Point of Sale

Shopify sells you this app with certain features, then at a whim, and with no notice to the users, takes away those features and functions. It is routinely changed (with no notice) so that you end up with multiple errors at the check out and constantly have to re-train staff, and re-work all your processes.

As an example, the save cart feature (which they still advertise as available) is gone. The 'improvement' is clunky, hard to use, and full of bugs. They removed the one button to search for a client in your system to assign to a sale. They introduced a bug where the cursor jumps in the middle of you typing. They changed the only good thing they had (their search engine) so now it tries to auto correct your spelling, for names!

This is just the most recent in a long line of frustrating choices by the devs at Shopify. Their careers page actually shows you they *encourage* their staff to change fast and create chaos. It's literally their value set and culture - to make sure that there is no stable system for users. We actively search for other pos systems routinely, and will continue to search until we find something that is better or Shopify finally listens to its user base and corrects this poorly designed system. We feel trapped and lied to. Go read the user forums before you decide to use this system.

This ap is not for Makers who travel out of their home tax area to do markets. There are other point of sale services that handle toggling taxes on and off in a more efficient and simple manner. While the thought of having synchronized inventory tallies between online and in person sales is appealing, this point of sale ap really doesn't manage the different sales tax collection requirements when you sell in person in a Province that is not your home Province. Glad I realized this before I subscribed to Pro.

Stuck with unused WisePad3 device.

I feel really stuck with the NO solution that Shopify offers me.... I bought this WisePad3 before a fair. I was waiting for a fair to take place and ordered beforehand and then I did not use it and it was a horror to find the info to send it back to. It was a complete quest to even find the return possibilities. The device is unused, not even opened. I hade to go through a long servive procedure before I got the email that I am stuck with this and they advice me to sell it on eBay. Can you believe it? I can not understand the non-flexibel attitude of this big company, working with small online retailers.

Until recently, I would have given this app a 5 star rating. However, the arbitrary removal of the saved cart function to be replaced with draft orders (a different workflow) on the paid plan (US $89 a month) is a bit extreme for a small business.
Really they need to reintroduce the feature else will need to look at Square POS again.

We use Shopify for Emack & Bolio's and Mr Simms. Please see our other reviews regarding the frustrations we have faced over Christmas, our busiest period of the year.

The other 1 to 3 star reviews sum up Shopify POS. It is a poorly thought out platform, lacking in many basic features, but works ok for us when it works.

Limited functionality, features that are available on the website are not available on the POS app (payment methods for example), and the app crashes constantly.

We have to delete and redownload the app roughly once a week. I'm told this is due to potentially losing our internet connection, but this seems like something that their software should be able to record. However, as with many other problems we experience, we're told the issues are the way we're using their software and not a failing in their code.

I advise against getting invested in Shopify POS.

I’ve been using the save cart feature on the normal version of POS for a few years now, and while it wasn’t perfect, it did the job.

Shopify has now made this a pro feature, but the save cart option doesn’t actually work.

I spoke to them about and they stated that they’re still fixing bugs on it.

So, I’m paying for a pro feature that doesn’t actually work? You released a new update with the feature being ready?

I spoke to someone about going back to the old software while it was being dealt with and they said they would need to get back to me. Well it’s been 7 days and no response.

==Update==

Please avoid Shopify for their POS at all costs. The app has not been working for a significant percentage of customers for 10 days (according to Shopify themselves), and will take at least another 5 business days to fix. Today is 24 December. Christmas is tomorrow. It is haemorrhaging our business.

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We have learnt to work around Shopify's many limitations and constraints. Please see our review for Mr Simms Wanchai and Emack & Bolio's below.

If you read the older reviews, many features have been suggested for years now, and so I don't think Shopify are treating their POS platform as a priority for development.

What is unacceptable is for the POS to breakdown the week before Christmas, when our sales are at their peak. Our customers get frustrated, and it is losing us sales every minute the system is down. When we launch the app, it crashes, so we cannot upload the crash report. I have been told not to delete the app and reinstall, so we are still waiting for a fix.

Meanwhile we are losing sales. Thanks Shopify.

We have 2 POS terminals in the shop, and both are not reliable. The app frequently (once an hour) crashes, meaning we have to rescan all the customer's items when there is a queue to checkout. Shopify POS is not for heavy usage.

Shopify technical support have informed me that the POS is not working for a small number of customers, but won't give any timeframe for the situation to be fixed.

What is really frustrating is the number of gurus you get passed to, so you end up repeating yourself 10+ times literally. To be fair, the gurus are friendly and try to help, but don't deliver on their promises and don't update you without you chasing up.

I don't want to get started about the integration issues we have had with other inventory management systems and Xero. Shopify does not calculate COGS. If you are a retailer, you will understand this frustration so no more needs to be said.

When Shopify POS works, it is a mediocre POS at best. The problem is it is unreliable, and will crash usually when your shop gets busy leaving customers frustrated.

As many other reviewers have said, it lacks many basic retailing features.

For example, when we opened a second shop, we had to open a new account and import all the products in again. Do Shopify expect their users to not grow their businesses? That's why we have two separate Shopify accounts, so when we issue a gift voucher in one shop say, our customers cannot redeem at the other shop. Neither can they do exchanges. The list goes on.

However our issue for this shop account is with data integrity. We have experienced situations where receipts are printed with sales that do not add up to the total. This creates a lot of daily reconciling work for us, and confusion for customers.

We have sent photos to Shopify showing negative amounts on receipts (e.g. according to Shopify we are giving money and product away!). Support are friendly to be fair, and well trained to sound helpful, but as yet we have no solution.

Like the reviewer below, when you cannot trust the data, you may as well go back to pen and paper.

The app also tends to crash very often, especially when there are over 200 transactions a day during this busy Christmas season, leaving customers waiting for their orders to be scanned again.

This is probably not even made by any retailers, first of all, you cant make an exchange - and if you want to refund something it takes ages! The pos isn't ready to action yet, you should also have a look at the way you are printing barcodes/labels - i'm using a Star TSP700II Thermal Receipt/ Label Printer - works perfectly - please use all your development resources on your POS and make it work like a pro, theres a huge gap in the market !

So shopify please have a look at the danish based POS "Wallmob" - they know whats up, then make Shopify pos like that, you could save me thousands a year!