Like-Sew websites have helped me build my online presence and streamline my business.

It was easy to use

Pros

It is easy to use and update, so I can create and modify my own products, and add products from the integrated industry catalogs. It provides me with useful information about my customers and sales transactions, data which really helps me keep and attract new customers. I especially like the batch product update feature so I can change a group of products at a time without having to individually update each product record. I have had good customer service, especially when there was a problem with the software. I have seen my sales grow and my professional online image enhanced. The cost is reasonable for my business so far. The video training is great and absolutely necessary to understand how to use the software efficiently. I also attended training at Fall Quilt Market which was excellent and highly informative.

Cons

I am disappointed that I am unable to integrate my email marketing with the website. In my opinion, The Marketing package is not as useful to online-only stores as it is to POS customers. The newsletter module is clunky and hard to work with. The email feature is useful, but since my email list is on a different service and not integrated, it is not as useful as it could be. It took awhile for my site to get up and running well, and to work out all the bugs. I had to be persistent in following up to get problems fixed and clear in my communication to be sure they understood what I was asking for.

Really awesome features with some minor bugs

Tech support has helped us so many times. First, they helped us figure out some of the features that we were not completely certain how to use. Then, when we encountered bugs, another quick call to Support and they had us back up and running within no time. I just wish that the program was not dependent on the internet. We’ve had a few times where the internet went out and we were not able to conduct business. This is not good, but it hasn’t happened too often, just enough to be mildly irritating.

Pros

This program is so easy to use, even for those who are not technologically literate. While we do not use all of the features, such as the rental option, we are really happy with the program. The fact that everything is stored in the cloud helps us when we are not in the store, such as with trunk shows. The tech support has been so helpful when we experienced bugs in the software, and they were very knowledgeable of the product. I have also found the SEO option of Rain, and we intend to utilize it to its fullest extent to promote our business and get our name out there.

Cons

There have been a few bugs in the software, but nothing that a quick call to support couldn’t fix. One thing that I did not like was when the internet went out. The fact that everything was based on the internet meant that we couldn’t use the cash register. This led to a loss of sales. Nothing too major, but it’s still significant. There should be a backup or a way to use the register when there is no internet connection. More traditional POS systems allow for use without internet, but for inventory reasons, something like Rain is required. Hopefully, they’ll release a version that stores a temporary backup on your system that updates the inventory once the internet is back up and running.

The POS system that I was looking for.

I'm the owner of the NAMM 2015 & 2016 Top 100 Dealer, The Acoustic Shoppe in Springfield, MO. We tried the "big guy" of our industry, and found it to be outdated and not user friendly. After a year of attempting to get it up and running, we started looking for an alternative when we ran across RAIN POS. It feels like navigating a website through your browser so it was easy to learn. Within a little over one month we had our website built, products in our system, and were live with running transactions. I love that everything in in the cloud, so I can run sales in my parking lot, at festivals, trade shows, etc., or just access reports anywhere from my phone. Putting items on our website is just a button clicked, and inventory is shared online and locally so if I sell online, it's taken out of stock in my local system, and vise versa. So far customer support has been great to work with. We have run across a few minor bugs in the day to day use, but they are pretty quick at getting it straightened out. I'm sure it doesn't have all the depth of that other system, but I'm able to use it and they are adding features very quickly. We don't do rentals right now, so I can't say how well that part works. We do a lot of repairs, some sent off site, and the work order module works great for keeping up to date with the repair status. We're waiting on the Lessons module that we here is in the works, and a better way to handle consignments and trades. So far we are very happy with RAIN POS and our interactions with customer support. I highly recommend.

Pros

Ease of use, and integration with our e-commerce site.

Cons

There are a few features that I'm waiting on that will tailor the system more for the music industry.

Tons of features packed into one POS system, great customer support.

Pros

Rain has tons of features, and for a music store that sells, rents, and repairs instruments, and also does lessons, there are a lot of things we need software for. With Rain, we can do most of it in one place, whereas in the past, we've had to have a system for this, something different for this, and something different for that also. It's a huge time saver and much less confusing to be able to do everything we need to do in one place. And the website is clean and easy to customize. Customer service is super easy to get in touch with and great to work with.

Cons

There are still a few bugs in this software. While the customer support guys are good about listening and working on fixes, there are still some small annoying things. For instance, when you delete a product from the Categories page, it does not direct you back to the Categories page, but rather the Products page. There's also not an easy way to move products into different categories in bulk. You either have to open each product manually, or you have to export the info to a spreadsheet.

The future of how small businesses survive

Using this system allows you to provide a customer experience on par with, or even better than, what is expected from a successful business in the 21st.

Pros

Feature laden! and they are still developing more music store specific features! One customer data base, one inventory database. Integrated POS system, integrated Wed Store, integrated repairs system. Then add on: integrated short term rentals, rent to own with auto pay, layaway, email marketing abilities, gift card ability, coupon ability, push products to Reverb ability, create and save quotes under a customer name, track store account balances and apply to transactions, purchasing lists by vendor populated with qty triggered items and with and easy receiving and item costs updating.
Outstandingly responsive customer service!

Cons

Still waiting on the private lesson feature =( But it is in development and it sounds like it will be finished Spring of 2018. Would be great to see invoicing against a quote so I could do school business with schools requiring a PO number on an invoice for payment.

User friendly POS/Website for a small business.

Rain POS has allowed me to present the entire inventory of my retail shop available online. When photos for my items are not available from vendors, I snap a few with my iphone and they are uploaded in seconds. I am not a computer tech by any means, but have found making changes to my site an easy task. When in doubt I find one of the helpful webinars and by he end of the viewing I am comfortable tackling the next task. Customer service has been prompt and thorough. I have not had to call often, but when I do the matter is resolved within minutes. This is a plus as I typically operate my shop alone. Recently I realized that I was not utilizing the SEO portion of Rain to it's fullest potential. My google placement was lagging back on pages 4 to 7. I spent 3 hours watching a webinar provided by Rain and spent a few weeks plucking away at my site. I am happy to say that 60 days later I am appearing on the first page of searches I deem important. One again I was able to accomplish this utilizing tools provided by Rain, not by paying an outside SEO company for this service. Overall I am extremely happy with Rain and have recommended it to several other business in my area.

Pros

Ease of use even for a person not formally trained in computer technology.

Cons

Just a few small glitches here and there, but they continue to make improvements and they are quickly resolved.

A small business solution that is a head of the curve

We searched for over 3 years for an new point of sale that would fit our needs and allow us to expand in the future. It was important to have a seamless integration of our brick and mortar location and our online store. Rain really shines above all the other options with more functionality at an affordable price. This has allowed us to grow our online presence tremendously to help keep up with the ever growing online sales market. The continued software updates and helpful customer support makes for a personal and dedicated feel to helping our business thrive. We have recommend it to several other businesses and they have been thrilled as well. Thanks Rain!

Pros

Online and Brick and Mortar integration, extensive customer tracking, easy to customize website, efficient product ordering/receiving system

Cons

Updates can be slow to release, lacks a little in the reporting functionality

Powerful, complete lifestyle upgrade for our business

Going from shopkeep (easy to use, not sophisticated enough for us as a music store) to RAIN was a challenge at first (uploading photos and product data, designing new site content, more product data entry, training staff in new roles) but, now that we are a few months in, we are seeing customers benefit from our work and we know we are going in the right direction. RAIN is on the way to becoming the One Ring That Rules Them All of software that helps small retailers play on the same field as national chains. Actual seamless pulling in of repair data to the transaction screen, one product data base for your stores and your website store, actual seamless pulling in of layaway payments and special orders to the transaction screen, easily see who is selling what and where. Actual real effective help with re-order purchasing has helped us control spending in a very noticeable way. Time is saved because we only have to go through product order line items one time , then when it arrives, ONE click updates the cost for that instance and the count received. Transfer tracking that takes almost no time to use.

Pros

integration

Cons

still developing some features

Great user friendly POS

We had a nightmare with our old POS system and had to pretty much start all over with Rain. We are a local business but with tons of inventory. Over 5000 different piece of merchandise. So we were not looking forward to adding all those items again. But Rains interface makes it very easy, anyone can do it. The interface is laid out very simply and everything is right there without having to scroll through pages and pages to find an option you want. Features like repairs and rentals are also a big plus. Really the only negative thing I can say is the since it's cloud based you better have good internet or you will lose your register if you lose internet. But that's not Rains fault. Just make sure you have a reliable internet connection or a backup 4G method since you can run the POS from any phone or tablet. We have had the software for a little less than a year and although we are still adding products from our previous software crash with another company, we are enjoying the new fresh look and feature packed software provided by Rain.

Pros

Tons of features and easy to use.

Cons

To print a receipt there are too many steps. Wish it was easier or less time consuming.