Rain POS

Pros

Easy way to add products to both POS and eCommerce simultaneously is one of the best way to both.

Cons

The cost of Rain POS is a bit steep for many local businesses and lack huge community base for support.

Alternatives Considered

Reasons for Choosing Rain POS

Switched From

Reasons for Switching to Rain POS

Pros

The wonderful support and help with kindness!

Cons

Nothing the service is great and the people are kind!

Pros

Their program to enter work orders and remove product from inventory was amazing! I wish they would have this option "sold seperatley"

Cons

Program to run a quilt/fabric shop never worked properly. Was very UN user friendly, I had no control over any aspects of ringing up a sale. Things that were "SOLD" to me never worked properly, when I cancelled my subscription I was told things were not completed as they were supposed to be.

Pros

I like the integration with My Music Staff. I also like the ease in which we can automate customer payments for services and rentals.

Cons

I do not like that we cannot easily adjust pricing, and have difficulty on supplier invoice tracking with taxes.

Pros

As a small business it is difficult to manage technology without an IT Department. I wanted to take my business online and struggled to find a solution that was affordable, easy to use and had good customer support. RAIN not only met my goals but exceeded them. Their customer support is what sets them ahead of their competition.

Cons

There are a couple of features I wish they would improve on. The most important to me are Customer Rewards. It doesn't allow online orders to use their rewards and the accrued reward is a dollar amount they can spend when I need it to be a % off.

Alternatives Considered

Reasons for Choosing Rain POS

Switched From

Reasons for Switching to Rain POS

Pros

I tried hard to dig down deep to find a positive, but I genuinely disliked the whole journey.

Cons

The website builder was terrible. They charged a ton of money to do no website design and then presented a trashy website builder that does not let you edit the style/design of your site.

Alternatives Considered

Reasons for Switching to Rain POS

Pros

local and they sell it like its great when min reality it needs so much work

Cons

their customer service sucks and that is putting it nicely

Pros

Rain was sold to me and my music store as an all in one solution for POS, website, online sales, marketing, job orders, repairs, rentals, the whole nine. I love the POS and inventory part. The site is a little laggy to start and then everything works super fast. Most things in this realm are intuitive.

Cons

The onboarding cost was kind of high and I don't feel like I got that much out of it. The trainings were unnecessary and could have easily been done with a video. I really, really, really hate the website builder. They set up my website as close as they could match to my previous one from Wix and they did a pretty good job (although I discovered some mistakes that were pretty bad, such as the wrong phone number for my store, they were easily fixed by me) but I am frightened of doing anything to it beyond changing the text. I would say their web builder UI/UX is straight out of the 90s but that even the 90s had the concept of draft and publish. EVERYTHING you do on the website builder is IMMEDIATELY live and there is no way to revert to an early version without contacting them.

Alternatives Considered

Reasons for Switching to Rain POS

Pros

I thought Rain had it all, POS, web, work orders. But product is such a disappointment.

Cons

The system fails every day. Something stops working every week. Receipts stop printing correctly, barcode doesn’t scan.

Pros

We really like that it is a cloud based POS.

Cons

You don’t really need to call support in the beginning because you are new and learning the system but once you get setup and start noticing glitches you cannot get a hold of anyone. They also do not have support evenings and weekends.

Pros

Rain POS covers most retail functions in easy, friendly ways, and deep customize.

Cons

Rain POS provides a cloud version only which makes some concerns from weak internet areas and more risk in online.

Alternatives Considered

Pros

The website design process took our branding into mind. It is easy for both us and our customers to use.
Inventory management is intuitive.
Point of sale function is also quite user-friendly.

Cons

Occasionally there are glitches in the system when it interacts with outside programs, such as shipping or payment companies. That being said, there is ample opportunity to suggest new features, report bugs, or communicate directly with customer service to help fix issues.

Pros

RAIN lives in the cloud and being able to access our POS from any device is a huge advantage over the POSs we were using before. The Rent-To-Own module helped simplify a very important part of our business. Integrating with REVERB has helped extend our e-commerce reach across the country. The user interface is clean and user-friendly; just what you'd expect from a modern cloud-based platform.

Cons

The marketing platform did not meet our expectations. The email marketing in particular is not up to what I would consider industry standard in terms of the template builder, contact management, scheduled emails, segmented lists, and analytics. We have since dropped that add-on and went with ActiveCampaign which is light years ahead.

Alternatives Considered

Reasons for Choosing Rain POS

Pros

You are not required to purchase proprietary equipment to use this software. You can use all features anywhere you have an internet connection. You are not limited to the number of registers you can use. It manages our retail sales, website sales, and class enrollments. Inventory for retail and web is integrated.

Cons

They are in Utah, so sometimes they are not available for support when my shop is open. Reporting could be better, more flexible. Getting changes or additional features is a slow process.

Pros

Ability to track sales & purchases on a daily basis if needed

Cons

Length of time that it takes to make requested changes in the software

Pros

Built in videos and the ability to view both of my stores inventory

Cons

I’d love if it worked with Comment Sold and Ship Station

Alternatives Considered

Reasons for Choosing Rain POS

Reasons for Switching to Rain POS

Pros

The comprehensive nature of having a website, an online store, a point of sale terminal, rental/rent to own terminal makes this a great foundational tool to work with.

Cons

I love the software, but calling customer support, I often get people who don't seem to enjoy helping me. I've had at least 2-3 calls to different technicians ag in a row where I just felt bad for even calling.

Pros

integrated POS and e-commerce website. web based makes it functional on any computer type. RTO module is nice.

Cons

Special Orders/Purchase Orders/Receiving Orders is grossly deficient. Reporting is not great. Prominent bugs in website text in regard to special characters. Lacks flexibility in some of the website design options. No rotation option for product photos. Label printing is terrible. No dimension option for shipping calculations.

Pros

Rain POS has helped me run my business in many ways. Reports are very easy to understand and useful for book keeping and planning. Most of all I love the help Rain offers. They have always been there for me and are so nice, especially when trying to set up my website. I am not a computer genius and don't have to be because I use Rain. In recent events we had to start selling products through our web site. Rain was able to teach me over the phone how to set all of it up, I couldn't be more grateful.

Cons

Most of the time the things that I felt could be improved have been through updates like phone numbers showing on receipts. It shows that they do listen when we ask for improvements.

Pros

Easy to use, and help with inventory and daily and year end reports

Cons

We have no suggestions for any new features we would like to see.

Pros

I love that inventory reflects between shopping instore or online.

Cons

No is perfect and sometimes there are bug they get worked out.

Pros

Reverb.com integration saved my business during COVID-19

Cons

Some bugs can take a bit long to get sorted out but the team was very responsive

Pros

It’s easy to use and the customer service is awesome. You get a live person 24/7. (that speaks and understands English)

Cons

It doesn’t work on my ipad, which is what I use in my store, instead of a full computer system. So I either have to call and ask you guys to fix stuff or wait till I get home on my Mac. (If it can wait, I’ll make notes as to what I need to do then, wait till I get home, but if not, I call you)

Pros

The support we received from the rain team in getting started with a POS system. None of my team had any experience with POS and they made the transition easy. We still don’t use all the features available but are adding them to our system gradually. The customer support system is fantastic. The reports available on the system save hundreds of man hours and help us see how our business is doing. The inventory system is a huge help.

Cons

Integration with some Consumer Finance companies would be valuable to retail users. A “Dummy” website that could be used for training new employees would be a big help.

Pros

Ease of use, robust capability, knowledgeable tech support

Cons

Requests for change in features - less responsive

Pros

It was all in one with a nice platform. Handled customer accounts and payment links built into the invoices.

Cons

They promised the world and delivered nothing. The on boarding took months and I had to pay for service during the $2,000 cost of onboarding. Then when we went to cancel they said you have to give us a notice. Why you said zero length contract.

Pros

LikeSew is more precise at managing my inventory and handling the day-to-day business of running my fabric store than GoDaddy ever was. I now know exactly how much inventory I have on hand and it's value and what categories it falls into.

Cons

There could be some improvements in the email marketing program and the inventory receipt areas.

Alternatives Considered

Reasons for Choosing Rain POS

Switched From

Reasons for Switching to Rain POS

Pros

I loved the fact that setting up a whole new website platform was done with another human on the other end of the telephone that actually cared, listened and created a useable website for my customers. Step-by-step instruction helped me, an average end user, be able to manage a highly professional looking website. The integration of product sku codes, inventory, customer tracking, re-order points, everything was top notch and an added value for the cost.

Cons

I would like to be able to take custom orders, invoice the customer, and have the customer be able to make payments/purchases with that option. The PayPal platform fills this gap for me, but I would prefer to use the RAIN payment system as it is more cost effective.

Pros

We've had a great experience thus far using the Rain point of sale program. The initial training was extremely in depth and helped us grasp all of the features before implementation. We love the product integration with Reverb.com and the fact that our inventory remains cohesive across online and in-store platforms. Online & phone support is quick & helpful. Rain has also been very helpful designing and updating our website, which is tied into the point of sale. They are constantly improving, updating and listening to customer suggestions to make their product even better.

Cons

One feature that is extremely helpful in our industry (music store) but missing from Rain, is a Maintenance Agreement/Service Contract module. We were disappointed it was not available when we switched to Rain, since we used that feature daily with AIMsi. We have found some halfway workarounds in Rain, but would like a more robust integrated module. Ideal features would be: MA identifier on serialized instruments in Work Orders module, ability to auto-send renewal emails to customers when their annual MA is expiring, MA batch operations for large inventories of instruments (many of the schools we service have 200-400 instruments that we maintain on MA's annually).

Alternatives Considered

Reasons for Choosing Rain POS

Switched From

Reasons for Switching to Rain POS

Pros

I am super happy with how my point of sale is integrated with my online sales and inventory. The product is easy for staff to understand and navigate, and errors can be corrected when necessary. The ability to access the software remotely is a huge plus, I can keep track from anywhere, or assist staff with sales or inventory when I am not in the building. The reports are easy to access, and accurate for accounting purposes, and provide us with the tools we need for planning for the future. The customer service is amazing, and I have always been able to solve any problems I’ve had with one phone call!

Cons

We are Canadian site, and the cashing in procedure does not allow us to use our coins, and therefore we don’t use the cash in/cash out component. That is my only complaint!

Pros

Integrated Marketing
Automatic "pushing" of items to our Reverb.com Account
Lightweight on system resources on our iMac's

Cons

Special Order Workflow is clunky and needs to be simplified. We've resorted to using the "Quote" option to better manage Special Orders and ring in total sales under a "Gift Card" first. That way when working with multiple vendors on a special order, we have easier use of customer funds when "finalizing" the deal.
Register is Average and would prefer ability to see cost of products on screen.
In Register - when scanning duplicate items they get entered as "new" line item versus adding to the SKU already input.
Can't us an IR Gun on an iPad when scanning incoming inventory or during inventory counts.
Layaway Screen has some great features, but workflow is a bit convoluted.
Website build out is horribly confusing and NOTHING follows traditional HTML processes. This was the same problem with Lightspeed's eCom platform - hard to work with and no sense of workflow.

Alternatives Considered

Reasons for Choosing Rain POS

Switched From

Reasons for Switching to Rain POS

Pros

We have used Rain POS (Like Sew) for over five years and are very satisfied with it. We love that our website (recently upgraded by Rain) integrates with our POS, keeping our inventory numbers accurate. The Point of Sale is very user friendly. Reporting is decent. The website is simple to update.

Cons

While there are sometimes reporting issues or technical issues, Rain has an easy process in place to report problems online or by phone, and they are generally responsive in a timely manner. Rain also has a method to make suggestions on how to change or update the POS/website. I appreciate that they are willing to take our suggestions!

I do wish there was a report for Items Received; it would be nice to be able to create custom reports.

The only major issue we have with Rain is when the system crashes - either because our internet goes out (in which case we are able to use our iPads on cellular to ring up customers) or because Rain goes down. Luckily, this is very rare! And when it's Rain's issue, it is usually remedied quickly.

Finally, it would be great if Rain integrated with Sage Accounting software. We have to manually transfer data from Rain's reports into Sage Accounting. This is time consuming.

Alternatives Considered

Reasons for Choosing Rain POS

Pros

Easy to use and has great functionality. Could have a little bit more functionality than it has to make it great. However they need more people to fix bugs and enact on others suggestions to develop the product further. Customer Support is a joke!

Cons

Customer Support is a joke! I contacted support about a glitch. I told them to call me because I broke my wrist and easier to explain than typing it out. They refused to call me as if their time was more valuable in R&D than fixing bugs. I cant type with a broken wrist. All this is one fingered.

Pros

I liked that the website and the inventory were combined. That people could see in real time what we had in stock and purchase online. That was nice and was one of the main features of why we went with Rain originally.

Cons

We spent a lot of time and money on Rain POS. It was the first online computer software company we ever used for point of sale. I spent an entire year in 2017 logging our entire inventory, coming up with pricing and pictures and history on every item. We went live in 2018 and by April 2019 we were done with the contract side and we closed out the point of sale side by the end of that year. Their inconsistences within the contract module were too high. And every time we called in to tech support, all they could tell us what that there was a "glitch" in the system and they couldn't fix it within a timely manner. I really felt like I was losing the trust of my customers because of Rain's mistakes.

Alternatives Considered

Reasons for Switching to Rain POS

Pros

We have used Rain POS for many years. I appreciate that I can do so many facets of my business from one platform. POS, online sales, integrated inventory management, emails, and merchant services.

Cons

I would really like to have shipping integrated - when an order is placed, that it would be integrated with a shipping service like Shippo, which is what I use. The automatic emails would be useful if I could choose the products that were shown - like what is on sale. The automatic choices were so ridiculous - something old that was worthless in our system - instead of something we really wanted to promote.

Pros

We bought it for the seamless integration of Web and Brick & Mortar inventory management, sales and ease of use. It works very well for this purpose.

Cons

It is ultimately POS and Inventory Management software with little Accounting functionality. Daily exports to QuickBooks or other software are required, with additional entries in the accounting s/w to accommodate accounting best practices, Taxes on Receiving orders, billing and other financial tasks not accommodated in Like Sew. There are still some issues with Sales, Shipping and Taxes in Canada, and there is no ability to set up multiple price levels internally

Alternatives Considered

Reasons for Choosing Rain POS

Reasons for Switching to Rain POS

Pros

Cloud based. No software to support or maintain.

Cons

Lack of support and woeful capabilities for multi-store operations.

Pros

Rain Pos is dependable, well priced with instantaneous software help. The company LISTENS to their clients, I can't emphasize this enough. My POS is with me everywhere, at the doctor, on vacation, in bed at night.

Cons

I would like an end of day report on products loaded into the system.

Alternatives Considered

Reasons for Choosing Rain POS

Reasons for Switching to Rain POS

Pros

This program is so easy to use, even for those who are not technologically literate. While we do not use all of the features, such as the rental option, we are really happy with the program. The fact that everything is stored in the cloud helps us when we are not in the store, such as with trunk shows. The tech support has been so helpful when we experienced bugs in the software, and they were very knowledgeable of the product. I have also found the SEO option of Rain, and we intend to utilize it to its fullest extent to promote our business and get our name out there.

Cons

There have been a few bugs in the software, but nothing that a quick call to support couldn’t fix. One thing that I did not like was when the internet went out. The fact that everything was based on the internet meant that we couldn’t use the cash register. This led to a loss of sales. Nothing too major, but it’s still significant. There should be a backup or a way to use the register when there is no internet connection. More traditional POS systems allow for use without internet, but for inventory reasons, something like Rain is required. Hopefully, they’ll release a version that stores a temporary backup on your system that updates the inventory once the internet is back up and running.

Pros

I think the customer service is very good. Recently I wanted my homepage to be updated and revamped. They worked very quickly and efficiently with me to get give it a new look and within a few days I had a website looks very modern and professional. Also, I really like the marketing package. I used the POS for several years before adding the marketing feature. I like the automatic emails that it sends to my customers every week. Also, My website is easier to use from a cell phone now. It's worth paying the extra money for each month.

Cons

I do not like the way the inventory receiving works. It is supposed to be integrated with some of my vendors but doesn't seem to be complete or accurate. Also, I really wish that the email marketing was easier to use and more robust.

Pros

Each upgrade and added function has been beneficial to my business

Cons

Need more flexibility with the slideshow

Pros

It is easy to use and update, so I can create and modify my own products, and add products from the integrated industry catalogs. It provides me with useful information about my customers and sales transactions, data which really helps me keep and attract new customers. I especially like the batch product update feature so I can change a group of products at a time without having to individually update each product record. I have had good customer service, especially when there was a problem with the software. I have seen my sales grow and my professional online image enhanced. The cost is reasonable for my business so far. The video training is great and absolutely necessary to understand how to use the software efficiently. I also attended training at Fall Quilt Market which was excellent and highly informative.

Cons

I am disappointed that I am unable to integrate my email marketing with the website. In my opinion, The Marketing package is not as useful to online-only stores as it is to POS customers. The newsletter module is clunky and hard to work with. The email feature is useful, but since my email list is on a different service and not integrated, it is not as useful as it could be. It took awhile for my site to get up and running well, and to work out all the bugs. I had to be persistent in following up to get problems fixed and clear in my communication to be sure they understood what I was asking for.

Pros

Ease of use, and integration with our e-commerce site.

Cons

There are a few features that I'm waiting on that will tailor the system more for the music industry.

Pros

putting products on the website was easy but switching where they go throughout the website is not

Cons

changing it sometimes it can be difficult to change the website.

Pros

Customer support. Software is easy to understand after basic lessons.

Cons

Something that seems would be an easy fix, never gets fixed. Example: Having the capability of being able to put "coming soon" or "pre-order now" on items that can go into our POS system, but because of containers stuck in the LA harbor, we just don't have items. We don't want our customers to think we can never get these items in (especially high ticket items like machines - they will go shop someplace else)

Alternatives Considered

Reasons for Choosing Rain POS

Switched From

Pros

Most features in this software are easy to use. I liked how easy the system was to set-up.

Cons

There do seem to be some 'bugs' with inventory levels as from time to time there are errors.

Pros

Easy to learn, install, and use. Reports are easy to understand. Customer support when you call in is EXCELLENT

Cons

There are some things inherent in our business that it does not accommodate AND they have not updated. We've asked for some additional options and they've not happened.

Pros

The program is quite intuitive thus making it relatively easy to use. I like the fact that it is cloud based so we can add another register as needed during very busy times. Also the integration between the website and the POS is great for product inventory. General ease of taking physical inventory.

Cons

There are a number of small glitches - ways to accomplish tasks that are not thought all the way through. I get a listing of UPCs from a vendor with my new order of earrings, many are duplicates that we have had. We upload the entire list, the system is not able to recognize duplicates and combine them just keeps adding the new number making physical inventory a nightmare. Customer name search is an "includes" function instead of a "starts with" so an Andy pulls up Sandy, Candy & every Anderson, i no particular order.

Pros

So far the only Pro is that you can pull a some information from Vendors. Being able to have inventory taken out with sales from Reverb is really nice, it was the catch hook that brought me to RAIN.

Cons

The merge is really rough, I did not get all of my customers merged from my previous POS system, my lay-a-ways were lost or messed up, past sales are lost, pictures had to be taken again. All the upc numbers were mismatched with other products. When you try to put pictures of your product for the website, you never know what picture it may choose no matter how many times you choose the correct one. I have had a bass I have tried many times to add a picture and it refused to add it and puts up a picture of a gig bag. I was told if I used Chrome many of the issues would subside, sadly this is not true. If you are starting out fresh, this may be an okay system to use, if you are migrating from another system, I would NOT recommend using RAIN. I really had high hopes but this has been a disaster. Even the work orders, which I thought would be easier, are a huge pain.

Pros

What I like best about Rain's website software is how easy it was/is for me to learn.

Cons

I like the extra things I get for my website with the marketing package, but most of what the package does for me has not worked and they keep trying to make it work and it does not.