbrokers stay organized and compliant with all local, state, and federal laws governing the pawn industry.

Pawn shop software is usually installed and used by administrators and point-of-sale staff. Pawn shop software usually features:

Keeps track of all inventory.
Organizes records of customers and contact information.
Stores history of all pawn loans, due dates, payments, fees, interest, and other required information.
Creates regulatory-compliant pawn tickets for the given region.
Value inventory
In addition to pawning, some software helps manage resale, check cashing, payday and title loans, layaways, rentals, and military-lending compliance regulations.
Creating pawn tickets.
Creating price labels and tags.
Creating law enforcement reports.
Compute finance charges.
Summarize account balances, due dates, and loan statuses.
Some programs help manage ATF requirements.
Check for stolen items

Pawn shop software helps improve the overall transaction process and improve efficiency. Some software is installed locally on the computer, while other software runs entirely on the cloud.

How Much Does Pawn Shop Software Cost?

Some software providers charge a one-time license fee, while others charge monthly subscriptions that can cost anywhere from $50 to several thousand dollars per month depending on the vendor and specifications.

Pawn shop software can often be customized for a pawn shop’s specific requirements - in these cases, the costs can quickly go up. You should always outline your requirements and ask the software provider for the estimated costs ahead of time.

Some software providers charge recurring costs for support and updates. You should always ask if support and updates are included in the advertised price.

What Information Is Collected On Pawn Tickets?

Pawn ticket information varies based on local, state, and federal regulations. Software providers often specialize in regulatory compliance, and they help you create tickets that satisfy all pawn shop laws in your region.

Information on pawn shop tickets can include such as:

Full legal name
Address
Phone number
Email address
Height, weight, eye color, and other descriptive features
Pictures
Government ID
Serial numbers
Make and model
Category
Barcode(s)
Firearms dealer numbers if applicable
Loan or sale amount
Fees
Due date and interest rate for loans

Tips On Choosing The Best Pawn Shop Software

Choosing the best software for your pawn shop will make a big difference in the overall success of your pawn shop. Picking the wrong software can result in runaway support bills, headaches, and unhappy customers.

The sticker price of software often does not represent the software’s true cost because many software providers bill for support separately. Be aware that cheap software might end up costing a fortune if you have to pay for support.

Below is a checklist of items that you should factor into your decision when choosing the best pawn shop software:

Verify if the software includes support, and make sure the support offering meets your expectations for cost and turnaround time.
Confirm that the software meets regulation requirements for your region. Reporting requirements vary from state to state.
Read online reviews for the software provider. We recommend G2, SourceForge, and Capterra.
Look at the release history of the software. Try to use software providers who publish regular updates. The software can become obsolete quickly.
Verify that the software is compatible with your computer’s operating system.
Check to see if you need to buy specific hardware such as fingerprint scanners, QR code readers, and cameras. If you do, check to see if the software provider has specific requirements. Some software providers require you to buy their hardware.
Review samples of the pawn tickets. You want to make sure that pawn tickets look nice for customers.
Check to see if the software features a cloud-based backend. If so, ask the software provider about their uptime. Sometimes cloud-based backends can go down, which could leave you unable to process transactions.

Software Overviews

PawnMaster

PawnMaster pawn shop software is easy to use and easy to learn. PawnMaster software enables you to process a new customer in 90 seconds or less. PawnMaster is one of the pawn industry’s leading software providers. Over 3,500 pawn shops in 29 countries use PawnMaster.

Bravo

Bravo Store Systems has more out-of-the-box features than other point-of-sale providers. Bravo’s integrated software is proven to increase loan and layaway balances, drive more on-time payments, and increase foot traffic in your store.

Bravo’s core software package features:

Accounting Export
Credit Card Processing with Fortis
Compliant A&D Book
Customer Management (CRM)
Daily Analytical Reports
eCommerce Listing Tool
Facebook Listing Tool
Fingerprint Scanner
Gift Cards
Several Estimators
ID Scanner
Product Catalog
Signature Pad
Store Credits
Unlimited Employee Users

PawnMate

PawnMate is a complete Pawn Shop POS platform that allows pawn shops, consignments, and buy/sell stores to manage their complete business from end to end. PawnMate makes it easy to manage inventory in-store, online, and in your marketplaces.

PawnMate features a simple, responsive, and intuitively designed platform. PawnMate makes processing transactions intuitive and quick.

PawnMate features: