What Springboard Retail does

Springboard Retail, now operating under the Heartland Retail brand (heartlandretail.us), is a cloud-based omnichannel point-of-sale (POS) platform built specifically for apparel and specialty retail merchants. The product runs on iOS and Android touchscreen terminals and offers open API extensibility, with feature coverage anchored on real-time inventory management (size/color/SKU-level tracking, transfers, shrinkage alerts, physical inventory tools), omnichannel commerce synchronization (BigCommerce, Shopify, Magento, WooCommerce), customer 360 profiles, PCI-compliant integrated payments, and customizable retail reporting. The platform is engineered around apparel-specific challenges such as complex item catalogs, dead-stock reduction, and fitting-room conversion that horizontal POS systems do not natively address.

The business operates as a product line within Heartland Payment Systems, LLC, an Independent Sales Organization (ISO) of PNC Bank and Deutsche Bank Trust Company Americas, which is itself a subsidiary of Global Payments Inc. (NYSE: GPN) — a publicly traded payment technology company. Revenue mechanics are dual-engine: (1) POS software subscriptions priced via a tiered model that begins at a $0 promotional entry tier contingent on processing-volume minimums and a 3-year contract, scaling up to custom enterprise quotes, and (2) payment-processing transaction fees, where merchants must process through Heartland for card transactions. Adjacent financial services — gift cards, loyalty programs, lending/capital, ACH, and billing/invoicing — provide incremental managed-services revenue.

Go-to-market combines a product-led-growth self-serve flow ("Start for $0," web-based signup, on-demand onboarding) with a sales-assisted motion for midsize and enterprise deployments, plus an extensive indirect channel through POS dealers, agents/ISOs, software providers, and financial institution partners. The customer base spans small boutiques through 40-location franchises and includes vertical-specialized segments such as liquor stores, entertainment venues, pharmacies, and municipalities. In 2025 Heartland is transitioning to the Global Payments brand, consolidating market positioning under the parent company while retaining existing support operations and product functionality.

Name

Springboard Retail

Legal name

Heartland Payment Systems, LLC

Website

https://heartlandretail.us

Company type

Public

Founded year

2013

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Heartland Retail (formerly Springboard Retail) is a cloud-based omnichannel POS platform for apparel and specialty retailers. Operated by Heartland Payment Systems, a Global Payments subsidiary (NYSE: GPN), it delivers inventory, payments, and customer engagement tools to SMB and mid-market merchants.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Boston

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Software

Cost components

Technology or R&D, Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Operations

Revenue model

1. Payment Processing: Transaction-based payment processing fees charged on card transactions. Supports credit cards, debit cards, digital wallets. Merchants must process payments through Heartland.
2. POS Software Subscription: Subscription-based POS software with tiered pricing. 'Start for $0' entry with processing requirements. Three-year contract required for promotional pricing with 4% cash discounting.
3. Financial Services: Additional financial services including lending/capital, gift cards, loyalty programs, billing/invoicing, ACH payments.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Springboard Retail (Heartland Retail) provides a cloud-based retail point-of-sale platform purpose-built for clothing, apparel, and specialty retailers, with integrated payment processing, real-time inventory management (including size, color, and SKU tracking), omnichannel commerce (in-store, online, and mobile), customer 360 profiles, customizable reporting, and additional financial services such as lending, gift cards, loyalty, and ACH payments. The software runs on iOS and Android touchscreen terminals and is offered as a subscription, bundled with payment processing through Heartland (a Global Payments company).

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Heartland Retail POS Cloud-based retail point-of-sale platform purpose-built for clothing and apparel retailers, offering real-time inventory tracking with size/color/SKU detail, customer 360 profiles, customizable reporting, employee permissions, and omnichannel commerce (in-store, online, mobile, marketplace, social). Runs on iOS and Android touchscreen terminals and bundles integrated payments, with onboarding available for $0 entry under a processing-bundled promotion.
• Retail POS Retail-focused point-of-sale application under the Heartland POS product family, designed for clothing and apparel stores, with features tailored for complex item catalogs (sizes, colors, SKUs), inventory balancing, fitting room management, and trend-responsive merchandising.
• Mobile POS Mobile point-of-sale solution enabling retailers to process transactions and manage sales from handheld devices, extending the POS system beyond a fixed terminal to support line-busting, in-store mobility, and pop-up retail operations.
• Mobile Pay Mobile payment acceptance product that supports digital wallets (Apple Pay, Google Pay) and contactless payments for retail merchants.
• Terminal+ Touchscreen countertop point-of-sale terminal hardware/software bundle from the Heartland POS family for retail and other merchants.
• Payment Processing PCI-compliant integrated payment processing service for retail and other merchants, supporting credit cards, debit cards, digital wallets, contactless payments, and split transactions, with transaction-based processing fees billed to merchants.
• Online Payments Online payment acceptance product supporting eCommerce and digital transactions integrated with the Heartland payments stack.
• Financial Services Bundle of value-added financial services for merchants, including lending/capital, gift cards, loyalty programs, billing and invoicing, and ACH payments, offered alongside the Heartland POS and payment processing products.
• Accounts Receivable Automation Automation product for managing accounts receivable workflows, including invoicing and payment collection, integrated with the Heartland payments ecosystem.
• Payments Manager+ (Invoicing) Invoicing management product under the Payments Manager+ family, enabling merchants to create, send, and track invoices through the Heartland payments platform.
• Bill Pay Outgoing bill payment service for merchants to pay vendors and manage outgoing payments, integrated with Heartland's broader payments stack.

Named customers1 record

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature5 records

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• BigCommercecoreTechnology or IntegrationeCommerce platform integration allowing inventory sync, seamless checkouts, and order management between Heartland POS and BigCommerce online stores.
• ShopifycoreTechnology or IntegrationeCommerce platform integration for inventory synchronization and order fulfillment between brick-and-mortar and Shopify online stores.
• MagentocoreTechnology or IntegrationEnterprise eCommerce platform integration for inventory management, seamless checkouts, and omnichannel retail capabilities.
• WooCommercecoreTechnology or IntegrationWordPress-based eCommerce integration for small businesses using WooCommerce with Heartland POS systems.
• QuickBookscoreTechnology or IntegrationAccounting software integration for seamless financial management, automatic syncing of sales data and transactions.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Shopify POS: Shopify's retail POS offering is the most direct competitor; it targets clothing and apparel merchants with omnichannel inventory, hardware terminals, and integrated payments — mirroring Heartland Retail's core proposition.
• Lightspeed Retail: Cloud-based POS and commerce platform widely adopted by clothing, boutique, and specialty retailers; overlaps directly with Heartland Retail's apparel focus, multi-location inventory, and omnichannel sync capabilities.
• Square (Block): Square's retail POS targets SMB and mid-market retailers with integrated payments and omnichannel features, positioning directly against Heartland Retail in the boutique and apparel segments.
• Clover (FIS): FIS-owned POS platform competing in retail with integrated payment processing, hardware terminals, and an app marketplace — overlapping with Heartland Retail's payments-coupled POS model.
• KORONA POS: Cloud-based retail POS focused on specialty retailers including apparel, with inventory, CRM, and omnichannel features that overlap with Heartland Retail's mid-market positioning.
• ConnectPOS: POS platform purpose-built for retail with strong omnichannel and e-commerce integration focus, directly comparable to Heartland Retail's apparel-centric proposition.

Regional players

• Retail Express (Lightspeed): Retail-focused POS platform (now part of Lightspeed) serving ANZ retailers with apparel and specialty inventory features — comparable in product depth but primarily competing outside Heartland Retail's core US geography.

Broad incumbents

• Toast: Cloud POS leader under the same Global Payments-adjacent payments ecosystem, offering a model for verticalized, payments-integrated POS that informs Heartland Retail's competitive positioning in retail vs. restaurant.

Others

• BigCommerce: Headless commerce platform that integrates with Heartland Retail; comparable as an enterprise commerce platform where mid-market apparel merchants centralize their stack and that could substitute for some Heartland Retail capabilities.
• Shopify: E-commerce platform that Heartland Retail integrates with, but which also bundles its own POS — representing both a partner channel and a competitive substitute for Heartland Retail's storefront and online commerce modules.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/springboardup
• Facebookfacebook.com/SpringboardRetail

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds2 records

Investors1 record

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Springboard Retail