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.

Update on Release Date for the New Retail Management Hero Point of Sale Software

Update November 29th, 2015: There is an online webinar this week that I am attending which will provide more details about Retail management Hero. I'll pass along any new information as it is shared with me.

As many of you know, mainstream support and sales of the Microsoft Dynamics RMS point of sale software to new users ends July, 2016. We are all anxiously awaiting the new Retail Management Hero point of software which will be offered as a direct replacement for RMS.  At this point, it appears that Retail Management Hero will not be available for deployment (sales) until some time in early to mid 2016. I'll pass along more information as it becomes available.

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.

Support and Hand Holding

A few thoughts and comments specific to differences in support options for point of sale systems as well as a trend that I have noticed recently specific to support.

When it comes to choosing between the newer generation of mobile point of sale systems like Clover, Silver, Lavu, Shopkeep, Bindo and Vend, it is not realistic to expect the same level of support that you would get by going with a point of sale system like Dynamics AX, Retail Pro, NCR CounterPoint or Retail Management Hero.  Even if you purchase a mobile point of sale locally, the partner/dealer/VAR can't afford to provide the same level of support on a $79/month POS system as they would on $12,000 POS system - the revenue just isn't there.

Of course many businesses do offer annual paid support options but the point is that you need to be a bit more self sufficient with the mobile POS systems (or have someone on standby) than the more expensive POS systems which normally include more personalized training and on-going support.

That being said, I have noticed a trend across all types of POS systems to outsource initial support to a help desk in an unknown location.  It pays to call the support line for any POS solutions that you might be considering to see what the response time is and how well the support works (thanks to Linda in Indiana for passing along that idea!),

Information on how to reach me for more information can be found on my contact page.