POS (Point of Sale) Systems & Miva

[wayman]

Any suggestions for mac Point-of-Sale software that plays nice with Miva?

We have a brick & mortar store that's been chugging away for the last decade using a mac POS called ShopKeeper. This software has virtually become abandonware and I cringe at the 90s every time I open it.

It was basically the only option at the time but I'm seeing some good software out in the market today. Light Speed from xsilva, Checkout from MYOB, and POS IM. Does anyone have experience with any of these software packages, Pros or Cons?

I don't expect Miva to share stock information or anything like that (thought that would be great) but I want to make sure I can send data pack and forth about inventory and the like. Also, I know that xsilva and POS IM have there own (very expensive) web solutions. I'd like the tie in but not the price.

[Bruce - PhosphorMedia]

Re: POS (Point of Sale) Systems & Miva

There is also quicken...which might be a more likely canidate for sharing more and more data down the road. The problem with programs like Light Speed and Checkout, is that you may be one of 10 Merchant users to use it, so its not likely to see much development action along the lines of Merchant integration--verses Quickbooks which probably has 1000's of Merchant users.

[wayman]

Re: POS (Point of Sale) Systems & Miva

Quickbooks will always be there. It's a beast, but it's not a POS system. Invoicing, mail order, things like that no problem. But in a retail store it doesn't hold up as a cash register. It's accounting software.

Lightspeed and Magenta have a growing integration program. We're doing well with Miva though. Lightspeed has a lot of activity and buzz around it. The demo has a lot of pizzaz but seems complex.

[d_host]

Re: POS (Point of Sale) Systems & Miva

I've seen both LightSpeed and Checkout first hand in a few retail stores, though I have no first-hand experience integrating them with Miva Merchant in any way. I did chat with the storeowners a bit about the software they were using as both of them caught my attention - both have very nice and friendly GUI. I'd be curious what these apps use on the back-end for their databases... If they are using mySQL or FileMaker or some other database you can access from PHP or MivaScript, integrating one of those systems with Miva Merchant should be fairly straightforward...

[Biffy]

Re: POS (Point of Sale) Systems & Miva

Take a look at Stone Edge. I've heard a lot of nice things about it.

http://www.stoneedge.com/

[Hostasaurus]

Re: POS (Point of Sale) Systems & Miva

I second Steve's StoneEdge recommendation. It will handle all of the POS retail hardware and the Miva Merchant info.

Jen

[wayman]

Re: POS (Point of Sale) Systems & Miva

Just looked through Stoneedge's site. I like what they're doing with integration, but they really need to higher an interface designer; uuuugly.

dotCOM, did you hear any praises or complaints about Checkout/Lightspeed?

[Biffy]

Re: POS (Point of Sale) Systems & Miva

Just looked through Stoneedge's site. I like what they're doing with integration, but they really need to higher an interface designer; uuuugly.

Aren't all Microsoft Access interfaces ugly?

[d_host]

Re: POS (Point of Sale) Systems & Miva

Both LightSpeed and Checkout were praised by the store owners where I've seen it in action. Neither had Miva Merchant or any other web presence, though, so it's hard to say how that would integrate. I personally really like them both, just from the GUI perspective, but of course which one to choose would have to come down to the actual feature list and usability testing. See if they have demos you can try for 2-4 weeks to get a better feel for now only how these two apps work, but also to see first hand what they use on the back-end and whether it's something that can be tied to your online store with a bit of programming.

[mph_vin]

Re: POS (Point of Sale) Systems & Miva

Any updates on this?

[wayman]

Re: POS (Point of Sale) Systems & Miva

I haven't made the move yet. Unfortunately no one has Miva integration that I've found. So when we get Miva orders, I ring them up manually as invoices in our regular POS. As for the POS upgrade:

Lightspeed is at the top of my list. But it seems to have more flash than substance. Some usability quirks which annoy me. (In a past life I was a User Interface/Information Architect) I don't care if something is transparent, does it work well? Does it scale. Also, very expensive.

Chekout is directed at mail order businesses. We have a brick and mortar store as well as the mail order so its not a good fit for us. It is clean and straightforward though.

POS IM looked straight out of 1993 so I wrote it off. Then a sales rep called me and he said they're revamping it next year, with a new interface. We're holding off on the upgrade until the next calendar year. I'll take a second look if its ready by then.

Stonedge is windows only and has no downloadable demo. We've already made the hardware investment in Macs so that's a no-go. Also there POS is more of add on, rather than a core feature. They do integrate well with everything though from what I've heard.

[mph_vin]

Re: POS (Point of Sale) Systems & Miva

I've had the same problems though I am more flexible with our PC/Mac choices. I signed up for the Stone Edge walkthrough but would've liked a hands on demo first before committing to the semi-hefty pricetag

[ids]

Re: POS (Point of Sale) Systems & Miva

Intuit, does have a POS system.

Here's a link...

http://quickbooks.intuit.com/product...pos-solutions/

[Barney Stone]

Re: POS (Point of Sale) Systems & Miva

I've had the same problems though I am more flexible with our PC/Mac choices. I signed up for the Stone Edge walkthrough but would've liked a hands on demo first before committing to the semi-hefty pricetag

Do you know that Stone Edge has a 30-day return policy? Yes, you have to make the investment up front, but if the Order Manager does not work out for you, you can return it within 30 days for a full refund.

[kayakbabe]

Re: POS (Point of Sale) Systems & Miva

What is your pos sytem in use? I have gotten stone-edge to work with my online store and we use all the barcode scanning and the link in house.
It might be more that.. your POS system needs to integrate with stone-edge, instead of the other way around. If you POS system is robust enough or common enough, it might be that stone Edge already has a way to communicate with it.