Hike POS Review

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Pros

• Highly customizable
• Designed for mobility
• Excellent reporting and analytics
• All-in-one product

Cons

• The purchase ordering process can be clunky
• Occasionally crashes

Overview

It’s a testament to how far we’ve progressed as a society that many of us, in the comfortable first world, actively seek out things that challenge us for enjoyment. We pretend to enjoy the taste of black coffee or bitter IPAs as opposed to simply enjoying the feeling that comes after consuming them. We fawn over dissonant indie rock music and argue about the artistic value of acclaimed films.

And we hike. We deliberately take long ventures over difficult terrain to look at something for 10 minutes before turning around or simply fill up an otherwise idle Saturday. A hike is never something I’ve appreciated as much as I’ve felt I should — until now, that is. Hike, a relatively new POS on the market, is a terrific and ultra-modern program that can function as well for your single-location food cart as it can for an extensively franchised clothing operation.

Hike was founded just a few years ago out of Australia (which, for whatever reason, has become somewhat of a POS hotbed). In a short amount of time, the company has expanded its customer base to more than 75 countries and is used by a variety of big brands around the globe. The cloud-based system is quick to set up and simple to get the hang of all while offering some extensive inventory and reporting features to aid larger companies. If you’re looking for an all-in-one program, Hike should have you covered with things such as built-in loyalty, eCommerce, and a solid list of integrations.

Pricing

You can take advantage of a free 14-day trial. Afterward, if you want to proceed, Hike offers three basic pricing systems along with some available add-ons.

Start-Up Plan

• $59/month (when paid yearly)
• One outlet
• Unlimited products
• One register license included (additional registers are $29 per month)
• Inventory control
• Customer profiles
• Integrations
• Standard reporting

One Store Plan

• $79/month
• Includes everything from the Start-up plan, plus:
• Gift cards
• Loyalty
• Marketplace integrations
• Custom reports
• Detailed analytics
• Advanced user permissions

Multistore Plan

• $129/month
• Includes everything in the One Store plan, plus:
• Multiple outlets
• Two register licenses (additional registers are $29 per month)
• Central dashboard
• Central products and customers list
• Multilocation inventory
• Consolidated business reporting

Cloud-Based Or Locally-Installed

Hike is entirely cloud-based and is compatible with iPads, Macs, or PCs. This POS can function online and offline. Offline transactions are synced in the cloud and stored securely.

Specific Industry

With its mobility and ultra-modern layout, Hike can fit in with virtually any retail store. I could see it working ideally in a clothing or furniture store format with a solid and intuitive inventory system, but it’s versatile enough to handle the food industry as well.

It would not be a good fit for a large-scale, multistore restaurant. For cafes, food trucks, or smaller, independent restaurants where employees interact with customers, being able to bring the Hike POS directly to the table for easy ordering and payments is a very nice option.

Specific Size Of Business

Small to mid-sized businesses would probably be best suited for Hike. The website claims that the POS can handle up to 100 locations, but I think Hike would thrive in slightly more intimate locations. That said, while it is an affordable option for a single-register small business, it could certainly handle franchises, especially given how easily its data and reporting sync in the cloud.

Hardware & Operating System Requirements

Hike can be used on any iPad (via the Hike app) or any Mac or PC (through a web browser). Hike offers some convenient hardware bundles through its website. These come with printers, cash drawers, iPad stands, scanners, etc., depending on what your business needs. You can also purchase individual hardware that integrates with Hike directly through the site.

Ease Of Use

Setting up your store through Hike is a snap. In just minutes, after submitting your email address and the type of business you are operating, you will get to the dashboard where you can start to add products or access your preloaded inventory. You can select your language and time zone here as well as the currency you’re using. Drag and drop your logo, and you’re good to go.

On the same screen, you can add your social media links, add multiple registers, and edit hours of operation. Click on ‘Sale,’ and you can easily search and select a product or scan the barcode. Then select ‘Open Drawer’ and the payment type on an intuitive screen. Here, you also have the option to put the item on a customer’s account or select it as layaway.

The back end is easy to pick up as well. The inventory has simple-to-view tabs for purchase orders, deliveries, and items that may be running low. There is also a convenient tab on the left where customers can be searched or added and then grouped for marketing campaigns.

Features

As a newer and continually evolving program, Hike offers all of the features you would expect in a strong POS. Here are some of the highlights:

• Mobility: While it’s not unique, the ability to move with your POS around your establishment is a nice option and helps employees interact with customers. Hike allows employees to easily display inventory and options on the floor of a business or, with a restaurant, allows for tableside ordering and payment.
• Loyalty Rewards: Hike offers a custom loyalty setup. Customers can gain loyalty points by signing up for mailing lists or by reaching preset spending goals. Hike’s loyalty program is highly customizable, allowing certain products to have different point values for promotions. It takes just seconds to make adjustments to how many points can be earned on the dollar. Customers can easily see their loyalty points and rewards on the screen, and these points can be immediately redeemed either in-store or online. It is also easy to track customers and their preferences.
• Employees: Employee management is relatively simplistic with Hike but simple to understand and operate. Hours are easily tracked and can be revised with the click of a button by a manager. It’s also possible to access the schedules around the clock. You can click on an individual employee and instantly see how many hours they worked in a variety of ranges.
• Customer Management: It’s easy to track customers through a simple search system. If you click on the name of an individual customer, their profile will appear. You can easily see how often they visit, what they routinely purchase, and how many loyalty points they have accrued. All customer records are stored in one system.
• Marketing: Hike has its Mailchimp integration built into its system, making email and marketing campaigns efficient and effective. Customers can be grouped and targeted (without excessively trolling them with offers and promotions that don’t apply). It’s also easy to import and/or export a customer database.
• Reporting: Hike’s dashboard for reporting is a highlight of the product. The basic analytics for your store are all shown on one screen and update in real-time. Hike offers a wide variety of reports that can analyze customer trends, displaying sales ratios by age, gender, and so forth. Sales reports are customizable, and tracking top employees by week, month, or year can be done with a click. It’s also easy to see which individual products or group of products are top sellers for a given time.

• Inventory: Hike offers a fairly robust inventory management system. The software can handle an unlimited number of products and can be sorted based on virtually any number of variants (size/color/cost, etc.). Hike also offers custom barcode creation for receipts. It’s easy to make adjustments to product lines by simply sorting them and adding pricing changes or promotional information. It’s also easy to track inventory over multiple locations. Tracking and stocking products are also convenient, as counts can be scheduled in advance. Hike allows for automatic re-ordering based on inventory levels and shows items that are selling quickly. There is also an option to set up automated reminders and updates. If you need to send items between stores, that information is automatically updated and reported.
• Purchase Orders: This took a few minutes to get the hang of, but the POS system is pretty intuitive once you’ve used it once or twice. You can select suppliers to email and also print the orders to mail out copies if necessary. It’s also easy to track orders online.
• Offline Mode: You can continue to use Hike almost like normal during an internet outage. Transactions are automatically synced and stored securely in the cloud and can be processed once service is restored.
• eCommerce: Hike offers an integrated eCommerce platform that makes it easy to go live with a few clicks. All of your inventory syncs automatically as well as your customer information, making it easy to transition from a small retail operation to a bustling online presence.
• Multistore: When your business is ready to expand into multiple locations, Hike is scalable. You can access reports that break down transactions across stores, and there are advanced inventory options, helping you transfer and track products across locations.

Integrations & Add-Ons

With as modern as Hike is, it offers most of the integrations you could come to expect from a strong POS, including:

• QuickBooks
• Xero
• Mailchimp
• Magento 2.0
• BigCommerce
• Shopify
• WooCommerce
• ePages

There is no additional charge for these integrations.

Compatible Credit Card Processors

Hike is integrated with multiple processors, including Tyro, iZettle, and PayPal. It also offers a unique custom payment setting that allows clients to sync with nearly any existing card system they might have.

Customer Service & Support

• Customer Support Channels: Hike has a strong customer support team that’s easily reached by phone, email, or the 24/7 live chat. The LiveChat reps were responsive within a few minutes each time I pestered them with questions. The company also has a blog with some useful articles, although it doesn’t appear to have been updated in over a year.
• Social Media: Hike is active across all forms of social media, including Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and LinkedIn. The company appears to be most current on Facebook, offering a few videos and links to articles. There are multiple videos on YouTube (generally under three minutes) that plow through some of the POS’s basic features with an extremely friendly narrator.
• Free Trial: Hike offers a 14-day free trial, which is easy to set up. Under “What kind of business do you operate?” there is an option to select “I’m just playing around,” which I appreciate. It also tells you, “You’re Awesome!” every time you complete a function. A sales rep will also personally call a client who has signed up for the free trial at the beginning and the end of the period to answer any questions and walk you through the setup.
• Videos: The website also features video tutorials that can help you get up and running and assist with training for employees.

User Reviews

Negative Reviews & Complaints

With just a few years under its belt, there hasn’t been a lot of time for negative reviews to rack up. Some of the less than glowing reviews seem to have more to do with some of the other companies that Hike integrates with, but there were a couple of issues that popped up in more than just one review.

• Clunky App: A few people reported that the layout, particularly in the back end, was a bit confusing and led to user mistakes. There were also reports of the app repeatedly losing connectivity.
• Doesn’t Function As Advertised: Multiple customers talked about Hike promising them it offered a particular feature, only to find out it didn’t work as promised or didn’t exist altogether, and, in these instances, customer service was slow to respond.

Positive Reviews & Testimonials

Along those same lines, while there aren’t scores of reviews online, the ones I found were effusively positive, with clients appreciating:

• Breadth of features
• Inventory functions
• Functionality
• Customer service (a common comment was how willing Hike employees were to answer questions via the phone and chat, which is something that I would echo in my own experience)
• Appointment booking
• Reasonable pricing

There are also a handful of testimonials on Hike’s website from John Pavlakos, Greg Hills, and Darren Clarke, respectively:

I set up Hike in five retail locations for my client Mattress Barn. After spending a year struggling with a well-known but overly complicated POS software, we luckily found Hike. Hike is intuitive, simple to set up, easy and their customer service is second to none.

I would recommend Hike POS to anyone who is looking for an effective inventory and point of sale software that integrates seamlessly with Xero. When I chat with the staff at Hike, they always respond promptly and courteously.

Really like Hike POS. Looked at several systems before deciding and Hike stood out as the best mix of features and simplicity.

Final Verdict

The beauty of Hike is that the company is not only expanding rapidly but also evolving at a similar rate. Hike claims it is committed to staying on top of the latest trends in the industry and is routinely updating its product. The app is competitively priced, easy to set up, and checks all of the boxes you would expect from a top-line POS product.

Hike’s customer service representatives are quick to respond, knowledgeable, and can make sure each customer is using the product efficiently. I found Hike’s layout to be sleek and uncomplicated. While its inventory and reporting capacities are about as robust as those of most other POS systems I’ve seen, they are also very easy to navigate. With this in mind, Hike could emerge as a top contender in a very competitive market.

Check Out Our Preferred Point of Sale Software 🏆

	ShopKeep POS	Clover POS	Square POS	Lightspeed POS
	Visit Site Read Review	Get Started Read Review	Visit Site Read Review	Visit Site Read Review
Best For	Credit card processing options	All-in-one service	Free POS	Advanced features
Monthly Fee	Varies	$30+	$0	$99+
Free trial	None	30 days	Always free	14 days
Next Steps	Visit Site	Get Started	Visit Site	Visit Site

See more information

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We've done in-depth testing of each and confidently recommend them.

Check Out Our Preferred Point of Sale Software 🏆

	ShopKeep POS	Clover POS	Square POS	Lightspeed POS
	Visit Site Read Review	Get Started Read Review	Visit Site Read Review	Visit Site Read Review
Best For	Credit card processing options	All-in-one service	Free POS	Advanced features
Monthly Fee	Varies	$30+	$0	$99+
Free trial	None	30 days	Always free	14 days
Next Steps	Visit Site	Get Started	Visit Site	Visit Site

See more information

Hide

We've done in-depth testing of each and confidently recommend them.

Sources

1. Software Advice Review (Accessed 07/15/2020)
2. Capterra Review (Accessed 07/15/2020)
3. Hike home page (Accessed 07/14/2020)
4. Hike Features (Accessed 07/14/2020)
5. Hike Pricing (Accessed 07/14/2020)
6. Hike integrations (Accessed 07/14/2020)

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