Hey everyone. I run a coffeehouse in the DFW area and we are currently using VitalLink. Not happy at all - nothing is intuitive, there are many glitches in the screens, doesn't sync with anything. Anyhow, just not satisfied and is not doing what we need it to do.

 

I am a die-hard mac user and have been scouring the internet for mac based solutions with cafe options or just retail w/addons and modifiers that will work for cafes. 

 

Found Lightspeed and its gorgeous & easy to use. But its not designed for our kind of environment. Is anyone in the coffeeshop world using it or know someone who is?

 

Also looking at Checkout for mac - any users there?

 

Sixth Sense Cafe?

 

Or Paygo?

 

Any input at all would be so helpful. I want to make sure I purchase the right software the second time around. 

 

Thanks!

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Hi,

 

I'm the President of Own. Own is a cloud-based point of sale system for cafés that allows owners to easily understand their sales and what's selling best. We'd love to work with you. You can find out more at www.ownpointofsale.com

Thanks,

Verdi

 

Hey Verdi,

I checked out your site and Own looks pretty sweet, but I can't find any financial details on there. Do you need to buy a bunch of equipment to run your system? Is your revenue based on credit card transaction fees, licensing/leasing, and/or just an upfront cost? Like a lot of places people on here run, we're a pretty small place, so we're pretty cost-sensitive.

With no offense to Verdi, 

But it's very unlikely that this product is on the market (if it even exist as stated on their website). 

Most likely Verdi and his team are trying to find enough people interested in their product so that they can go to an investor to get enough money to actually build the thing. 

 

I could be totally wrong. I would love to be wrong, because this product does look pretty sweet. Unfortunately though, I've seen a few other concepts like this that go nowhere. 



Brendan Alviani said:

Hey Verdi,

I checked out your site and Own looks pretty sweet, but I can't find any financial details on there. Do you need to buy a bunch of equipment to run your system? Is your revenue based on credit card transaction fees, licensing/leasing, and/or just an upfront cost? Like a lot of places people on here run, we're a pretty small place, so we're pretty cost-sensitive.

Well i been using openravos on my mac for a bit know it just need to get lauch from the terminal and also openbravo work with a pda (ipod ,Iphone , Blackberry or any smart phone or tablet.)

Jeremiah Perrine said:
I'm actually imagining a web-based operation, which means it could be used on any device. And this is pretty much all square is because it can be used on android and blackberry.

And I prefer mac because its better, not because I'm narrow minded. ;)




Jared Rutledge said:

narrow-minded brand loyalty isn't going to get you the POS system you're looking for.

 

i use an MSI touchscreen nettop with openbravo pos. it's amazing but it won't work on a mac. http://www.openbravo.com/product/pos/

Hey I saw an article in Coffee Retailer magazine about a POS company called Own. I visited their website www.ownpointofsale.com and it looks like the data they are able to provide could really help make informed decisions and many of the features I could see improving your sales. I personally just invested in a lot of money in another POS system and kinda regret it. Be sure to explore all avenues having a POS system is a big commitment and always keep in mind the bigger picture because that is the one that will effect you the most.

I came across a few that are iPad systems and know there are many more in the works. One is http://poslavu.com/ and the other is http://revelsystems.com/. Both look pretty sweet, the sleekness of it is what is most attractive. As far as features and usability, you would have to try them out. From everything I've experienced in POS systems, whether mac or pc, they all have their advantages and disadvantages. I acquired a coffee shop last year that had Coffee Shop Manager, and I HATE it! I use Restaurant Pro Express in my other location and it is way more user friendly, and requires a lot less steps to complete a transaction, which is huge in quick service type settings. I have also looked at Ownpos. I think they have some great ideas that they are trying to bring to the POS game, a lot of there system is really no different than any other POS(they all are accomplishing the same thing) Own will not run on a mac though. When I talked with Bill Briggs from own, he said they are working towards iPad integration, which would be sweet. My big concern with Own was they are going to keep everything controlled, which is good and bad. What I mean is they are going to provide software/hardware systems only. You won't be able to use the outrageously expensive equipment you have already invested in, and just run the software on it. Huge mistake in my opinion(which I expressed to Bill Briggs as well) Another thing they are going to do is require you to use their credit card processor and loyalty processor. While maybe they have a better rate than I have know, I don't like being stuck in something that can't be changed. Those are 2 huge problems that I see with them. Now that said, It is the sexiest POS I have seen, very easy to use and I would be a liar if I said that i didn't want it. but there are some big issues that have to be worked out. 

 

Another I have been looking at is Shopkeep. It looks very promising and is a cloud system like Own. I'm in the middle of demoing it right now. Which is free. It does run on a Mac as well as iPad, which is nice. One thing to consider with the whole Mac thing is the touch screen aspect. I'm not sure if there are solid options for that besides the iPad.

 

The biggest thing is TRY whatever you are looking at. I have used some I like and some I hate, but wouldn't have known until I tried them

 

My two cents!

I skyped yesterday with someone from ownpointofsale.com to see what they are working on. Where as they are still in beta and could only show the stuff via screen sharing...it looks quite good. 

They will probably not have final product available until April and were not able to say price for package but I will be trying it out for sure. 

Jeremiah Perrine said:

With no offense to Verdi, 

But it's very unlikely that this product is on the market (if it even exist as stated on their website). 

Most likely Verdi and his team are trying to find enough people interested in their product so that they can go to an investor to get enough money to actually build the thing. 

 

I could be totally wrong. I would love to be wrong, because this product does look pretty sweet. Unfortunately though, I've seen a few other concepts like this that go nowhere. 



Brendan Alviani said:

Hey Verdi,

I checked out your site and Own looks pretty sweet, but I can't find any financial details on there. Do you need to buy a bunch of equipment to run your system? Is your revenue based on credit card transaction fees, licensing/leasing, and/or just an upfront cost? Like a lot of places people on here run, we're a pretty small place, so we're pretty cost-sensitive.

Shopkeep is now beta testing their software on iPad. You can sign up for free on their site.

 

 

Shopkeep looks cool, but just like Lightspeed it's catered to retail. One of my business partners spoke to someone at Own and was very pleased with the info they presented. They're saying it will be released at the end of March. Still not sure how their pricing structure works. It's cool that it's being designed with a cafe. Seems like it will be perfectly tailored to our industry. It would, however, be great if there was a version of Lightspeed that would work for us.

Just because it's catered to retail doesn't make it bad. Heck Coffee Shop Manager is tailored to, designed for, and built for coffee shops and my opinion is, it's terrible. Don't get me wrong there are a few things I like about CSM, but in my setting, it is way to slow to use. Like to ring in a double 12 oz vanilla latte for a loyalty customer paying with debit card in CSM would take 12 button pushes and 4 screen changes, where as with Restaurant Pro Express it's 4 buttons and the screen never changes. This may seem petty or pointless, but when I have a line of people, it makes a HUGE difference. It really comes down to each person's needs and wants in a POS. I really do think Own is very promising, but like mentioned above it's not for Mac, they will have their required hardware(can't use stuff you already have) and required credit card processing(at what cost, my current processor is untouchable by anyone that has tried), no loyalty features built in(which will cost you more money to use a service). I hope they can produce what they're claiming and keep it at a reasonable price, just a lot of questions still. Like they told you end of march, they told Jeremiah april and I was told june:)

 

The Revel Systems POS I mentioned above has a sweet feature if your in a more urban area. They give you an app in the app store with your logo that people can click on and pre-order to your shop and it will pop up on your screen automatically. Now that is a sweet feature, gives your shop a lot of hype to have your own app in the app store! 

Jeff Hoeppner said:

Shopkeep looks cool, but just like Lightspeed it's catered to retail. One of my business partners spoke to someone at Own and was very pleased with the info they presented. They're saying it will be released at the end of March. Still not sure how their pricing structure works. It's cool that it's being designed with a cafe. Seems like it will be perfectly tailored to our industry. It would, however, be great if there was a version of Lightspeed that would work for us.

I can assure you Own is very real. We are still testing our system. If you are interested in testing please contact us here http://ownpointofsale.com/beta/ and either myself or Bill will get back with you.

Is anyone using Lightspeed with a touch screen?

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