Calls and Emails from Retail Management Hero

Based on conversations with several retailers in the US, it appears that the folks at Retail Management Hero have been calling and emailing users about upgrading from the Microsoft Dynamics RMS point of sale software to the Retail Management Hero point of sale software. I appreciate that many of you have contacted me directly to confirm what options are available to you.

While I can not speak on behalf of Retail Management Hero, I am more than happy to assist you with validating whether upgrading to Retail Management Hero is a viable option for you. Over the last several months I have been onsite helping retailers upgrade to Retail Management Hero from RMS or have met onsite with retailers who recently installed Retail Management Hero.

The best way to reach me is at 208-340-5632 or kevinantosh@gmail.com.

Lightspeed Point of Sale Pains

Over the last 4 years, I've had the opportunity to meet with several retailers that use Lightspeed point of sale. From time to time, there have been a few concerns about Lightspeed but nothing major. That has changed over the last few months to the point where Lightspeed users have been contacting me about replacing Lightspeed with another point of sale system. The main issues with Lightspeed appear to be (based on what retailers have communicated to me):

• Entire system goes down for around an hour every 1-2 months during normal retail business hours
• No option for a customer price/pole display (which some states/cities require)
• Peripherals need frequent replacement - not designed for retail stores with high customer traffic (eg: liquor stores or convenience stores)
• *new* - had a Lightspeed user that I met with in person who explained how the inventory quantity on hands are not accurate whenever they initiate a transfer between the main warehouse and a store.

I want to stress that this information only comes from a handful of Lightspeed users but I wanted to pass along in case any other Lightspeed users might have feedback that they would like to share. As I meet with these retailers, I will pass along additional details as they become available.  You can reach me at 208-340-5632 or kevinantosh@gmail.com as needed

Bindo Point of Sale Reviews

Update 6/12/2016: I've been called or emailed by three businesses currently using Bindo POS concerned about the future of Bindo as a company. These businesses cite employee turnover and customer attrition at Bindo as being cause for concern.

I will post more updates as they become available.


Update 11/18/2015: I've seen some recent valid positive reviews of Bindo Point of Sale so hopefully the issues have been corrected and are just part of some growing pains.

Original Post:

I've been made aware of multiple recent negative reviews specific to the Bindo point of sale software. While Bindo POS has proven to be very popular and I know of over 25 stores happily using Bindo POS, the recent complaints (of which 3 are businesses that I have personally spoken with) have me somewhat concerned.

Until Bindo can correct the situation and produce more positive reviews, I've archived all my Bindo related blog posts and videos. I will give Bindo credit for responding to the reviews and hopefully this is part of some growing pains.  If you are curious, here is a link to the reviews and the response from Bindo: http://www.softwareadvice.com/retail/bindo-profile/

Are you  in the US and in need of no cost retail point of sale advice?  I'm happy to help and can be reached on my cell at 208-340-5632 (I am on Mountain Time) or via email at kevinantosh@gmail.com. There is also a contact form to the right that can be used to reach me.

Continued Cover Complaints

As I don't always have time to post every time that someone is kind enough to provide me with feedback on their POS system, I did want to mention that I continue to receive regular negative feedback on Clover POS. Several folks have taken the time to call or email me with recent details about their negative experience with Clover.

The complaints similar to what I have posted about Clover in other posts (excessive fees, long term contracts, promised features/functions not available, etc). You can always contact me if you need more details but obviously Clover is not on my recommendation list when it comes to reliable and reputable point of sale systems.

Are you  in the US and in need of no cost retail point of sale advice?  I'm happy to help and can be reached on my cell at 208-340-5632 (I am on Mountain Time) or via email at kevinantosh@gmail.com. There is also a contact form to the right that can be used to reach me.

Businesses Leaving Shopkeep and Revel for Bindo

Interesting - I've had a few stores contact me to let me know that they recently stopped using ShopKeep. LightSpeed or Revel and have switched to Bindo point of sale.  I'm not sure on all the details but obviously something happened which was big enough to make these retail owners stop using their current point of sale systems.

I have had complaints in the past about Revel sometimes locking up when swiping a credit card as payment and past complaints about ShopKeeps tax setup - not sure if that applies in these cases or not. I'll be sure to pass along details if I get a chance to talk to any of these businesses.

I'd say things bode very well for Bindo! More reviews on Bindo POS can be found here: https://bindopos.com/reviews

Are you  in the US and in need of no cost retail point of sale advice?  I'm happy to help and can be reached on my cell at 208-340-5632 (I am on Mountain Time) or via email at kevinantosh@gmail.com. There is also a contact form to the right that can be used to reach me.

One Step Retail Solutions Complaints and Reviews

Some time ago I posted feedback and reviews about One Step Retail Solutions in Phoenix, AZ. The complaints related to no shows for scheduled appointments as well as being quoted excessive fees for simple technical support.

I have not received any response or reply from anyone at One Step Retail Solutions so the lack of communication means that I can not recommend considering them as a source for point of sale systems and support.

Are you  in the US and in need of no cost retail point of sale advice?  I'm happy to help and can be reached on my cell at 208-340-5632 (I am on Mountain Time) or via email at kevinantosh@gmail.com. There is also a contact form to the right that can be used to reach me.

More Customer Reviews of One Step Solutions in Phoenix, AZ

As much as I don't like posting negative information - I have received more complaints specific to One Step Retail Solutions in Phoenix, AZ who sells and services a variety of point of sale systems.  The complaints are specific to overcharging and no-show issues for sales and service appointments.  If the service is bad enough that folks are contacting me for help and advice then it is obvious that One Step Retail Solutions has some sales, service, and support issues to resolve.

Of note - the more unusual complaints relate to no-shows by sales representatives so that is a huge warning sign that One Step Retail Solutions may not be the wisest choice for as a point of sale partner/dealer to work with.

Since these complaints have been on-going, it would be great if someone from One Step would contact me so we can figure out what is going on.

Please visit my contact page for information on how to reach me.

Review of Clover Point of Sale for Android Devices

Update January 14th, 2016: same ole horror story with numerous complaints specific to Clover and businesses selling Clover. Specifics include excessive and unusual fees hidden in the contract, rates being raised even when specific rates had be promised (read the fine print in the contract - they can raise your rate), sales reps making promises to keep the rates low and competitive but then raising the rates anyway, salespeople saying that Clover has features/functions that don't exist, etc. etc.

I'm aware of at least two proposed class action lawsuits related to Clover so that should be a huge warning sign not to invest in Clover.

Update September 4th, 2015: to summarize all the information below - 3 years ago Clover looked promising but todays advice is to avoid Clover like the plague - I've stopped tracking the number of complaints specific to Clover as its clear that choosing Clover is a bad decision. 

Update July 6, 2015: no shortage of complaints against Clover specific to expensive long term contracts, costly buyout clauses, unable to transfer licensing if the business is sold, and sales reps making promises for features/functions that Clover just can't do.  I believe the overall tally is over 400 verified complaints against Clover.


Update 1.January.2015:

Based on user feedback and the fact that First Data locks you into a costly merchant services contract when purchasing Clover, I do not recommend that anyone considers Clover as a possible point of sale system for your business or organization. There are much better systems on the market like NCR Silver and Bindo Point of Sale that perform at a same or better level and do not lock you in to costly merchant services contracts.

One of the newer tablet and cloud based retail point of sale solutions to come on the marker is Clover. The folks at Clover sent the company that I worked for a complete demo system with a tablet, cash drawer, customer price display, credit card swipe, and high speed thermal receipt printer.  I used this equipment at nearly all of the point of sale workshops that I conducted in 2012 and parts of 2013.

In the end, Clover has been acquired by First Data and is not currently available for sale (per the Clover website).  Still, in case the program becomes available again, here are my thoughts in working with clover as a retail or food service point of sale system.

The Good:

• Very easy to learn and use
• Simple touch screen user interface
• Easy to navigate back office functions via a web browser
• Set monthly price

The OK:

• Appeared to handle both basic retail and basic food service sales well 
• Has some modifiers for food and beverage items
• Decent amount of reporting
• Doesn't try to be a true point of sale system (ie: no inventory tracking or purchasing/receiving)
• At the time, there appeared to be various options to pick and choose who would handle your merchant services

The Needs Improvement:

• Lack of basic item cost/margin tracking
• Limited hardware compatability
• Unclear future - if First Data requires the customer to use First Data for merchant services than merchants could be locked in to paying excessive merchant service fees

Summary:

While I really liked Clover as a viable solution for very small retail stores and food service businesses, the unclear future of Clover makes it tough to even consider Clover as a point of sale option - especially since it has not been available for several months now.

*Updates 7/24/2014*  *Feedback Received in July 2014*

• Returned it (Clover) the next day"
• "(sales rep) couldn't even demo the system"
• "they will raise my (merchant services) rates"
• "don't want to be locked in to a credit card contract"
• "good step up from a cash register"
• "missing features"
• "went with Bindo which does more and doesn't require me to use a specific company for credit and debit card processing services"

The Bindo solution was mentioned a couple of times.  Folks noted that Bindo does more than Clover and is even offering some various incentives like free hardware currently. If you are curious about Bindo Point of Sale, check them out at www.bindopos.com.

Are you in the US and in need of no cost retail point of sale advice? I'm happy to help and can be reached on my cell at 208-340-5632 (mountain time) or via email at kevinantosh@gmail.com.

Updates on Clover Point of Sale

Updated September 4th, 2015: to summarize all the information below - 3 years ago Clover looked promising but todays advice is to avoid Clover like the plague - I've stopped tracking the number of complaints specific to Clover as its clear that choosing Clover is a bad decision. 

Update July 6, 2015: no shortage of complaints against Clover specific to expensive long term contracts, costly buyout clauses, unable to transfer licensing if the business is sold, and sales reps making promises for features/functions that Clover just can't do.  I believe the overall tally is over 400 verified complaints against Clover.

Update 1.January.2015:

Based on user feedback and the fact that First Data locks you into a costly merchant services contract when purchasing Clover, I do not recommend that anyone considers Clover as a possible point of sale system for your business or organization. There are much better systems on the market like NCR Silver and Bindo Point of Sale that perform at a same or better level and do not lock you in to costly merchant services contracts.

As I have mentioned in the past, I came across some issues with Clover point of sale when it came to actually selling the Clover solution (the folks at Clover said that they were "moving in a different direction" and didn't feel that they could support any new customers at the time).

I liked Clover as it worked well in both a retail and quick-serve environment.  Well, it turns out that First Data Corporation (one of the largest payment processing companies) has acquired Clover point of sale and relaunched Clover with updated hardware.  It will be interesting to see how this effects the merchant services options that Clover previously offered.

Even more interesting is that the Clover website states that Clover will be sold through First Data but there is no pricing information and only a "wait list" to be "one of the first" to get a Clover system.  You can see more information at https://www.clover.com/waitlist or www.clover.com.

NCR Silver is one direct competitor to Clover so it will be interesting to see how First Data markets Clover.  I suspect that there will be some incentives to use First Data for merchant service since there is more money to be made off of merchant services in the long term than off of the Clover hardware and software.

Bottom line: wait and see or look at a different solution if you need a point of sale system sooner than later.

*Updates 7/24/2014**Feedback Received in July 2014*

• Returned it (Clover) the next day"
• "(sales rep) couldn't even demo the system"
• "they will raise my (merchant services) rates"
• "don't want to be locked in to a credit card contract"
• "good step up from a cash register"
• "missing features"
• "went with Bindo which does more and doesn't require me to use a specific company for credit and debit card processing services"

The Bindo solution was mentioned a couple of times.  Folks noted that Bindo does more than Clover and is even offering some various incentives like free hardware currently. If you are curious about Bindo Point of Sale, check them out at www.bindopos.com.

Are you in the US and in need of no cost retail point of sale advice? I'm happy to help and can be reached on my cell at 208-340-5632 (mountain time) or via email at kevinantosh@gmail.com.