POS Systems

[bargirl23]

I have been trying to research POS systems and am getting stuck. I am basically just looking for all the different brands of the POS systems. I tried restaurantowner.com, but am not willing yet to spend the money to join. I have only ever used PDQ and hated them. I know of Digital Dining and Aloha. What others are there and would you use them? I am trying not to spend a ton of money, but will for the right system. By the way, this is for a nightclub/concert venue, with a small kitchen. So, it will mostly be used for drinks. Having detailed product reports is an important thing as well.

[bargirl23]

Well, since posting this I have decided to attend the NRA show in Chicago in May. I figured I will get to see all the POS systems then. So, now my question is are there any that you would never in a million years use?

[intensity]

There were some very extensive threads about POS systems in the past 2-3 months here. Search POS since january, very informative.

[scott1988]

Bargirl,
First off, grab your pillow and some coffee. I'm in the mood to type.

If you click on my site name and do a search for the threads I commented on, you will find about 15 of them that have to do with this exact same thing. Some of my posts were very detailed AND LONG like most of mine get. But hopefully, you will find some useful information in them.

I would write a lot in here but I feel that I've already covered soo much that it would be a repetitive use of time so please, just search "POS" first or my posts.

But if you want a quick run down, I'll give you a few and I have had quite a bit of experience with many whether it was using, selling, competing against, or purchasing AND owning one. My background was as a POS dealer for almost 2 years, an user for many, and an owner for a little while so I like I said, I've got different experience. Not that I think that I'm an expert but if you read my posts, you'll think that I feel that way. I just simply think that I do have a ton of knowledge but definately welcome anyone elses opinions, even IF I oppose them.

So here is my scoop:

MICROS - One of the first POS systems. Good but "CAN BE" EXTREMELY expensive but dealers of MICROS will dispute this. I guess it depends on what you call expensive. Their systems are "PROPRIETARY" which is sometimes good and sometimes bad. The good is that it "should" make them more reliable because they "should" NOT fail as often. The bad is that they actually DO STILL FAIL and in order to replace the parts, you HAVE to purchase the parts from them which does get expensive. Again, just read my posts. The other bads are that the software can get expensive by the time you add all of the extra "modules" on. "Modules" are extra pieces or additions to software that some....not all...POS software companies charge you for. Such as: Gift cards, Credit Card processing, Labor/Employee sheduling, Reservations, Table Management/Table Alerts, Inventory accounting, A/R or House accounts, Frequent Diner accounts, Kitchen Video, Video Surveillance, Online Ordering, and a few others. Many companies charge extra for these and some do not. Some of the companies that charge extra, do actually do an excellent job and probably better than most of the ones that do NOT but, not always. So pay attention to the extra's OR add-ons they can get spendy.

DIGITAL DINING - Great POS system or software in my opinion. I was a dealer for it and it does actually have a lot of great features. Reporting is almost OR definately unmatched and can generate probably any report you want. If they don't already have the options you're looking for in the reporting area, you can ask the dealer to customize a report for you because they have what's called "crystal" reporting which allows the POS software company to manipulate their software in such a way that can get probably any number you want to show up in any type of report you want. DIGITAL DINING is NOT the only company that offers this but very few do. There is usually a custom charge for this "custom" request so ask about this. Digital Dining also charges extra for additional "modules" so make sure you ask the right questions when requesting a quote. If you're looking at or considering the Handheld POS situation, DD is probably the best out there so far and really don't recommend anything else at this point but I do know that other POS companies offer this AND they have improved the software for the Handheld units over the years. Digital Dining is NOT proprietary so, you can use many different types of POS PC's and hardware and it works fine. This helps make buying parts less expensive in the event that something does actually break or fail but not always. I would DEFINATELY consider Digital Dining.

ALOHA - I have limited experience with Aloha but I do know that they have a ton of installations around this nation AND even the world. MICROS is probably first and then Digital Dining or Aloha are probably 2nd or 3rd. Anyway, Aloha is pretty good as well but again, they charge extra for additional "modules" or features so make sure you get an accurate quote. I have had a few people tell me that they really don't care for Aloha and that it's not really the easiest to manipulate when it comes to programming or adding menu items or placing them correctly. Also, I have recently taken on a position where they have Aloha and the way they have it set up is crap. I'm not going to knock Aloha for this because maybe it's not the dealer's fault for setting it up the way it is but everything is EXTREMELY hard to find and makes it a pain in the ass for the users to be efficient. Not good. I guess my main complaint is what I've said on another thread and that is that if the Aloha dealer DID ACTUALLY allow the POS owner to set it up the way they did, shame on Aloha because it is horrible. However, I think over time, the managers have made some changes and put items in the wrong places. But, there are still some things about the system that I know the managers had NOTHING to do with and it is just the way Aloha is and I don't care for it. But like I said, Aloha has been installed in many places and running very well for many people. They also have some pretty decent reporting from a few reports I've seen but I still don't think it compares to some other POS systems available. Also, Aloha claims to be non-PC based but they are. They try to do what MICROS does and say that they ARE proprietary so that you HAVE to buy their hardware BUT, they can be installed on POS PC's just like 95% of the POS systems available today. They just don't want you to know that. Beware.

MAITRE' D' - Another good POS system and is probably right behind DD or Aloha for installations. Again, they make you purchase extra "modules" and other things so know what you're getting before you purchase. I don't think they have the reporting capabilities of the others I've previously mentioned from what others have told me. Also, there are some things that previous and current users have said that they don't like about the system. Such as the way it's set up and how it functions from the front end but, that can also be said for some of the other systems too. So maybe don't read too much into that but at least keep it in mind when evaluating it. I had one person that totally hated the previous version of Maitre' D (they have a better, more recent version out since 2 years ago) and they said that they wanted to get rid of it because of how bad it was. But again, I think that it was because of how the dealer was NOT servicing them. I'll get into that later. Maitre D has the handheld option too.

FUTURE POS - I've talked enough about Future POS on this forum to almost write a book so if you want to know anything about Future POS, just ask or read some of my previous threads. I used to own Future POS in my previous bar/restaurant and loved it. For the money, you really can't beat Future POS. The best thing about it is that it comes with all of the "module" or additional features that I mentioned earlier WITHOUT charging you extra for it. It's included in their "base" software price. Plus, their base software price is less than the others WITHOUT any "modules" or additions anyway. So, it's a win...win. The only downfall that Future POS has that has been questioned about is the fact that it's software is written in what's called "Visual C" and NOT a Microsoft SQL database. Microsoft SQL database has been a very popular database for POS software companies to write their software in due to it's stability and reliability. However, even though this was rumored, we did NOT have one crash or problem in our experience and I know that the current 30 or 40 local Future POS owners have not had that problem either. I'm not going to say that none of them have but again, even the so-called "best" POS systems crash and fail DESPITE what type of database their written in OR the type of hardware it uses. So, don't get bent out of shape about this. I HIGHLY AND DEFINATELY RECOMMEND Future POS for any bar, club, or restaurant setting. They also have the handheld option as well.

PIXEL POINT - Not as popular anymore but they used to be somewhat popular about 6 or 7 years ago. They came out with a newer version of their software in 2000 or 2001 but have not doen much to improve themselves since then from what I've read. We had a company about an hour away that sold Pixel Point but I never heard anything good about it. Plus, there was one company that we were quoting that currently had Pixel Point that wanted something else because they were doing 5 locations at once and hated Pixel Point. I don't know too much about it other than that so I can't really say if it's good or bad other than some of the other stuff I may have commented about it on my other posts.

SQUIRREL - Wow, I don't even know where to begin about this POS company. It was fairly popular about 10-15 years ago but has since took a nose dive regarding installations or improvements of themself. I wouldn't recommend this company at all for a number of reasons but I don't even want to waste the time to talk about them. Do yourself a favor and try to look at other POS systems.

ASI (RESTAURANT MANAGER) - They "claim" to have the handheld market cornered or tapped but I strongly disagree. I have many ideas that contradict their "claim to fame" but just PM me if you want to know about them. To sum it up, they claim that writing on a PDA style handheld unit is the best way to order food or beverage items because they think it's quicker due to the fact that you're writing it instead of locating a button. Oh....I can so put that philosophy to shame but I'll discuss it more if you want. Writing really isn't the best way to order items for many reasons. I knew a waitress that said she used the OLD SCHOOL DIGITAL DINING "DOS" based version (pre-touchscreen Microsoft Windows) of their POS software and it relied on them putting in numbers to match the corresponding menu items for drinks or food items and modifiers and so on. She said she was sooo used to the system and so fast, that she could read her pad (that she had written on when taking the order) and not even look at the keyboard OR the computer screen to input her order. Sometimes, she was so fast that she had to wait just a tad for the computer to catch up. Remember, this is 15 years ago and they finally replaced the system about 3 years ago. DOS based Digital Dining systems were considered "tanks" when it came to reliability. They just kept on working from what I was told. This is what owners of the DD DOS based system told me, not my experience. Anyway back to ASI (RESTAURANT MANAGER). I haven't heard that they're unreliable so it's probably worth considering. But, do yourself a favor and DO NOT get swept into the bulls**t that they are "THE" handheld POS company. They're NOT and there ARE better ones out there.

SOFTTOUCH POS - I just recently came across this POS company and considered becoming a dealer for them. If my position changes, I will reconsider it again. They have been around for a long time too however, I haven't really heard that much about them, if at all, in my area. The reason I looked into them or did some research on this particular POS company was because they are very reasonably priced and include all of the extra "modules" in their base software and at a less price than that of Future POS. Plus, they're "non-proprietary" meaning that you can use POS PC based hardware AND their database is written in SQL which makes it pretty stable. They also have a couple of really cool or neat ideas that I haven't seen other POS companies come up with in the past so they may be trying to capture some "un-tapped" part of the POS market that others don't think about. I like companies that "think outside the box" when it comes to innovation. It may help a lot of potential POS owners that want what they are offering. Plus, they have the POS Handheld software and I like that. If I were to get involved with a POS company, it would have to offer the Handheld solution. In the past, the Handheld POS solution was not well received due to many, many complications, problems, and high hardware and software prices. But a couple of years ago, I think many of the hardware AND software companies understood that there was a request or need for this solution and as a result, they improved the stability, reliability, and lowered the pricing considerably.
So much so that if I ever do another bar or restaurant again, I will look into the handheld POS solution as a definate option AND ALMOST a necessity. I know and understand the headaches that many companies dealt with in the past BECAUSE we dealt with them as a dealer. Knowing what I know now, I feel extremely confident in the handheld solution. I would look into Softtouch POS as an option.

ALDELO (previously NextPOS) - Again, read my previous posts about Aldelo but the main thing about them is that they are an online POS software company. Meaning that, they are available for purchase online as well as have a few dealers and you can get support for service strictly online if that's what you choose. I have many different feelings about this and have previously stated so, so please, read my previous posts. But the main thing about online service is understanding that YOU personally will be having to figure out technical difficulties that computers or hardware can put on a POS software that is sometimes too difficult to figure out for the average user. More times than not, it is. Sure, more people are becoming computer knowledgeable but they still are not up to the level of a POS technician by any means. Aldelo has a lot of great features but they also do NOT have some so please, do your research first. I would at the very least "consider" them, but I don't recommend them for a few reasons but mainly BECAUSE of having to deal with online support yourself. I don't recommend this BECAUSE you have better things to do with your time, like running your business, than trying to sit on the phone for 1 or 2 hours trying to figure out why your printer won't print. Not my idea of fun. They do have dealers but not that many from what I'm aware of.

Other than that, I don't have too many others to talk about other than again recommending that you do a search or read some of my previous posts. Going to the Restaurant show in Chicago will DEFINATELY be a big help and I'm glad to hear that you're going. I'm jealous because I've never actually been there but I've heard it's the biggest and best show to go to AND even better than the Vegas Show in terms of dealers and products. Of course you can't beat the Vegas fun.

But let me say this about ANY of the POS companies that I mentioned (with the exception of Aldelo because they offer service directly to their end-users online) with regard to service. Any dealer will tell you AND any current POS owner will tell you that way more important than the software you choose IS THE DEALER YOU CHOOSE. The reason this is, is because it doesn't matter what software or hardware you choose or how great it is, if it does actually happen to break down, who's going to fix it? If you pick a dealer that is a flake or worse yet, just happens to close up shop because they couldn't make it, what do you do then? Now you have this POS system that you were relying on to help you run your business but you can't because it doesn't work and NOBODY is there to help you. So don't listen to the crap that EVERY POS SOFTWARE OR HARDWARE company will tell you when they say that they "guarantee" that theirs IS the best OR it "NEVER CRASHES OR BREAKS DOWN." "Yeah right" is all I have to say. Put it in writing that you'll guarantee it for 10 years and let's see how many of them actually talk to you. So just be careful out there. Any decent POS company will at least admit that their not "fail proof" OR "crash proof". The point is how can they OR the dealer help you when it does. That's the real important 64 million dollar question. (Or is it 64,000???) Whatever.

Hope this helps. Now wake up.....it's time to go to work. Wink wink.

[bargirl23]

Scott-
I had checked some of the posts and saved them, so I will go back and read them again, but thank you so, so much. That was exactly the kind of info that I was looking for. I have never been to the show either, so I am so excited to go. I am glad when you write books on here. They are usually a plethora of information, so thanks again, I really appreciate it.

[scott1988]

Anytime. Just make sure you bring your pillow. It can be a loooong night or day of reading.

I'm getting sleepy just thinking about it. If you have anymore questions, feel free to ask. That's what we're here for.