Lightspeed Restaurant Reviews

Great Product

Pros:

Being a Hospitality professional for 20 years I have dealt with numerous POS systems. Kounta is relatively straight forward and has the functionality and flexibility to run your business with ease. The support offered by Kounta day and night has been at an exceptional standard. The understanding and support during setup, implementation and to now has been a suprise in this all to modern world. This holistic approach will keep Kounta ahead of the pack for quite some time.

Cons:

Some of the language with respect to Hospitality is not not necessarily how we refer to how things are done in my experience however it is only a minor issue.

Choose Lightspeed!

Comments: Lightspeed was, is, and will continue to be great for us.
Staff loves the ease of use of the front end. I love the simplicity of updating the online site, the data available for export in the office, and the full integration with our other software.

Pros:

We had the highest expectations for Lightspeed POS and have been ecstatic about the choice. Staff appreciates the ease of use and the quick customization (once familiar with back office which does not take that long). We have continued to appreciate the helpful 24 hour customer service team. Even when they did not have answers for our unique problems, they always did their best to figure out a workaround. The ability to export raw data of every receipt item for every receipt entered has proven invaluable. With knowledge of Excel, data analytics have been insightful and highly beneficial. Since the pandemic began, Lightspeed has continued to innovate and has improved their product which has allowed us to create an online ordering site for pickup and delivery. And the best part is full integration with our online site, POS, accounting software, and scheduling software.

Cons:

First, no POS is perfect, including Lightspeed. Understanding the back end has allowed us to create work arounds for things the software is currently incapable of doing as intended at this time. One thing has been problems with combos, which we resolved with a workaround. The biggest con is the process used for some software upgrades. Understandably, when a request is made often, it is pushed up the programmer's priority list. There are however some upgrades that, although not highly requested, can definitely improve the product. I have several requests into the programmers at this time.

Definitely would not recommend. Over priced and impossible to cancel.

Pros:

Easy to use but when compared to competitors like square, extremely over priced.

Cons:

I would be very careful signing up, we have been trying to cancel for weeks now but have been given the run around. The sales team is supposed to reach out but we have been waiting. Now our next months payment has just come out. They are extremely difficult to deal with. Other companies have call centers based in the states but it does not seem as though lightspeed does.

!!SMALL BUSINESS WARNING!! NOT FAIR

Comments: !!WARNING!!! THIS COMPANY IS NOT FAIR!
They bundled in the loyalty program in our automatic renewal. We were looking into the addition to see if it fits our business. Another $800 was tacked on to our renewal for the Loyalty program that I did not authorize. They are refusing to refund the Loyalty program fee say that we are in a contract and they have a phone recording committing to the contract (they won't actual share the recording though). We have no need for this extra program at the moment, have not used it and do not plan to use it at this time as our business volume has a ceiling and the margins do not support it at this time. We understand the value in the loyalty program by cannot presently justify it. I have not worked for or worked with a company that does not work fairly with their customers. I do not recommend LightSpeed and am stuck with them for another 11 months and plan to find a better POS partner.

Pros:

The software is comprehensive. Many add-ons are available at high costs.

Cons:

It can get complicated and takes some effort to train new staff. Support is good for the software although I have found that are led down the wrong path and wast time. Some of the representatives are not knowledgeable enough.

Lightspeed POS for Restaurant

Comments: Overall, our experience has been great, but no software is perfect. Their rates are comparable, but the customer support is phenomenal.

Pros:

Lightspeed is sleek, very professional look and feel. Although it does take a number of buttons to run through a transaction, it's definitely an upgrade to what he had prior. The loyalty program integration is amazing, as customers earn points on the spot without any manual entry.

Cons:

Although not directly related to POS, their payment processing dose not allow partial refunds which causes us headaches at times.

Makes Perfect Sense!

Comments: We have been using Lightspeed for 2+ years now and absolutely love it! We are able to utilize many of their components to assist us not only in the basics (inventory, sales) but analytics and E-Comm. LS staff are very knowledgeable, friendly and quick to respond to our needs.

Pros:

We are able to customize according to our needs. We utilize many of the components and are constantly learning.

Cons:

Sometimes we have recommendations and submit them.

Fantastic POS

Pros:

Lightspeed is very reliable, easy to program good functionality. In 3 years our POS has not crashed or stalled. Customer support is remarkable. The team is knowledgeable and professional. My questions are answered the same day.

Cons:

Most of the reporting is very good. I would like more one page style reports, for example all servers that worked yesterday lists total sales, category sales, average check. I can get this information but each server is listed separately so analysis is time consuming.

Lightspeed at the speed of light!

Pros:

The set up was easy with great support from the staff at Lightspeed. Great ability to handle multiple floor plans, products, users and reporting. Very full featured software that should be able to handle any restaurant's business.

Cons:

It can be a little confusing when first starting to use the ordering piece on the ipad, a bigger learning curve than some other POS systems, but once you practice with it a bit, it makes sense.

Would (and have) recommeded

Comments: With thoughtful planning and set up, we have seen a lot of value from the on-board features. We run a loyalty program using just the basic features of the POS.

Pros:

The setup took time, but with good planning, we are able to get a lot of value out of the back-end reporting without the add-on module.

Cons:

I wish our Chase payment system could be integrated.

Delicious food and service

Pros:

flexible ordering and payment method also user are friendly

Cons:

Food was delicious drinks, view of the restaurant

Not The Same Company They Used To Be

Comments: The first two years we used Lightspeed was awesome. Year three the software was failing weekly.
We went two weeks without the inventory purchase order system, because Lightspeed told us it was a probelm on our end. The deny they had problems. We went a long time without being able to process payments because a clitch in their system. I personally beleive they were growing too fast. It was clear that they accepted that they would loose customers through out the process.

Pros:

When we started with Lightspeed it was awesome. There was a time I couldn't say enough about how much we liked Lightspeed.

Cons:

As they grew and added features and modules the program always had serious deabilitating gliches. Their customers support went from A+ to F in three years.

Lightspeed is an excellent partner to us

Comments: Lightspeed is a true partner with us at Campus Towers. With their programs we have a reliable easy to use program. We are very satisfied with the service provided.

Pros:

Lightspeed is so easy to use. The simplicity of the program makes it so efficient for even my newest team members to use. We would be lost without it. The service team is outstanding to work with. The reliability is outstanding.

Cons:

Actually we are very satisfied with the services that we are receiving from Lightspeed.

User friendly!

Comments: Overall, it is a good experience. The customer service is suitable and helpful. The system itself is easy to figure out.

Pros:

I most like the "easiness" it has on the eye. For service, the floor plans, menus, and payment buttons are all easy to see and use. Makes for a faster and more efficient service every night. The reporting is in-depth and also easy to find/consume. The reports are visual and make it easy to "at-a'glance" understand how the service is performing.

Cons:

The difficult components were in the initial set up of the floor plans for us. In order to make our floor plans look professional and aseptically pleasing we had to reach out to an outsourced consultant for aid in designing. Also, we integrated Lightspeed with our PMS (for our hotel) so that guests could seamlessly add products from the bar to their hotel reservations. This set up process was early in the stages for both companies - it may be more figured out - but the process took many months. Back and forth conversations with both companies. We are successfully using it though as of now - and the systems are interfacing seamlessly.

My experience with Lightspeed

Comments: Not the greatest. The last rep that took care of my problem was the best one I had in the last 5 years. His name is [sensitive content hidden] and he should be rewarded for his excellent customer service!

Pros:

It is easy to use and the back office reports are very useful.

Cons:

When it glitches the time on hold on the phone is ridiculous and Lightspeed needs to put techs on the road to help out the restaurants using their product

Easy to use, excellent reporting features.

Pros:

We like the ease with which new staff can learn to use this software. We also like the clarity with which the back end is organized, and the support available to help us learn the various features. It is simpler and easier to follow than Lightspeed Retail's back end. Reporting features are extremely helpful. It is all very customizable.

Cons:

I don't like that the the software is not linked directly to Lightspeed Retail, and that when we lose internet connection we lose access to our POS.

How Lightspeed will help improve your business.

Comments: I signed up with Lightspeed back in Nov 2016 and I have never looked back. Lightspeed gives me accuracy and analysis. Through Lightspeed's data I was able to save costs through employee shrinkage. Combined with Lightspeed's great customer and tech support, you've got a winning combination that no one can beat.

Pros:

They are accuracy and analysis. With Lightspeed each and every order is entered with 100% accuracy, so you don't have to worry about wrong items or amounts being entered. And with their integrated system you can manage your inventory, and analyze your sales patterns. All because Lightspeed gives you sophisticated and detailed sales reports at your fingertips all while saving time and money and reducing costs.

Cons:

There was no onsite tutorial on how to access certain data, but a quick call with tech support and within a few minutes I mastered the system and where everything is placed.

Highly adaptable and intuitive POS

Comments: Kounta as a POS system has been able to grow with us, providing flexibility and ease of use that is a massive relief when you have the pressures of an expanding business to contend with. The ability to simply add or subtract registers, combined with the functionality of a internet based system makes change relatively pain free. Wireless waiter stations, Albert pay terminals, Bluetooth printers (which I don't have but am excited about and will probably get), its all so easy to use. Why pay thousands of dollars in cabling, installation costs and labour in setting up your system? Good question - i'm not sure! Just research what you want - call Kounta, put it in and download the software... add your products, tailor it the way you want, and go for it!

Pros:

Ease of alteration and basic use for staff

Cons:

The back end of product input is a little cumbersome - a simply category/sub-category/sub-sub category system works best. Sometimes this is represented by Department/category/sub-category either way, it is far more flexible for product input, button organisation and more granular for reporting.

great service

Pros:

lightspeed has been wonderful to work with. easily update and change menu its at the Chilliwack airport restaurant. customer service is always easy to deal with

Cons:

needs to have easier ways to upgrade equipment,

Kounta customer review

Comments: Product is good but not all encompassing.
We need to be able to amend previously finalised takings if changes or errors are made. This has been communicated to Kounta and apparently will be looked at and hopefully rectified in a further release??
The price schedules are limited and not really applicable for my size organisation. I would like to have 2 x POS devices however paying more than $50 per month would lead me to making the once of purchase for a non-cloud customised POS system. The fact you need to add a new register to have an additional device seems ludicrous to me and I would beleive would limit your customer base. What about all the cafes out there that want one register but multiple devices to take orders. Sorry to be critical but it appears to be a mechansim of revenue raising, albeit you could get the same results from just growing your customer base by having a more universal and cost effective product.
I'd suggest you could come up with some alternate pricing schedules where adding an additional device for $10 per device per month versus a whole register would add value to your product. I'd happily pay $60 per month to have one register and two devices to take orders to that register.
Maybe I'm missing some sort of constraint hindering you from enabling multiple devices on the one register however in this day and age I would have thought it would be easy.
Food for thought, I won't be increasing my subscription but rather work around this limitation.
Again, I'm not trying to be critical but what I get for $50 per month from Xero for a cloud based accounting software versus what I currently receive from Kounta for $50 is a month, the difference in value us astounding.
The reason for an overall rating of 3 stars primarily relates to your pricing schedule.
Don't hesitate to contact me if you wish to clarify any of this feedback.

User friendly and great customer service

Pros:

We've been using Lightspeed at our Marina/Restaurant/Bar for 3 years now and have nothing but good things to say about it. The setup was really straight forward and there has been such great customer service for any questions or issues that have come up. It's very user friendly and easy to train new staff on. Very simple when it comes to changing prices or adding new products. We are very happy we went with Lightspeed at Marina Knowlton!

Cons:

I'm not a very "techie" person so there have been some issues that have come up (that would have come up with any POS) that I wasn't able to figure out on my own. But any time we have called customer service for support they have helped fix the problem. So in the end, not really a con!

Great product and good support

Comments: great experience, ease of product use, and good support along with it.

Pros:

Makes managing reservations very easy. d

Cons:

needs to have an integrated widget for websites not supported by their software. or a link where clients can book a reservation.

LightSpeed Success

Comments: LightSpeed support is superior to all other product support I am getting both from a business standpoint as well as personal. Their response is quick and understandable.

Pros:

Easy to use backed up by professional support. Conversion and training was excellent.

Cons:

Consignment reporting requires a couple extra steps from my previous product.

User Friendly

Pros:

Great POS system with a very user friendly app! Simply made it easy to look after my business :)

Cons:

Not sure what to say. All is just good. That is all

Incredible Platform

Pros:

The user friendly back end and POS display are exceptional! Very easy to use, and very easy to keep updated!

Cons:

Some reporting could be more details - a few items are tough to track!

Affordable and reliable

Comments: Been reliable part of our business for over 4 years now.

Pros:

Most affordable option for POS on the market that is compatible with revenue Quebec and MEV machines.

Cons:

Occasionally updates take a few minutes, otherwise we have very few issues in the last 4 years since we started using Lightspeed