Lightspeed Retail Software

Before I even opened my business, I was doing research on which POS system to get. Lightspeed seemed like the best choice because at the time you owned the license and the backend is great. Also, we used Apple exclusively and lightspeed was the ideal choice because they dealt exclusively with that before. Five years later, I regret the choice that I made. It used to be that every time there was an update from Apple, the system would crash. Then we would be one the phone with them for hours to get anything to resolve. But the worst was when we updated to multi-user in the last year as we expanded to a second location. There will be issues that they can't resolve in days. We would run into issues with processing a transaction, to updating a product. Also- there is no help on the VPN which is rather significant when you need to set up two locations and requiring them to talk to each other. All of this which you now have to pay a very expensive support fee for their 'professional' services. The breaking straw was really this week. After calling lightspeed for yet another minor but complicated issue, the customer rep informs me that we have been maintaining our computers wrong by not restarting or letting them sleep. This is after years of them recommending the complete opposite. But of course, they won't send you a notice or anything. Somehow you're just supposed to know. BTW, after all of that, they still didn't resolve the issue we called them for.

If you have a PhD in computer programming, this is the POS for you. But if you're anything like the rest of us, choose another system and save yourself the trouble.

Pros

Lightspeed is very easy to train a staff to use. Their functions are massive and you can 'technically' do everything you need to for this business.

Cons

It is quite expensive. Before you can buy the license and 'own' the software while paying for the very expensive support system yearly that costs over a thousand dollars. Now they forcefully switch you over to the subscription model and you still have to pay an exorbitant amount of money but less ownership of your software. There is a lot of headaches involved with very small details. The customer support staff have varying degrees of knowledge so you don't always know what is wrong or how to resolve it on the first call. Since expanding to two stores, the headaches have increased. They offer so little help with setting up or support that you basically have to know lightspeed inside and out to set it up. One small change can fully stop your entire system from working. At one point, an issue delayed our entire issue over several days and our customers suffered along with us. Save your money and buy something cheaper and easier to use.

Îm gong on my second year and i have no regrets.

Pros

Apple compatible
Basic reports
The way we manage the products
The easy link between In store and on Line.

Cons

Few features are non intuitive. A few of those are difficult to learn.
Sellers can be insistant
The wifi scanner is a pain

Overall I love the system and would recommend it to any small business like mine.

Pros

I love how my inventory is synced between my retail and online stores. Lightspeed provides instant reporting to keep track of sales.

Cons

A few too many steps when adding a new product matrix. I also wish I could have more than 12 colours of an item shown on the web site.

Fantastic you guys!!

Pros

Good features for money - robust functions and full supply chain management capabilities. quick to get around in and easy to teach others to use.

Cons

Not sure I know of any yet, maybe better functions for invoicing for B2B wholesale for those not on credit accounts.

I will continue and always recommend it to others.

Pros

I really like this software because it enable users manage online and in-store inventories on the croud.
The multi channel retail information feature is very helpful to for me.

Cons

I don't have any difficulty using this software but l think it should be a little more user friendly for everyone to use.

It is my mission to make sure nobody falls into the trap that Lightspeed sets for it's potential customers. I foolishly signed up for a yearly contract to save some cash as any smart businessman would do. What I didn't realize is that a company needs a POS system specific to their industry because trying to work around certain functions or the lack thereof will slow down the sales process. I realized a little under 2 weeks that this system wasn't right for me so I requested a cancellation of the contract. Considering they offer anyone a free 2 week trial, I thought they would thank me for the opportunity and wish me well in my future endeavors. Especially because I actually put some trust in the company and paid upfront instead of using their 2 week trial with no commitment whatsoever. At the very most I thought they would charge me for a month worth of service at the usual non-discounted yearly rate just to pay for any costs associated with me going through the 2 weeks of service. What came next was a shocker of a response. They actually said because I signed the contract, there was nothing that could be done. What? That's used car sales language. NOTHING? But I only used the system for 2 weeks and you give out 2 week free trials to anyone who asks? NOTHING! But my business will suffer as a result of your system not functioning the way I need it to run. NOTHING! But you guys have a digital product which costs you nothing for me to use and the only expenses incurred by you were the 1 hour of training and 1 hour of customer service I utilized in the entire 2 weeks I used the system which I am willing to pay for. NOTHING!! You signed a contract and that's that!! (Official Lightspeed Motto) After a certain point, they actually told me that it's my decision to use the system or not (well obviously) but they are not giving me back a single Canadian cent. (They're based in Canada). They only care about the almighty dollar (Canadian of course) and the lack of customer concern is mind boggling in this day and age of "no questions asked" business practices. Well Lightspeed, you have my money but you lost my respect. DO NOT USE LIGHTSPEED until you've gone through their 2 week free trial. Even after the free trial I suggest you only sign up for a 1 month commitment to put it through real world scenarios before you fully commit to their 1 year contract because Lightspeed wants their money and you WILL NOT get it back once they have it.

Pros

They have 24/7 customer support, their e-commerce platform is integrated with their retail platform.

Cons

They trap customers in a 1 year contract with no way out. Not designed for the furniture industry but they'll force you to keep using it if you're signed up with them no matter what.

Pros

We use this product for everything from work order creation/tracking, in-store sales, quotes/invoicing, inventory tracking, purchase ordering, etc. So many features it'd be hard to list them all. Is it the best at everything? No. But at most things it's better than other options

Cons

It is difficult to communicate from within the software with customers/clients. We wish there was a customer portal for work orders so customers can track the status of their repair easily.

Pros

- Software is easy to use and very convenient to the employees to be used. Tracks all inventory and manage to correct mistakes at the same time.

Cons

A little bit issue on this software as the system is sometimes slow and need to have more patience. Nevertheless quality will make you satisfy.

Pros

> Good in Tracking inventory.
> Good Communication.
> And easy to calculate.
> Easy to use, functional and manageable.

Cons

> Difficult to tracking large inventory but still manageable.
> Experienced Buffering.
> Some hiding saved documents.

Pros

Great software, simple and easy to train employees on it. It's automates a lot of functions in this stuff.

Cons

Nothing much to say about this software as of now as I don’t encounter much negative about it.

Pros

Lightspeed was such a useful software for processing transactions for our small retail store. Simple to use and very few problems

Cons

There was a small learning curve when getting set up but we had a great experience using it overall.

Overall, it's a useful app yet I need it on my android phone. Looking forward for LightSpeed Retail's developer to release an Android version.

Pros

From the software name, this tool is used to help with retail/sales. The mobile app is designed to be accessed anytime, anywhere.

Cons

This tool doesn't meet my expectation but it has good support for IOS user. I hope there's an update to make it available for android users, too.

It is tricky to use at first but they provide customer service to help in setting up. It's quite useful once you get the hang of it.

Pros

The reports and inventory functionalities are flawless and very reliable. It has free-trial which takes away worries before purchasing it.

Cons

It takes time of getting used to because there are so many features. And bigger business might find it really time-consuming.

The customer support is always great, it makes up for the cons because you can call in when you are stuck.

Pros

It has a lot of functions, just so many. If you have a business that is already super busy then it is hard to get all the products set up, but if you have the time its great. The customer service is the reason I would recommend it. They are always helpful.

Cons

There is so much to learn that if you are busy with other aspects of your business then it's hard to get it all in here.

Pros

I love the fact that this has a free trial, there are so many programs out there, but for a unique business like mine, it is very difficult to find something that works perfect, or even works for that matter. Free trial takes all your worries away. I love it.

Cons

The only honest thing I can say is that it was kind of bland on the colors as you are using it.. Other then that I can not say that I had one issue with it the entire time I used it

Overall I am happy so far with the program, I have a long ways to go yet but the support is fantastic!

Pros

The many options to create a thorough inventory is great. You can use it a little or a lot depending on your needs. Its easy to maneuver the site and I like that I can look at reports or inventory from anywhere, it lets me stay on top of things no matter where I am at.

Cons

I wish the reports were not excel based reports. And that there were a few different end of day reports for reconciling in my accounting program

Pros

It's cloud based so no worry about backups or losing any information and integrates with major retailers.

Cons

It's not set of for coin shops and that has been something we had to work around. Otherwise I can see this being great for other business types.

Pros

allows access to anywhere is a good thing! the customer service will guide you if you are a first time user, and that's one of my likings.

Cons

I can't say anything negative about this app!..excited for more features and updates will come soon.

This is a great in house or take it with you software. I can log in from anywhere on tablet, phone, PC etc to check how my store is doing, down to every sale and every detail of inventory.

Pros

Ease of operation. Seamless integration of distributor and manufacturer catalogs. Easy inventory management, and very detailed reports available with a mouseclick or keystroke

Cons

No negatives to speak of. It's easy to use and the service is excellent. I have nothing but good things to say about lightspeed POS for retail

We love Lightspeed and would highly recommend it to other bike shops.

Pros

Easy to use interface.
Good integration with our purchasing catalogues.
Great price.
Exceptional inventory control mechanisms.

Cons

Some limitations on exporting financial data.
Building an assembly item is not as functional as we would like.