About Lightspeed Retail












Lightspeed Retail pricing
Lightspeed Retail does not have a free version but does offer a free trial. Lightspeed Retail paid version starts at US$79.00/month.
Alternatives to Lightspeed Retail
Lightspeed Retail Reviews
Feature rating

- Industry: Retail
- Company size: 2–10 Employees
- Used Daily for 1+ year
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Review Source
After Two Years - Lightspeed Remains The Best In All Categories
Lightspeed has literally saved us 20-30 hours per week. It connects and communicates well with all of our other systems; including accounting and loyalty platforms.
Their customer and technical support have been extraordinary and have exceeded our expectations. In fact, I think their technical support is the best not just in the point of sale industry but any industry. I find myself wishing other vendors I work with had the same level of support and professionalism.
Lightspeed also listens to their customers; this is evident by requests made in their support area. They actually respond to every request.
As a small business owner, we worry about many things. Lightspeed is not one of them!
Pros
After two other point of sale systems; and after two years using Lightspeed, it is by far the best in all categories.
We had two previous POS systems that fell short in comparison to Lightspeed. Part of our success with Lightspeed is that after two previous point of sale systems; we knew what we really needed and the right questions to ask during the sales process. We submitted specific questions in writing. All of our questions we answered in detail in less than 24-Hours. The sales team knows their products and knew my industry. In fact, most of our distributors catalogs are already pre-loaded into their system.
The transition from our other popular POS was relatively easy, especially in comparison to our previous transition. The Lightspeed team was always there to help and even anticipated needs before I knew them. The inventory system and purchase order system work well.
Cons
The only limitation we have with Lightspeed in related to the fact that we sell a lot of items by weight. This does not create a significant problem for us; but having bulk items accounted for in inventory would be a nice to have. We would love an integrated scale capability. The Lightspeed team was more than willing to help us set up our system to sell bulk items; it works better than another other POS we looked at.
- Industry: Retail
- Company size: 2–10 Employees
- Used Daily for 2+ years
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Review Source
A great all-inclusive system
Our industry was using a server-based software which was cumbersome and VERY outdated. Switching to Lightspeed has allowed me to more easily fulfil online orders, process transactions remotely, and communicate with our customer base more effectively.
Pros
Integration across POS, eCommerce, Accounting, Data Analytics is excellent. We have been able to increase both sales and efficiency with this system. The accounting feature and its daily export to QuickBooks allows me to spend only a few minutes each day keeping books up to date. It certainly makes year-end a breeze. Lightspeed Analytics is an invaluable resource for forecasting and identifying areas of opportunity. Customer support is available 24/7 and if they aren't able to answer my question immediately, I have received a timely follow-up within a day or two.
Cons
There are some work-arounds that I have implemented. It would be nice to have the option for recurring billing and serial number tracking (not just adding a serial number to an item) as well as a better protocol for backordered items on Purchase Orders.
Alternatives Considered
Rain POSReasons for Choosing Lightspeed Retail
Easy choice. Transitioning from a local server based software to a cloud based system was the first priority. After seeing what else Lightspeed had to offer, I immediately made the change.Switched From
AIMReasons for Switching to Lightspeed Retail
When I was ready to purchase Rain, the sales team kept putting me off time and time again. If that was indicative of their customer service, I knew it wouldn't be the right fit for me.- Industry: Retail
- Company size: 2–10 Employees
- Used Daily for 2+ years
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Review Source
Connectivity
Pros
Originally, ease of use. Now is not the case.
Cons
We have had Shopkeep/Lightspeed for 9 years. It does not make doing inventory easy at all. We have nothing bur problems with the chip reader/swiper, continuously disconnects. Cannot make sales. Have spent many calls to fix, they make us buy new card readers every time. Also multiple problems with scanners not working! Problem has not been resolved in 9 years! Our other stores using another POS does not have these problems. Looking to switch.
- Industry: Retail
- Company size: 2–10 Employees
- Used Daily for 2+ years
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Review Source
Customizable POS solution
Overall Lightspeed has been a pleasant experience. Pricing is affordable for small business. Some bug fixes, and added features are slow to come to fruition. Integrated vendor catalogues save a tonne of time.
Pros
Ease of implementation Multi location abilityPortabilityLinks to e-commerce optionAbility to use multiple terminals to access data and input sales/work orders/purchase orders etc over cloud
Cons
Lacking in some reporting function, is available at added costNew fee structure for users not interested in Lightspeed payments
- Industry: Apparel & Fashion
- Company size: 11–50 Employees
- Used Daily for 1+ year
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Review Source
Packs some punch among the punchless
We are a 40 year Brick and Mortar AND E-commerce company that carries 1000s of unique skus. Needing a software that is heavier than just the POS is essential. Inventory management and the ability to integrate with E-commerce was a non-negotiable for my next POS.
Lightspeed does have some frequent, mostly minor bugs, it is nice that they constantly update and enhance their program. There often seems to be a disconnect between software designers and the retail experience, but this program bridges the data management needed to go with the point of sale functionality.
Product management has been efficient. Customer service has been very helpful via telephone or chat and are always available which is nice. Even better, the amounts of time to need to contact customer service is minimal. After one year of use, I can say I use this program with confidence and I believe it packs the punch needed to handle scale.
Pros
Customer Support is included and accessible
Intuitive
Useful for heavy amounts of inventory
Cloud Based
Accessible via multiple operating systems
Integrated with Cayan for seamless transition from my previous POS
Has extensions that enable enhanced reporting, loyalty and ecommerce integration
Updates are included
Cons
Frequently Buggy
UX issues at times
E-commerce integration is through third party
Advanced Reporting is an additional cost and is still poorly designed and buggy
Long waits for Customer Support
Widespread Outages do Occur