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The Ultimate Guide To iPad POS Systems in Australia [Updated 2017]

Unless you’ve been living under a rock for the past few years, you’ll be well aware of ‘the cloud’ and how it is transforming the way business is done. The cloud is making businesses more flexible than ever and saving them potentially thousands of dollars each year.

One of the most important pieces to get right for retailers is their point of sale systems (POS). Choosing the right POS system saves time, saves money and keeps employees happy because they don’t need to do a 10 hour course to learn how to use it.

I’ve done the heavy lifting on this already so you don’t have to. Here is my top five iPad-based, cloud POS systems analysed. Key criteria used to analyse were ease of use, price, third party integrations, features and design.

5. PayPal Here

PayPal Here is #5 on my list of top five POS systems due to its simple interface, seamless credit card integration and free price tag. Perfect for a store with really basic needs and just starting out. Good entry level POS solution.

Pros:

  • Free
  • Easy to setup and use
  • Seamless credit card payments with $195 credit card reader
  • Low credit card fees

Cons:

  • Virtually no third party integrations
  • Xero integration is poor, cash transactions aren’t sent through automatically
  • Extremely basic reporting
  • No offline ordering (does not work if the internet goes down)
  • No gift card/loyalty support

Comparative checklist:

  • Xero Integration: Poor
  • WooCommerce Integration: No
  • Seamless Credit Card Payments: Yes
  • Cost: Free
  • Design: Nice
  • Easy to set-up: Yes
  • Kitchen Display: No
  • Restaurant Seating: No
  • Ingredient & Recipe Management: No
  • Appointment Scheduling: No
  • Multi-store Support: No
  • Reporting: Basic
  • Works Offline: No

Recommended for:

  • Small market stalls not selling online
  • Small retail stores with low sales volume not selling online

4. Revel

Revel Systems joins at #4 at the list thanks to its large feature set and decent third-party support. Its heavy price tag, lack of third-party inventory/order management integration, no DIY sign-up and dated design puts it low on my recommendation list.

Pros:

  • Great feature set
  • Restaurant seating support
  • Recipe and ingredient inventory tracking support
  • Appointment scheduling
  • Good range of third-party support in some areas

Cons:

  • Lacks third-party inventory/order management support (will lead to major issues if you need to change POS or want to add marketplaces such as eBay to your selling mix)
  • Dated design
  • Super expensive
  • No DIY sign-up or trial

Comparative checklist:

  • Xero Integration: Yes
  • WooCommerce Integration: No
  • Seamless Credit Card Payments: Yes
  • Cost: Free
  • Design: Dated
  • Easy to setup: No
  • Kitchen Display: N/A
  • Restaurant Seating: Yes
  • Ingredient & Recipe Management: Yes
  • Appointment Scheduling: Yes
  • Multi-store Support: Yes
  • Reporting: Advanced
  • Works Offline: Yes

Recommended for:

  • Large restaurant chains

3. Kounta

Australia’s own Kounta jumps in at my #2 choice of POS system thanks to its wide feature set and affordable price tag. My only real complaints with Kounta is its lack of visual elegance and lack of third-party inventory/order management integrations.

Pros:

  • Great feature set
  • Restaurant seating support
  • Recipe and ingredient inventory tracking support
  • Australian made

Cons:

  • Lacks third-party inventory/order management support (will lead to major issues if you need to change POS or want to add marketplaces such as eBay to your selling mix)
  • Average design

Comparative checklist:

  • Xero Integration: Yes
  • WooCommerce Integration: No
  • Seamless Credit Card Payments: Yes
  • Cost: From $50/m
  • Design: Nice
  • Easy to set-up: Yes
  • Kitchen Display: Yes
  • Restaurant Seating: Yes
  • Ingredient & Recipe Management: Yes
  • Appointment Scheduling: No
  • Multi-store Support: Yes
  • Reporting: Advanced
  • Works Offline: Yes

Recommended for:

  • Restaurants
  • Cafes with restaurant style needs.

2. Square

Founded by the co-founder of Twitter, Square hits #2 on my list thanks to its free price tag, ease of use and nice design. It’s only pitfall next to Vend is it’s advanced pricing capabilities among other advanced features Vend offers.

Pros:

  • Free
  • Easy to set-up and use
  • Kitchen display support
  • Integrated credit card payment solution

Cons:

  • Minimal reporting capabilities
  • Limited pricing capabilities e.g. buy 2 get 1 free etc.

Comparative checklist:

  • Xero Integration: Yes
  • WooCommerce Integration: Yes
  • Seamless Credit Card Payments: Yes
  • Cost: Free
  • Design: Nice
  • Easy to set-up: Yes
  • Kitchen Display: Yes
  • Restaurant Seating: No
  • Ingredient & Recipe Management: Yes, Via Third-party
  • Appointment Scheduling: No
  • Multi-store Support: No
  • Reporting: Basic
  • Works Offline: Yes

Recommended for:

  • Market stalls
  • Food trucks
  • Cafes & bars
  • Retail shops

1. Vend

Vend tops my list of iPad cloud based point of sale systems thanks to its good feature set, amazing third-party integrations, great on-ground support in Australia and well-designed interface. Vend is perfect for the majority of retailers who need a good set of multi-store features as well as omni-channel support. Through its network of third-party inventory/order management integrations it’s easy to find avenues to integrate with Vend.

Pros:

  • Good feature set
  • Built in gift card and loyalty support
  • The most/best third-party integration
  • Great reporting set
  • Strong support in Australia

Cons:

  • More expensive than most (with the exception of Revel, and still a lot cheaper than traditional POS systems)
  • Lacks support for restaurants

Comparative checklist:

  • Xero Integration: Yes
  • WooCommerce Integration: Yes, via third-party
  • Seamless Credit Card Payments: Yes
  • Cost: From $79/m (free option available)
  • Design: Nice
  • Easy to set-up: Yes
  • Kitchen Display: No
  • Restaurant Seating: No
  • Ingredient & Recipe Management: No
  • Appointment Scheduling: Yes, via third-party
  • Multi-store Support: Yes
  • Reporting: Advanced
  • Works Offline: Yes

Recommended for:

  • General retailers
  • Cafes & bars
  • Hair & beauty salons
  • Large chains
  • Retailers selling through multiple channels (eCommerce & Marketplaces).

 

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