To get a visual idea of how it works, take a look at the picture below:

Payment Gateway Vs Merchant Account

Sometimes people get the payment gateway confused with the merchant account, but they are two different things. If you look again at the picture above, you can see that the payment gateway is part of a larger process. The phrase "merchant account" is the umbrella term that defines that larger process. In other words, having a merchant account gives you the privilege of being a part of that process by allowing you to accept credit cards. The payment gateway is just the software application that plugs your website or mobile phone into that process.

When necessary, your merchant account provider will bundle a payment gateway with your merchant account so you can accept online payments. Most of the time that gateway will be Authorize.Net because it's so popular. However, some providers have in-house gateways like the Quantum Gateway by CDGcommerce which competes with Authorize.Net.

Payment Gateway Features

Here are some of the major features you can expect to get from a payment gateway:

Payment Gateway Integration

Payment gateway integration refers to the process by which one would connect the gateway software to some sort of payment device. That device is usually an eCommerce shopping cart. The integration process can be easy or difficult depending on how you're integrating. If you're using a shopping cart like Shopify or MagentoGo, there are pre-built payment gateway modules that make integration a breeze. It's when the shopping cart doesn't have a pre-built module that integration becomes tough. In that case, you'll have to do a custom integration which requires the talents of a knowledgeable web developer.

Conclusion

So there you have it! If you're an eCommerce merchant, you better believe that you're going to be using a payment gateway to process online payments. So make sure that the gateway offers the features you're looking for, and that it integrates easily with the shopping cart software that you're using.

Last Updated: May 16th, 2012.

Logo:

Overview:

Revel, a word that means to take great pleasure in, to celebrate, and to party! None of these things are what I would call typical descriptions of installing and using any modern-day POS system. However, with such a simple and functional system as the Revel Systems hybrid POS, you may just have an excuse to let loose!

The system was co-founded in September 2010 by company CEO Lisa Falzone and company CTO Christopher Ciabarra. The two met after Chris commented on Lisa's blog about inspirational quotes for entrepreneurs. Pretty soon they began working on a POS app for the iPhone. It was during this time that they noticed a lot of problems with POS systems on the market today, mainly that they were bulky, outdated, overpriced, unsecured, and built with closed API systems limiting compatibility with other technologies. The two decided that they could do better and in a little over a month unveiled their version of the ideal POS system, built for the Apple iPad.

The Revel POS system is a hybrid system meaning it works both with a locally installed software as well as a cloud-based system accessed via the internet and web browser. This means that all transaction data, figures, and reports are available from any computer with web-access, yet the POS itself can still run offline in case your internet connection crashes. This also means merchants do not require any servers or backups since all data is kept within the cloud.

Still in its beta test version the first year, Revel started in the bay area's original fish & chips restaurant, Michael Lappert's Fish & Chips Sausalito. By May of 2011 Revel was able to secure $3.7 million in Series A financing from early stage venture capital fund DCM. A general partner of DCM by the name of Jason Krikorian now even currently serves on the Revel board of directors (obviously investing such a large amount into a company comes with some loss of control and extra pressure to perform). But Ciabarra and Falzone feared not, as the system quickly gained popularity and demand coming out of beta in August of 2011. Currently Revel is used by several hundred businesses including Popeye's Chicken in Georgia, U-Sushi in San Francisco, Illy Coffee also in San Francisco, Camille's Sidewalk Café in Oklahoma, and my personal favorite fro-yo chain Cherry on Top right here in Southern California. Currently the company is processing over $80 million in transactions globally. That's right, Revel is also used in Norway, Saudi Arabia, and Canada, and Falzone is planning to add even more countries to the list. The recent addition of fiscal printer compatibility to the system has allowed South America to become a new potential region (fiscal printers are a government requirement in many countries and regulated by government themselves, tracking all sales tax and store information within an inaccessible area of a POS system, to ensure merchants pay correct tax amounts).

In January of this year Revel was announced as the winner of the Best iPad Business App of the Year Award at the Macworld/iWorld event, beating out the popular Square mobile POS system. Then in April of this year Revel announced a partnership with Best Buy's Geek Squad mobile tech team, serving as Revel's very own mobile installation and setup team. Revel is even subsidizing the costs of Geek Squad installation for its customers, getting an excellent price from Best Buy once they saw just how simple the system was to install and learn.

Falzone boasts that what makes Revel superior to other similar systems is its open API, which means the system can easily integrate with more technologies, as well as maintain quick scalability. Revel is currently a hardware reseller in addition to selling its own software and monthly service. The company employs a staff of 15.

Date Established:

2010.

Location:

San Francisco, California.

Domain Name(s):

www.revelsystems.com.

Price:

I have to say that for a cloud-based system Revel is by no means cheap; especially when compared to its competitors. One complete Revel system can cost up to $3000.00 for all hardware and licensing. Pricing breakdown per software version is listed below. All prices are based on a single register at one store location:

• Retail - $1000.00 software license per iPad.
• Quick Service - $1000.00 software license per iPad.
• Table Service - $1500.00 software license per iPad.

But it doesn't end there. There is an additional $100/month cloud fee per location!

Web-Based or Locally-Installed:

Hybrid (see "Product Basics" for more info).

Specific Industry:

Since the system comes in three options, it works for almost any sort of retail environment, from a small boutique, to a smoothie shop, to an American diner. But due to its extensive features for both quick service and full-scale restaurant environments, the system is ideal for businesses in the hospitality industry.

Specific Size of Business:

Founder Falzone says Revel's platform is geared towards chains/restaurants with at least $500,000 in yearly revenue. In other words, the software is built for big business.

Ease of Use/User Friendly:

The best part about Revel is it's so easy to use! With a clean interface and contemporary design (similar to Shopkeep's), navigating the system is a piece of cake.

Hardware/Operating System Required:

Revel currently works exclusively with the Apple iPad (meaning it's a touchscreen system). Recommended peripheral hardware requirements:

• Magtek card reader
• Epson printers: thermal receipt printers TM-T70 or TM-T88, and impact kitchen printer UM-T220. Wireless printers are discouraged for fear of interfering with kitchen orders.
• Vantage Point telescopic iPad stand
• Any wireless Bluetooth barcode scanner
• APG cash drawer
• Scale compatible (for selling weighted items...like fro-yo!)

Seeing as no data is stored locally, if power is lost all data is safe and secure on Revel's servers. The iPad itself has a 10-hour battery backup, but just for extra security Revel recommends purchasing a UPS (uninterruptible power source) for your iPad, router, modem, printers, and all other relative hardware.

Product Basics:

Since the system is a hybrid of both software and cloud technology, an internet connection is required for operation, preferably DSL or faster, with at least 2 static IP addresses. In case of lost internet connection Revel provides no alternative recourse, recommending that you also possess a 3G service for when your internet connection goes down. Good news is the system runs fine in offline mode, operating with a fully functioning POS even if you have no connection, with data syncing up once reconnected (similar to what we've seen in other cloud-based POS systems). However the only component that does not operate when the internet is down is the payment authorization service; instead it holds all the encrypted numbers and uploads them when connection is restored.

As we already know the benefits of a cloud system include no backups or servers required. This also means that data and reports can be viewed from any computer with web browser and internet access, making the back office mobile. Furthermore, since part of the Revel system runs locally on the iPad (accessing the server only when a user logs in or a transaction is completed), the system is fairly fast.

Revel offers its system in three versions: retail, quick service, and table service. Retail is meant for small vendors and vendors that need to stay mobile (like mall kiosks, farmers markets, and trade shows). Quick service is meant for...you guessed it quick service restaurants; places where typically patrons pick up their own food and seat themselves. Table service is reserved for full restaurant-type businesses; iPads can even be detached from the register by servers for tableside order-taking.

All basic functions of POS are available with the system: multi-tender payment processing, customer relationship management, employee management, inventory management, and cash management.

Product Specialties/Features:

• Fully-Functional POS - The Revel POS works in a hotkey fashion, in which cashiers can tap on menu categories with drop-downs of items and modifiers to select. Or if you prefer, barcode numbers can be entered into the system for ringing of items with a Bluetooth wireless barcode scanner. Tax, discounts, service fees, and surcharges can be set to automatically add or manually add at the time of sale. All payment tenders are acceptable: cash, check, gift certificate, credit card (everything but Amex), debit card, and even customer rewards points. To pay with exact change requires hitting simply the "cash" button. Manual credit card entry is also a payment option. Once an item is added to a transaction it can be easily removed or deleted simply by tapping on it and tapping "delete." If an item has modifiers attached to it, the option for modifiers will automatically pop-up when the item is selected. In the "edit item" screen cashiers can set orders to-go, for delivery, repeat items, remove items, enter discounts, enter special requests, add quantities, or even pay. Editing modifiers is as easy as un-selecting what you've selected and reselecting whatever you want. When completing an order cashiers can also add the customer's name to the order (for quick service environments). Of course the POS can also void payments, allow for tips, split bills, email receipts, print/reprint guest receipts, and enter rewards card numbers. Certain functions like discounting an order, opening the cash drawer, or voiding payments can have manager password requirements if you prefer. If an order has already been sent to the kitchen you even have the option of going back to it and adding additional items, sending then only the newly added items to the kitchen. Obviously items already sent cannot be edited or deleted, but they can be repeated, discounted, increased in quantity, or voided off the bill.
• Real-Time Inventory - Keep your inventory levels in check with automatic adjustments as items are sold or returned. Adding and managing inventory on Revel may be one of the simplest we've seen yet; all that's required is an item and a price. Other fields such as cost and sku are also available but not required. A style matrix is available for easy mass entry of inventory items that are similar but differ by color, size, or style. Additionally inventory can be imported from a CSV file (or exported to a CSV file). Revel can also enter your menu for you for an additional fee. As menu items are ordered Revel also tracks your ingredient usage so that you can maintain your stock and never have to pull an item off the menu. The system will also create purchase orders for easy reordering, however it does not possess an automatic reorder level feature for automated PO creation once stocks hit a certain level.
• Pricing - With Revel you can create multiple price levels, including time-based promotional prices (i.e. sales) or promotional campaigns like buy one get one free, mix and match, and 1/2 off.
• Employee Management - Set each employee with their own unique and secure PIN-activated login or swipe card, in order to track time (clock ins), employee performance, as well as employee activity within the system. Employee reports can be created based on number of voids, number of discounts, sales volume, and productivity. Access parameters can be customized per employee responsibilities. The system can also handle employee time scheduling.
• PCI-DSS Compliant - Like most other similar programs, all Revel hardware, software, and network are PCI-DSS compliant. Sensitive credit card information is encrypted and never stored.
• Reporting - Some of the dozens of reports available: transaction details, sales summaries, ingredients sold, PLU report, available/used gift cards, total voids, total credit transactions, refunded/exchanged items, percentage of labor against sales, and employee check out report. Real-time tracking provides instant visibility to sales, staff, and location data. And all data can be exported to a CSV and then imported into QuickBooks or other financial software to meet your bookkeeping needs.
• Secure Servers - All information is stored offsite in two separate and secure redundant servers. Information is backed up continually and protected by Network Intercept's Mobile Security Encryption System and Nanostealh, making the servers virtually impenetrable to hackers.
• Kiosk Mode - I have to say this specific function is pretty damn cool! It is the first ever consumer-facing POS on the iPad, so customers can place their order and pay all on their own. It allows the iPad to be flipped around for people to browse menus, select what they want and quantity, and place orders with their name. Orders can be completed by paying with credit, debit, or gift card (swiping these), or cash (in which case you'd need a cashier present to accept the money, provide change if needed, and complete the sale). Kiosk mode is currently in use by the Florida ice cream shop chain Twistee Treat. When first implemented, the president of the company Corey Balzer noticed people of all ages ordering with ease. In a recent statement he had this to say: "I suspected there would be a learning curve with the iPad station, but users just walked right up to the iPad and started ordering as if they had done it before. The system is very intuitive, and I see it going really far."
• Table Management - The system allows you to customize which tables each employee is responsible for so only designated tables will show up for each employee, reducing the risk of mixing up tables. Once a table is opened up the server can start adding items by tapping on the categories, subcategories, and products on the right-hand side. Some products may even come with options (such as different sizes) that will automatically pop up, as well as sides (e.g. fries, salad, toast) or modifiers (e.g. no onions, well-done, rare). If an item is added by mistake you can easily delete it. Otherwise once orders are complete touching "send order" will send everything to the kitchen. Entering payment will also automatically send the order to the kitchen.
• Kitchen Display System - When utilizing an iPad POS in kitchen view, sending an order or entering payment sends the information to the kitchen display system. In this way, with multiple iPad POS systems you can have a KDS for hot orders, one for cold orders, and one used for expediting. The expedite view will allow servers to see if an order is in progress or completed so they'll know when to take food out to a table or call a customer name. The kitchen view (aka cook view) will display the order plus any modifiers, the time the order came in, the server name, the customer name, and of course the status of the order (completed or not). When an order is completed the kitchen staff simply touches "completed" on the KDS to change the order status on the expedite view iPad. Once food is taken out the server touches on "completed" in expedite view to make an order "done" and clear it off the screen.
• Coin Dispenser Compatible - Revel iPad POS can even hook up to a coin dispenser to help your employees save time and be more efficient; faster sales means getting to more customers, thus more revenue. The Revel website provides an anecdote regarding chicken chain Popeye's' success with automated coin dispensing in its Massachusetts locations.
• Cash Management - All cash management functions are located under the manager selection of the settings tab; things such as batch processing, over/under till, and printable quick-view reports like total cash/credit/check/gift certificate for the night, items sold, and time management.
• Customer Management - Revel tracks customer purchases as well as all necessary customer information such as name, address, phone number, and email. This information can be exported and used to create mass marketing campaigns (whether through email or direct), or used to cross-sell other items.
• Find Function - Easily search past closed orders from previous days, reopen held orders, or open the current day's closed orders.
• Multi-Store Functionality - Revel is built to handle a single store or a chain of stores. An extra "headquarters" software license must be purchased in order to view data from all stores. Unfortunately Revel does not currently have the ability to transfer inventory between stores, but Falzone has stated that this feature is on its way.

Integrations/Add-Ons:

Revel is integrated with Digital Menu Me menu boards. What this means is that the Revel system and Digital Menu Me displays can talk to each other and exchange data. So whenever you update your menu in the Revel POS, your Digital Menu Me display will update as well. That way if you run out of a certain dish early in the night, you can eliminate it right away to prevent disgruntling customers who can't order what they want. Plus it eliminates the need for messy and unprofessional looking chalk menus. Digital Menu Me systems cost about $2000.00 and work with any Samsung 40-inch Internet enabled TV.

Revel is also integrated with LevelUp mobile payment services. With LevelUp you can pay with any smartphone linked to a credit or debit card and earn discounts and rewards the more you frequent your favorite participating locations. Payments are made with your own unique QR (quick response code - those weird squares of black and white line patterns I'm sure you've seen).

On a similar note Revel also integrates with loyalty and rewards program Perkville.

All of these integrations are possible, once again, due to Revel's open API.

Compatible Credit Card Processors:

Revel is pre-integrated with gateways USAePay and Authorize.Net. Using your own gateway other than these is completely plausible since the system allows access to their code (open API). However doing so requires the time and costs of hiring a developer (unless you're savvy in programming yourself). The best option would be to open up an account with either of these gateways if you don't already have one.

Most of our top rated processors are resellers for Authorize.Net, so you shouldn't have any problems finding one.

Customer Service/Technical Support:

Email tech support is free for all customers, but phone support packages are not:

• Annual 24/7 Premier Support - $2000.00 (a year), 24 hours a day 7 days a week.
• Annual Upgraded Phone Support - $1000.00 (a year), business hours only (9 am to 6 pm PST).

One-on-one training is also offered at a minimum 2-week advance notice for scheduling:

• Installation Full Day - $899.00 (travel expense not included).
• Installation Half Day - $599.00 (travel expense not included).

No reviews could be found in regards to tech support. But with Geek Squad recently on board, help will never be too far away.

In the blogosphere the Revel Facebook page posts updates on the company, new features, and new customers, however very little in terms of troubleshooting and system tips. No forums, knowledgebase, or FAQs page either. Any help you need will have to be through Revel email/phone support or the Geek Squad.

Negative Reviews/Complaints:

After extensive research no negative reviews or complaints could be found. Since I have to critique something, here are my personal problems with the system:

• Pricey - Compared to the rest of the cloud-based POS market, Revel's prices are astronomical! It's exactly as if Revel has combined the monthly service fees of other cloud systems with the software license fees of regular systems. Shopkeep starts at $49 per month, MerchantOS at $50, and Vend at $39. With Revel the software alone (no hardware included) will cost you $1000.00 plus a monthly fee of $100 for cloud services! Clearly the price is not competitive whatsoever in the cloud market, but when compared to regular POS systems it is on the low end.
• Purchase Order Capabilities Lacking - Other cloud-based systems have offered pre-loaded vendor catalogs, automated reorder levels, purchase suggestions (based on top sales), and warning prompts for low stock. Revel only creates purchase orders.
• No Bookkeeping Integration - With an open API you'd think partnering up with a major bookkeeping software (like QuickBooks) would be a priority for Revel. But as of now merchants must export data to CSV files and import into their desired financial software.

To do your own research for more complaints and reviews, you can search for terms like:

• revel systems reviews
• revel systems complaints
• revel systems scam
• etc...

Positive Reviews/Testimonials:

Just as no negative reviews were found, the same result occurred for positive reviews (if you've used this software then please comment your opinion below!). I did manage to find one review by a user named Raw food on online directory Brownbook:

This iPad Point of Sale is the system you want to install in your restaurant. Trust me your customers will love it along with your staff!

The Revel site itself provides no testimonials, but additional customers (other than the ones mentioned in the overview) include Sahaptin Outfitters, Murray's Tivoli, and Cerveceria de MateVeza.

Personally what I like about the software is:

• Kiosk Mode - The first of its kind, this feature truly distinguishes Revel from similar SaaS systems. A kiosk mode can drastically cut costs in your store by eliminating the need for several cashiers. Technically with an economy in shambles and millions out of work, I feel I should be condemning such an invention and joining John Connor's fight against the machines! Buuuuuut...it's just too cool not to be impressed.
• Open API - Revel's open API means big potential for the future, with endless possibilities of integrations that could conceivably help streamline business, increase sales, and increase employee efficiency. Even though I criticized a lack of bookkeeping integration in the negatives, I'm confident this, as well as many other integrations for simplifying day-to-day business operations, are on their way.
• Simple Interface - I really love how easy and simple the Revel system is to operate. The interface is sleek and organized while still maintaining speed and a high level of functionality. Training staff is a cinch.
• Cloud-Based - We all know I'm a sucker for the cloud.

Final Verdict:

Currently Revel is in a head-to-head battle with Square, it's highly popular arch-nemesis. Even though Revel beat out Square for iPad app of the year, Square is still used by more merchants than the Revel system (over 100,000), albeit for smaller businesses. Revel however, contains far more business functions than Square, which is solely a POS. That being said the two cannot be compared with one another, like apples and oranges.

Even so, I've noticed Revel adopting Square's catchphrase of "Square Up" as "Revel Up" in several YouTube tutorial videos (personally I like the "Join the Revelution" catchphrase better). In order to beat out Square Revel will have to lower its price point to start appealing to the smaller businesses Square is getting.

Really when it comes down to it, the only reason for keeping Revel from that last additional complete rating star is the price. If you're looking for a cloud-based POS for a hospitality business then Revel definitely provides the most functionality with the easiest operation. No other comparable system has the kiosk mode, kitchen view, expedite view, and table listing functions. But for regular retail businesses I'd go with one of the more affordable SaaS as the Revel system will not deliver much extra for the increase in price you'll be paying.

Furthermore, if you're a small business it would be wise to go with one of the other cloud systems as well, simply for that fact that you do not have as much to spend on a POS. Revel is aimed at businesses bringing in $500k plus a year, so if you're not in this range better move on.

In the end if you got the funds...this system will deliver what you need.

CardFellow was created in 2008 by Ben Dwyer. It is a comparison shopping engine for merchant accounts. It's a site that let's you pit competing credit card processors against each other in a bid to win your business. The formal name for this type of bidding process is "reverse auction".

Here's how it works:

1. You sign-up by providing some information about your business.
2. Pre-screened credit card processors bid for your account.
3. You pick the best bid.

During the whole process, the CardFellow team is on-hand to offer support and education as well.

Let's take a look at each step in more detail...

Sign-Up Process

The sign-up process is free and incredibly easy. I literally went through it in about two minutes. Here's a screenshot of the sign-up page:

(Click to Enlarge)

Pre-screened Processors Bid for Your Account

Once you make it through the sign-up process, you end up on the comparison page, (see image below) where different processors have submitted quotes for your business.

All the processors are required by CardFellow to submit their bids in interchange-plus pricing and must be free of any cancellation fees. Additionally, all quotes will be locked in for life, and will be monitored by CardFellow to make sure they don't increase at any point in time.

(Click to Enlarge)

As you can see from the above pic, the comparison page summarizes the most important information (e.g. total monthly cost, rates/fees, reviews, etc...) regarding each processor and their specific quote. You can then drill down into different areas to get more info.

Here are some of the features that CardFellow offers:

Education and Support
Every CardFellow customer gets a free 1/2hr to 1hr phone consultation from CardFellow staff where they'll receive assistance with quotes, processing information, analysis of current statements, etc...

Additionally, CardFellow has a great blog where you'll find a bunch of information regarding credit card processing. It's definitely worth a read!

Anonymous Communication
CardFellow has an anonymous communication channel that lets you email questions to the processor without revealing your identity. Each quote has a private IM board where merchants can post questions instantly. All posts are saved chronologically in the message board (and monitored by CardFellow to ensure processors provide accurate information) and also emailed to the merchant/processor.

Sample Statements
See what your monthly statement would look like with each processor.

Cancellation Fee Waiver (in writing)
Never trust a cancellation fee waiver unless you get it in writing. CardFellow provides you with a copy of that waiver.

Reviews
Read reviews from merchants that have actually used the processor you're comparing.

Quote Detail
On the quote detail page, you'll get a full analysis of the processor's quote, complete with explanations of each charge.

(Click to Enlarge)

You Pick the Best Bid

Once you've decided which processor you'd like to go with, just hit the "Choose Quote" button. At that point, the processor will be able to see your contact information so they can begin the application process.

How Much Does it Cost?

CardFellow is free to use, but like any free service, there's always a built-in cost. In this case, CardFellow receives a referral fee from the processor that you pick. Similar to how we make money here at Merchant Maverick. In my opinion, it's a small price to pay for the time and money you'll save, especially if you're brand new to all of this merchant account stuff.

Conclusion

CardFellow is a quick and easy way to compare processors and lower your credit card processing fees. I think the service is best for those that don't really care to learn anything about interchange, and just want somebody else to help them save money quickly. Obviously, if you know anything about interchange, then you can probably negotiate some good rates on your own, but CardFellow offers some added services (e.g. pre-screening, lifetime rate monitoring, education, reviews, etc...) that make the value worth the cost. I wouldn't have any trouble recommending you to CardFellow, and I actually wish I had thought of this type of service myself. Click here to get started.

Last Updated: May 3rd, 2012.

Logo:

Overview:

Retail Pro is a highly popular global POS software used in over 45,000 stores and 75 countries. With over 20 years of POS experience the software is the go-to choice for many big-name retailers including: Gucci, Louis Vuitton, Diesel, Oakley, American Apparel, Tom Ford, Estee Lauder, Puma, and United Colors of Benetton. Possessing all the great features of other modern POS systems like inventory, customer, and employee management functions, as well as unprecedented international business capabilities, the software almost seems too good to be true. Unfortunately it just may be so. In my research I uncovered a recent history of SEC charges, accounting fraud, and chapter 11 bankruptcy that sent me running for the hills.

Retail Pro International LLC. started off as Retail Technologies Inc. in Folsom, CA. Coming from humble beginnings, the company seemed to be doing pretty well by 1997, reporting an estimated $36 million in sales. By December of 2002, the company had grown to a staff of 80 employees and sold part of its business to Intuit, the makers of QuickBooks Point of Sale. In 2004 an Irvine-based company by the name of Island Pacific Inc. bought Retail Technologies and by 2007 sold off its merchandising division Island Pacific Management Systems for $16 million. What was left was renamed Retail Pro Inc. and its offices were moved from Irvine to La Jolla, CA.

By 2008 problems started to arise for the company. The federal SEC filed fraud charges against Retail Pro Inc., its two former CEO's Barry Schechter and Ran Furman, and its one former CFO Harvey Braun. The three were involved in a fraudulent accounting scheme in which they improperly recorded and reported $3.9 million in revenue from a "barter transaction," whose sole purpose was to manipulate the company's books to reflect inflated revenue. The SEC uncovered overstated 2004 revenues by up to 140%, making the company show profit when in actuality it was in the red. To make matters worse the three executives concealed the barter from external auditors by forging documents. Schechter even sold his company stock shares during the scheme, an estimated 637,750 shares for $1.5 million. A settlement was configured for each of the defendants with Schechter taking the biggest blow, having to pay an estimated $635,847.

In the midst of scandal Retail Pro was not doing well financially, defaulting on loans to investors Laurus Master Fund Ltd., Midsummer Investments Ltd., and Valens Offshore SPV II Corp. By January 2009 the company filed chapter 11 bankruptcy. At the time the company's assets totaled about $25 million, with debts of $29 million and liabilities of $50 million, owing over 200 creditors. Some of these creditors included former Island Pacific co-owner Jeff Boone who lent $2.4 million, former CEO Michael Tomczak who also loaned $2.4 million, $101,486.10 to Oracle (the software's database provider), and $64,974 to the Hard Rock Hotel of San Diego (must've been a lot of partying going on!). News of the filing caused the company's 61.5 million stock shares to trade at less than a penny a share. Many retailers began abandoning the software as well; as one former user put it: "We are jumping ship as fast as we can...this company is doomed!"

Investment firms Laurus and Valens took ownership of the company following the bankruptcy and shut down the La Jolla office, moving all operations to Folsom. The company continued to operate during the transition and restructuring, and surprisingly did not lose as many customers or affiliates as expected. Under the new name Retail Pro International LLC. and new CEO Kerry Lemos (formerly of Hotel Information Systems and Sage), the company added more staff to the Folsom operations to total about 60, and is suspected of generating more than $1 million in monthly revenue.

Date Established:

1986.

Location:

Headquarters in Folsom, California, but also other satellite offices in the U.S., U.K., Latin America, China, and Australia..

Domain Name(s):

www.retailpro.com.

Price:

Since they don't sell any software themselves there is no official price listed. Prices vary from reseller to reseller; estimated to be in the low $1000s.

Web-Based or Locally-Installed:

Locally-Installed (see "Product Basics" for more info).

Specific Industry:

Retail Pro seems to be built for, and currently highly utilized by, apparel and specialty retail stores.

Specific Size of Business:

As stated, the Oracle database allows for any size business. As you can see from the company's list of customers in the overview, the software is capable of handling large chains on an international scale.

Ease of Use/User Friendly:

Honestly I cannot give a justified statement of user friendliness as I was unable to demo the software. However in most positive reviews I found, users were praising the software on its ease of use.

Hardware/Operating System Required:

Retail Pro does not divulge any specific hardware requirements on its site, stating only that

Retail Pro software can be easily configured to work with a wide variety of POS hardware devices and platforms.

Retail Pro does not sell any hardware themselves. In fact the company doesn't sell anything directly, including their own software! Everything is sold only through authorized company resellers (aka "business partners"). One of these partners named Retail Information Systems offers a full list of hardware requirements here. Generally speaking you need the minimum following:

• Windows XP Pro or higher
• Double Core CPU
• Single Processor
• 4 GB RAM
• 500 GB, 7200 rpm, 190 MB/sec hard drive

Pretty harsh right?! Good news is most of the peripheral hardware is fairly flexible.

Product Basics:

Retail Pro is a locally installed POS software requiring all the traditional servers and backups for multi-station operation and data security. Unfortunately due to the lack of information provided by Retail Pro, as well as the fact that the company provides no demo or trial version of its software, my information from here on forth is fairly limited.

From what I know the system runs under a single module (unlike competitor Comcash) with all features available along the top toolbar of a single interface: POS, Merchandise (inventory management), Purchasing (PO's, receiving), Transfers (inventory between stores), Sales (reporting), X/Z Out (closing and cash management), Customer Management, Employee Management, Tools, and Options. The system runs with an Oracle database allowing for unlimited scalability. Also it supports both SQL and XML formats for custom development.

There are two versions of the software available: the Shop Edition and the Merchant Edition. Shop is for merchants with 3 locations or less and 5 terminals or less per location; it has slightly less functionality. Merchant is for anything greater.

Product Specialties/Features:

Once again limited info here.

• POS - Like most other software we've seen, the POS function will automatically calculate and add sales tax, accept payment in multiple tenders (cash, check, credit, debit, gift card), allow customer info tracking, employee sales tracking, complete discounts/offers/special promotions, and allow for voids or returns. Dependant upon the customer or items being purchased, prompts can be set up for the cashier to suggest relevant up-sells, cross-sells, or volume discounts. Also receipts can be customized to include company logos and personal messages (e.g. "have a nice day!"). One neat function that's worth noting is the POS screen is customizable to perform special functions at different cash wraps (e.g. special orders, layaways, returns/exchanges, etc.). This sort of segregation can benefit customer queue speed by separating lengthy return/exchange transactions to a designated POS.
• Inventory Management - The system updates inventory instantaneously with every purchase or return allowing for real-time view of all levels. Maintain vendors, departments, items, styles, colors, sizes, SKUs, serial numbers, costs, prices, counts, and even item images. Also the system's style matrix allows for easy input and tracking of items that may vary by style, color, or size. Not only does the system also allow for the transfer of inventory between stores, but the auto-transfer recommendation function will prompt you to transfer when stock levels are skewed between stores.
• Purchase Order/Receiving Management - Preset your minimum and maximum stock levels for automatic notices to reorder inventory; or set for auto PO creation to even further simplify maintaining your inventory. Once items are received they will be allocated accordingly and inventory automatically updated. Also the system supports ASN (automated shipment notice) in-transit monitoring. ASN's are electronic files usually containing shipment date, time, ID #, packing slip data, freight information, item detail (including quantities), and PO #. Suppliers can send you an ASN electronically to sooner confirm received data and allow you to update your receiving open interface by increasing your in-transit supply and reducing your purchasing supply.
• Price Management - Multiple price levels, suggested pricing (based on costs), and time-based price changes (i.e. sales and promotions) are all possible.
• Employee Management - Secure login and monitoring, position-based security levels, cashier tracking, commission tracking, clocking in/out, tracking absences/tardies, and managing employee performance or productivity.
• International Features - In my opinion this is the only true standout of this software. The system supports a multi-language (up to 18 different languages) and multi-currency interface. You can select 1 currency as your base currency and then assign exchange rates as needed for foreign currency as well as dates for rates to take effect. This even allows you to purchase foreign items by assigning currency to vendors/items. You can also track costs by region or subsidiary. And advanced tax features make it easier to comply with regional fiscal requirements (international taxes).
• Advanced Reporting - The system comes with over 150 preloaded standard report options, among them being: stock levels, best/worst sellers, top employees, top customers, sales tax liability, sales activity, sales summary, price levels summary, item summary, profit margin reports, best/worst selling dept/store/style/vendor, PO reports, z-out reports, employee performance, and audit reports. Furthermore, all reports can be exported to Excel, Notepad, PDF, HTML, or Crystal Reports.
• Customer Management - Customer sales tracking allows you to create special offers/promotions/discounts based on past purchases, create email or direct marketing campaigns, or create special pricing for certain customers. The system also comes with a customer loyalty function to set up, manage, and execute a loyalty program. Rewards can be determined either on the currency value or point value of purchases. This can be done in three ways: total-based, item-based, and gift-based. Total-based means point values are calculated by the total amount of receipts (so you spend a certain amount of money and receive a certain amount of points). Item-based is the same thing except different items have different points and some are not included at all (so you can push certain goods you are trying to unload). Finally gift-based means customers receive free merchandise as opposed to points to redeem. All point information is updated instantaneously so there can be no double-dipping done due to slow data transfer. Also customers can check their balance at any time and redeem at any location within the same day of purchase (so if buying at one store, can use the points off that purchase right away, whether in the same store or a different location).
• Security - As is standard, the system follows PCI-DSS regulations, keeping all sensitive credit card data encrypted.
• Built-in Technician's Toolkit - An application within the system that contains tools for maintaining your database like re-indexing to add data files, update password files, backup your data, and configure various peripheral hardware.
• Web Store Integration - Retail Pro integrates with ecommerce application UniteU to maintain accurate inventory counts whether a sale is made online or in your physical store. UniteU also integrates with websites like eBay and Amazon, collecting orders from them and passing them through to Retail Pro, widening your sales reach.

Integrations/Add-Ons:

Being that company CEO Kerry Lemos used to work for Sage, it makes perfect sense that the software integrates with Sage accounting applications MAS 90 and MAS 200. Data seamlessly transfers to the GL and AR modules of MAS software to shortcut lengthy data re-entry that often comes along with bookkeeping.

Additionally, the company's Enterprise Integration Manager application (offered for an additional unknown fee) will help integrate the Retail Pro software with almost any other data management application. The manager's interface allows merchants to define data output formats, transformation rules, and map destination locations in conjunction with the specifications of the target application. If it sounds complicated to you don't worry...it does to me too.

Lastly I can't move on from this category without mentioning the Retail Pro app market, a place to purchase add-ons that will get you even more out of your Retail Pro software. Unfortunately a lot of these apps are overpriced and - in my opinion - things that should be standard with the software. Like the V9 Inventory CSV Tool ($1500.00) which will allow you to import/export CSV files to/from Retail Pro V9. Other apps include emailing receipts ($25.00), prompt to collect customer info ($450.00), prompt for item being sold past expire date ($250.00), and multiple ship-to customer addresses ($500.00). Some of the apps even run into the thousands of dollars, like the Microsoft Dynamics GP Accounting Link ($7000.00) or the TrendaSource Enterprise: Retail Pro Integrated Ecommerce Solution ($12,000.00).

Compatible Credit Card Processors:

Once again Retail Pro is very vague on which processors the software is compatible with for integrated credit card processing, stating that they offer,

a wide variety of integrated payment solutions to industry leading providers and processors (like) Shift4, PPI, and the list goes on.

Specifics for card-type payments (including gift cards) were not available, other than all card data is encrypted from point of swipe, with automatic authorization check, and signature capture required.

Customer Service/Technical Support:

Since Retail Pro does not sell anything themselves technical support is dependant on your reseller from which you purchase the software from, or a local Retail Pro software expert. Other than that, the My Retail Pro web portal provides users with access to a support knowledgebase of articles, a TV section of training videos, Retail Pro University (featuring online as well as instructor led classes), a documentation section (filled with user guides, technical memos, and release notes), as well as a discussion board with questions and topics from other users.

Furthermore the Retail Pro blog, webinars, and newsletters provide more information on retail practices in general, industry news, and specifics on new software features.

Negative Reviews/Complaints:

Thorough research uncovered few negative reviews, especially since service and technical support varies from partner to partner. Negative reviews regarding the actual software were actually very rare. In regards to troubleshooting one user said:

You have no where to go but to your local retail pro installer. The product is very unfriendly and impossible to support yourself even with the manual. We wanted to upgrade hardware and move the software to another machine, even with the disks and manual, this was impossible. If you buy this I suggest that you need a serious budget for support and consultancy. This may be OK on a large multiple store install but on a single station it may kill your project.  - Martin4830

To do your own research for more complaints and reviews, you can search for terms like:

• retail pro reviews
• retail pro complaints
• retail pro scam
• etc...

Positive Reviews/Testimonials:

Retail Pro provides several testimonials on their webpage, one of which is the following:

Capturing client information is very important. The nature of our product is that you replenish after running out in three months. With the customer data we capture through our POS system, we know when they run out and how they prefer to be contacted. This aims to increase both sales and profitability, because repeat purchases provide the highest margins. Each store is independent, but because they are all connected to the corporate system, the data flows back and forth seamlessly every day. I can sit in my office and run performance analyses to see how the whole enterprise is doing. This way, the company transforms data into business intelligence. We use the knowledge to guide inventory management, pricing, product development--everything to maximize efficiency, profitability and strategic growth. - Eric Malka, President and CEO, The Art of Shaving, Miami

Elsewhere on the web, many other positive reviews were found:

Retail Pro has a great inventory system that allows multiple vendors per item, multiple styles per item, and alternate skus for lookup (i.e. Your own item #, the vendor's item #, and the UPC). The purchase order system is very good, provides great tracking of backorder items, it has the capability of doing auto ordering based upon predefined min/max quantities. - Craig Anonymous

Easy to use POS/receiving/transfer system. Reports are numerous and easy to customize. It has saved us countless hours versus doing hand tickets. - Don of Am/Pat Inc.

Good for multi store environments. Really powerful software with tons of features best suited to the intermediate/advanced user. It is extremely flexible and almost everything can be user defined. - Susan Anonymous

Final Verdict:

With a severe lack of information I obviously cannot in good faith provide a high rating for Retail Pro. On the one hand the software is used by many high-end businesses, has many positive reviews (with few negatives), seems to come with a bounty of features, and is the only POS we've reviewed so far with such high international functionality. On the other hand there's bankruptcy, an SEC investigation, and no centralized sales or support center (sorta like the Avon of POS). Even though the company's past problems were the result of an entirely separate management, it's still a factor we cannot ignore.

If you're international (or looking to expand internationally) then Retail Pro is definitely worth checking out. But other than that, I don't see anything particularly amazing about this software.

Last Updated: April 25th, 2012.

Logo:

Overview:

Comcash was started in 1996 by business technology developers Jack Fitchett and Jerry Snyder, in an effort to provide a POS system that contains every critical feature needed for both the retail and restaurant industries. Struggling in its initial years entangled within a Ponzi-scheme by fraud mastermind James P. Lewis (see "Negative Reviews/Complaints" for more info), the company brought on Javelin Systems founder Richard Stack in 2005 as the new CEO. Javelin is an $85 million business known for inventing the first all-in-one LCD touch screen computer used in restaurants, as well as one of the fastest growing technology companies of Orange County from 1995-2000.

With Richard leading the way the company was not only able to turn a profit, but actually begin thriving. Located in Newport Beach, CA, since its start Comcash has had over 5,000 businesses using its POS system. Partnerships with major companies like Hewlett-Packard, Honeywell, and Cisco means the company can always stay ahead of the game when it comes to integrating their software with the latest and greatest in modern technology. And although exact figures on profits or staff size are uncertain, I did manage to uncover that the company's tech support does maintain a staff of 10 help desk employees.

The Comcash system is offered nationwide and operates only with a Windows operating system. It is a locally-installed software that provides inventory, customer, and employee management functions along with standard POS sales transaction capabilities. In fact most of its functions are similar to many comparable POS systems we have reviewed.

What makes us hesitant to provide a higher-star rating is the overall look of the system, its tri-module navigation, lack of organization, and the lack of information available by the company. Many function details, prices, and requirements are not even divulged on the corporate site, almost as if the company has something to hide. Add on top of that the company's sordid history of operating with stolen capital, and I become even more wary. Read on to get to the truth.

Date Established:

1996.

Location:

Newport Beach, California.

Domain Name(s):

• www.comcash.com
• www.grocerpos.com

Price:

Comcash does not disclose the price of their system on their site, somewhat of a red flag if you ask me. But through my web research I found a couple sites reporting the POS software to sell for about $1000.00, varying on your business needs. The company offers a free 30-day trial of its POS software. Prices of support contracts are unknown.

Web-Based or Locally-Installed:

Locally-Installed (see "Product Basics" for more info).

Specific Industry:

The feature-loaded system is built to handle virtually any type of business, yet the company claims its niche market is small retailers that require both retail and restaurant features like: convenience stores, grocery stores, markets, delis, liquor/tobacco shops, bars, nightclubs, quick serve restaurants, or gas stations.

Specific Size of Business:

Being SQL based the system is capable of large volume, however it is intended for small to mid-sized businesses.

Ease of Use/User Friendly:

Unfortunately in this area we give Comcash a big fat 0. Not only does the system look dated, archaic, and downright ugly, but it is also too cluttered and fairly unorganized. Case in point would be the extras tab, a place where several unrelated crucial features were just tossed into one area. Besides, exiting and re-entering the POS and Manager module over and over in order to make changes takes extra time most merchants don't have. Most other POS systems operate singularly within one application, so the reason Comcash requires so many is beyond me.

Hardware/Operating System Required:

The Comcash system is built on an SQL database, meaning it can be installed locally or web-hosted. The company does not delve into the details on its web-hosting options, stating to simply "contact us" if you're interested in that option. For the purposes of this review we are going to assume it is a regular old-fashioned locally-installed software.

System requirements are the following:

• Windows XP/Vista/7 and Windows Server.
• Pentium 4 2.0 GHz or higher.
• 512 MB RAM.
• 80 GB Hard drive or more.

When it comes to peripheral hardware the system is surprisingly compatible with a wide variety of hardware (see a full list of compatible hardware here). Comcash also sells hardware bundles that include the software, computer, touchscreen monitor, credit card reader, barcode scanner, and receipt printer for around $3000.

Product Basics:

Like similar locally-installed POS software, utilizing the Comcash system requires also buying servers and backups to ensure that your data is always secure in case of a full system failure. And as always, upgrades are not free.

Also like many comparable POS software, the system comes with an array of system functions for every aspect of business: customer management, employee management, inventory and ordering functions, cash management, reporting, and integrations. It is also touchscreen compatible for quick and easy transactions.

However unlike its competitors, and simultaneously perhaps its greatest downfall, access to these various functions involves entering and exiting three separate modules called "Comcash POS," "Comcash Manager," and "Comcash Inventory." Any major changes for the POS in inventory, costing, reports, preferences, or available features has to be done by exiting the POS completely, entering the Manager module, editing and saving changes, exiting Manager, and reopening the POS. Changes done in Manager while POS is open will not take effect. Only a few things can be adjusted directly in the POS module such as item description, quantity, and price.

The system also has two types of views: classic and quick service. The classic employs a blank invoice screen to which items can be added by barcode scan or product search, whereas the quick service screen uses a hotkey button system so popular items can be added more quickly. Users can utilize either view solely, or switch between them.

The POS is organized with several tabs along the top: extras, invoice, product, customer, and find. Invoice is where sales are completed, product is the inventory database (in a spreadsheet-type formatted list), customer is the customer sales history list (input by assigned number, name, company, address, account balance, the usual), and find is used to locate items, customers, or products. And then there's the extras tab, a funny addition of over 20 completely unrelated and unorganized options like: clock in/out, back order, print last invoice, quick inventory, no sale, invoice lookup, recall layaway, and close day.

Product Specialties/Features:

• Multi-Tender Fully-Functional POS - The POS module rings up sales by scanning barcodes, entering a product PLU # (primary lookup unit), picking quick buttons (quick service view only), or by conducting a search by product description, item number, PLU, or vendor. When you find the right product simply double click and enter the quantity being sold. The system will accept cash, check, credit, debit, and gift card (although adequate information on this option has not been provided), as well as split payments among multiple forms of tender. As customary, sales tax (and any other additional tax, can have up to 5) is automatically calculated and added into totals. Other POS features include: holding sales, last minute discounts (on individual items or entire invoice), images of items, age check (scan license to display age), and price check (scan product to find info). Also receipts can be printed or emailed and customized to show whatever you want: barcode, PLU, price, item number, item picture, description, markdown, rewards points, total savings, etc. Options for voids, refunds, returns, and exchanges are also available. Returns can be processed with original receipt or locating invoice number within the system; merchants have the option of tendering cash for returns or store credit. Also customer and product creation/modification can both be accessed right within the POS interface, making it easier to sell to new customers as well as sell items that may have not been logged into inventory yet. The system also possesses several tertiary features specializing in specific industries: lotto sales/payouts, currency exchange, and WIC sales. The first two are self-explanatory, but WIC is the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children. Like the federal assistance program commonly known as SNAP which provides preloaded EBT cards to buy food, WIC provides federal assistance for the healthcare and nutrition of low-income pregnant women, breastfeeding women, infants, and children under 5.
• Advanced Pricing/Costing - The system allows up to 10 price levels to be set. When entering the cost of an inventory item the sales price can be set as fixed, a certain percentage over cost, or as a gross profit margin. Happy hour and promotional prices (like time-based sales) can even be easily created with specific start and end dates as well as start and end times, so prices will automatically switch when necessary. Price can also be determined on weight or size (like yardage) by allowing no price, weighing the inventory automatically (by use of digital scales or manual measures), and then generating a price based on total quantity (like for pumping gas at gas stations). Finally when it comes to costing the system allows you to choose between FIFO and average costing. It will also warn you if a price is set below cost.
• Inventory Management - Creating inventory entails first going into Manager and setting up categories with numbers and descriptions, departments with numbers and descriptions (to break up the categories even more), and vendors. Once all that is done, then you can click on the products subheading and begin filling out the necessary tabs like item, pricing, vendor/inventory, commission, and any special things in the UDF (or user-defined fields). The item tab is where you put the PLU (primary locator unit) which is basically the barcode (which can be scanned at this point to input product info more quickly), description, item number, department, and item type. This is also where taxes can be set up. Additional features like mix n match, style matrix, and kits can be used to set up items that can be bought in multiples for a special price, mixed with similar items for another special price, inputting similar items that vary by size or color (best example of course shoes), or items that are part of a larger whole product. Also the system can break down cases into units, allow for pictures to be attached to items, set up tag along products (e.g. when you buy a bottle of moisturizer, we'll give you a sunscreen for free), set up sales commissions for products (either as fixed, percentage of sale, or percentage of profit), and support handheld computer devices for counting, ordering, and receiving inventory.
• Automated Purchase Ordering - Within the system the administrator can set up minimum and maximum levels for all inventory for auto-reordering. This will prompt merchants when an item is out of stock or below the set stock level. Automation can then be set up by product, vendor, department, category, or period sales. Manually ordering is simple as selecting the vendor for a product, the product itself, and the order quantity. Items can be received into the system with or without a PO, bypassing that pesky problem of a closed-loop integration many other software have had. Finally the system also allows vendor catalogs to be imported to make ordering even easier.
• Customer Management - Customer information can be entered to track visits, sales history, provide suggestions (or newsletters) on future purchases, perform accounts receivable (i.e. house credit accounts), as well as to provide a loyalty/rewards program for your best customers. Customer entering and loyalty configuration can be done in the Manager module, but adding customers can also be done at the time of sale in the POS module. Adding a pre-existing customer to a sale is done by searching either the first name, last name, customer number, company name, or ID number. For customer loyalty first you have to go to configurations in the Manager module. Here you can set redeem levels (how much they have to spend before they start getting rewards), dollar amount to reward (the store/house credit a customer can get), and points to notify cashier (pop-up for cashier to know how close a customer is to a reward level). You even choose if rewards are allowed on discounted (sale items) or not and set the ratio of dollars to points (e.g. a 1:1 ration means every $1 of sale is 1 point). In your customer list you can check off which customers are participating in the loyalty program or not. While in your inventory list you can assign points to products under the edit line item tab. Accounts receivable is easy with the adjustment and ROA buttons, used for either changing the amount due on an account (without exchange of money), or making a payment on an account (ROA for "received on account"). Customers can even merge their accounts (e.g. if they are married, like a Mr. and Mrs.), if they want to consolidate their balances or share rewards points.
• Employee Management - Employees can be monitored with individually tailored access controls and security levels. In the Manager module, owners can set up employees in the cashiers tab, entering things like name, password, supervisor rights, and access options like being able to void, give discounts, view cashier reports, or adding/editing products. In total there are over 30 customizable access option fields across the following categories: products, customers, reports, back office, special functions, and others. It can even be set up so employees can only ring up one price level, preventing them from giving arbitrary discounts to their friends and family. Employees each have their own unique login with password or fingerprint in order to access the register and clock in. Clocking in/out and age verification are really the only things done in the POS module. The rest is done in the Manager module, like timecard reports, timecard overrides, hire and fire dates, entering vacation time, and entering tardy notes.
• Cash Management - Auto close-out reports help make ending a shift or closing out the store for the day much easier. The cash counter feature makes counting the drawer simple and balancing can be set as either blind or not blind. All cash management features are found in the extras tab of the POS.
• Reporting Features - With Comcash you can create and view dozens of custom sales and inventory reports through the reports tab on the Manager module. Or for a quick view of things from within the POS module, click on the extras tab and then the view status button, to see register sales, total dollars, and cashier involved either at a daily, weekly, or monthly level.
• Restaurant/Bar Capabilities - Printing to remote kitchen printers, table management, age check prompts, liquor monitoring function, "another round" feature, and split checks are just some of the restaurant specific features that the system carries.
• Gas Station Capabilities - Pump tracking, pricing by weight, and payment type discounts (e.g. cheaper when paying with cash) are just some of the gas station specific features available in the system's fuel interface.
• Multi-Store Ready - By purchasing an additional corporate/home base location software, information from all stores can be integrated within one location, handling inventory transfers between locations and helping pinpoint store weaknesses.
• Rentals & Layaways - The system also supports businesses involved in rentals, layaways, special orders, back orders, and work orders.
• PCI DSS compliant - As most other POS systems, Comcash follows all PCI DSS rules and regulations.

Integrations/Add-Ons:

Comcash integrates with QuickBooks to make your bookkeeping seamless and simple, while also integrating with Nexternal to work in sync with your web store. Comcash offers their own QuickBooks interface software that, although it takes quite a bit of mapping and setting up, once complete syncs all your data with Comcash allowing information to be transferred between Comcash and QuickBooks in either direction. With Nexternal integration, your Nexternal online store will sync with your physical store to maintain accurate inventory counts no matter in which an item is sold.

Compatible Credit Card Processors:

Comcash does not provide much information on their integrated credit card processing, stating only that Mercury Payments is their preferred credit card processor. Usually "preferred" means "only" but Comcash CEO Richard Stack has stated that, "If you have an existing merchant account or elect not to use Mercury, we can support all major processors through our software."

Customer Service/Technical Support:

Comcash does not disclose the specific price of its annual support contract, but does state that it covers unlimited calls for support and training, as well as free updates and maintenance repairs. Contracts are billed per software license (i.e. two registers would be two contracts). Support is offered Mon-Fri 7 am - 10 pm and weekend support (for critical issues only) 7 am - 10 pm (all times PST).

Other than their technical support there's nowhere else one can turn in case of problems other than the online manual. The Comcash blog only has about 4 posts, none of which provide any help with the system itself. Their relatively blank Facebook and Twitter  don't help at all either.

On the plus side Comcash's tech support received moderate praise and few criticisms in online reviews found.

Negative Reviews/Complaints:

Personally I feel the following:

• Cluttered/Unorganized/Old-looking - As stated previously the system's appearance is not very modern or organized. Navigating, specifically the constant opening and closing of modules, can be tiresome and reduce efficiency.
• Lengthy Setup - Although Comcash states importing and exporting of data is possible with their system, I failed to find any information on a quick way to import data off of a previous POS program or CSV file (the only importing we found was from QuickBooks). Without a quick import, setting up inventory items and customer accounts one by one proves to be a very lengthy and tedious process.
• Little Info on Gift Card/Credit Card Processing - The company provides virtually no info on how their integrated credit card or gift card processing works. I'm under the assumption that the "house accounts" feature is basically their version of gift cards (in the form of purchasing store credit).
• Lack of Pricing Info - The company provides no concrete information on the price of their software or support plans. Prices apparently vary depending on your business and its needs, with systems tailored specifically for each client. While this may improve functionality on an individual business level, lack of uniformity also puts the user at the hands of the company when it comes to solving problems, repairs, and troubleshooting, not to mention surprise charges and fees.

I also found the following:

• Potential Fraud Involvement - Comcash has a sordid past with a now convicted Ponzi scheme ringleader named James A. Lewis. Lewis was one of Comcash's initial sole investors, putting at least $5 million into the company since 1996. In return for his investment, Lewis became company president, received company shares, and a $2.2 million promissory note at 6% interest. Since at the time Comcash was losing almost $900,000 a year, Lewis was funding at least $100,000-$150,000 of his dirty money into the company each month just to keep it afloat, amounting to at least $600,000 from his Ponzi-funded company called Financial Advisory Consultants. Lewis has since been caught, convicted, and sentenced to 30 years. For more details on this case head here  and here.

Also a couple user reviews had the following to say:

Cannot produce professional, personalized customer invoices for open accounts. Took them 6 months to correct problems with Global Pricing. Difficult to impossible to get all the reports needed. Very Poor Customer Support & Service - may wait over an hour to speak to them. Data fields larger than reports will accommodate. Touch Screen buttons smaller on user screen than on input screen so had to go back and adjust font sizes all over again. Must create fictitious POs for orders placed offline in order to retain purchasing history. - Cnet reviewer Insmich

Make sure you have an accountant as I do not see the interface with QuickBooks being top notch. If you like to do things on your own- Import/export items, reports- Look elsewhere! The littlest change to the system requires tech support. Tech Support is 9-5 and no weekends. Not really designed around business Hours....I am out $3300 because the system was not what we wanted and the company does not have the integrity to refund our money. Use the full 30-day trial before purchasing. Do not pay until you know you want this software. I do not feel the software is useless, it has its charm....just make sure it is what you want. - Cnet reviewer OldAleJay

To do your own research for more complaints and reviews, you can search for terms like:

• comcash reviews
• comcash complaints
• comcash scam
• etc...

Positive Reviews/Testimonials:

Comcash provides 3 testimonial videos on their website, a couple of which I've transcribed excerpts below:

Comcash streamlined our business in helping our managers maintain our inventory at their stores....The polling software has allowed us to bring 14 stores worth of data in everyday to a corporate accounting office. And we're able there to assimilate that or bring that information together, summarize it for one day, and post it to our general ledger. Inventory control and accounting consolidation are two areas which Comcash has helped us streamline immensely. - CFO Mike Loughney of Mountaineer Marts convenience stores in West Virginia

We've been using Comcash for about 5 years now....We've had very good service from Comcash. When we were considering purchasing the system the salesperson took a lot of time explaining the system. I had a lot of questions, I knew exactly what I wanted, I went and looked at a lot of different systems, and the salesperson spent the time and got me the answers I wanted. It seemed like it had all the features and functions that we wanted so we decided to go with it. The support is very good. I've never called with a support issue they haven't been able to resolve for me. - Randall Lambright Owner of QCorp Ventures Inc., dba SAVOY nightclub in Orlando, FL

I also found several positive reviews from Cnet:

Over the years I have used many POS programs for my business, and all of them have not my needs and expectations. This program lets you do everything and anything you need and want it to do quickly and efficiently. I highly recommend this program for any of your POS needs. - Cnet reviewer jmattia

I was able to train my cashiers and servers in less than 15 minutes. Excellent reporting tools. This program has all the features built in. Management features are a breeze. Setup remote printers. I can send tickets to the kitchen automatically. The tech support with this product is the best I ever experienced. I recommend to any retail store or restaurant. - Cnet reviewer marvgk

Final Verdict:

Dodgy, dicey, shady, or shoddy...no matter how you want to say it, I just can't trust this system. A lack of information, a past with fraudulent money, a dated appearance, and difficulty navigating all contribute to this software's low rating. With so many other wonderful systems available on the market (some of which we've already reviewed) and nothing notable to make Comcash stand apart from the rest, the system becomes truly eclipsed.

I'm not saying it's all bad; the system does have potential. But if the company's big selling point is that it's touchscreen compatible...news flash a lot of POS systems are touchscreen these days. The software really just needs some full body work before it can compete with other modern systems that have the same robust functionality combined in streamlined, efficient, and beautifully-designed software. If the price was stellar I'd say sure why not download the 30-day trial and give it a shot. But I'm not even concrete on the price, so at a grand or so better just to move on.

Although the practice of leasing has declined in recent years, some sales reps will still try and convince you that leasing is the right option for you. They'll tell you a bunch of great things like, "you're not required to pay any money up front," or "you're guaranteed a replacement terminal if yours breaks."

Those selling points might sound good, but I'm here to tell you that they're not. I'm here to tell you that a terminal lease will end up costing you hundreds, if not thousands of dollars. I'm also here to tell you that with the fees you'll end up paying to lease a terminal, you could purchase that same machine in a matter of months...if not immediately. Heck, you could probably buy more than one.

Additionally, if you lease a terminal you may also be required to purchase equipment insurance, which is another added cost. And, not to mention, you may even have to return the damn thing at the end of your lease. WTF?!

Why Buying a Credit Card Machine is the Best Option

Listen, a terminal lease carries with it a 48 month lease agreement (which is the usual term). The cost of that lease can run anywhere from $50-$100/month. That is a LONG time to be paying for a machine that doesn't cost more than $400 these days. Why not just purchase one outright?

The cost of the purchase is completely tax deductible, and you won't get stuck paying $2400 for a machine that costs $400. That's 600 percent in interest over the course of four years. Yikes!

Even if you can't afford to pay cash for your machine, you can just charge it to a business credit card. The interest paid is still tax deductible, and assuming you have a 14 percent APR, if you pay the same $50/month toward your credit card balance that you would have paid toward your lease, you'll have the terminal paid off in less than nine months. That's a savings of nearly $2,000 that can be better directed into developing and expanding your business. It's really a no-brainer.

The "Free" Credit Card Machine

Some processors offer up "free" terminals to their merchants, but as we all know, there is nothing free in this world. Generally, a free terminal carries with it a yearly "Terminal Replacement" or "Warranty" charge of anywhere between $50-$100/year. That's still much less than what a lease would cost you though.

So, if you can't buy one, see if your processor will give you one for "free." Both CDGcommerce and Gotmerchant.com have a free terminal program that'll run you about $79/year.

Conclusion

If you're already locked into a lease, you most likely won't able to break the contract. As I mentioned before, a lease term is usually 48 months, so you'll have to find out when that term ends before you can walk away without a penalty.

If you're not currently in a lease, but are considering one, don't be deceived by exaggerated claims from sales reps. Instead, do your own homework and calculate the total cost of leasing vs. owning. I'm sure you'll find that the best and most affordable option lies in ownership.

Last Updated: April 23rd, 2012.

Logo:

Overview:

In the world of POS software, the FireSale web-based POS system seems more like a college stoner experiment than a legitimate POS solution for any modern business. The monthly subscription POS service strives to sell itself on the point of an absence of many features, which its developers feel is the problem with many other POS systems in the market today; feature-loaded interfaces that make things too complicated, slow down the user, and slow down the software itself.

Designed for simplicity and ease-of-use, FireSale was developed by a company called Onix Web Development, a small northern California tech startup headed by Tyler Kasten and Scott Albertson, a pair of computer science grads who believe possessing many features does not always equal a superior POS product.

Onix is also responsible for several other projects including TubTap.com and TourneyMate.com. Although I'm still a bit unsure what TubTap does exactly, I do know it has something to do with updating websites of hot tub dealers with product images, details, and updates. TourneyMate is an application allowing for tournament registration of golf courses online, in which one can add friends as players, create teams, and send email notifications for tee times. Out of all three of their products (FireSale included), Tourney seems the most promising, especially if you're a golf fan.

That being said, the company's motto of "doing less" doesn't quite fly with me. I understand their belief that some of the best web apps are the ones that "do just a few things, but do them spectacularly." However there's a difference between simple and arbitrary. Meaning do we really need to pay for a service to schedule our golf games? What about this little invention called email? Or even better...the mobile phone?

This company is simply too new to be an innovative leader in the POS industry.

FireSale gets a 1 out of 5.

On to the details...

Date Established:

Unclear, but seems like test versions were released in 2009; officially in business sometime in 2010.

Location:

Roseville, California.

Domain Name(s):

www.firesalepos.com.

Price:

Although FireSale is offered in two account variations, it seems the Plus plan would be necessary for any business that wants to do anything more than simply ring up a sale. Both come with a 30-day free trial.

• Basic - $14 a month.
• Plus - $29 a month, customer tracking, stock tracking, product import, "advanced" sales reports.

Web-Based or Locally-Installed:

Web-Based (see "Product Basics" for more info).

Specific Industry:

None specifically, but it's definitely geared towards businesses that don't sell many items. Maybe a total of 3 inventory items?

Specific Size of Business:

Super small. Like garage small. Like you're selling stuff from a garage.

Ease of Use/User Friendly:

FireSale's only saving grace is that its interface is in fact very simple and easy to use.

Hardware/Operating System Required:

FireSale supposedly works on any computer with an internet connection and web-browsing capabilities.

Product Basics:

As previously stated, FireSale is a cloud-based technology, part of a growing field of POS software applications that can only be accessed through the internet. Unlike other POS solutions that require the downloading and installation of software, FireSale is 100% web-hosted, with all transactions, inventory management, and reports done through a browser connected to the internet.

FireSale is not integrated with any sort of barcode scanners, printers, or other barcode-related hardware. Rather the company prides itself on its easy "type-head" technology, basically their fancy shmancy way of saying "predicative text," since all products rung up in a sale must be searched for individually out of the inventory by typing the first few letters of the product name (usually the first 2-5 letters). Once the product is found it is added to the transaction and the sale can continue, adding more and more products as needed. If this seems like it could be very time-consuming...it is! Especially if someone is buying 40 or so items...and your cashier is sitting and typing out each product name in the search field. You better hire a stenographer for a cashier.

As far as I know, at the time of this review FireSale does not have any hardware compatibility whatsoever, other than the fact that it is run on a computer with internet connectivity. It doesn't work with barcodes, it's unclear what credit card readers it is compatible with, and it generates full letter-sized receipts within the web browser, which can be printed with any standard printer connected to the computer.

Product Specialties/Features:

The interface of the site is divided up into 4 main tabs:

• Register - This is where sales are made. Through this tab a cashier can add products to a transaction, change quantities, and select customers. As previously stated, sales are not done with any barcode equipment; instead done by product lookup.
• Products - Here inventory is managed with the capability of unlimited product addition, custom pricing, and custom tax rates for certain products or category of products. This also allows the multiple tax rates to show separated on the receipt, especially useful for items that use more than one tax rate (e.g. cigarettes).
• Sales - This is where all reports of sales figures can be generated by date range, product, category, or payment type. Funnily enough, this is what FireSale touts as its "advanced" sales reports. Ooh I can view my sales by date range? Really?! What won't they think of next!
• Customers - Customer name and contact information can be added here and connected to the customer's sales. This allows for tracking and organizing of customers by their purchases, for recommendations on future purchases, or to aid in creating coupons/mailers.

Other than the basic four features, other product highlights include:

• Import feature - This allows retailers to upload all of their current POS data, including products, pricing, and inventory, into FireSale. Exactly how this works is not made clear.
• Export feature - This allows exporting of all sales figures, products, and customers. In FireSale's own words, "you own your data, not us." Exporting can only be done to CSV files (Excel).
• SSL Encryption security - Used on transferring page content (standard).

Integrations/Add-Ons:

None.

Compatible Credit Card Processors:

FireSale does not provide integrated credit card payments, so you can pretty much use any processor you want as long as you're aware that payments will not interact with your POS system in any way.

Customer Service/Technical Support:

There are currently no reviews or comments on the web in regards to FireSale's customer service. The FireSale website does not even contain a phone number, email address, or physical address. There is an email portal however, where one can send a message to the FireSale guys with questions. For more contact info one would have to know to go to the Onix Web Development site.

In regards to the blogosphere, FireSale has a Facebook account with 0 friends, 13 likes, and the most current post done on April 13, 2011. Their Twitter is no better, with only 10 tweets and 22 followers, in a period spanning from August 2009 to June 2011. The fact that neither site has had any recent activity poses the question...are these guys even in business anymore?

Negative Reviews/Complaints:

There are no negative reviews on the web but I've found a few things to say of my own.

• No Hardware Integration - In co-founder Scott Albertson's own words: "Hardware integration will come but is not necessary for the app to be useful. Using a combination of auto-suggest and clever UI (*user interface*), I think a person could be just as productive using a keyboard as they would using a sku gun." Wrong! Without any hardware integration, how does credit card processing work? Does the system accept gift card payments? Does the system open the till to receive change? The answer to most of these questions is likely "no." Even though it's stated on the FireSale site that the system accepts cash, check, debit, MasterCard, Visa, Discover, and Amex, these payments would have to be processed by an independent scanner running through a payment gateway (like Authorize.net). Payments would then have to manually be recorded into the FireSale system, making standard cc processing longer than usual. Additionally, FireSale should have no claims as to which credit cards are accepted by the POS system, as those are defined by your ISO and credit card processor.
• No General Ledger Capabilities - FireSale is the most basic in POS, meaning any information required for standard bookkeeping must be exported to a CSV file, and later transferred from that into the business' accounting ledger system.
• 100% Web-Based - Since FireSale can only be accessed entirely through the internet, a dropped or failed connection could mean a halt in business and sales altogether! In response to this, co-founder Albertson states: "One solution would be redundant internet connections. For example a cable line combined with a DSL line. Another more elegant solution would be to use something like Google Gears to retain client side data and maintain usability until the connection is restored....Most of the functionality will continue to work since JavaScript is used and communication with the server is minimal. In the case of a down internet connection Gears can step in and save/process data until the connection is back up." By the way, Google Gears is no longer around.

And in regards to the issue of system speed, Albertson has the following to say: "Internet connections today are fast and cheap. They will continue to get faster too, so I don't see how lag is an issue."

To do your own research for more complaints and reviews, you can search for terms like:

• firesale pos reviews
• firesale pos complaints
• firesale pos scam
• firesale point of sale reviews
• firesale point of sale complaints
• firesale point of sale scam
• etc...

Positive Reviews/Testimonials:

There are currently no testimonials or positive reviews of FireSale available. I'm not even sure if they have any customers. The one customer I could find is Hot Spring Spas of Redding. They provide no review or testimonial, simply stating that they use FireSale "as another way to keep costs down and efficiency up."

Final Verdict:

Don't use FireSale!

The FireSale site itself seems very remedial, focused on discussing the traditional perks of SaaS (things like: not having to worry about software updates, cheaper costs, having a working mobile office, easy setup) but nothing additional.

Furthermore FireSale continually brags about supposed "advanced" features when in reality these features are either archaic, or simply nonexistent. For example, FireSale acts like it has a special feature for updating multiple products simultaneously in the inventory management tab, but in their own tutorial blog post it's stated in order to do this one must use the "import" button, having the products adjusted before entering into the FireSale system. This must be done specifically by exporting the desired products to a CSV file, opening that file and updating whatever values you wish (quantities, prices, etc.), and then using the "import" button to pull the new list back into FireSale. Within the FireSale system itself...products still must be adjusted one by one!

It seems its developers have forgotten that the average retailer lacks the time and knowledge to go through such lengthy processes for conducting simple business. In the end, FireSale's drive towards simplicity has relegated it back to the ranks of carbon-copy swipers.

I've added a new team member (shout out to Justin) who's going to be tackling the wonderful world of POS (point-of-sale) for us. It's a lot of work, but somebody's gotta do it.

I'm glad it's him, because I'm already way too busy with the merchant account side of things.

So what will Justin be doing, you ask?

He'll be writing POS software reviews. Specifically for those of you that need more than just a terminal, but don't have the time or patience to sort through all the POS solutions out there.

These are in-depth reviews people! We're not talking about quick "once-overs." We've left no stone unturned, and we challenge you to find a more comprehensive review process.

Btw, here's the rating criteria that we'll be using.

Some of the reviews will be for web-based pos and others will be for software that you download and install on your own computer.

We've decided to focus on software (not hardware) because that's where your search should begin. You should always pick your hardware based on which software you decide to use.

We'll be adding new reviews in the coming weeks/months so subscribe to our RSS feed or visit the POS comparison page for updates.

Last Updated: April 14th, 2012.

Logo:

Overview:

In the Olympics of web-based point of sale, Vend has the potential to win the gold medal. With its main competitors fellow online POS services ERPLY, Shopkeep, and MerchantOS, Vend is the only one who has perfected the right formula for a functional yet beautiful POS software solution, all 100% within the cloud. Contrary to its competitors, who've incorporated both hybrid systems (in which minimal software is locally installed to maintain POS functions) and backup phone lines, Vend uses HTML5 technology to circumvent the issue of maintaining POS transactions in the case of internet disconnect.

Founded and based in Auckland, New Zealand by software architect Vaughan Rowsell, Vend is the world's first HTML5 retail POS, allowing it to operate on any platform: iPad, PC, Mac, or other POS hardware. This also allows Vend to cache locally, so brief issues in connectivity won't affect regular business operations. By this I mean it saves a mirror copy (or "cache") of the POS feature itself on your local hardware (within the browser), so you will still be able to complete sales even when the internet connection is down. Once reconnected, all transactions made will sync up to your online Vend account and all is well.

Founder Rowsell's career began in telecommunications, developing New Zealand's first tele-voting system and acting as CTO of online travel company Vianet. After acquiring company Trade Me, Rowsell helped build the popular travel booking site TravelBug. However it wasn’t until a 6-week solo bike ride across the entire length of New Zealand (from Stewart Island to Cape Reinga) raising money for The Agency of Spinal Concerns, that Rowsell came up with the idea for Vend.

Rowsell had become obsessed with "cloud" applications and began a mission to try and prove that a functioning and successful POS can move entirely into the cloud and still meet the demands of business owners. Rowsell has said.

I was inspired by Xero, taking industries that have outdated software and innovating beyond that. The setup cost to retailers for a traditional POS system can be astronomical, tens of thousands of dollars and weeks of hassle before they’ve even made their first sale. With Vend, retailers can be up and running in minutes, for a low monthly fee. Plus, it’s software they actually love to use.

Released in July of 2010, Vend works with virtually any hardware with internet and web-browsing capabilities. Even its parameters for peripheral hardware (like receipt printers and barcode scanners) are fairly lenient when compared to those of its competitors. Additionally the application works with any currency in the world (but not multiple currencies at one time).

By 2011, Vend secured a $1 million investment from Europe's Point Nine Capital, a venture capital firm based in Berlin, focused on early-stage investments in SaaS ("software as a service") and e-commerce companies. Using the money to expand operations, the company now has an office in San Francisco as well.

Currently used in 90 countries by over 3000 customers with over $10 million in sales processed each month, the application is quickly growing in popularity. Vend is even a finalist for the 2012 New Zealand Hi Tech Awards, an awards ceremony showcasing local innovative technologies.

In addition to running Vend, Rowsell currently owns and operates Voom Studio, a software development agency focused on cloud applications and helping small startups. Having proven that POS can be moved to the cloud, Rowsell now focuses on developing Vend even further with new tools and integrations to greater simplify everyday business for the small merchant.

Read on to learn more.

Vend gets a 4 out of 5.

Date Established:

2010.

Location:

Auckland, New Zealand and San Francisco, CA (which opened Aug 2011).

Domain Name(s):

www.vendhq.com

Price:

All prices come with a free 60-day trial (limited to 200 products and weekly erasure of sales data). As with other web-based POS services, there is no contract and subscription is paid monthly via credit card. Below are Vend’s three plans:

• Small - $39/month, 1 store, 1 register (no extra registers), 1 user account, Xero integration (see "Integrations/Add-Ons" for more info), email help desk, offline functionality, SSL security, but no stock control, no customer management, and no integration with e-commerce applications.
• Medium - $69/month, 1 store, 2 registers (no extra registers), unlimited accounts, yes to everything else.
• Large - $99/month, multiple stores, 4 registers (anything more at $29/month additional), unlimited accounts, yes to everything else. Keep in mind that for this plan, any additional registers above 4 are charged at $29 a month. The number of stores does not matter, simply the number of registers. So you could have 4 stores, each with 1 register, 2 stores each with 2, or 3 with 4 registers mixed between them. Anything more than these 4 registers is charged per additional register at $29 each per month, not by additional store.

Web-Based or Locally-Installed:

Web-Based (see "Product Basics" for more info).

Specific Industry:

Vend is not made for any specific industry, however retail operations are its main focus. Service and hospitality businesses will not find the features of the software adequate enough to meet their daily operational needs. For example, currently there are no features for food modifiers or table management, although these things can be worked around by creating zero cost products in the inventory (as the modifiers) and adding notes with table numbers to the sales.

Specific Size of Business:

With Vend there are no limits as to the number of stores or users a business can have. Size can range anywhere from a small store to a large chain. Larger businesses will simply have to pay more.

Ease of Use/User Friendly:

One of the great highlights of Vend is its sleek, clean, and uncluttered design. Very similar to Shopkeep's look, the beautiful user interface makes the application extremely easy to use as well as teach.

Hardware/Operating System Required:

One of the great perks about Vend is its versatility when it comes to hardware compatibility. Virtually any computer system, be it a PC, Mac, iPad, tablet, or even a smartphone like an Android or iPhone can run Vend! There are however certain recommendations that the company makes for speed purposes, like a single or dual Intel/AMD core processor and at least 2 GB RAM. Same goes for operating systems, recommended: Windows XP, Vista, or 7, and for Apple hardware Lion, Snow Leopard, or Leopard.

Since Vend uses HTML5 technology to cache POS data locally while the system is offline, in terms of web browsers Vend is much more specific, recommending either Google Chrome or Safari. Chrome and Safari both use offline storage engine WebDB, but Mozilla Firefox uses their own offline storage engine Gecko exclusively, and other browsers like Internet Explorer use their own engines. Herein posed a challenge for Vend, on whether to support all browsers (and therefore storage engines) in offline mode, or a storage engine which is compatible with most browsers and all devices, like WebDB. Since supporting all the offline engines would require greater research and testing, and since obviously most people would prefer having more and better features on preferred browsers than less features on all browsers, Vend chose the WebDB route.

Furthermore, WebDB (Chrome and Safari) browsers work on any system and have more capabilities than other offline engines, allowing Vend to be very versatile when it comes to device compatibility, as well as possessing many advanced features. Keep in mind that all functions will work on any browser, it's just the offline capabilities of the "Sell" screen (aka POS function) that will only work with Chrome or Safari.

When it comes to peripheral equipment Vend works with just about anything, connecting to cash drawers, barcode scanners, receipt printers, and card swipers. For receipt printers Vend recommends any Star or Epson USB receipt printer, but really any USB printer will work. Older printers that use COM ports may not be USB compatible. As a test, Vend recommends trying to print a document from Word or Notepad with your printer. If it works, then your printer will work with Vend!

For cash drawers, any brand is compatible as long as it has an RJ12 port. For label printers Vend recommends Zebra brand. For barcode scanning any USB or Bluetooth scanner will work fine. USB card readers are also compatible with the system, but for integrated credit card payments one must have an Element or Payment Express account (see details in "Compatible Credit Card Processors").

Product Basics:

Vend is an online POS system meaning there is no software to install, nor any servers or backups to worry about. Everything is accessed through a web browser via a computer connected to the internet. I’ve already explained how the system keeps a copy of the "Sell" screen and your product database locally through cache. So when the system automatically detects you have no internet, it begins storing all your sales transactions offline (via cache) as well, and syncs them back into the cloud automatically when the connection is restored. This makes Vend the first truly 100% web-based POS system that won't lose a sale.

Vend founder Rowsell loves the cloud so much that even the application itself is situated there! Vend does not have its own server room. Instead the application itself is hosted at Rackspace on their cloud service, with data backed up several times a day on their servers. Not only does this take the work of data security off of Vend allowing the company to better focus on new feature development, but it also helps keep the cost of the Vend service down, as well as prepare the company for easy growth, since Rackspace has more than enough servers to meet Vend's growing needs.

Product Specialties/Features:

Here are some of Vend's features.

• Multi-Tender Point of Sale - The Vend POS function is its "Sell" screen I've been mentioning, with a simple and sleek user interface similar to that of Shopkeep. The interface is operable via mouse and keyboard or touch-screen device. It allows for cash (any 1 currency), check, credit card, and gift card payments, although setting up the latter is slightly cumbersome and confusing. In essence, creating and processing traceable gift cards through Vend basically involves creating a credit on a customer's account. I won't dive too much into details, but for more info visit this page. One of the best parts about the POS is the quick keys buttons, which can be used for popular products, arranged any way you want, and unlike Shopkeep, customized with different colors. Additionally receipts can be customized as well, with your company font, logo, or website. Receipts can be printed out like regular receipts or emailed to customers.
• Inventory Management - With Vend you can easily add, remove, and edit inventory items. You can also include images of products as well as keep track of stock levels and any special taxes, costs, or prices for certain products. Prices can be set differently based on location or customer type, or by creating special promotional discounts. Additionally, inventory can be imported/exported from/to a CSV file. The system also has the ability to import, create, and print barcode labels for easier inventory management.
• Purchase Orders & Automated Reordering - Based on pre-determined restock levels you set, the system can automatically generate purchase orders to reorder items when your stock is running low. You can even create custom purchase orders that automatically fill in once you hit that restock level, or scan barcodes of items that you want to reorder directly into purchase orders. Reporting-wise it will create current stock, low stock, and popular product reports to help you keep up with your purchasing. And for businesses with more than one store, it will allow you to check product levels at each store and order items from other stores with the system automatically adjusting inventory accordingly. This is especially helpful since it's often hard for retailers to understand where there stock is at all times, how much it cost, and when they should reorder more.
• Sales Reporting - The system can generate sales reports by period, month, day, hour, tag, or register, as well as give you frequency of payment types by month. Product sales reports can be arranged by outlet, user, customer, customer group, or supplier. All product, sales, and stock reports can be exported into CSV files to work within Excel or another bookkeeping software.
• Customer Management - Vend maintains a contact list of all your customers, which can be added one by one (even through the POS interface), or imported/exported to/from a CSV file. You can customize the fields you want for your customer list, with things like address, phone, email address, website, customer group, Facebook account, and Twitter ID available. The customer management features also allow you to track your sales by customer, as well as customer layaway statuses: check customer payments, balance due, and history. This could also be a way to check customer gift card balances as well. Finally, customers can pay for an item from any store, since their information is universally available across all POS registers across all stores.
• Dashboard Feature - The Vend "Dashboard" provides a quick picture of your store with things like real-time sales figures, fastest selling products, and sales histories. All reports are accessed through the "Dashboard" tab. Real-time reporting is an essential function for retailers to see if a store is having a slow day, pinpoint which stores are slow, find out why, and try to come up with a solution to increase business.

Integrations/Add-Ons:

Vend has integrations with several other online software:

• Xero - This is an online accounting system which when integrated with Vend, imports daily sales automatically for easy bank reconciliation, creates customized invoices and statement balances to send to customers, and imports stock orders as accounts payable invoices to keep track of/reconcile purchases. Additionally you can import your Xero customer list easily into Vend or vice versa.
• Shopify - This is a web store application that when integrated, syncs in-store and online inventory with each other (i.e. same products, pricing, and stock levels). That way inventory is automatically updated in both systems whether a purchase is done in store or online. Even product changes in Vend in description or price automatically update to Shopify.
• PeopleMine - This online application does data analytics on your customers and their spending habits. When integrated with Vend, customer data is automatically imported into PeopleMine to generate reports on specific customer spending habits like frequent purchases, frequent customers, and specific product sales figures in relation to total sales.
• Perkville - By signing up with Perkville merchants can create an online rewards program for their consumers, rewarding them with purchase points redeemable for free items or discounts, or creating special coupons for referrals to their friends and family. Integrating with Vend, customer lists can be transferred and synced between the two systems.
• Magento - Magento is an ecommerce web application that similar to Shopify can help you move your business online, managing your website, marketing, catalog, order management, customer service, shipping, and payments. Integrated with Vend, the application extracts inventory, prices, and customer lists.

Compatible Credit Card Processors:

In regards to accepting credit card payments, in order to have payments integrated with the Vend system (i.e. automatic notification to the POS from the swiper if payment was successful or not), you must have a merchant account with Element Payment Services (review coming soon) in the U.S. or Payment Express (review coming soon) in Australia/New Zealand. Although Vend is still in the process of adding a limited number of additional merchant integration gateways, the system can also be used without integrated payments simply by completing the sale manually within Vend after a successful credit card swipe. Any USB plug n' play credit card reader is compatible with Vend (if shooting for integrated payments, Element or Payment Express will provide you with a compatible reader).

Customer Service/Technical Support:

In regards to customer service Vend may not be quite on par as its competitors. Even though many users have celebrated Vend's technical support and I have found very little complaints, I can't ignore the fact that the Vend site has no phone number, email address, or live chat available. In fact, the only way to ask a question is to submit an assistance request form through the website. One particular user in the Vend forum was outraged after receiving no reply to her question until 4 days later. Although that case may be the exception, when it comes to sales transactions time is money. With offices up and running in San Francisco as well, there should be no reason Vend has no telephone customer support.

In addition to request submissions Vend has a searchable database of answers to common questions (they call it the "knowledgebase"). This database is compiled of frequently asked questions as well as questions posed by a community forum. Users are free to ask and answer questions, leave tips, or share stories. Furthermore there is also a searchable Vend blog with occasional updates on upgrades, new features, new integrations, how to use certain functions, businesses using Vend, and other POS-related articles.

Vend also has a YouTube channel with 20 tutorial videos, active Facebook and LinkedIn accounts, and a very active Twitter with 1098 followers. Additionally Vend has created its own website called We Love POS as a place for people to share their POS horror stories on the web, as well as to insert funny anecdotes, pictures, and videos related to POS. Anybody interested in sharing their POS story on the We Love POS site, be they a current Vend customer or not, receives a free month of Vend!

Negative Reviews/Complaints:

Vend's simple interface seems to come at the cost of an absence of several crucial features:

• No Employee Management - Unlike its competitors, on Vend there is no feature for employees to clock in and out, track employee hours, figure employee sales commissions, or figure payroll.
• No Security Between Users - On Vend every employee has a user name and password with which they log into the system, as well as a security level to regulate access to certain features (e.g. manager, cashier, sales associate). If more than one employee is logged in at a time (which is often the case), you are able to switch between logins without being prompted to re-enter the password. This is a big issue when it comes to keeping management data secure as well as maintaining internal controls with cash handling.
• No Cash-Handling Features - It appears the Vend developers have left out a vital POS element when building the system: cash-handling. The Vend system has no feature to account for petty cash, cash drops, or cash sales. This is a huge negative as there is no way for merchants to know what their drawer cash balance should be at any given time, making balancing the till virtually impossible, and increasing the possibility of theft. Vend has stated they are currently in the works of creating a cash in/out feature.
• Sales With Negative Inventory - It appears several users have complained that the Vend system allows them to keep selling items even when they have zero or negative inventory. Firstly, there obviously appears to be a problem if your system is telling you there is no inventory left yet a shopper in your store has found the item on the shelf. That aside, selling items out of stock could cause big problems with continual backorders and refunds, especially in online sales. Although Vend is justified in saying they don't want to ever create a function that could potentially block a sale completely, they have said they are working on developing a warning system within the "Sell" screen that can warn users when a product is starting to run low at the moment it is being purchased.
• No Customer Loyalty Program with Barcode - The Vend system does not have the ability to create and manage a customer loyalty system that implements barcodes issued to each customer which can be scanned at the moment of checkout. This is an additional feature Vend has stated it is working on. To their credit, although this feature is missing, in the meantime Vend does integrate very well with Perkville, an excellent online customer loyalty program.

Positive Reviews/Testimonials:

Several Vend testimonials can be found on the Vend site itself as well as on the Vend blog under the tag "customer profiles." Below is some of what the satisfied Vend customers have to say:

Vend's beauty is in its simplicity. There's no complicated maintenance and there are no expensive support contracts. It all just works, so we can get on with running our store. - Laurel Watson, owner of Petal Cupcakes.

Vend's user interface is intuitive, smooth, and speedy. Going with a cloud-based POS has allowed us to scale and access our data from any location and smoothly integrate the e-commerce and retail experience. - Travis Becker of Mollusk Surf Shops.

It might also be useful to know that Vend is happily used with the iPad by New Zealand fashion line Gregory/Ricochet in all 12 of its retail stores.

Additional positive reviews can be found on the Shopify apps site, like:

Vend is a refreshing solution to the tired software-based POS programs. The easy inventory synchronization with Shopify is a bonus as it is already a superior product to other POS products I've researched and used in the past. Vend truly understand the independent business persons needs. This program is streamlined, efficient, and intuitive. Three things that are critical to helping our store and employees make sales rather than be POS experts. Plus, by logging in from any computer, it allows me to easily update/add products and check sales figures from home or on the road. I highly recommend this app. - http://laportegna.myshopify.com.

On going support for Vend is incredible. The team are fast to respond and always on point. If you have a Shopify store and a brick and mortar store, Vend is a no brainer. - http://motooption.myshopify.com.

Vend so far has been great, it has a lot of great features and works both online or off which is a huge thing for my company. Support has been top notch. - http://taylor-stitch.myshopify.com.

The usability and the customer relationship management is super simple. All in all, I can't recommend it enough. Their customer support is great and the product just keeps getting better and better. Lastly it is an inexpensive alternative to a lot of other POS systems and since all your information is stored on the cloud you won't ever lose anything. - http://quiltedthimblecottage.myshopify.com.

Final Verdict:

Vend comes with all the usual benefits other web-based POS software has, like nothing needed to install, no need for servers or backups, accessible outside of the shop, and continual free upgrades. In regards to its competitors Vend has a look and feel that's cleaner than MerchantOS or ERPLY, yet more functionality than Shopkeep. If it weren't for a few crucial features that are missing (like the cash-handling capabilities), as well as low access to customer support, I would have rated Vend with 5 stars.

All in all however, the Vend service is well worth the price. Even though currently the majority of Vend users are small owner-operated businesses, the real value of the system can be reaped by large businesses consisting of multiple stores. One of Vend's current larger retailers was previously paying $30,000 to $40,000 per year on their POS, which now through Vend is costing them $450 a month (that's just $5400 a year)!

If you’re looking for an affordable, basic, clean, and uncomplicated POS system for simple business operations and inventory management, Vend is definitely a good choice to go with.

Last Updated: April 14th, 2012.

Logo:

Overview:

Who ever knew that the small Eastern European nation of Estonia (just south of Finland), would be such a hub for so many startups! First Skype, the online video chatting service acquired by eBay in 2005 for $2.75 billion, and later by Microsoft in 2011 for $8.5 billion…and now ERPLY? Indeed that's what Index Ventures investor Saul Klein aspires the new POS service to be.

"We think ERPLY can do for business software what Skype did for telecom,"

Klein has said, specifically aiming the POS service at small businesses, making what would be costly and complicated POS software more affordable and accommodating for smaller companies.

Started in 2009 by Estonian Kristian Hiiemaa and his crew of five, ERPLY was created with the intent to provide proprietors everything they would need to manage their business in one inexpensive, functional, and easy-to-use software solution. And it seems they've succeeded on most accounts.

ERPLY is a cloud-based service named after the acronym ERP, which stands for Enterprise Resource Planning, an easy way of saying any business software that integrates the internal and external information of a business and facilitates the flow of said information between all business functions. Most ERP software needs to hit a list of set criteria, among which being the following: real-time operation, POS functions, HR capabilities, supply chain management, customer relationship management, accounting capabilities, and access controls. With the exception of accounting capabilities, ERPLY satisfies all the rest.

Similar to other hybrid POS systems like Shopkeep, ERPLY operates using both the internet as well as a locally-installed software program. All data management occurs by accessing the service via the internet, however transactions can continue should internet connection be broken, due to ERPLY's software component. Sales generated during a down connection will sync up to the ERPLY service as soon as connection is restored. ERPLY allows businesses to scan barcodes, ring up sales, print receipts (with barcodes on them), manage inventory (prices and quantities), create invoices, manage payments, and track customers. And for accounting functions, ERPLY integrates with QuickBooks for easy extraction of data and bookkeeping.

Currently ERPLY has 20,000 users internationally and according to CEO Hiiemaa, that client base is increasing very rapidly. Last year the company raised $2 million in funding from venture capitalist organizations like Redpoint, Index Ventures, and investors like Marten Mickos and Zack Urlocker (formerly of MySQL), SolarWinds' Kenny van Zant, Aydin Senkut, and Accelerator Group's David McClure.

ERPLY is also a 2009 award recipient of Seedcamp, a European mentoring and investment program for startups co-founded by ERPLY investor and Index Ventures partner Saul Klein. Additionally, tech e-zine Always On named ERPLY a business to watch in 2011, and the Wall Street Journal named it a startup company to watch in 2010.

In an interview with BBC News, Hiiemaa stated that ERPLY's,

"main mission is to bring the small companies back to the table so they can fight against the big corporations. They can have similar multi-store systems, and they can expand their operations with very low cost. The idea is to make it so simple to use, anybody can start store operations in minutes. We are even seeing our cash register software used by children to play store at home."

I'll be the judge of that Mr. H.

Read on to dive into the details of ERPLY functions and user friendliness.

ERPLY gets a 4 out of 5.

Date Established:

2009.

Location:

Started and headquartered in Tallinn, Estonia, ERPLY now also has offices in New York and London as well.

Domain Name(s):

• www.erply.com
• www.pointofsale.net

Price:

ERPLY follows a freemium business model, meaning its most basic service is actually offered for free! However Hiiemaa notes that the conversion rate from the free service to a pay level is almost 30%, and many businesses opt to start their service at one of the paid levels. All pricing tiers come with a 30-day free trial:

• Free - For 1 user (i.e. 1 POS) at 1 location. No charge for 1 whole year. Up to 1000 inventory items. No email/phone help desk. Doesn't work offline, doesn't integrate with QB, no reports generated, no advanced security, no warehouse functions, no API integration.
• Small - $100/month base fee for 1 store, each additional store $70/month. Up to 5 users (i.e. 5 POS stations), up to 50,000 inventory items, comes with all other functions the free plan is lacking, as well as phone help desk support 8 hours a day, 5 days a week.
• Established - $200/month base fee for 1 store, each additional store $100/month. Up to 15 users (i.e. 15 POS stations), 500,000 items, complete functions, and help desk support 8 hours a day, 5 days a week.
• Chain - $500/month base fee for 1 store, each additional store $200/month. Up to 100 users (i.e. 100 POS stations), 2,000,000 items, complete functions, and help desk support 10 hours a day, 7 days a week.

Web-Based or Locally-Installed:

Hybrid (see "Product Basics" for more info).

Specific Industry:

Due to the fact that sales or service orders can be held open in ERPLY until later payment, the software is ideal for any small retail, hospitality, or other service-related business, e.g. boutique, café, salon, repair shop, or specialty store. And since ERPLY can also be used on a mobile device like the iPad, it's also perfect for temporary kiosks, tradeshow booths, festival booths, and farmers markets.

Specific Size of Business:

With a maximum support of 100 POS terminals per business, ERPLY is intended for anything from a singular mom-and-pop shop, to an average-sized chain of a couple dozen stores.

Ease of Use/User Friendly:

Even though most online reviews rave in regards to ERPLY's ease of use and simplicity…I'm not as sold. If Shopkeep didn't contain enough functions, ERPLY has almost too many! That doesn't necessarily make it bad, because after all, a person could simply focus on the stuff they need and ignore the rest. But in order to get the most out of the service for your business, it's important to communicate to the ERPLY staff your business needs and wants, to obtain fully-tailored training as opposed to learning from the manual or ERPLY's extensive collection of online tutorial videos.

Hardware/Operating System Required:

One of ERPLY's selling points is that fact that you do not need to discard your old POS hardware in order to operate ERPLY. The service is compatible on virtually any device with web browsing capabilities, including desktops, laptops, POS registers, tablets, the iPad, and even smart phones!

Product Basics:

As previously stated, ERPLY is joining a long list of cloud-based business technologies, eliminating the need for pricey and time-consuming maintenance of backups, servers, and IT departments. Since the program is web-hosted, there is very little setup. All updates, maintenance, and technical support are included in the monthly subscription. Additionally ERPLY provides full training in how to use its product.

Product Specialties/Features:

ERPLY's functions are extensive! The following list is just a small portion of all that ERPLY offers. The system is really what you make of it.

• All Tender Payments - ERPLY processes credit card, cash, and check payments, and even creates, redeems, and tracks gift card payments. Ringing up a sale is as easy as: select the service/product via a pre-created hotkey, by scanning a barcode, by selecting from a list, or by typing the product name or code into the search box itself. Once the product is found, click tender, enter amount, and click confirm. For a credit card transaction do the same, entering the full amount charged to the card (including tip, which will show up as "change"). The customer then swipes their card in the swiper, or you can manually enter the card number on the ERPLY interface. ERPLY is compatible with most USB plug & play card swiping hardware (for ERPLY on the iPad an iDynamo Magtek card reader must be used).
• Hold Sale and Re-Open Later - As previously stated, in ERPLY a sale can be held in order to add additional products or pay the balance later (e.g. in a restaurant setting). This is a function that similar American POS service Shopkeep is missing.
• Easy Voids and Returns - The ERPLY system has the ability to print receipts with barcodes on them, allowing for quicker and easier exchanges, returns, voids, and restocking of items.
• Real-Time Reporting - All current register totals from all locations can be viewed at any time.
• Secure Data - Most card readers encrypt data at the point of swipe. From there all credit card information is stored on ERPLY's 3rd party PCI compliant network. ERPLY owns and maintains its own servers globally, each with strict access protocols and 24 hour surveillance. Additionally, secure protocols are used for customer data (e.g. https and ssh) and all passwords are encrypted.
• Shipping Integration - The shipping module connects to all major shipping carriers like FedEx and UPS, providing real-time quotes based on weight, shape, and shipping methods. Print out labels at the register, slap them on, and send your items on their way!
• Customizable/Printable Purchase Orders - Using ERPLY does not mean  you have to sacrifice company branding. Create custom purchase orders with your own company logo and font.
• Supplier Database - Keep track of all your vendors including all necessary contact info, contracts, and items purchased. This automatically connects to the PO creation system for quick ordering.
• Automated Reordering - Define restock levels for products so the system can automatically generate and send purchase orders to your suppliers when your inventory is running low! (One of my favorite features!).
• Track Purchase Order Status - Keep track of your purchases based on what has arrived, what is in transit, what has been received partially, or what has been received damaged.
• Purchase Reports - Take a look at all your purchases for a certain period with easily accessible and understandable purchase reports.
• Easy Inventory Management - View stock at each store location, or all locations combined, with easy transfer of items between stores. ERPLY manages COGS (cost of goods sold) using the FIFO (first in first out) system. Through the inventory module you are able to generate multiple pricing lists, differing prices based on location, customer, or for limited-time promotions.
• Easy Sales Promotions/Coupons - ERPLY contains a function for the implementation of promotions like buy one get one off or 50% off next purchase. Furthermore, the system has the ability to create, print, scan, and redeem coupons. For easy insight of the return on investment, detailed coupon reports allow you to see how many coupons were redeemed versus produced, for which items specifically, and by which customers.
• Multiple Tax Rates - Whether based on product or store location, tax rates can be customized.
• HR Capabilities - ERPLY has a built-in time clock for employee time tracking, with clock reports generated based on employee, store, and/or time period. Additionally the system has schedule management capabilities (so employees can see their schedule right in the system), manages payroll and commissions (whether sales-based, product-based, or tiered), and supports multiple security parameters for individual employees, so you can control what each employee is able to access and what is restricted (can also be done by groups, e.g. "cashiers").
• Advanced Customer Management - With ERPLY you can record and manage very detailed customer contact information, including name, address, phone, email, business info, Twitter ID, Facebook name, webpage URL, loyalty card codes, bank name, bank routing info, special discounts, credit limits, overdue penalties…everything other than their fingerprints! Customer information can be entered manually or imported from prior customer lists. The system is also able to record each customer's sales history, allowing storeowners to keep track of frequent purchases to send customers recommendations, coupons, promotions, discounts, or other specials. Furthermore, the system is able to create and implement loyalty programs for promotional incentives.
• Electronic Credit Card Signature Storage - If in possession of a POS swiper with a signature screen, ERPLY is able to store electronic credit card signatures directly to the sales document, eliminating the process of printing out a receipt and obtaining a physical signature.
• Email Linking - ERPLY can link all your emails together from one location, connecting to all your customer emails at the same time, allowing for easy sending of customer documents like receipts, quotes, or promotions.
• Barcoding Feature - ERPLY's barcoding feature allows you to create and print your own barcodes, which can even be customized with your own business logo.
• Customizable Sales Reports - Sales can be generated based on employees, products, date, time range, customer…the filtering options are nearly endless! This customization can allow for easy pinpointing of slow versus busy times, which in turn provides information for potential adjustments in inventory, staff, or promotions. Also, reports for different locations can be prepared by date range, making it easy to delineate busy times by location, as well as stores that may need more promotion in their area.
• Dashboard Feature - ERPLY's "dashboard" widget bar provides a quick look at daily figures and can be customized to present whatever information you desire, including but not limited to: last year's numbers compared to this year's, total revenue for the day, total units for the day, number of sales for the day, average daily transaction, current product inventory, returned items, and new tasks. The "dashboard" can be specified to provide a glance at various sales reports as well, like sales by employee, top daily sales, top monthly sales, and monthly sales summary.

Integrations/Add-Ons:

There are several add-ons that are available with your ERPLY subscription:

• QuickBooks - This integration allows you to send new invoices from ERPLY into QuickBooks, synchronize customers between ERPLY and Quickbooks, and send invoice payments from QuickBooks to ERPLY.
• PrestaShop - This integration supports import from ERPLY to PrestaShop, including product name, description, price, images etc... Additionally, when a new order is received through PrestaShop, it automatically imports to ERPLY.
• Magento - This integration allows for product import from ERPLY to Magento, including product name, description, price, images etc... Additionally, when a new order is received through Magento, it automatically imports to ERPLY.

To have ERPLY install and setup any integration for you costs a consultation of $99, as well as an hourly rate of $99 for plug in implementation.

Compatible Credit Card Processors:

ERPLY is only integrated with Mercury Payment Systems.

Customer Service/Technical Support:

ERPLY's customers have nothing but good things to say in regards to the company's technical support. Not only is the company's telephone and email information easily obtainable from the ERPLY site, but they are also listed on the homepage of your business' personal ERPLY account. Additionally, the ERPLY site also has a live chat support feature.

Moreover, the ERPLY blog contains a slew of informative posts and tutorial videos, enough to answer the most basic questions any business manager utilizing the service would have.

In the social media world ERPLY has fallen behind, with a dated Facebook account that hasn't had a post since Aug 2011, no friends, but 177 likes. ERPLY's Twitter is a little bit better, with two active accounts, hundreds of followers and tweets, many about ERPLY product updates, relevant news in the POS world, and places ERPLY is used.

Negative Reviews/Complaints:

Negative reviews on ERPLY are few and far between. Here are some of the issues people have had:

• Slow System - One customer stated that due to the fact ERPLY is internet based, the system is quite slow. They also didn't appreciate all their data, though exportable, was being saved in the cloud.
• Complicated Manual - Another complaint said the online manual was a bit complicated, but found salvation in ERPLY’s extremely helpful tech team.

Also, I personally don't like...

• Tipping Done Ahead - Being that ERPLY can be used for many service and hospitality related businesses, it's pretty sucky that tipping has to be done ahead of swiping the card. What if the customer doesn't want to tell you how much they're going to tip, or prefers no tip at all? As a customer, obviously being in the presence of the tip-receiver creates a slightly awkward situation.

Positive Reviews/Testimonials:

On the bright side, most ERPLY users seem to be extremely content with their decision to switch. ERPLY's site provides several testimonials like:

When I signed up with ERPLY, I was instantly impressed by the customer service. It has benefited me because it's a HUGE time saver. The software is so easy to use and the customer record keeping is fantastic. I have more time to focus on my customers at the register now and they love that they're receipt gets emailed to them! - Megan Huber of boutique store Trend Addictions

ERPLY stands out with it's easy to use straightforward user interface...It cuts IT and maintenance and extras costs. A customer should have a full product with all the necessary modules and features you actually want to use. And all that for no extra costs. You don't have to pay more for a packet of sauce with your fries. -User A. Vork

Addtionally, other reviewers say that ERPLY is:

• Great for Mobile Selling - ERPLY is great for businesses on the go, like using the iPad version at tradeshows. Simple and quick.
• Versatile/Many Business Solutions - ERPLY offers more business solutions than other POS software, things like inventory control, customer management, supply reorder, delivery tracking, advanced sales reports…all combined into one low-priced service.
• Excellent Tech Support - Many reviews were found of people celebrating ERPLY’s very responsive and helpful technical team.

Final Verdict:

ERPLY is like the fancier European sister to Shopkeep. Although this sibling is very international and offers a plethora of functions its American counterpart does not, the massive supply and manipulation of data it provides can seem daunting to the simple-minded small singular store owner.

Not to mention that even though many users carry on in disbelief about how much they get for such a low price…the price isn't really that low. Forget the free option, because that won't work for any reasonably functioning and profitable business. Even if the most basic shop went for the small plan, $100 a month amounts to $1200 a year, a figure I’d say is on the "low end" for POS…but not stupendous. Especially since if you add an additional store, it jumps to $2040. Compound that for 3 years (standard software amortization) and you're looking at $6120. Obviously for medium to large store chains, using ERPLY may amount to the same or even more as the standard fully locally-installed large market POS software solutions out there.

In the grand scheme of things however, the system does do what its owner sought out to do, which is fulfill the need for "a centralized system that offers point of sale, strong inventory management, customer tracking, and tools to manage sales data," all geared towards small business. If you're small and in the market for a POS with a variety of functions, ERPLY is sure to fulfill the needs of your business. Just be sure you interface with their technical support crew upon signing up to obtain full training on all the functions your business requires, since some of the online instructions and tutorial videos are in broken Estonian-accented English. Võta heaks in advance! ("You’re welcome!")