Point of Sale Software/Hardware

[jdandtracy]

Hello...
We are trying to decide if we will go with a cash register, or a POS system. I have done some searching on line and most systems seem to come with Quickbooks POS software. The reviews I have read on Quickbooks POS mostly say it is terrible, abysmal, and other really horrible things.

Would you recommend a cash register and the extra work involved in book keeping, or go with a POS system? If a POS system, please give some recommendations!

Thanks in advance!
JD Anderson

 

[Jackson]

It depends on what kind of business you are running. If you are opening a coffee house with pastries and drinks, I recommend a cheap cash register. If you are also selling the basic S's, (sandwich, soup and salad), I recommend an expensive cash register. If you are employing servers, then buy a POS system. Pos systems are very expensive!!! The last restaurant I worked for, bought an Aloha system for $24,000. Plus they paid over $700.00 a year for support. There are cheaper systems on the market, but till you by the server, POS stations, printers, cash drawers, cables and the software, you will spend thousands.
The advantages of a pos vs. a cash register are huge, as long as you utilize them. The biggest advantage is generating a theoretical food cost. If you program your POS with all the ingredients used with each item you sell, and update the costs of each ingredient every week, you can generate a theoretical food cost each week. After completing a full inventory, and generating an actual food cost, you can compare the two. Most mom and pop companies never take the time to utilize this feature. If you would like to have a feature like that, but do not want to pay $$$ for it, let me know, I wrote a very nice food cost program in Excel.
As far as quickbooks is concerned, if you do not wish to enter data daily in qb, just enter weekly totals.

 

[chast]

Square Ipad POS is free. I use Shopkeep which is really user friendly and easily setup. They have a 30 day free demo you can try.
The only drawback is they have a monthly fee of 49.00. Not bad if you require a lot of customer support. They get back to you instantly by email or phone. Cash registers are out dated and most shops are going the Ipad route. The software will open a cash draw and print to a bluetooth printer and accepts scanners, credit cards and gift/loyalty cards

 

[Musicphan]

Take a look at Square ... that is the route I'm going. Free if you use their CC processing service (which is about average maybe slightly higher)... lots of nice extras - invoicing, 'web store', advance ordering. I've mainly looked at iPad based services and this appears to be the winner. If you with an IP (internet based) CC processing make sure to have a good firewall in place.

 

[JohnD18]

Any kind of POS system is always better than a plain old cash register, especially if you are planning on growing into a large volume. While POS systems seem complicated, many of them are not, as long as you take the time to set them up correctly. Remember, they are only as useful as you make them! You need to set them up to take all of the relevant data from the register and allocate it correctly on the back end. This is where people get confused, set it up wrong, and end up hating it because it gives them bad output.

I have had a ton of experience wrangling POS systems for stores much larger than a coffee shop, and it could make your life a whole lot easier, even if you're just selling the basics. They are usually well documented and have support staff. If you're still lost, find someone/service to help you set it up correctly and it will be fine.

The square looks to be pretty simple and light weight, if thats what you think you're going to need for now. I've only had experience with larger Verifone systems, which are too robust for what you need. But the leg work POS systems will save you on the backend is priceless.

 

[Humanclan]

Did alot of studying on this. Finally decided on the Square Register with Ipads. Actually just purchased my Ipads today. We are running a coffee bar/concert venue. I set up the square register and played around with it for a few days. This past saturday night I did a test run with it. It slowed us down a bit, but it will just take some getting used to. It seems very easy to use and set up. The backend reporting seems very nice. The processing fee at 2.75% is slightly higher than what we are paying but to get a POS system without a huge up front bill or a lease for the equipment makes it worth it to me.

 

[chast]

You should be able to use an external card processor such as Verifone with the square POS for IPad? So you could keep your lower rate.

 

[Musicphan]

You should be able to use an external card processor such as Verifone with the square POS for IPad? So you could keep your lower rate.

With Square and Shopify the both charge a % charge if you using an external CC processor. That is the one nice thing I liked about ShopKeep.

 

[JavaJiveJo]

I switched from an outdated Uniwell (industry standard, but decades old) system to the Shopkeep system in November. Would NEVER go back. a POS system streamlines everything, and gives you access to everything you need right away. There are some super pricey POS systems out there. (it was going to run me about $6000 CAD to upgrade my uniwell) but Shopkeep is $50 a month plus the hardware. I got a used Ipad and they were running a deal on hardware, so my total to get set up was about $300. Not too shabby! I can do TONS of stuff with it, and my staff like the 'modern' aspect of it. It's easy to learn, and intuitive, as most people are familiar with ipads already.
Go POS - you wont regret it!

 

[chast]

As much as I like Shopkeep there are several items that could be improved on. The "Raw" section does not allow you to put the decimal point where it needs to be. They gave me a work around but for the 49.00 a month it should be included. There are a couple of more things but all in all a great system. No extra fees for using an external processor and they just included Apple Pay in the program.