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CounterPoint POS Software
 | 10 Reviews (4.3/5) |
Radiant Systems provides a technology blueprint that enables retailers to drive traffic into their stores, sell more product and reduce their costs. Radiant's solution includes an e-mail marketing tool that tightly integrates with the leading retail POS system, CounterPoint, in addition to integrated ecommerce, mobile alerting, built-in gift card and customer loyalty programs and hardware specifically designed for the retail environment.
The CounterPoint integrated solutions are fully configurable to further improve retailers’ ability to manage their individual business effectively. The CustomerConnect email marketing system allows retailers to use customer data to develop email marketing campaigns to drive sales and increase loyalty. SmartAlerts mobile alerting system gives retailers the ability to set alerts on important in-store activities and have those alerts delivered to them in SMS or email format.
POS terminals used with CounterPoint can be customized to either be touchscreen or manual entry, depending on need. The POS includes intersystem messaging and employee tracking (clocking in/out) to provide appropriate communication within a retail operation. Users can track sales and pull daily reports, along with the ability to always take instant readings of drawer amounts.
Built in PA-DSS compliant credit card processing and the ability to integrate with most accounting software applications allows CounterPoint to be a great solution for users looking to keep a detailed account of expenses and revenue.
CounterPoint POS requires Microsoft SQL Server and Windows OS. It is offered as either an on-premise or hosted system and requires hardware from either Radiant Systems or a third-party. With a network of support and implementation staff across North America, Radiant’s retail solution is one we recommend very often to retailers looking for a full-featured system.
10 Reviews of CounterPoint by Radiant Systems
Overall rating
Bark N Purr is a pet supply business that focuses on cats and dogs. In the last 6 years, we have implement 4 different POS systems. Two of them were actually unusable due to flaws in the software. These systems also did not have all the capabilities we were looking for - specifically eCommerce and better ordering tools.
We decided on CounterPoint v8.3.9 because of its eCommerce integration and ordering flexibility. The system was very user-friendly and took very little time to train my staff on basic Ticket Entry, inventory maintenance and receiving. In fact, I think most of the staff was a little bored during the training because the software is so intuitive.
The ordering capabilities are outstanding. During this recession we have seen a shift in our business from one foot to another. Prior to CounterPoint, we established Min/Max quantities for each item. Ordering with Min/Max meant that these levels had to be constantly reset as our business changed. We now use a combination of Days of Supply and Min/Max which has greatly reduced the amount of time spent on orders.
Our support has been excellent with most problems are resolved immediately. In fact, the only thing I do not like in CounterPoint is the report structure using multiple lines for each item. I find the reports difficult to read and waste paper.
We decided on CounterPoint v8.3.9 because of its eCommerce integration and ordering flexibility. The system was very user-friendly and took very little time to train my staff on basic Ticket Entry, inventory maintenance and receiving. In fact, I think most of the staff was a little bored during the training because the software is so intuitive.
The ordering capabilities are outstanding. During this recession we have seen a shift in our business from one foot to another. Prior to CounterPoint, we established Min/Max quantities for each item. Ordering with Min/Max meant that these levels had to be constantly reset as our business changed. We now use a combination of Days of Supply and Min/Max which has greatly reduced the amount of time spent on orders.
Our support has been excellent with most problems are resolved immediately. In fact, the only thing I do not like in CounterPoint is the report structure using multiple lines for each item. I find the reports difficult to read and waste paper.
Overall rating
We are a retail pet supply store on the island of Maui (Hawaii), in business for 38 years.
As our business grew and our database included 10,000 SKUs, the program we had been using became increasingly slow and problematic, actually causing many errors that tech support could not figure out. Our supplier (and tech support) were based in San Diego, a three hour time difference, another problem in itself. It became obvious that we need to research other companies and other POS systems.
We decided that the time had arrived to shop within our own state, and were fortunate to meet with Francis of Computant in Honolulu - different island, but same time zone- important for "across the sea" support.
Our first impression of the Counterpoint POS system was "VERY EXPENSIVE"! However, after spending time with Francis and his team and watching them demonstrate the features, we could see the incredible speed and flexibility, which were money-saving features to offset the initial cost. We were sold!
Francis, being the congenial, persuasive gentleman that he is, soon had us upgraded to all new equipment, including the Radiant Touchscreen registers. His installation team of three highly competent individuals flew to Maui on the day we went "live" for the installation and training. It turned out to be one of our busiest days of the year, which made it very hectic, and somewhat stressful, but his team was truly fantastic! We were up and running smoothly on day 1.
Our sales contract included a number of hours of tech support included, and we were taken care of immediately with any and every bump in the road. They continue to have superior customer support, at any time of the day.
Having been in business for 38 years, the complexities of inventory control only seem to increase, particularly when we are across the ocean from our suppliers (7- 20 days lead times). Customer buying trends change faster than ever as new products enter the market continuously, and customer relations became ever more important to cultivate. Counterpoint makes these much more manageable. Purchase orders and receiving are simplified. Our sales staff love the ease of touchscreen cash registers (originally intimidating).
The program seemed very complex, originally. After the initial learning curve one begins to better understand the "flow", and today I am amazed at the fact that we continuously find new ways to use the software to our advantage. We are able to modify the touchscreen buttons from the back office at any time, adding or deleting buttons as needed.
If time and information are money, this program is the way to go!
As our business grew and our database included 10,000 SKUs, the program we had been using became increasingly slow and problematic, actually causing many errors that tech support could not figure out. Our supplier (and tech support) were based in San Diego, a three hour time difference, another problem in itself. It became obvious that we need to research other companies and other POS systems.
We decided that the time had arrived to shop within our own state, and were fortunate to meet with Francis of Computant in Honolulu - different island, but same time zone- important for "across the sea" support.
Our first impression of the Counterpoint POS system was "VERY EXPENSIVE"! However, after spending time with Francis and his team and watching them demonstrate the features, we could see the incredible speed and flexibility, which were money-saving features to offset the initial cost. We were sold!
Francis, being the congenial, persuasive gentleman that he is, soon had us upgraded to all new equipment, including the Radiant Touchscreen registers. His installation team of three highly competent individuals flew to Maui on the day we went "live" for the installation and training. It turned out to be one of our busiest days of the year, which made it very hectic, and somewhat stressful, but his team was truly fantastic! We were up and running smoothly on day 1.
Our sales contract included a number of hours of tech support included, and we were taken care of immediately with any and every bump in the road. They continue to have superior customer support, at any time of the day.
Having been in business for 38 years, the complexities of inventory control only seem to increase, particularly when we are across the ocean from our suppliers (7- 20 days lead times). Customer buying trends change faster than ever as new products enter the market continuously, and customer relations became ever more important to cultivate. Counterpoint makes these much more manageable. Purchase orders and receiving are simplified. Our sales staff love the ease of touchscreen cash registers (originally intimidating).
The program seemed very complex, originally. After the initial learning curve one begins to better understand the "flow", and today I am amazed at the fact that we continuously find new ways to use the software to our advantage. We are able to modify the touchscreen buttons from the back office at any time, adding or deleting buttons as needed.
If time and information are money, this program is the way to go!
Overall rating
Overall, we're very happy with our purchase. From an point-of-sale perspective, it's very friendly. The back-office portion has some minor frustrations but has shown steady improvement. The important thing is that it met our requirements at a price point we could manage. Our integrator (Rapid Domains) has done excellent work at reasonable rates.
We do have one significant area of concern - like most software vendors, Radiant would like to increase their recurring revenue streams. In many areas where they provide additional services, this is appropriate. An example would be e-mail marketing. However, when they want to charge a monthly fee to have our system mine our data and send us e-mail alerts - I'm referring specifically to their Point of Sale Real-Time Alerts - we feel that's taking advantage of our somewhat locked-in relationship with them. It's not an end-of-the-world issue with us, but it raises suspicions that Radiant may heading towards more revenue-minded treatment of its customers than we've seen with other vendors.
For this reason, while CounterPoint SQL does handle our needs well, we can only give a cautious recommendation of the product and Radiant Systems.
We do have one significant area of concern - like most software vendors, Radiant would like to increase their recurring revenue streams. In many areas where they provide additional services, this is appropriate. An example would be e-mail marketing. However, when they want to charge a monthly fee to have our system mine our data and send us e-mail alerts - I'm referring specifically to their Point of Sale Real-Time Alerts - we feel that's taking advantage of our somewhat locked-in relationship with them. It's not an end-of-the-world issue with us, but it raises suspicions that Radiant may heading towards more revenue-minded treatment of its customers than we've seen with other vendors.
For this reason, while CounterPoint SQL does handle our needs well, we can only give a cautious recommendation of the product and Radiant Systems.
Overall rating
We love our CounterPoint system! We have had in use for about a year and a half with no problems at all. Being a small business owner I have to spend a lot of time working. Since we purchased our system I have more time to focus on selling products and marketing my business, not to mention I get more time at home with my family.
The new system makes ordering and reordering easier than ever. The inventory management application is amazing. With one click you can see what you have and what you need. When it comes time to perform the physical count of inventory it is so simple, what used to take a week now takes a day.
The software has so many things that streamline the day-to-day operations. It is capable of telling me anything and everything that is going on in the store at any time. We can see where we are from day to day and year to year.
The new system makes ordering and reordering easier than ever. The inventory management application is amazing. With one click you can see what you have and what you need. When it comes time to perform the physical count of inventory it is so simple, what used to take a week now takes a day.
The software has so many things that streamline the day-to-day operations. It is capable of telling me anything and everything that is going on in the store at any time. We can see where we are from day to day and year to year.
Overall rating
We operate a marine wholesale distributorship, along with a retail operation. Our three sources of revenue are store traffic, phone orders and Internet orders.
Our previous software system, while specific to the marine industry and bundled with features we sorely miss, was unable to integrate e-commerce, point of sale, and shipping functionality. The time we spent dealing with each order on three different levels was time-consuming, and also allowed for the introduction of errors.
We are currently running version 8.3.9 of CounterPoint, but will be upgrading to 8.4 as soon as the season slows this fall. The implementation experience was choppy, to say the least, due to a reseller that wasn't up to speed on the software. This hiccup notwithstanding, we were able grasp the basics and run with it.
We have been using CounterPoint for just under two years now and the watershed moment was when we switched partners nine months into the project. Our reseller's knowledge of the system and ability to teach us its functionality have allowed us to move forward at a rapid pace. The program is easy to use, and a common logic follows through the system so even when playing with new features, the desired result is easy to achieve.
Our current partner could stand to be slightly more responsive, especially to issues I consider to be very basic requirements in a system of this size and power.
We are currently 95% integrated with UPS WorldShip. The only thing holding us back from 100% integration is CounterPoint's inability to receive tracking numbers back from WorldShip without cumbersome export and import of data, or utilizing a third-party program. We are currently investigating CPOnline with the hope of having full vertical integration by January 1, 2012.
So far, we have been able to streamline sales, shipping & purchasing with more good things to come!
Our previous software system, while specific to the marine industry and bundled with features we sorely miss, was unable to integrate e-commerce, point of sale, and shipping functionality. The time we spent dealing with each order on three different levels was time-consuming, and also allowed for the introduction of errors.
We are currently running version 8.3.9 of CounterPoint, but will be upgrading to 8.4 as soon as the season slows this fall. The implementation experience was choppy, to say the least, due to a reseller that wasn't up to speed on the software. This hiccup notwithstanding, we were able grasp the basics and run with it.
We have been using CounterPoint for just under two years now and the watershed moment was when we switched partners nine months into the project. Our reseller's knowledge of the system and ability to teach us its functionality have allowed us to move forward at a rapid pace. The program is easy to use, and a common logic follows through the system so even when playing with new features, the desired result is easy to achieve.
Our current partner could stand to be slightly more responsive, especially to issues I consider to be very basic requirements in a system of this size and power.
We are currently 95% integrated with UPS WorldShip. The only thing holding us back from 100% integration is CounterPoint's inability to receive tracking numbers back from WorldShip without cumbersome export and import of data, or utilizing a third-party program. We are currently investigating CPOnline with the hope of having full vertical integration by January 1, 2012.
So far, we have been able to streamline sales, shipping & purchasing with more good things to come!
Overall rating
We have been using CounterPoint software for over 10 years. The solution serves the retail environment well - it is easy to use and easy to teach new staff to use. Radiant has continued to develop it to meet the new world of Internet sales and marketing. I love the fact that our online store integrates into our retail database. As a result, we only have to worry about one set of data that updates to our website with two easy clicks.
I also have to say that customer service is very good. Our CounterPoint reps, Sandy and Kevin, are super. Sabrina helps us maintain, develop and keep up our website, and she is terrific. They are responsive and helpful, and really try to help us understand and solve problems. The online help portal is also good, and teaches as well as solves problems.
Overall, I would recommend CounterPoint to those who need a point of sale system, and/or Internet software that is very sophisticated in capability, but remains easy to use.
I also have to say that customer service is very good. Our CounterPoint reps, Sandy and Kevin, are super. Sabrina helps us maintain, develop and keep up our website, and she is terrific. They are responsive and helpful, and really try to help us understand and solve problems. The online help portal is also good, and teaches as well as solves problems.
Overall, I would recommend CounterPoint to those who need a point of sale system, and/or Internet software that is very sophisticated in capability, but remains easy to use.
Overall rating
My Company recently made the switch to CounterPoint Enterprise SQL 8.4 and would like to share my experience with Radiant Systems. We have been in business for over 50 years and have had several different POS systems and CounterPoint has been the best system by far. Implementing a new system is never easy but with the help of OneStep Retail Solutions this has been the easiest and the quickest implementation I have ever done.
There are so many POS systems on the market finding the best fit for your business is a very difficult decision. Kevin McAdams and Jay Shore with OneStep Retail Solutions took the time to learn our business needs and recommended CounterPoint as the best solution. After using the system for over a month now I am glad I took their advice because this is a great system.
The CounterPoint Gateway for processing credit cards is very fast. The touch screen terminals make ringing up customers quick and easy. The ability to customize searches and change the information displayed through the column designer makes looking up the information a breeze. The reporting is equally fast, flexible and easy to use for all of our staff members.
Blythe Franks, our business analyst from OneStep Retail Solutions has played a key role in making this transition from our old system to CounterPoint. Her experience and knowledge of the product has made implementation and integration of the system quick and easy. With her insight we were able to customize CounterPoint to meet all of our business needs making our company more efficient than ever.
Sean Kinney
IT Manager
Hi-Time Wine Cellars
There are so many POS systems on the market finding the best fit for your business is a very difficult decision. Kevin McAdams and Jay Shore with OneStep Retail Solutions took the time to learn our business needs and recommended CounterPoint as the best solution. After using the system for over a month now I am glad I took their advice because this is a great system.
The CounterPoint Gateway for processing credit cards is very fast. The touch screen terminals make ringing up customers quick and easy. The ability to customize searches and change the information displayed through the column designer makes looking up the information a breeze. The reporting is equally fast, flexible and easy to use for all of our staff members.
Blythe Franks, our business analyst from OneStep Retail Solutions has played a key role in making this transition from our old system to CounterPoint. Her experience and knowledge of the product has made implementation and integration of the system quick and easy. With her insight we were able to customize CounterPoint to meet all of our business needs making our company more efficient than ever.
Sean Kinney
IT Manager
Hi-Time Wine Cellars
Overall rating
We are a retailer of firearms and just found out we are the first guinea pigs to use Counterpoint SQL 8.4.3. Since firearms are a regulated industry, they are always serialized. We purchased the bound book module to facilitate tracking the acquisition & disposition of firearms. In general, I do not find the system intuitive from a laypersons perspective. I can ring up a sale. However, receiving trade-ins on guns doesn't work.
We can't take consignments. Serial #s are missing from the bound book table. Our VAR is too overwhelmed to speak to us for entire days, bringing our business to a standstill. There is a substantial list of fixes that have been submitted to the programmers, and no timetable has been given for when they will be completed. Meanwhile, our business is limping along.
Software is supposed to make your life easier, so you can run your business. It has made our life harder, and we are losing business because we are spending so much time dealing with constant problems with the system. I have to hand-write labels for our firearms because the software cannot accommodate what we need to print on the label. We have paid about $30K for a system that we are totally frustrated with, and no one will get back to us as to when things will be fixed.
We can't take consignments. Serial #s are missing from the bound book table. Our VAR is too overwhelmed to speak to us for entire days, bringing our business to a standstill. There is a substantial list of fixes that have been submitted to the programmers, and no timetable has been given for when they will be completed. Meanwhile, our business is limping along.
Software is supposed to make your life easier, so you can run your business. It has made our life harder, and we are losing business because we are spending so much time dealing with constant problems with the system. I have to hand-write labels for our firearms because the software cannot accommodate what we need to print on the label. We have paid about $30K for a system that we are totally frustrated with, and no one will get back to us as to when things will be fixed.
Overall rating
We are a retail garden center. We sell trees, shrubs, perennials, roses, birdseed feeders, grass seed, fertilizer, insecticide, fungicide, lawn and garden ornaments. We are open all year. It is a family owned and operated store in business for 109 years. We looked at software to run our inventory about 6 years ago. We settled on CounterPoint because of it ease of use and great function ability. Before CounterPoint we used a general cash register without UPC scanning capability.
One of the main reasons we like it is for the great support we get from Randall Data Systems, the company that implemented the system. We have a huge inventory so the implementation took a few months. Karen, from Randall stuck tight with us throughout the whole implementation, and is available for every question we may have even now. She really knows her stuff!
CounterPoint is very easy to use. I train new cashiers and they catch on quickly. Even the ones with no computer experience, although it does help if they have some. We are now able to see our inventory with the click of a button. We know when to reorder inventory and what we may have in back stock. We also now know the profit margin on everything we sell. We never knew this before.
I truly recommend this software to everyone.
One of the main reasons we like it is for the great support we get from Randall Data Systems, the company that implemented the system. We have a huge inventory so the implementation took a few months. Karen, from Randall stuck tight with us throughout the whole implementation, and is available for every question we may have even now. She really knows her stuff!
CounterPoint is very easy to use. I train new cashiers and they catch on quickly. Even the ones with no computer experience, although it does help if they have some. We are now able to see our inventory with the click of a button. We know when to reorder inventory and what we may have in back stock. We also now know the profit margin on everything we sell. We never knew this before.
I truly recommend this software to everyone.
Overall rating
Our organization is a non-profit organization, but has a specialized shop. Our shop hours are not normal retail and our customers are sometimes very demanding. Our inventory ranges from thousands of patches to clothing, jewelry, etc. We have used CounterPoint since 2005. Our shop previously had a cash register and the old source of look and order on inventory. In 2005 the shop was handed over to new management, who researched and concluded to use CounterPoint. I have been at this shop for over two years and transferred from another shop that also used CounterPoint. We had version 7.5 until this past August and we upgraded to SQL. Version 7 was great to work with but SQL is so much more... We are able to resource more reports than before, with the ease of being able to have the help menu available.
The training of staff was so easy and quick to pickup. My staff and myself have had such a great time adapting to the new software. It is so easy to track inventory, sales, customers, and again the use of many new and different reports that help us on a daily basis. Our favorite is the 2 or 3 steps at the End of Day, with the older version there were so many steps and this is 1,2,3 and complete. Our support team is highly professional and always answers our calls in a timely manner. We are also excited because we do not HAVE to call them as much now with the new SQL. I would highly recommend CounterPoint to anyone who asks.
The training of staff was so easy and quick to pickup. My staff and myself have had such a great time adapting to the new software. It is so easy to track inventory, sales, customers, and again the use of many new and different reports that help us on a daily basis. Our favorite is the 2 or 3 steps at the End of Day, with the older version there were so many steps and this is 1,2,3 and complete. Our support team is highly professional and always answers our calls in a timely manner. We are also excited because we do not HAVE to call them as much now with the new SQL. I would highly recommend CounterPoint to anyone who asks.
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