Not really for Bars
Pros
I guess it's easy to use, but it's kinda clunky. Programming is inconsistent across different devices. The speed is ok. It does what I need it to do, which the #1 reason I went with Lavu over Square was that you could start a bar tab with a preauthorization.
Cons
LAVU complaints
Should get Free set up support 1 month a year; if there is an update we should get free support
Quick serve shouldn't disappear
Can't Add a cc to an existing tab - currently deletes the new order
Needs Select and Repeat button
Needs Fewer approval buttons
Should Show change on screen
Should add auto grat to total tips
Can't Change auto grat, % or amount
On tip page, be able to enter tip or total, and show total.
Entered tips should disappear from screen - be able to filter list
On End of Day reports page, discounts and auto grat need to be included. Auto grats dont go to the business. Service charges do.
Auto grats need to show on payments page
Chip cards cant start tabs. Cant have 2 processors in lavu - chip card and swipe card types
Tip screen times out , and deletes entered tips
A good system but customer support is most often disappointing
Pros
Ease of use
Joshua Maestas from customer service was so incredibly helpful. He took time to listen to the complicated scenario we were trying to resolve. He followed up when and how he said he would. Most of the time our customer service experience is frustrating but he was truly a breath of fresh air.
Cons
Back end reporting; customer service. There are programming bugs and we continuously are told "development is working on it" but never saw any resolution. If it isn't a priority for you and not intended to be fixed then don't tell us it is being fixed.
STAY AWAY
Pros
The interface is user friendly, and tickets get sent to kitchen without many problems. But we could do this with paper
Cons
Everything else! Whenever we have a issue they send it to the "developmental team" also known as the black hole. When we signed up they said "offline processing was in the works" that was 2 years ago. Reports are literally ALWAYS wrong. If you look at sales on two different reports they never are the same. For a span of about three months they miscalculated sales tax, having us over pay hundreds of dollars! For a long time they randomly doubled numbers on server reports, and now there is a random .50 added to numbers on servers reports. I have a tax background an I informed them the liability they were putting on us and our servers by misreporting so they showed me on the IRS website where they were right, THEY SET UP THERE SYSTEM BASED OFF THE WRONG PART OF THE IRS CODE. Not to mention that it randomly opens tickets from all different times that we have to re-close and I'm not sure we get paid for them or not. When we call customer support they are really nice, but our issues always get sent to the "Developmental Team" to never be heard about again!
After one full year - still happy
Overall, a good product and always recommend to others.
Pros
System is fairly easy to use and navigate. Easy to setup menus and configure accordingly. Customer support is pretty responsive and quick although sometimes questionable knowledge to help with all situations. Cost for system is excellent.
Cons
Fonts can be a bit small on pos interface and thus hard to read. No big cons to comment on other than have had some big hassles configuring system to work with different credit card merchants and being bounced back and forth with customer support to resolve.
A value buy
This product works very well for me and gives me a great value at the price point of the equipment.
Pros
It is very customizable. I'm a midsize family business and the cost really hits the sweet spot. The fact that they use apple only products forces me to pay a premium price for the hardware but I know that the equipment will retain its value. They always end up answering my questions even if it takes a while but I can make changes and check the numbers instantly.
Cons
This product does need to be used with a fast internet set up. My set up is 75/75 so it's quite fast. I have no problems with it working and can make changes anywhere but I'm tech savvy and I do suggest an additional purchase of a laptop if you do not have one to do in depth tracking and editing.
Generally Satisfied, no Major Issues
I like your service in general. No serious issues.
Pros
I like all the options that you see and change yourself on the backend from the internet. General usability is also pretty easy and straight forward.
Cons
Not many cons. Some functions like splitting checks seem to be a bit complicated for some of our waitresses. The more intricate features, which is to be suspected I suppose. We have also had some problems with customer service in the past, one person telling us it's the credit card merchant and them telling us to call you, very complicated and a pain in the ass. Your customer service reps need to know what they are talking about.
I had an overall excellent experience with Lavu, especially with Jessica Schell
control over my business especially financial over view as to what we are doing and where the business is going.
Pros
Its easy to use, very user friendly and the good thing is you get a accustomed to the system really face. Definitely a software I would recommend to any start up business and big business that is in the food and beverage industry.
Cons
I was not happy so see that the printer options limit you to use only Epson. Not being able to get an Epson, I use a Bixolon, which is provided in the drop down menu but no options what so ever. Having had said that I am not able to add my logo on the receipts since i can´t configure this within the Lavu software I have no option as to leave the receipt without logo!!
Constant Interruptions
I enjoy the reports and the admin website.
Pros
The software is very easy to use and the reporting system is great.
Cons
We have constant interruptions including but not limited to: data parse errors with the credit card processing company, iPads going down, the admin website going down, drawers locking up and printers going offline, etc. The customer service is mediocre when you can actually reach someone. Don't bother calling in for help, they don't answer the phone.
I used this software for a few years
The non-support from this company is ridiculous
Pros
I did NOT like anything about this software
Cons
This was slow, confusing, the updates were not well telegraphed, I always felt like a "test subject"
This is a great system.
New employees have no problem using it right away. Very intuitive. It makes other super expensive systems like micros and aloha dinosaurs. I had a couple of issues at the beginning but all were easily resolved. Technical support has been great too. I love the backend real time reports and how easy it was to set up and change menu items. My servers are also very happy with poslavu and they love taking orders on iphones. I don't understand any of the bad reviews, I believe the issues must be user error not the system itself. POSLavu is releasing updates all the time and I'm excited to see what else I'll be able to do in the future. I believe this is a great company who is dedicated to improving an already great pos system. I do recommend getting a Mac mini local server.
We so regret the day we heard of Lavu
Lavu is a POS and we dont point of sale
Pros
There is nothing we like about Lavu There is nothing we like about Lavu There is nothing we like about Lavu There is nothing we like about Lavu There is nothing we like about Lavu
Cons
This is the worst decision we have ever made........we have had nothing but problems and customer support is sorry.........Our system has given us problems from day one and the only reason we are still with Lavu is because we paid a year in advance and the crooks wont give us our money back
Response from Hilary
Hi Dennis,
We are so sorry to hear about the issues you've been experiencing. Edgar from our Care team will be reaching out to you today to see if we can find a resolution. We very much appreciate your business and are committed to making things right.
Thank you
Lavu has helped my restaurant reach new heights
Pros: very efficient product.. has only malfunctioned once in the four years that I have been using this product and their customer support helped me resolve the issue in less than an hour
Cons: none to date
Lavu has honestly helped my restaurant become a hit around town. Before I bought this POS system my waitstaff and just overall service was lacking. Lavu has made my restaurant service 10x quicker and has also helped me better track overall trends, which in turn has led to increased sales over the past four years. I highly recommend this system!
Pos for a restaurant.
We have been using the LAVU pos for two years. The pos itself is ok and good for a small-medium size restaurant and hotel.
However, the tech support is horrible and not support you efficiently at all. They are not educated nor trained at all. They also ignorant for a technical matter. All they say is it should be recovered soon. And they hang up your call if you question more than what they can answer. So all they know is "should be backed up soon so wait".
Don't call the service it's waste your time.
Their server is not stable at all. Once in a month at the busiest lunch time, your server would be disconnected. That's what's happening to us. No, support no explanation but they hang up on your call.
Simple Comprehensive POS
POS Lavu has been such an easy transition and very user friendly. It has made it easy to keep track or our products and sales, our employee's love the simplicity of the system. We are a unique industry in the retail space and the staff was very accommodating to make it fit our needs. Would definitely recommend this software. Updates are slow to hit and have had some issues with the card swiper, but yet again their customer service is always there to help.
World-Class Customer Service and Support
Pros
Unparalleled customer service and expert consultants like Josh elevate Lavu POS above the competition.
Cons
Price point for product and services could be more competitive. The start up cost for Lavu POS could deter business owners.
Best Restaurant Software Yet
Pros
-Love the ease of using an iPad
-Size of the icons
-Different color option icons
- Different categories available
-Ease of table organization
-Ease of checkouts
-Very well laid out
-Easy clock-in
Cons
-Hard signing process, customers complained
Lavu POS Review
used to have excellent customer service, but our system went down two days before xmas and we were unable to run credit cards for half the day. second busiest day since july. Couldn't enter tips that day either.
and i tried calling them 3 times that night, plus an email. their chat hasn't worked in months.
4 days later I still have not heard from them
Pros
i don't remember why I chose them over the three other ones I tried a couple of years ago.
I think because I could use my own credit card processor.
But its easy enough to use for the features that i use which are basic operation of cash register
it is intuitive and takes little training
Cons
things go wrong, the printer drops offline a lot and needs help getting back. sometimes its the wifi that reconfigures to a different wifi, sometimes the printer just randomly stops working.
I can't use the staff scheduling because they insist that work week starts on sunday, yet that is halfway through the weekend. our schedule and pay period run monday- sunday
but I am now looking for a system that can organize cake orders for a week or a month after the order is taken, which most systems don't do.
Also they said that my gift cards would integrate, but they did not
The Best POS System
I absolutely love the point of sale system. Helps to be able to take orders from customers and send the order to the kitchen from the table. Then you can move on to the next table. It is so easy to learn and use. I like that you can go into the backside of the program and check your sales for the day, your amount of hours that you worked for the week and also what your own statistics are for tables waited on, amount of food you sold and what the prices of everything are. It is so Awesome!
Pros
Easy to use, easy to set up and it is self-explanatory. You can go into the backside of the program and checks your sales for the day, how many customers you yourself have waited on.
Cons
Not much about the software that I didn't like. Sometimes though I would have a hard time getting connected on my Ipad.
Disappointing
After using this system and growing our brand new business after 8 months I can honestly say it is the worst system I have operating between 7 locations I am involved with.
It started off ok although challenging and difficult. But after getting though the kinks it was almost ok because their tech support team could help a lot. That was until they subbed out their tech support late Jan to India. Now it’s a disaster. Over 100 hours spent online fixing stuff, sitting on hold and zero supervisor call backs. Hundreds of dollars in gift cards sold only to have hundreds of them lost in sales that don’t work on the system and tech support knows less then I do. Over the past 6 weeks I Personally have over 50 hours logged online on hold and on the computer trying to make stuff work that is failing. Explain to me how another restaurants menu has made its way into my force modifiers optional, optional modifiers, and modifier groups that I never created. I am a craft beer and craft burger location. All of a sudden I have a Mexican menu inserted into my options causing my staff nothing about problems and disasters in the middle of dinner service. Their answer is I must’ve given my passWord out. This makes zero sense to me.
Stay far away from the system. They even remove the review section from their Facebook page
Pros
It was a fairly inexpensive system with full wireless operations options for a 15,000 sq ft location on a tight budget.
Cons
Customer service tech support after 6 months.
Response from Lavu
Jamie, we apologize for any trouble or inconvenience you may have experienced. Our records show our support team has been working with you to resolve your issues. Please feel free to contact our support team at 855-528-8457 and one of our team members would be glad to assist you with any other issues you are having.
Shutting Down During Peak Times
Pros
I like the simple interface, it is easy to use and simple to implement
Cons
99% of the time the software works well however we have had consistent problems with the system going offline in the middle of very busy nights. We will have a restaurant full of people 30+ tables with open orders and the system completely stops working (it always happens at peak times when we should be making the most money when we are the busiest, they have not invested enough to function at the scale they are selling for). Servers cannot send orders to the kitchen, we cannot run cards, servers loose track of what the final cost of the bill is for the customers and what their order is. The 1% of the time when Lavu goes offline has irreversible damage to our business. It creates chaos among staff members, it disrupts our reputation as a legit business and damages our relationship with our customers, and it causes us to loose money on tickets that do not get rang in right or when we have to jot down credit card numbers instead of running them to learn the card is no good once Lavu is back online. This has happened to us at least 8-9 times in the 1 year we have had LAVU. Not only is it unacceptable for this to ever happen but we do not get any compensation for our trouble or loss of income and the Lavu team will not return our calls or explain what is happening or reassure us that it wont happen again. There is no backup plan or support on help coming. Unfortunately I feel we are going to have to look for something else.
Response from Lavu
Thank you for your review, Jennifer. We hear what you're saying and we are working diligently to bring offline mode to our customers by late July. We know that the downtime is unacceptable and we appreciate your patience with us. The Lavu Team.
Saves us time and money, works great for us!
I started using Lavu Point of Sale about 2 years ago. Before switching to the system we were using paper tickets, I didn't realize how inefficient this really was until I made the switch to an electronic system. Not only are we now spending less time managing each order, accuracy has gone up, and my shrinkage has gone down. The kitchen is only allowed to make items that are rung into the system and print out which has help cut down on theft or giving items away. The biggest time savings is getting the customers checked out. Previously during our lunch rush we would have a line of people waiting to pay and leave, now we are able to handle them as they come up to the counter since everything is already totaled up in the system.
Another big help has been the ability to use iPods to take orders at the table. We usually have a rush after church on Sundays, sometimes a line at the door. Before my servers had to go to the table, take the order, then take the ticket back to the kitchen. Now my servers go to the table, take the order, hit send and it prints in the kitchen. Then they can go straight to the next table. Anything we can do to speed up the time it takes to turn a table is a plus.
The amount of features that have been added in the last couple years has been amazing, it's nice to see that they are actively working on the software. The biggest thing for us has been the addition of 'always offline mode'. You just use the system and the orders go to the cloud in the background. When we first got setup we had some issues with the internet which interfered with using the system. They offered us a local server option but I did not want to install more hardware. While my internet situation was much improved by switching from DSL to cable I always worried that my connection going out could be a possibility. With the new version (3.0.3) the system keeps working even if my internet connection were to go out.
The Lavu POS software has worked great for us and I highly recommend it.
UNBELIEVABLE!!!
But wait there's more! How about the fact that the kitchen printer prints two checks, that no one can seem to fix. Not only does it waste an enormous amount of paper but it is confusing as the checks are not identical and it blows through a ribbon in 3 or four days!
Occasionally it will resend an order back yo the kitchen that has already been made, etc...
The is no individual item printer assignment either which means that you have to send an entire category instead of just one item to a screen or printer.
Pros
The iPhone app. Really nothing else, really.
Cons
WOW! Where do I begin? Should I start with how they outright lied to me to make the sale? How about sending a completely incompetent tech support personnel company to help me with my network? Maybe I should start with the fact that they billed me today for Quickbooks integration that I DON'T EVEN HAVE!
Let's start with the outright misrepresentation of their product. I specifically asked if they had online ordering and I was told yes we do. After I had purchased the system and went to set it up I asked "Well how do I set up the credit card integration for the online ordering?" Then I was told "Oh we have online ordering but we don't have online payment" WHAT!!? This is 2017 not 1999 what do you mean you don't have online payment? "We had a problem with it and had to take it off line, we should have it back up by Nov."
Well today is 08-21-2018 and guess what I still don't have? You got it - online payment.
Response from Lavu
Hi John,
We are very sorry to hear about the problems you are experiencing. I will have someone from our care team look into this and get back to you as soon as possible.
Thank you
Online all inclusive restaurant POS
There is an open ended API for other application integration, but we are not savvy enough to do this ourselves. It would be great if there were more companies and different aspects of integration on the back end for more high end analytics and functionality. (IE: Quickbooks, Simple Order, Etc.).
Pros
Very versatile and easy to use. Easy to make modifications and adjustments within the system and customize to our specific operation.
Cons
Sometimes connection of iPads can be a little shotty as it goes for the order takers communicating with LAVU KDS, and it has been hard to get the problem fully resolved, but it only creates a mild irritant and not a full distraction from the overall business.
The worst cuatomer service
Very very bad.
Pros
Always someone answer it in india
They always take the notes of problem and promiss someo e will call you. Nobody ever calls
Cons
I had 3 different tickets of issues with lavu one was about chipreaders that they send it and themselve couldnot activate it. all i got was that someone will call me soon and after 2 months all i had was excuses and the person who was supposed to call never did. Now they are saying that i cant return the items because it passed the 3p days even though it was never ooend or used. The raise the price without letting me know or get my approval ( apparently they send an email whicb is proabably still in my spam folder ) and charge my auto pay 5 times more than what originally were supposed to do. After i complain the shut down the system and refuse to give me the information i needed to do payroll and tip calculation.
The worst pos company. Do not buy this junk
Response from Lavu
Armond, we are very sorry to hear about the issues you are having. We strive to have the best customer service and provide a great experience for all of our users. Please reach out to our support team at at 855-528-8457 and one of our team members will be glad to help you out with any issues that you are having.
Alaska Businesses Beware
Feeling frustrated and unheard
Pros
I like the iPads to send tickets to the cook and track sales
Cons
After two years of using the POS system, they still have not corrected the payroll setting s for OT as per Alaska Law. It has been reported over and over again for 2 years, yet we continue to receive automated msgs that they are working to resolve the issue. If you own a business in Alaska, I can guarantee that you are paying too much in OT . If you are an Alaskan owner relying on a manager to trust your payroll settings you had better check this yourself.
Response from Lavu
Thank you for your review. We appreciate the feedback and we're sorry to hear that you're experiencing frustration. Your review has been shared with our product team to make sure they are aware of the ongoing issue. We value you as a customer and will do our best to resolve the problem. The Lavu Team.
We're a high volume craft beer bar. It can start tabs. It works for now. If the complaint list keeps growing, we'll have to switch. It works fine, but when it doesn't work, it totally halts service.