Update November 2014. It appears that I was not wrong. Once folks saw the contract and actual costs associated with the Harbortouch point of sale solutions, they crossed Harbourtouch off of their lists. Note that the point of sale business that I worked for stopped offering cash registers and point of sale systems in Fall of 2013 so ignore the phone numbers below. You can still contact me for free and unbiased point of sale advice though!
OK - as you know I have been very vocal against the 'free' point of sale systems offered by Harbortouch. I felt that the value just wasn't there compared to purchasing or leasing a point of sale system for retail stores and restaurants.
It appears that I may (time will tell) be wrong.
Based on conversations with the folks at Harbortouch, owners of retail stores and restaurants using Harbortouch, as well as other point of sale dealers selling Harbortouch, it appears that Harbortouch is a viable solution for many small or start up retail stores and restaurants who just do not have the cash flow or credit yet to purchase or lease a $6,000 to $12,000 point of sale system.
So, I am looking for 6 businesses in the greater Boise, ID area (specialty retail stores and restaurants of any kind) to try out Harbortouch. Here are the key details:
What You Get:
·
New touch screen computer with credit card swipe
·
New receipt printer, cash drawer, customer price/pole display and barcode
scanner (barcode scanner and price/pole display not included with restaurant systems)
·
Professional installation (must have existing
computer network for multi-terminal installations)
·
24/7 support
·
5 year hardware replacement warranty (shipping
costs not included)
The Costs:
·
Only upfront cost is shipping which runs around
$25/terminal
·
Monthly support fee of $69/month per terminal
·
Quarterly warranty fee of $59
The Restrictions:
·
Credit score of at least 525
·
5 year system and merchant services commitment (we will set and maintain competitive merchant services rates on your behalf)
If you have a retail store or restaurant generating $150,000
to $750,000 in annual gross sales, then this is a great way to start using a
complete point of sale system with very low upfront costs. By comparison our
typical point of sale systems run $6000 to $12,000 for an outright purchase or
$100 - $300 a month on a 5 year lease. Your anticipated costs over five years
for this system is $5345 (none of the prices include costs related to supplies or merchant services fees).
If the system works well for these 6 customers, then I will look at expanding to offer the systems to retail stores and restaurants throughout the Western US.
PS - here are what the retail and restaurant systems look like:
Retail System
Restaurant System
