NCR Counterpoint Software

I can't wait to switch over to something new. I am getting no resolution on my issues and all I get from support is no support at all.

Cons

I have experience problems with all aspect of this software. Orders are being lost and irretrievable. pricing is not moving from counterpoint to the website. WE have to manually import orders. very unhappy

Customer service is practically non-existent, and when we do get to talk to reps, they give us conflicting information. One person told us that there was no way to deduct past payments and still charge full sales tax, but another person suggested we create house accounts to fix the problem. That's great, but they sent us the procedure for NCR Silver Restaurant version, and that's not the software we're using. We're not a restaurant. We've been paying for three months and have yet to ring up our first order. I asked them to refund us since we're not up and running, but they said it's their policy to begin charging as soon as we receive the equipment (it doesn't matter if the stuff wasn't even out of the box). So disappointed in this POS system. We feel like we've been bamboozled!

Pros

The inventory system is great. The spreadsheets make it easy to update inventory and vendor information.

Cons

We're not sure how to deduct past layaway payments, store credit, and gift certificates and still charge the customer the correct sales tax. We've been waiting for customer service to call us back with the "fix" for two months.

We used NCR for a while and we're very happy with it! Unfortunately we had to discontinue it due to a new chip reader we had to get, due to fraudulent transactions. At the time, NCR didn't work with our merchant processor. At the time of service, customer service was great. Always someone available to help which is very important! And they were based in the US. I am hopeful we can go back to NCR in the future!

Our experience with NCR was great! Opening our first retail B&M was quite the challenge and NCR was able to help us with multiple tasks on one convenient platform. NCR featured all of the essentials. Time clock, multiple employee log-in, built-in CRM program, inventory management (I'll cover this more), and several other retail functionalities. We did not use many of the restaurant features as they were irrelevant to our operations. From memory, NCR Support was helpful and friendly, although the MAJOR issues we had took so long to fix, that we chose a different POS company in the long run.

Pros

Convenient UX, Desktop Retail Management, CRM, Time Clock with Reports, Inventory Management with 6 Week Moving Average and Several Reports, Quickbooks Online Integration

Cons

Overall untrustworthy Inventory Management! We had SEVERAL issues with NCR not recording a decrease in inventory after the sale. At the time, there was not a Purchase Order / Receiving framework. No transfers between multiple locations.

Advice to Others

If you decide to give NCR a shot, use the trial like your day to day operations would require. Keep an eye on inventory numbers and watch to see if they are affected by sales, returns, and transfers!!! A huge headache having to count inventory weekly.

I have been using counterpoint for eight years, I have learned the back and technical customizations part and it can't be done by almost anyone.

Pros

Very easy to use

Cons

There is very little to not like.

Love the inventory features, truly has a great interface thats almost as easy to use as an iPhone. I love the customer service features that help you remember your customers, market to them. The text to cell phone alert is very helpful especially to keep my employees on time!

I like all the back office features of NCR, there's actually more features than we will use for our small tobacco shop, but I like that they are there if we ever decide to implement them. NCR offered to input all of our inventory for us, but we decided to do it ourselves so we could become more familiar with the software. At times I wished we had just had NCR input our inventory because it did take awhile, but I feel like I have a better handle on a lot of the features now.

The checkout process is simple, it's easy to look up an item without a barcode, and it's simple to apply discounts.

NCR is a great system. I loved how it worked with my company, and I have seen it at other big companies like our local grocery shop. It is highly recommended.

I have seen this system almost everywhere I go. It works perfectly with small and big companies as well. Using this system will help your company big time.

I had just started a facebook page for my online e-commerce store and wanted a site and a pos system to take orders! I did not want to pay for cheap software and have to open source code the rest for myself nor did I want to pay over the top price and have features that I did not know if I would be able to use just yet with money I know I do not have right now. I just needed to take payments online, keep in contact with customers, and look professional all at the same time!

Pros

Professionalism in customer service, which is better than cheap junk software and never having IT help you, may as well buy a cheap car to break down on the freeway the next day.

Cons

At first, I was concerned on the price, which did present a problem for my small new business however it quickly paid back for itself in value and investment!

Advice to Others

Better to invest in a high valued software for a great price than to be stuck and regret a system that wont help you back!

I was juggling and running out of time with which POS system to use for my online fashion business. So many options but I don't know why my heart didn't feel right on them.
This was my first POS system and it had everything I needed!

Pros

Helped me remember my customers for all
Our specials and coupons.
Made us look extremely professional when taking their orders and payments online!

Cons

It may be too much to ask but since it has given me a lot, I've become bold, but essentially to integrate social media like a Facebook shop or instagram

Advice to Others

Yes, it is perfect for those who don't know where to start because it is all in one!

I love the inventory features, truly has a great interface thats almost as easy to use as an iPhone. I love the customer service features that help you remember your customers, market to them, and even get them some loyalty points. Adding and editing items and prices in your inventory are really easy to use and makes scanning and identifying simple. As for the value, I wish that it either had a lower price for the small or first time businesses or at least add extra free features to help them get off the ground.

Pros

The easy to use interface, simple as an iPhone.

Cons

Price.

As a Buyer & Inventory Control Manager I have to use it on a daily basis but it does not serves my purpose on a larger scale.

Pros

User Friendly, Easy to use

Cons

Not compatible with many scanners and RFID's.

Advice to Others

For a small warehouse or business its fantastic but for Big Box/Large Business dealing with million of inventory not very useful.

This product has many functions but has limited functionality of the functions. NCR could have done a much better job researching the market and finding out what functionality should have been included. Features that have either limited ability or the ability was grossly under developed causes issues. The application runs slow, the back office operations are extremely limited, the receiving process is underdeveloped and quiet frankly the entire application is remedial. This product CAN become a top notch application if the features were added to the base system. For example QBE (query by example) has been common place in application for the last 16 years and is non-existent in this application. The base reports that come with the system does not even have a simple re-order report that would merely query the min and max and current balance. I have been in the IT industry as a developer for 27 years and have seen the best to worst applications. This one sits right in the middle!

Pros

Has a good interface , easy to change the screen design of the touchscreen buttons. Has minimal maintenance to keep it running. Allows integration from an interface. Close out process is simple. Easy to setup . And the number one Pro is that it integrates seamlessly to NCR Retail Online application which I am building right now. And that product is a very competent solution. All orders process back down into the Counterpoint POS!

Cons

Security application module control is lacking functionality, Integration interface has limited functionality for populating and correcting sub tables, querying is limited for end user setup, multi-pricing on a grid level does not come with the base system!!!!! REALLY, what do you think a clothing store needs are? Rules base sales transactions application is so full of holes it would sink if it were a boat! The contract management and vendor management is almost non-existent.

Advice to Others

Utilize IBM's POS or choose another higher end application POS from NCR or SAP POS!

I have been using NCR Aloha POS systems for over 8 years. They are easy to use, functional and overall good price for the quality.

Likes Best

Simple touch screen options for selecting product and checking out

Likes Least

Outside of the main screens the system seems overcomplicated

Recommendations

Be sure you need everything this product provides.

Likes Best

Can't think of anything in particular that I like.

Likes Least

The system is not user friendly and the reports and help are not intuitive or easily customizable

Recommendations

The primary issue for our organization may be our size and the way this system works may not be the best fit for us.

Likes Best

Works good with our pharmacy distribution and warehouse locations

Likes Least

Doesn't track lot numbers very well and is not a validated software

Recommendations

find a good software consultant to help you with your customizations

Likes Best

How easy it is to understand and use which play an important role.

Likes Least

The fact we can't use quite as many functions as we'd like to.

Recommendations

Be patient in learning techniques and you will find new ways to do things which is great!

Likes Best

What I like best about Counterpoint is that it is a functional way to ring up sales and manage inventory.

Likes Least

Where do I begin? Well, when I first got this program in 2010, I paid an extraordinary amount for 40 hours of one-on-one phone/online training. When we hit 35 hours, I still did not know how to ring up a single sale! They were training me in the "details" of what Counterpoint could be programmed to do. I finally said, "Stop! I don't need to know any of this. Teach me how to enter inventory, create receivers and purchase orders, and how to ring up sales with discounts, etc." And, guess what, the guy teaching me know how to do any of that! It was so ridiculous. So I switched (they don't let you do this easily) from the company I purchased Counterpoint from to Rapid POS as my training company, and they were better. They, at least, knew how to operate the software!

Recommendations

Find a different program! Counterpoint out of the box is barely functional ... they need to do SO MANY "custom" upgrades to make it functional for a retail store ... it's completely ridiculous and VERY expensive! Also, it has been 6 years now, and we still don't have jewelry labels that print correctly. Six years people!!! Ridiculous.