POS Systems

[fatheads]

Brewpub setting.Looking for a pos system for our brewpub,any recommendations?
Any we should stay away from?

Cheers!!

[Brewtopian]

Not sure what your specific needs are but there's quite a few options out there that are a hell of a lot cheaper than traditional POS systems.

We run a chain of retail/restaurant stores focusing on craft beer. Because of that we needed the ability to do restaurant functions like remote printing and running tabs as well as retail functions like bar code scanning. The only thing we found that could do both and didn't cost $40,000 was SalesVu. Its a iPad and iPhone app that is free and just about every feature the expensive ones.

There's a few things it doesn't do but considering the cost associated with getting those other items I'm willing to sacrifice.

[gungadin]

Pos

as far as the big network setups I really like Aloha POS, but it is very expensive, around $30k for a new restaurant.

I just saw this last week http://www.hulapos.com/. It might be worth checking out. Supposedly free, up to a point.

I also like the flexibility of the iPad/Tablet systems. No bulky hardware, ability to reconfigure or take the order wherever the customer might be is extremely valuable.

[Triple C]

we are using poslavu on an ipad, but only have beer. no menu. much cheaper and is mobile. it was the only ipad app I found that let you run a tab.

[RobW]

I highly suggest you contact these guy: http://www.brinksoftware.com/

You won't find a cheaper entry/install cost anywhere, and their system is really nice and easily customizable. Give them a call, have them give you a demo.

Tell them Rob Whyte recommended you contact them!

Rob

[v2comp]

several different choices, but all have different limitations.

I am opening a brewpub as well, and I have looked at more than 20 different systems and tried using 4 or them in most scenarios.
I have settled on Registroid on a Motorola xoom tablet and my own cash drawer and receipt printer. at the moment, it doesn't do table service, but that is coming very soon. I signed up for the $30 a month cloud version but you can buy the same cloud system for a one time charge of around $600 I think, which I will do myself as soon as the tab/table service version is released. that is good for 3 devices and they have different prices for more devices as well. Barapos Pro for android is also cool and nearly free....lol, it does table service but it doesn't have as many cash register functions as some. neither one of these have integrated credit card functions, but a separate cc terminal works fairly well as a substitute. the servers or bar tenders just have to write down the orders / tabs on these systems. just putting this out there as other options, and if you're opening a real brewpub with a full menu, these probably won't work for you because of their limitations.

[itshanney]

Here's my answer that I posted in another thread of similar topic:

I get asked this question a lot, so hopefully I can provide my usual answers as thoroughly as possible.

Like many of the responses on this thread have pointed out, there are many options. The options though, are generally defined into two sectors: Retail and Restaurant. The major systems (excluding iPad POS systems) for the two sectors are as follows:

Retail:
- MICROS
- CounterPoint (now Radiant Systems)
- LightSpeed (Mac)

Restaurant:
- MICROS
- Aloha (now Radiant Systems)
- Dinerware
- Adelo

You will see that the two sectors, while somewhat similar, are completely different. Retail systems focuses on maintaining inventory, SKUs and all other aspects related to the retail world. Restaurant systems focus on tabs, splitting checks, menu modifiers and all the other aspects of a restaurant.

What about iPad?

iPad POS systems (POSlavu, Isis, Square Register, etc) are gaining ground on the traditional systems listed above. The difference between the traditional and iPad world is the fact that the companies are newer and the systems are newer. Thus, there are obvious bugs, many users report random freezes and they generally just don't work as smoothly as their old counterparts. Square being the outlier in that their software is great and works like a charm.

So which do you pick? The good ol' classic, "it depends" on your brewery needs.

If you are a production brewery that happens to have a taproom only, Square is probably sufficient unless you want to keep tabs. If so, Dinerware is a good, cheap POS system for restaurants.

If you have a brewery that has several brewpub locations, you would kill yourself if you didn't go with Dinerware, Aloha or MICROS. Don't put yourself through that torture.

What about credit card processing?

If you go with Square, you are using their processing - no way out of it. Every other system gives you options to go with a traditional processor (e.g. Heartland, Chase, FirstData, TSYS, Vantiv, etc).

If you are starting out, I recommend sticking with Square. But once you cross the $100K mark in yearly revenue, you need to examine other options. You will also be running into problems like inventory, order fulfillment and other issues that will keep you up at night that Square can't necessarily solve.

Conclusion

If you have a true brewpub, go with a traditional restaurant POS system (e.g. Dinerware, MICROS, Aloha, etc.). I know that they are expensive but they will save you in the end. The POS system for your brewpub is basically your lifeline. You don't want to use a rope with a couple of severed threads.

If you have a taproom, stick with Square.

If you have a taproom but your business is killing it in the distribution side, you will begin tearing your hair out and will need systems beyond POS systems to help you become more efficient.

Cheers and good luck!