Lightspeed Retail vs. LS Central

It is perfect for any small business looking for inventory control, Tracking purchase history, and just an all round easy to use software for retail and beyond. I would not use it if I have only a few hundred items or was a larger company that can afford to build my own POS software.

Incentivized

Ideally it can work with any kind of retailer but workarounds and customisations required to handle deliveries.

Incentivized

• Very very user friendly.
• Easy iPad interface that is easy to upgrade to new hardware if an iPad breaks, etc.
• On the Advanced plan the reporting is outstanding.
• Very easy to train new employees, especially younger employees raised on phones and tablets.
• We use their payments system and it's a very easy integration. I believe Stripe is their payment provider.

• Offline/semi-offline mode works well in areas where connectivity is an issue.
• Pricing, offers and promotions can be configured exceptionally well in LS Retail.
• POS interface design is simple, robust and easily configurable.
• Security wise there is enough detail available to trace all kinds of POS transactions.

Incentivized

• They have not had major updates to their system in years. The inventory system is stagnant. Although their inventory system is robust, it is outdated.
• They do have 24-hour support, however, wait times are excessive and representatives have challenges understanding your issues.
• Trying to get issues resolved can take months or never at all. Management is non-existent. Trying to reach a supervisor is impossible.
• They have a culture of telling you what you want to hear but have no intentions of actually following through.
• Lightspeed is a great solution if you are a small business just getting started. But if you are intending to grow and expand, Lightspeed will become detrimental to your growth.
• The reporting/analytics is basic at best. They do offer paid options that are very expensive, but it is very robust. The basic reporting is very minimal.

• Data Director leaves room for improvement as it can be very tricky while dealing with a large number of master data records. Sometimes it doesn't write delete actions to POS.
• Furniture retail is another area where improvement is required to handle deliveries.
• Newer versions don't support data replicator which was the most reliable data tool with earlier LS Retail versions. There should be a replacement for this tool.

Incentivized

Very easy to use and figure out without calling customer support which is also very responsive and helpful.

Incentivized

I gave the rating of a 9 because ninety percent of the time when I talk to their support they're very helpful. One of the only real issues I have is there are times where the queue will be 7-9 people deep. When you have an error you don't know how to fix, sometimes this is very troubling. But overall their support is usually quick and friendly.

Incentivized

We used Microsoft Retail Management System before this and this was in a whole other league of its own with features and ease of use. I really like using Macs also. They are much more reliable and longer lasting than IBM or Similar computers. The cloud based system is great also so you do not have to have another unit to store you database on

Incentivized

It scores higher on overall user experience and matured features set.

Incentivized

• I have to spend a lot less time training my employees because Lightspeed is so easy to use!
• Keeping track of our inventory is as simple as clicking a few buttons.
• Our online sales have grown tremendously since changing to Lightspeed

Incentivized

• Timely sales visibility
• Optimum Inventory levels
• Enough data to visualise trends and patterns

Incentivized