Key Considerations Before Moving Your Business to Cloud-Based POS2 min read
Many business owners, when they learn about cloud-based technology for their POS systems, they are attracted to the affordability of it. You can get into operating with POS easily and for a very low cost. They expect to have less POS implementation problems, since it runs in a browser, and cloud-based POS operating would mean that staff members would be able to access the POS system from more than the store location. While all of these points are good ones that you can actually count on, there is more to consider, regarding POS cloud-based operating.
Annual Renewal That Increases Each Year
Usually sometime just before your annual renewal date arrives, a sales rep. will contact you to inform you of your price for the service next year. Sometimes the increase is quite significant, too. They will offer reasons for the increase, like new features that they might have added, along with telling you how their costs have risen. You might be able to negotiate them down a tad, but never to the point of any kind of a real deal. And you are forced to go along with upgrades (that increase the cost) and you’re given a couple of weeks to run and diagnose for any problems or weak spots, after which you are on your own.
Monthly Fee Service vs. Leasing
With cloud-based technology, you are actually going to be stuck paying a monthly fee for the rest of eternity. The same money could be applied toward leasing a system, and within a few years, you would own it outright. That means no more money to pay out every month/year, no more draining renegotiating drama, and no more feeling like a prisoner of the POS cloud.
Why Leaving is Hard, and Maybe Impossible
First of all, with all due respect, cloud-based POS computing is not all bad. The problem lies in the fact that everything you do from day one, all your stored data and all the time you have invested in the system is ultimately controlled by them. If you want to access any of it, you’ll have to use their tools, and your level of access will be limited to what they allow you to have. And while this may seem OK, it is a real bummer if you ever decide you want to get all your data so you can use a different option. Now, they will assure you that you can take your data with you at anytime, however there is only some standard type data that remains accessible. The rest of it, like custom or user-defined fields and the data contained therein will be something you will just have to kiss goodbye. For many, it would be akin to starting all over again.
