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point of sale posts

Filed under: Software, Cool tools, Reviews

TUAW Review: Checkout, top notch Point of Sale software for Mac

I had the opportunity to speak with the creators of Checkout: an excellent Point of Sale application for the Mac. I've been working with the app for several weeks now and have been thoroughly impressed by it, especially after the developers shared their perspectives. Many thanks to Ed and Dirk for walking me through it.

Whether you're starting a new store or transferring your current system to Checkout, it's the best Point of Sale I've worked with in my many years of retail. The creators explained that they designed Checkout to help small and mid-sized retail stores make sales, print receipts, manage stock, organize customers, and collect payments.

This application focuses heavily on ease-of-use in everything from installation to managing metrics and allows the user to remove "unneeded complexities" from the system they work with every day.

Read on for a full walk-through of the application.

Continue readingTUAW Review: Checkout, top notch Point of Sale software for Mac

Filed under: Macworld, Retail, Video, TUAW Interview

Macworld 2009: Xsilva Lightspeed

With the Mac platform reaching 10% market share, there's a lot of interest in more vertical applications. For owners of retail businesses, point-of-sale systems are one area where the Mac is making impressive inroads. While there have been other Mac-based point-of-sale systems, the most impressive is Xsilva's Lightspeed.

Lightspeed is a powerful POS system with a beautiful interface, compatibility with a plethora of devices (cash drawers, touch screens, receipt printers, card authorization units, etc...), and ties to other Mac heavyweights such as Marketcircle Daylite and QuickBooks.

I spoke with Xsilva founder, CEO, and vice-president Dax Dasilva on January 7th about the product, and we have some video for you showing some of the features of both Lightspeed and its companion Web Store application. The video is after the break!

Continue readingMacworld 2009: Xsilva Lightspeed

Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, Hardware

Apple's small business share continues to grow

I seem to be seeing Macs in small business offices with increasing frequency these days. My dentist uses all Macs, as does the wine shop in town, the photo developing shop, the kennel that watches our dog when we're away and the woman who sells craft supplies. Just a few years ago I'd be shocked to see an iMac running point of sale software. Today, it's much more common.

Earlier this week, Needham Co. analyst Charlie Wolf confirmed my suspicions. Specifically, Apple sold 188,000 Macs to small businesses in the September quarter of this year. Compare that to the 61,000 Macs sold to the same group over the summer.

The boost came just as residential sales cooled, which was fortunate for Apple. Of course, internet security and the ability to run the Windows software that these companies depend on are real selling points for many business owners.

[Via AppleInsider]

Filed under: Retail, Software

Checkout - point of sale for Mac (beta)


Jasper Hauser and company have been busy, as Disco isn't the only thing pot on their oven. Behold: Checkout, a point of sale app (in beta) for store owners running Mac OS X. Boasting a 15 minute learning curve, Checkout has an impressive lineup of features, like:
  • Interoperability - "export anything you want"
  • Easy Backups - the database is just one file, with a .Mac Backup QuickPick included (hint hint to other devs)
  • Bookkeeping super powers for maximum accountant happiness
  • Address Book syncing
  • "Extensive" reporting
  • High-Speed input for more better schmoozing with customers
Checkout's site offers a number of screencast Quicktours to help you get an idea of everything it can do. I personally don't run a retail store, but from looking at Checkout, I'm starting to wish I did. While Checkout is in beta, pricing and an official release date are still TBD.

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