Vend Reviews

absolutely love the ease of use of Vend. While I myself am rather technologically literate, some of my employees are not. However, because of how easy Vend is to use, they picked up on how to use it within an hour. I do also love the cloud services and their ability to keep running even through an internet outage. I did like that I had the ability to try out the product before purchasing. I realized within minutes that I preferred it so much more than my previous POS system. My favorite aspects are the value and price. You seem to get so much product at such a cheaper price than its competitors. I also liked that we could use our existing cash drawer and receipt printer with Vend. The loyalty dollars option is not something we currently use, but it is nice to know that we could always opt-in.

Even though I use Google Chrome as my daily web browser, I am not fond of the fact that this is the only browser that works with Vend. If an update breaks Chrome, then I am left without a POS system. I’m hoping that they fix this and allow other browsers to work with the system. I also do not like the fact that I have to pay an additional cost for Premium Phone Support. If I am paying for your product, I should have support that is available at the highest level and available when I need it. Sometimes, something is so important that it can’t wait for an email support response. This is something that definitely needs fixing.

I spent several months reviewing POS to replace our existing system---being cloud based and integrating with Shopify were absolute musts. I had narrowed it down to two, Vend being one. Since we are a non-profit they gave us a discount, which clinched the deal, but Vend also had acouple features we liked that the other one didn't. Once it was approved, I spent a month or so converting all of our products (about 3000), customers (over 3000) and vendors (a few hundred) into the new system, using CSV files, as well as changing the way departments and categories worked----much more closely to how we operate than our old system allowed. Five days after we went live, I went on a ten day vacation to Europe. All my employees said it was really easy to learn and navigate (and the few questions they had were quickly answered by their 24/7 help). They're are always making improvements and updates.

Their e-commerce platform comes as part of our package, but at the time we signed up (two years ago), it was still pretty plain, so we're still paying for a separate Shopify account (it integrates quite well with Shopify, so I haven't been in a hurry to switch over anyway). At some point I'll probably take a closer look and see if switching over makes sense.

Video and text tutorials are first rate to help start new staff and keep up with areas of growth, like how to do a store credit or introducing gift cards.
Updates to features are added regularly.
The front screen is easily understood and the ability to add preset SKU buttons to the screen or folders on the screen is easy. The adaptability of what we have as a cafe sell screen versus the boutique shop versus our department stores sell screens
PC, iPad or mobile device usability.

The customer needs to know how to do a product family tree and then set the Types and Tags correctly so that the reporting functions can give data that is segregated correctly.
The Lay-by function acts differently than other software functions. (Sales are not added to the date it is paid off, maybe 2 months later, which means completed sales are understated during the Lay-by period)
There is no method for importing costs within the system. Costs have to added together outside (cost of good, freight, charges, fuel surcharge, import duties, etc.) and then migrated with the receiving function.
We found that our iPad's slow down considerably and we are constantly restarting them, trying to look for and run updates, checking for errored sales, running them through the App Store rather than from the App icon on the desktop.
The sales ledger cannot export for analysis a full days trading with 300 sale transactions.
Reports export as .csv files but won't export well to .xml Need to use Open Office spreadsheet for best and most reliable file integrity.
The Price Book function is limited to two or more identical SKU's (2 of same chocolate block) not product categories (2 types of chocolate block)

The software is easy to use and incredibly user friendly, and is consistently being updated with new features and improvements to old ones. It offers a full-scope inventory management experience. It makes it easy for us to take our shop on the go, as we sell at numerous trade shows and conventions.

There are still some features missing, or which I would term incomplete, but as Vend is relatively new and the team is constantly working on releasing updates, I have every confidence that these are cases where it is just a matter of time. It is somewhat frustrating at times that there are some issues where internet connectivity issues can cause hiccups in the system that then need to be fixed on the back end by support, but these are few and far between.

It's a very intuitive program for staff to use...accross our 7 locations staff was able to learn and use the program immediately

setting up the sell screen, buttons, keys and departments was easy to do with the help of the online tutorials and some tips from customer service, as well price changes and new products are easily added and adjusted.

the real time information that I am able to easily access at my office to see what's going on is great....i am able to compare outlets performance side by side

I was able to, relatively easily, import a large data base of existing gift certificates to use on the new system...

There is some information/data that i would like to be able to be put in a report/receipt , that function is currently unavailable...discount reports and the gift certificate number showing on the purchase receipt...

we have had some hiccups with the bluetooth connections with the printers

and some problems with speed and button response, but did find that updates tended to fix that problem...

wish there was a way to access my stores through my phone, perhaps by an administrator app of some kind...

I LOVE the fact that I can see a photo of the product, since my DIY store is very visually based. I like that it is so easy to add or delete users. This helps when I have staff change and I have to take off employees to add new ones.
I am a very organized person, so the folders really help, along with the color coding of each folder as well.

I would really like to have more features for the Admin position. I would like to be able to customize the features for what an Admin position would be. I want my manager to be able to add products and be able to do inventory. Also it would be really nice to be able to void out a transaction that has been closed if a mistake was done, but it seems like I have to refund the items first. Sometimes, customers just decide they don't want to do a project after we have done the transaction. It's rare, but it happens.

For our retail clothing business, we have been using Vend POS in our shop to manage inventory and run in-store sales. The integrations we rely on are Shopify for e-commerce as well as Xero for accounting. Vend POS has been a generally pleasant experience and they have improved the web-based POS platform tremendously over the course of the past five years and continue to do so. The Vend Register iPad app allows for simple commerce with an integrated credit card processor solution. The Vend web-based UI allows us to add and manage inventory with relative ease. Vend is a flexible POS solution that is used by foodservice, construction, and all kkinds of industries. Their variant setup is flexible enough to handle different types of products. The reporting suite is fantastic and allows us to analyze actionable data to make good decisions.

There have been various bugs, issues, and UI inconveniences over the years. Generally customer support is very responsive to tickets we create however it is usually a long turnaround to actually address any software improvements we have asked to be made.

I like that you can do everything on Excel as I have very good knowledge of excel and CSV file format. As I upload files nearly every day, as our shoes change daily.
Works with Sku well.

Pricey. Someone who does not know excel well he is in trouble unless he sells the same products forever. No manual provided so no employees cannot look up something they have never done before. Adding products takes for ever as you have click edit to do it. Loss prevention if you add someone on manager role, he or she can steal cash after a sale and receipt given to customer as they can undo cash transaction with no record. I lost several 100 dollars before I discovered this on camera. So now all my employees are cashiers only.

We very much appreciated how easy it was to configure the software to our business and product lines. It is very easy to use and train new employees. We very much enjoyed being able to see live activity and reports on our mobile phones while traveling abroad. The barcode functionality was simple and easy to adapt.

The system wasn't scalable. Inventory management tools such as analysis for trends, seasonality, and forecasting was a very week or nonexistent. Also, Vend cannot process special orders or post customer deposits and that becomes an important feature to us as our business grew.

It integrates the online and retail inventory at the same time. Like the basic website template and all that you can do to make it look like a real website with other information besides a shopping cart!

Does not support coupon codes! Thought about leaving Vend POS several times because of this problem.

It's easy to set up, easy to use and intuitive (even for some of my more tech-challenged staff), and perfect for a small-to-medium retail operation. It handles multiple outlets easily, as well as our wholesale business, and we're about to begin using the Vend eCommerce platform for our online store. And the price is very reasonable, which is one of the reasons it's such a good solution for a smaller business.

It can be difficult to find hardware that works with Vend. For example, we purchased the label maker that Vend recommends, and it was cheap and awful and broke twice before we decided to use something better. Unfortunately, Vend doesn't talk to that label printer, so our IT genius created a workaround that gets the job done. There are also some functions that Vend doesn't have yet (a single report that shows sales AND current inventory on one screen, for example, and better reporting for sales tax purposes) but we've always been able to work around these gaps, and Vend seems to be constantly updating and adding functionality.

Works, up and running 97% of the time as needed. I am a small seasonal retail business. Being charged for each register AND each location. I place my account on ICE during the "off" season. To get into the account and look at any reporting for future orders, etc you must continue to pay the normal fee for all registers and locations. Even if you need 1 report that would take 90 seconds to generate you will be charged the entire month which my account cost me $1,650 per month. This is the reason why I placed my account on ICE during the off season. Everyone you will come in contact with within Vend is LESS than forgiving and they are after every penny they can squeeze out of you... I WAS a customer with Vend for 5 years... They made plenty off me, and now I can't get a simple report so I can order the items needed for the next season... Switched to Square and now it only costs me $60 per month, huge savings!

Always having to send an email for questions/help and sometimes it takes DAYS to get a response.

The inventory management setup has been great--I can edit individual items on the go, or download and edit larger portions of my inventory through a spreadsheet if needed. Having photos of my items has been helpful to me and my staff. Also, being able to track customers' info, credit, and loyalty has been beneficial to tailoring their shopping experience.

It's not very easy to reach someone via phone, but there are help tutorials made up and available online, and I can also submit a help ticket when needed.

I can't recall a business impacting technical problems with the system. It worked flawlessly for us.
Support was quite efficient although remote (NZ). It is very easy to implement and operate and works from everywhere.

Specifically weak in the domain of Layby sales. Can't get a good report on how much sales are pending delivery, length of layby sales (alerts on long pending sales), closure of layby sales are only showing on the day they were originally booked without ad hoc indication. Also missing push reports. We'd love to have a daily report pushed to management by email.

Ease of use, cloud based for remote sales and access as admin. Simplicity in design and development. iOS based applications allow for quick learning at all levels from tech novice to advanced. The reporting is powerful, flexible, and captures financials and inventory in an easy to read and understand manner, again for all levels of knowledge and experience. The Products sections simplifies Inventory management in a very visual way, simplifying management and POS interfacing. Vend is constantly developing new applications and integrating processes that advance the power of the software. The notifications of these new apps is easy to read and activate.

I was a bit disappointed in the change of entering a new product, as a keyboard dominant user, the new application slowed the process by removing a few of the tab functions. Slows data entry. Yes, there are still power users out there. :)

Reporting features
Product variants
Dashboard
Self Generating SKU
Layby methods
Customer accounts
I love the gift card concept !

Error Sales

Rigidity in creating new users

Wish the register had a options to limit use more for newer employees not to view all the sales history and to be able to open and close. I think that's more of the store manager's responsibility than everyone being able to do so.

The reports are easily accessible, I like the quick keys for the register, is easy for training. I like the daily sales ledger to show sales by associates and also easy for returns also. Daily totals during the day are nice to see where you are in sales also.

Putting in products and variance are a little confusing. I also think inventory could be easier in the software.

This POS system is easy to use and easy to teach new employees. I love being able to access it from anywhere and being able to get information I need for planning and ordering.

None as of yet. We have been happy. We have had no real issues and anything that has come up has been easily solved.

This software is very user friendly, and makes it extremely easy to enter in new products and keep track of said products.

A fair amount of bugs pop up regarding the new product and stock control sections of the program. There could also be ways to further refine the stock control portion, like making scanned items organize themselves by a specific attribute automatically.

It integrates well with Xero our accounting software. It is very user friendly and easy to learn how to use.

The stock order process is very time consuming and cumbersome. I would like to be able to adjust the date on stock orders, so that it can be matched to the invoice/payment date in the event that the stock order is not received in VEND until after the invoice/payment date. Also it allows you to receive items that have been marked as inactive, it should pop up to make them as active again.
When scanning product through, unless you are watching the screen, you can't tell when a product scans up with an error/bar code not in the system etc, the beep tone needs to be different.
I wish it was integrated with Moneris merchant services.
It would also be nice to be able to have more control over what users have access to more individually.

It is fairly simple to learn and use on a daily basis. It can handle a lot of SKUs. The customer phone support is very good. It integrates with our online store that uses Shopify.

It doesn't sort sales by payment method. We cannot get all of the historical reports that we would like to access. It is not easy to print reports directly from Vend.

Great cost effective software for our retail business. Our associates find it easy to use and has regular updates that are easy to implement.

Needs more enterprise like features for the back-end inventory management. Some more mobile functionality with payment options would be better.

I love the ease of use and user-friendliness. Overall a great program that I definitely recommend to other retailers!

Honestly I just wish that sales could communicate between the Vend program and my Shopify online store that is integrated? Though it's not a big deal as it's very easy to run sales in the online store through Shopify, so it's not the end of the world.

We originally went looking for a full-featured POS software and found them we originally went looking for a full-featured POS software and found VEND. Imagine or surprise to find a cloud-based solution where everything from inventory to reporting is seamless and integrated.

About the only feature it is missing and we wished it had is serial number capability for tracking by item.

I like the use of it adding products and all the intergrations it has. Very easy to setup and use to keep track of things.

Price went up. Big price increase was not pleased.