Cloud Based Point of Sale Systems: Things to Keep in Mind

2015 has really been the year for cloud and mobile point of sale systems for retail stores, restaurants and museums. About 65% of the businesses and organizations that contact me are only considering point of sale systems that work on mobile devices and are cloud based.  A few things to keep in mind if you are looking at the cloud based point of sale systems like Clover, Vend, Lavu, Shopkeep, Lightspeed, or Silver...

1. In most cases the cloud based point of sale systems will only cost around 10%-30% less than a point of sale system that you lease to own or purchase outright (eg: Retail Pro, Sapphire, NCR CounterPoint, Retail management Hero, Etc.).  This assumes that you plan on keeping your point of sale system for 5-7 years and that you pay an ongoing monthly fee to use a cloud based point of sale system (which normally also includes support and updates).
2. You lose some control when using a cloud based point of sale system. Best example is that a traditional point of sale system puts all the hardware, software, and data onsite within your business or organization. If a router fails, you simply replace it.  With the cloud based point of sale systems you have no control if their router breaks or if their server goes down. Look at the reviews for any cloud based point of sale system and see that users mention outages lasting several hours. The point of sale companies tout off line modes or similar features but the reality is that system wide failures are possible and there is nothing you can do about it when it comes to cloud based point of sale systems.
3. Ownership: most cloud based systems are rented so you never actually own anything - very easy on your budget but you have to be comfortable with this pricing structure.
4. Hidden fees and contracts: I've been very disappointing with several of the cloud based point of sale systems who require long term contracts with early termination fees and limitations on who you can use for your credit and debit card processing services. As with any point of sale system, due diligence is required on your part when it comes to reading and signing any agreements or contracts.

Now, this may all sound somewhat negative but I actually do feel that some of the cloud based point of sale systems are great solutions (I've previously used, sold, and supported several).  However, they are only good solutions in one or more of the following situations:

• Single location or less than 10 locations with annual sales of less than $800,000 per location.
• OK with never owning the actual software but paying an ongoing fee each month.
• Low technology needs: OK with canned reports and don't have complex  inventory needs.
• No internal IT person or "computer geek": cloud based systems are generally very easy to learn and use and do not require internal IT resources.

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.

iMobile3 Enhances NCR Silver Point of Sale

The folks at NCR and iMobile3 have collaborated to add some customer experience features to NCR Silver via the iMobile3 PassMarket mobile storefront application.  The following are the key features:

• Customer Reward Program
• Special Offers
• Gifting
• Messaging
• Store Locator
• Payment Options

You can learn more by visiting the iMobile3 PassMarket webpage at http://www.imobile3.com/passmarket/

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.

Vertical Specialties for Various Retail Point of Sale Systems

As July is not a big month for point of sale news and information, I thought that I would pass along some information related to what vertical markets various point of sale programs focus on. This is not meant to say that the program will not work in a different vertical - just that the program has an established presence in the verticals listed below.

If you recall, my point of sale workshops stress that you should focus on point of sale programs that are designed for your type of business.

NCR Silver

• Small general retail stores and food service businesses like food trucks, counter serve restaurants/cafeterias/coffee shops, and concession stands.
• Temporary or seasonal retail businesses
• Mobile retail or service only businesses
• Kiosk businesses
• Thrift and second hand stores
• Clothing and Apparel Stores
• E-Cig Stores

First Data Clover

• Same as NCR Silver 

Bindo Point of Sale

• Wine, Beer and Liquor Stores
• Pet Stores
• Health and Beauty 
• Clothing and Apparel Stores
• Sporting Goods Stores
• Museums
• Gift Shops
• Candy Stores
• Salons and Spas
• Thrift and second hand stores
• Pro Shops

NCR CounterPoint

• Museums
• Thrift and second hand stores
• Garden Centers
• Pet Stores
• Sporting Goods Stores
• Clothing and Apparel Stores
• Liquor Stores
• Sporting Goods Stores
• Gift Shops
• Tobacco and E-Cig Stores 
• Pro Shops

Retail Pro

• Same as NCR CounterPoint

Microsoft RMS

• Same as NCR CounterPoint and Retail Pro
• A lot of government entities (since it is a Microsoft product) as well as government run businesses like golf courses and pro shops.

I realize this is not a complete list but I used information from the companies websites, what trade shows these companies attend, and my own 15 years of personal experience.

Can I help by offering some free point of sale advice or answering your retail or museum point of sale related questions?  If you are in the United States then please use the contact form to the right, email me at kevinantosh@gmail.com or call me on my cell at 208-340-5632. I've worked with thousands of businesses over the years to help them find the best point of sale solution and have also negotiated some pretty cool discounts as well.

NCR Silver Point of Sale Review and Demo

Since I already provided a basic video review of demo of the backoffice part of NCR Silver, it was time to post a brief video showing how the point of sale side of NCR Silver looks and works.

The highlights are:

• Very simple to setup, learn, and use
• Flexible for both retail and food service businesses
• Can be turned off and on for seasonal businesses
• Monthly price includes support and updates
• Some limited loyalty and email marketing functions

Summary: 
Affordable mobile solution for retail, museum and food service businesses who want more than what a cash register can do.

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.

New Updates for NCR Silver

Thanks to a new iPad Air, I was able to catch up on what has been happening with the NCR Silver mobile point of sale solution for iOS devices.

There have been some significant changes in terms of an enhanced version of NCR Silver for food service businesses but the core retail version of NCR Silver remains the same.  The functionality lies between a cash register and a true point of sale system.  With newer mobile solutions like Bindo POS offering more functionality for the same price, I'm sure the development team at NCR is working to add more advanced functions and features to NCR Silver.

Here are the update highlights:

• Restaurant Pro Edition price starts at $129.00/month
• A Silver 'Guru' can assist with the setup of your system for $299.00 (looks to be combination of phone and onsite service)
• For around $30.00/month you can have integration between NCR Silver and QuickBooks Accounting

Those are the major changes - I am working on a video demo of the sales side of NCR Silver as well.

Can I help?  If you are in need of some free point of sale advice, you can reach me at kevinantosh@gmail.com or 208-340-5632. I have over 15 years experience helping retail stores and museums select the best point of sale solution for their business or organization.

NCR Silver Review and Back Office Demo

I've worked a bit over the last couple of years with the NCR Silver mobile point of sale solution. The video below covers what I like and don't like about NCR Silver as well as a brief overview of teh back office part of NCR Silver.

The highlights are:

• Very simple to setup, learn, and use
• Flexible for both retail and food service businesses
• Can be turned off and on for seasonal businesses
• Monthly price includes support and updates
• Some limited loyalty and email marketing functions
• Must buy the hardware and peripherals while other solutions like Bindo offer free hardware and peripherals
• Not a true point of sale system
• If solutions like Bindo can offer more of a true point of sale solution for the same monthly price then why choose NCR Silver?

Summary:
Affordable mobile solution for retail, museum and food service businesses who want more than what a cash register can do but more advanced solutions like Bindo POS are making the original mobile solutions like Clover and NCR Silver look a bit too basic.

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.

New NCR Silver Review

One of the things that I try to stay on top of are user reviews of different point of sale solutions.  The reviews have been the most popular posts on this site and have also generated the most phone calls and emails from folks searching for free point of sale help and advice.

While it is easy to link to a review, I prefer to paraphrase the review for the following reasons:

1. Over the years I have figured out how to 'read between the lines' to find the key points of each review
2. I'm also able to easily spot reviews that may have been written from someone attempting to increase or decrease a products reputation (not truly a fake review but a review written with an intent that goes beyond just sharing personal experiences)
3. The biggest reason is that a popular point of sale software review website exists only to sell your information to multiple point of sale companies - that's right, they make money by selling your information

Overall the review of NCR Silver was very positive. The user has a specialty retail store and mentioned how easy NCR Silver is to learn and use and that the support has been very helpful.  Minor issues are mentioned related to some glitches that appear to be worked though via a call to support and some hardware issues related to the credit card swipes not having the right connection for the new iOS devices (this was a common issue since Apple switched to the new 'lightning' connectors but has mostly been resolved).

So, overall a positive review from an NCR Silver user.  Just keep in mind that NCR Silver falls between the functionality of a cash register and point of sale system but meets most of the basic needs of small retail stores, seasonal businesses, small museums, and basic food service businesses like food trucks and concession stands.

Can I help?  Over the last 15 years I have worked with thousands of retail stores, museums, and government entities to help them find the best point of sale solution. You can reach me at kevinantosh@gmail.com or on my cell at 208-340-5632 for free point of sale help and advice.

Demo Videos and Downloads

A quick reminder that several companies offer 30 day free trial periods and/or demo versions of the software.  If you are interested here are the various solutions that I have access to for demo purposes:

• NCR CounterPoint
• Microsoft Dynamics Retail Management Systems Store Operations (RMS)
• QuickBooks Point of Sale
• Aldelo 
• NCR Silver (back office only - POS pending)
• Bindo POS

I am also working on some demo videos that show some of the high level aspects of each point of sale solution. that should be ready yet this week. Since there isn't a lot of point of sale news (normally) during the summer, I figured that now would be a great time to upload some video demos of point of sale solutions.  Note that a video can only cover the general highlights unless you really want a 45 minute long video (have some popcorn ready).

Same goes for my workshop presentation videos - the actual workshop scales from 45 minutes to three hours depending on the audience. I doubt that any of you want to watch that long of a video!  Let me know if I am wrong tho!

Visit my contact page for information on how to reach me.

Updates to NCR Silver

A few updates related to the NCR Silver point of sale solution for retail stores and restaurants that want a tablet/smartphone/mobile point of sale solution:

1. NCR Silver now has the ability to include color, style and size options for inventory items
2. There is a QuickBooks Accounting interface available for NCR Silver - my understanding is that the interface costs an additional $30/month - I will try to confirm that price and obtain more details about what the interface can and can't do.

Have questions? Want some free point of sale advice?  You can reach me at kevinantosh@gmail.com or 208-340-5632.