Lightspeed Retail vs. Maitre'D

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

Maitre'd is probably best suited for smaller chains where recurring monthly expenses need to be reduced and a cloud model is not a fit. It would most likely thrive for companies with 8 or less locations. If deployed to multiple locations, I would recommend having an inhouse IT department familiar with the product or a very reliable reseller because the product can be finicky from time to time.

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.

• Maitre'd allows us to use their Broadcaster module to push product and pricing updates to all five of our regions, simplifying product rollout and updates.
• The program is versatile and allows for integration with loyalty and online ordering systems, however that does require some advanced technical knowledge to properly execute.
• The program is easy to learn from a cashier and management standpoint, new hires can get up to speed quickly which helps minimize required training time and ultimately labor hours.

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 Although their inventory system is robust, it is outdated.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.

• Maitre'D could make better use of pick lists, especially when it comes to the delivery and take-out orders. The interface is out-dated and feels awkward and needlessly cumbersome.
• When a problem (bug) is discovered, I would like to see better and more rapid response from the company.
• Major improvements are slow to happen. I am on the same major version as I started with 7 years ago and I believe there are customers still using the prior version. This seems like too long for a company to allow old versions to live and must force them to support too many different variations. This situation has to detract from the company to develop new and better capabilities.
• Access to raw data is not possible, custom reports are not available. I consider this a major drawback. Entering a lot of new items, or changing a lot of item information is painful. Changes are made item by item, no bulk edits. For example, let's say I want to increase the price of beer by $1 and I have 50 types of beers, I will need to modify 50 individual items, that is easily more than an hour's work.

Incentivized

Simply well designed with obvious icons per component, making it easy to interface with.

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

The sales support and service was the deciding factor for me choosing Maitre'D.

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

• My shop needs a POS to operate efficiently. We are too large to go manual, there would be way too many mistakes. Maitre'D is a good choice for our need.
• The Berg liquor pouring control system has a native interface into Maitre'D and our return on investment was 4 or 5 months.

Incentivized