In a Nutshell
pros
- User-friendly software with choice of integrations
- Competitive pricing model
cons
- Lacks robust features some competitors have
- Need to pay extra for priority support
Features
Vend is a POS created for iPad, Mac and PC. It is cloud based which means all your data syncs automatically, allowing you to use 1 platform or all 3. You can even keep selling when your internet goes down, and your sales and stock will be updated automatically when you’re back online. Vend takes multiple payment methods, including mobile pay and chip card payments. Discounts and taxes can be quantified at checkout. Customize your receipts with your branding, including logo and website. Cash management, including refunds and store credit are all dealt with at the point of sale.
Vend is also a powerful inventory tool. Import existing barcodes or create new ones, manage a central product catalogue and define pricing and discounts so that all staff can work seamlessly across any device. Stay on top of stock orders so you’re never caught without inventory. Customer engagement tools are also included with Vend. Create groups of customers so you can use targeted marketing, and manage a single customer list for all of your outlets. With customer purchase history, customer profiles and a custom loyalty program, you can watch your satisfied customers coming back again and again, and bringing their friends along too.
Ease of Use
One of the best things about Vend is that it offers compatibility with other POS payment processors and hardware. You may even be able to keep your existing hardware.
The transparency that Vend offers about its payment plans is refreshing, and allows you to see how your costs may rise as your business needs grow. Accessing the back office inventory and settings needs to be done online by desktop, PC or Mac, but please note that Vend is not compatible with Firefox.
Customer Support
Vend has 24/7 global support and allows you to reach out via email, phone or live chat. Dedicated launch specialists are there to help you get started, whether that’s assisted setup or migrating from an old POS. The Vend Help Center offers articles, tutorials, FAQ and tips and tricks for getting the most out of using Vend. On top of this, “Vend University” has on-demand courses, resources for success, webinars and offline meetups.
Pricing and Payment Processing
The Starter plan is $59 per month and allows you to have 500 active products, unlimited customers and users and is perfect for small businesses. The most popular Vend plan is the Advanced subscription, which costs $85 per month. You will have unlimited products as well as all the benefits of the Starter plan. You will also have access to Vend Ecommerce. This integrates your POS with your online store and the Retail Dashboard for powerful analytics and reporting. All of these 3 options give you single outlet use.
If you’re looking for a POS for multiple outlets, Vend has a Multi-Outlet plan for $169 per month. You will be given powerful features to manage prices and products including stock, tax, and customer data. You will also have access to priority phone support. Vend boasts integration with almost any payment processor you choose, and your store will be able to take credit, debit, chip, cash or mobile payments such as Apple Pay.
Contract Terms
The prices above are for annual contracts with Vend. If you would like the flexibility of month to month, the prices will be slightly higher per month. One great option that Vend offers is the Vend ‘On Ice’ package. For $5 per month, Vend will retain all of your store information and customer data until you are ready to reopen your account. This is perfect for seasonal businesses.
Bottom Line
Vend is a fitting choice for small- or medium-sized businesses who are looking to scale upwards. We love the Vend ‘On Ice’ feature for seasonal businesses, as well as the completely free Basic option. With full transparency for pricing and a chance to use your existing hardware, Vend is a budget-friendly POS option.
