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    Overview
    ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price

    Lightspeed Retail

    Score9.2 out of 10
    N/ALightspeed Retail is a retail PoS system from Lightspeed headquartered in Quebec. Core retail POS features are expanded on higher service tiers with ecommerce option and payments gateway, an accounting system, and a customer loyalty program.N/A

    MBS POS

    N/AN/AMBS POS is an in-store point-of-sale for bookstores designed to optimize efficiency and help users better serve customers with quicker transactions. The MBS POS allows personnel to provide a customer-focused experience from the moment shoppers step into your store. MBS was acquired and is now supported by Barnes & Noble Education (February 2017).N/A

    AccountEdge

    Score8 out of 10
    Small Businesses (1-50 employees)
    AccountEdge is a small business accounting software for Mac and Windows users. AccountEdge allows business owners to organize, process, and report on their financial information. Its features include accounting, integrated payroll, sales and purchases, contact management, inventory, and time billing. It was acquired by Priority Software in January 2018 to expand that company's small business portfolio.

    $20

    per month

    Pricing
    Lightspeed RetailMBS POSAccountEdge
    Editions & Modules
    Basic
    $79.00 ($69.00)
    per month (when billed annually)
    Starter
    $119.00 ($99.00)
    per month (when billed annually)
    Standard
    $139.00 ($119.00)
    per month (when billed annually)
    Advanced
    $189.00 ($169.00)
    per month (when billed annually)
    Pro
    $259.00 ($229.00)
    per month (when billed annually)
    Enterprise
    Contact Sales
    No answers on this topic
    AccountEdge Pro
    $20
    per month
    AccountEdge Network Edition
    $30
    per month
    AccountEdge Hosted
    $50
    per month
    Offerings
    Pricing Offerings
    Lightspeed RetailMBS POSAccountEdge
    Free Trial
    NoNoYes
    Free/Freemium Version
    NoNoNo
    Premium Consulting/Integration Services
    NoNoYes
    Entry-level Setup FeeNo setup feeNo setup feeNo setup fee
    Additional Details
    More Pricing Information
    Community Pulse
    Lightspeed RetailMBS POSAccountEdge
    Considered Multiple Products
    Lightspeed
    Chose Lightspeed Retail
    Lightspeed is faster, sleeker and more modern than our previous POS system. I can’t express enough how easy the online store portion of Lightspeed is - it just intuitive and sometimes, is TOO easy, I feel like I have to be forgetting something. Lightspeed is staying modern and …
    Incentivized
    Barnes & Noble Education
    No answer on this topic
    Priority Software
    No answer on this topic
    Key User Insights
    Would buy again
    60%
    Would buy again
    6 Answers
    No answers on this topic
    No answers on this topic
    Delivers good value for the price
    70%
    Delivers good value for the price
    7 Answers
    No answers on this topic
    No answers on this topic
    Happy with the feature set
    70%
    Happy with the feature set
    7 Answers
    No answers on this topic
    No answers on this topic
    Lived up to sales and marketing promises
    70%
    Lived up to sales and marketing promises
    7 Answers
    No answers on this topic
    No answers on this topic
    Implementation went as expected
    80%
    Implementation went as expected
    8 Answers
    No answers on this topic
    No answers on this topic
    Features
    Lightspeed RetailMBS POSAccountEdge
    Payroll Management
    Comparison of Payroll Management features of Lightspeed Retail and MBS POS and AccountEdge
    Feature
    Lightspeed Retail
    -
    Ratings
    MBS POS
    -
    Ratings
    AccountEdge
    6.6
    6 Ratings
    14% below category average
    Pay calculation00 Ratings00 Ratings10.06 Ratings
    Benefit plan administration00 Ratings00 Ratings8.04 Ratings
    Direct deposit files00 Ratings00 Ratings5.04 Ratings
    Salary revision and increment management00 Ratings00 Ratings6.05 Ratings
    Reimbursement management00 Ratings00 Ratings4.03 Ratings
    Security
    Comparison of Security features of Lightspeed Retail and MBS POS and AccountEdge
    Feature
    Lightspeed Retail
    -
    Ratings
    MBS POS
    -
    Ratings
    AccountEdge
    9.0
    7 Ratings
    10% above category average
    Role-based user permissions00 Ratings00 Ratings9.07 Ratings
    Reporting & Analytics
    Comparison of Reporting & Analytics features of Lightspeed Retail and MBS POS and AccountEdge
    Feature
    Lightspeed Retail
    -
    Ratings
    MBS POS
    -
    Ratings
    AccountEdge
    9.0
    7 Ratings
    14% above category average
    Dashboards00 Ratings00 Ratings9.04 Ratings
    Standard reports00 Ratings00 Ratings9.07 Ratings
    Custom reports00 Ratings00 Ratings9.06 Ratings
    General Ledger and Configurable Accounting
    Comparison of General Ledger and Configurable Accounting features of Lightspeed Retail and MBS POS and AccountEdge
    Feature
    Lightspeed Retail
    -
    Ratings
    MBS POS
    -
    Ratings
    AccountEdge
    7.2
    8 Ratings
    6% below category average
    Accounts payable00 Ratings00 Ratings9.08 Ratings
    Accounts receivable00 Ratings00 Ratings9.08 Ratings
    Cash management00 Ratings00 Ratings8.12 Ratings
    Bank reconciliation00 Ratings00 Ratings6.08 Ratings
    Expense management00 Ratings00 Ratings6.06 Ratings
    Time tracking00 Ratings00 Ratings6.04 Ratings
    Multi-currency support00 Ratings00 Ratings9.03 Ratings
    Multi-division support00 Ratings00 Ratings9.02 Ratings
    Regulations compliance00 Ratings00 Ratings7.02 Ratings
    Electronic tax filing00 Ratings00 Ratings7.04 Ratings
    Self-service portal00 Ratings00 Ratings2.71 Ratings
    Inventory Management
    Comparison of Inventory Management features of Lightspeed Retail and MBS POS and AccountEdge
    Feature
    Lightspeed Retail
    -
    Ratings
    MBS POS
    -
    Ratings
    AccountEdge
    8.0
    6 Ratings
    9% above category average
    Inventory tracking00 Ratings00 Ratings8.06 Ratings
    Automatic reordering00 Ratings00 Ratings8.01 Ratings
    Location management00 Ratings00 Ratings8.03 Ratings
    Manufacturing module00 Ratings00 Ratings8.02 Ratings
    Order Management
    Comparison of Order Management features of Lightspeed Retail and MBS POS and AccountEdge
    Feature
    Lightspeed Retail
    -
    Ratings
    MBS POS
    -
    Ratings
    AccountEdge
    8.0
    7 Ratings
    8% above category average
    Pricing00 Ratings00 Ratings8.05 Ratings
    Order entry00 Ratings00 Ratings9.05 Ratings
    Credit card processing00 Ratings00 Ratings6.05 Ratings
    Cost of goods sold00 Ratings00 Ratings9.06 Ratings
    Customization
    Comparison of Customization features of Lightspeed Retail and MBS POS and AccountEdge
    Feature
    Lightspeed Retail
    -
    Ratings
    MBS POS
    -
    Ratings
    AccountEdge
    5.0
    3 Ratings
    41% below category average
    Plug-ins00 Ratings00 Ratings5.03 Ratings
    Best Alternatives
    Lightspeed RetailMBS POSAccountEdge
    Small Businesses
    Square POS
    Score9 out of 10
    Square POS
    Score9 out of 10
    QuickBooks Self-Employed (discontinued)
    Score4.3 out of 10
    Medium-sized Companies
    No answers on this topic
    No answers on this topic
    MYOB
    Score8.3 out of 10
    Enterprises
    No answers on this topic
    No answers on this topic
    Microsoft Dynamics GP
    Score5.3 out of 10
    All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
    User Ratings
    Lightspeed RetailMBS POSAccountEdge
    Likelihood to Recommend
    9.5
    (15 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    6.0
    (18 ratings)
    Likelihood to Renew
    -
    (0 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    8.8
    (10 ratings)
    Usability
    9.5
    (3 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    9.0
    (3 ratings)
    Availability
    -
    (0 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    9.1
    (1 ratings)
    Support Rating
    9.8
    (4 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    9.0
    (3 ratings)
    Implementation Rating
    -
    (0 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    7.0
    (1 ratings)
    User Testimonials
    Lightspeed RetailMBS POSAccountEdge
    Likelihood to Recommend
    Lightspeed
    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
    Read full review
    Barnes & Noble Education
    No answers on this topic
    Priority Software
    If you are handling a large client list, and are selling services, it is dead easy. If you are managing/selling a physical inventory, it seems like it has great options to do that quite well (disclaimer, I do not use those functions, but I have paid attention as that functionality was built into the software). If you want to link your bank account to a bookkeeping platform, this is not the software for you (at least so far).
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Pros
    Lightspeed
    • Lightspeed Retail has great reports that are very easy to read and understand.
    • Lightspeed Retail is great to train new employees on because of its ease of use. There are not lots of different things that you have to learn just basics.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Barnes & Noble Education
    No answers on this topic
    Priority Software
    • AccountEdge has a robust report menu that allows a user to slice and dice data for analysis. Report on projects for the life of the project across fiscal years. Report on different departments with segregated income statements.
    • For users who want to run payroll in house that is easily done through the payroll module. Print physical checks or direct deposit to employee's account, process payroll taxes and file year end W2s.
    • My personal favorites are time billing and retainers. As a service based business I can at my fingertips review how much money a client has on deposit with me and how much of that will be billed out at the end of the month. The integration with AccountEdge Mobile rounds it all out with being able to log my time on-site.
    • Last but not least AccountEdge Mobile in general, as the companion app for the desktop software is invaluable. My heaviest use is the spend money feature. Excellent for logging travel receipts & cash expenses while they are fresh on the brain. Really cuts back the data entry at the end of a trip and trying to recall what something may have been for.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Cons
    Lightspeed
    • With a larger SKU assortment size, the software really starts to struggle with doing physical inventory after scanning in a few hundred items.
    • Several times throughout each year Lightspeed went down on us (not our internet connection but actually Lightspeed verified).
    • Special order system could use a lot of modern improvements (ability to schedule ahead of time, etc.)
    • Reports are very basic, and will likely require there Lightspeed Analytics to actually get reports useful for day to day operations.
    • Weak system for receiving purchase orders.
    • Does not handle items and cases for reordering very well. Have used multiple Point of Sale systems in the past 10 years that allow to set reorder points based on single items, but reorder the case automatically, Lightspeed has no support for this.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Barnes & Noble Education
    No answers on this topic
    Priority Software
    • My biggest frustration, and one that I've mentioned to Acclivity for many years, is that it only permits opening nine windows at a time (plus the home window). I hit that limit almost daily, and then I have to decide what do I close so I can complete the transaction that needed the "9th" window.
    • The Accounts section includes two quick reports, "Analyze Profit and Loss" and "Analyze Balance Sheet. These can be filtered for the current month or any prior month in the current fiscal year. And that's fine most of the year, but at the beginning of the next year, when I haven't yet started the new fiscal year, these only go to December of the prior year. The regular reports for these can select "next year;" why can't these?
    • It would be helpful if the journal entry number would have one or two additional digits available. For example, when I am entering journal entries for a client, I would like to use a number such as CPA2014001, CPA2014002, etc. to distinguish what I enter from the "automatic" entries that AccountEdge does. But that's one more digit than AccountEdge allows, so if I had over 100 adjustments, I would run out of entry numbers.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Likelihood to Renew
    Lightspeed
    No answers on this topic
    Barnes & Noble Education
    No answers on this topic
    Priority Software
    Without a doubt, when you need to do accounting use the program that will get the job done in the least amount of time with the least amount of errors. Once you are using a program that works you stay with it year after year and you will find yourself even excited about the updates
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Usability
    Lightspeed
    Simply well designed with obvious icons per component, making it easy to interface with.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Barnes & Noble Education
    No answers on this topic
    Priority Software
    The intuitive interface does all the tasks we need our accounting software to do. Some tasks are slower to process than I would like but overall very usable. Customizable forms let us choose to either go with the easy ready-made out-of-the-box options or retool them to better fit our specific needs.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Reliability and Availability
    Lightspeed
    No answers on this topic
    Barnes & Noble Education
    No answers on this topic
    Priority Software
    One of the finer advantages of desktop software, it's always available. AccountEdge doesn't suffer from outages or sluggish internet like web based applications do. It's always there when you power on your device!
    Incentivized
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    Support Rating
    Lightspeed
    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
    Read full review
    Barnes & Noble Education
    No answers on this topic
    Priority Software
    On the few occasions we have needed tech support over the years, they were responsive and worked to get to the root of the issues. However, even though Checkout POS is a separate application, it was pitched to us as a natural extension of the functionality of our AE software that would integrate seamlessly. The company's support for Checkout has been minimal at best, and now totally abandoned. That colors our view of Priority's support unfortunately. And to be honest, that's why it's a 9 instead of a 10. So to be fair, AccountEdge's support itself has been very good over the years.
    Incentivized
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    Implementation Rating
    Lightspeed
    No answers on this topic
    Barnes & Noble Education
    No answers on this topic
    Priority Software
    unfortunately no.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Alternatives Considered
    Lightspeed
    Lightspeed is faster, sleeker and more modern than our previous POS system. I can’t express enough how easy the online store portion of Lightspeed is - it just intuitive and sometimes, is TOO easy, I feel like I have to be forgetting something. Lightspeed is staying modern and current where our previous POS was not
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Barnes & Noble Education
    No answers on this topic
    Priority Software
    For Mac enthusiasts, AccountEdge is the complete installed software solution for small to medium-sized businesses, as it has so many capabilities that QuickBooks for Mac lacks. However, it holds your hand less than QuickBooks for Mac does, so you ought to know what your are doing in keeping business books properly. If your needs are simple, QuickBooks for Mac may be a better solution. QuickBooks Online and Xero are excellent cloud accounting solutions that can be used on the Mac equally well as on Windows. QuickBooks Online offers a similar set of features as QuickBooks for Mac, with the addition of anywhere, anytime access. Xero is a great basic accounting solution in the cloud that can also be used equally well on Macs and WIndows, and offers endless customization and flexibility through its extensive third-party app integration for almost any need.
    Read full review
    Return on Investment
    Lightspeed
    • Certainly has saved money on cash-outs/ accounting due to QuickBooks integration.
    • Faster processing through tills means happier customers and more sales per hour.
    • Expensive product at $5K a year has taken away some profitability for this small business. It's way, way over priced.
    Read full review
    Barnes & Noble Education
    No answers on this topic
    Priority Software
    • Increased employee efficiency - Time is no longer spent switching between programs because all of the information can be found in one place.
    • Customer service has also improved because employees find the program much easier to use, even at the point of sale.
    • Better record keeping - AccountEdge has a very simple invoicing application that allows us to keep track of and balance our accounts.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    ScreenShots

    AccountEdge Screenshots

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