Instore Review
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- Date Established
- 2013
- Location
- San Francisco, CA
Pros
- Gift card and loyalty functions
- Open API
- Simple to use and operate
Cons
- No purchase order management
- No supply tracking
- No accounting integrations
Overview:
Instore is a point of sale (POS) system developed by Own Group; it has been on the market since 2009. In its earlier days Instore exclusively targeted the restaurant industry, but has since undergone several improvements and updates to make its system more inclusive to the retail industry as well. Instore now offers two different platform options: Instore Pro (with both Restaurant and Retail modes) and the much slimmer version, Instore Terminal. Recent updates also added key features such as inventory restocking reports, a barcode scanner integration, and new reporting features.
After reviewing the company’s latest developments, I’d say Instore is headed in the right direction overall. While Instore Terminal is basically the crash diet version of Instore Pro, only allowing users to ring up orders, track customers, and access limited reports, it also is unique in its focus gift cards and the Instore Rewards program. The level of standard functionality offered with Terminal is fine for a business looking to invest in an entry-level solution, though the price tag may be a little hefty for such a basic product if you don’t plan to take advantage of the considerable loyalty rewards/gift card functionality. If you cannot upgrade to Pro, and don’t intend to use Instore Rewards, it may behoove you to look for a more economical option. Pro has a few downsides of its own (no purchase order management, supplier tracking, or accounting integrations) but is a much better choice for the merchant looking for a robust POS tool.
In general, Instore is a competitive POS solution, and it is worth taking a look at with either a 7 day free trial or a 30 minute demo. Read on to learn more.
Don’t have time to read an entire review? Take a look at our top rated Point of Sale solutions for a few quick recommendations. Every option we present here offers excellent customer support, detailed user interfaces, and easy-to-use software, all for a reasonable price.
Table of Contents
- Pricing:
- Cloud-Based or Locally-Installed:
- Specific Industry:
- Specific Size of Business:
- Ease of Use:
- Hardware and Operating System Requirements:
- Product Features:
- Integrations and Add-Ons:
- Compatible Credit Card Processors:
- Customer Service and Technical Support:
- Negative Reviews and Complaints:
- Positive Reviews and Testimonials:
- Final Verdict:
Pricing:
You don’t have to worry about a contract with this month-to-month service, and there is no penalty for canceling. You can also switch from Terminal to Pro at any time.
The specific needs of your business will determine exactly how much Instore is going to cost you each month, but the two basic pricing plans are as follows:
Instore Terminal, $39/month
- $20/month per additional register
- $99 start up cost
- Limited to four functions: Taking Payments, Tracking Customers, Rewards Program, and Selling Gift Cards.
Instore Pro, $59/month
- $40/month per additional register
- $199 start up cost
- A more robust program that offers additional features such as reporting, inventory management, etc.
As I mentioned before, Instore Terminal’s $39+ a month is on the steep end, especially when compared to systems like Square, Imonggo, and Vend. However, the native loyalty rewards program offered with Terminal brings something unique to the table, and has the potential to save you a lot of money if you were planning on using a 3rd-party loyalty software anyway.
Another point to note is the starting costs for each plan ($99 for Terminal and $199 for Pro), which is essentially a mandatory fee covering the cost of helping you set up your account and hardware. While this is useful, it’s also not optional so you’ll have to factor it into the initial system costs.
Cloud-Based or Locally-Installed:
Hybrid. All the information on your business—employees, menu items, sales history—is stored in the cloud on Instore’s servers, and administrative functions are performed via a web browser. However, the front end bit—ringing up orders and cashing customers out—runs off an application installed on an iPad. The app downloads all the data it needs from the web and then operates locally, meaning you can keep taking orders if your Internet goes down. Instore is even able to store credit card information offline for up to 24 hours and then process the transactions when your internet comes back up.
Specific Industry:
Instore has taken customer requests into consideration and recently expanded its capabilities to include retail-specific functions. As previously discussed, Terminal is a basic version of Instore Pro that offers four functions and is directed at all industries. Pro is a more beefed up version that targets the retail and restaurant industries.
Specific Size of Business:
Instore targets small and medium sized businesses, and targets those markets well. Due to lack of purchase order management, accounting integrations, and supplier tracking, however, neither version of Instore would be an ideal choice enterprise businesses looking for a multi-function, one-stop-shop POS.
Ease of Use:
Both Instore Pro and Instore Terminal have an extremely intuitive user interface for administration and customer-facing tasks. Neither Terminal or Pro are particularly splashy or colorful, but they are so easy to use you shouldn’t mind. When I tested Pro, I set up a store, created a menu, defined location-specific parameters like taxes and customized receipts, added employees and tracked their time, simulated a sale, and ran some reports all without referring to the help files even once.
Testing out Terminal was even easier. After taking a practice order, taking down customer information, signing them up for Instore rewards, and selling them a gift card, I’d pretty much exhausted Terminal’s front end capabilities.
When I finally did consult Instore’s support website, it was just to see if there was anything I missed. Oh, and their web-based help? Also extremely easy to use. Each article is tagged with keywords you can click on to see a list of other related articles.
When it comes to restaurant specific features, another thing that Instore Pro does very well is park orders, which is a necessity for any cafe where the bill comes after the meal. For each order, you can add a descriptive note—like the table number—to easily identify the bill after it’s been entered and parked. From there, you can print the order to the kitchen, complete it with an Order ID, or call it back up when the customer is ready to settle up. This sounds simple enough, but I’ve seen enough poor implementations of this elsewhere so the ease and speed with which Instore handles this is worth noting.
Hardware and Operating System Requirements:
Instore seems to be built around the Apple philosophy of a consistent and predictable user experience, and so, for better or worse, there is a very specific set of hardware it is designed to work with.
Instore sells hardware through POSPortal.com and though you can purchase your peripherals from other vendors, POSPortal offers three Instore hardware bundles with the option for monthly payment plans:
Instore Basic Bundle with iPad, $935.58 or $38.98/mo
- iPad Air 2
- Stand
- Receipt Printer
- Cash Drawer
- Printer to Cash Drawer Cable
Instore Quick Service Bundle with iPad, $1,253.57 or $52.23/mo
- iPad Air 2
- Stand
- Receipt Printer
- Kitchen Printer
- Cash Drawer
- Printer to Cash Drawer Cable
Instore mPOP Retail Bundle, $1,031.82 or $43/mo
- Star Micronics mPOP all-in-one Printer and Cash Drawer with Scanner
- iPad
Product Features:
Instead of listing every feature you’d expect, it’s more useful to talk about what Instore does differently. For example:
- Social Media Integrations – From the administration console, you can link directly to your Facebook page, Twitter feed, and Foursquare account. This is a great way to communicate daily specials to your customers. You can update the menu with the day’s specials then broadcast them out from the same console. On Foursquare, you can see who’s checking in at your place or even offer incentives to those who do.
- Reporting – Instore also places special emphasis on staffing and labor cost. From the admin console, you can enter all of your employees and their hourly wages (did I forget to mention to employee time clock?). The console, with its real time data, displays what each of your employees has earned as the clock ticks away. This feature ties in nicely with the reporting function, because you can see at a glance your total revenue for a given period, as well as how much you spent on labor for the same time frame. In fact, the whole reporting module, while fairly basic and not breaking new ground, is still very valuable. In their recent update, Instore has introduced some new reports, one of which is a “How am I doing report?” that breaks down your sales by the hour and shows you what your projected sales will be for the rest of the day based off of your sales from the previous week. Instore has also added a report that tracks the cost, current quantity, and target quantity for each of your sale items.
- Gift Cards – Instore makes selling and using gift cards a breeze. They’ve partnered with PLI so that shop owners can create custom branded cards. You can sell them and load them up with the dollar amount purchased right from Instore. This requires the iPad card reader, but it’s a useful function and well worth the investment.
- Customer Rewards – Instore has a fully integrated loyalty program called Instore Rewards. Activate Instore Rewards in your office settings and designate your point values to start using the program and keep customers coming back. To learn more about Instore rewards check out the video below:
- Offline Processing – The primary pitfall of cloud-based software is that it needs a wireless connection in order to keep your business running. If you’re caught in an outage, you’re at a standstill since your POS will cease to function. However, savvy developers like Own Group have a safeguard built into their systems, allowing the continued processing of cash and card transactions without an Internet connection. Credit card information is stored within the application for up to 24 hours until a connection is reestablished and that data can be processed. This will spare you quite a few angry exchanges with frustrated customers as well as make business on the go a reality for you.
- Retail Specific Features – Among other features, Instore Retail offers business owners reporting options to track the cost, current quantity, and target quantity for each sale item. They also offer a real-time Inventory Restocking report that helps you keep track of any items you may be running low on so that you can restock them before you run out. This new update has also made barcode scanning on option and allows business owners to scan and track their inventory more accurately right on their iPad with the use of an optional barcode scanner.
Integrations and Add-Ons:
In addition to the social media integrations with Facebook, Twitter, and Foursquare mentioned above, Own Group has made Instore’s API available to developers who wish to create add-ons. In the future, I would be happier to see the company branch out a bit and supply integrations with at least one accounting solution and eCommerce platform; it is fairly unusual for a POS of this caliber to lack basic integrations. Meanwhile, if you have the time and patience, you can use the API to connect to your 3rd-party software systems.
Compatible Credit Card Processors:
If you want to integrate credit card payments directly into your POS, Instore works with Magtek i and cDynamos readers for swipe transactions. In reaction to the EMV shift in October 2015, Instore has recently added two card readers that are EMV/NFC compliant: DejaVoo Z1 and the CardConnect CardPointe terminal. The credit card processors connect directly to the iPad, making it possible for your staff to swipe cards tableside and speed up turnover.
When it comes to processing credit cards, you have the option to choose between three different processors: Card Connect, Clearent, and Mercury Payments. Instore also plans on adding a fourth processor, Apriva, by the end of this year. If you’ve already got, and are happy with, a credit card processor (or are locked into a contract), you can always continue to swipe cards outside of Instore with readers that communicate directly with the banks and finish out the transaction on Instore by marking it as paid.
Customer Service and Technical Support:
Support is included within the monthly fee, and my experience with Instore’s support shows them to be pretty responsive. All the questions I emailed in were answered quickly and efficiently. I even tested out their chat feature and was answered right away during business hours. Their support staff is exceedingly pleasant; the woman I spoke to on the phone was friendly and knowledgeable, and seemed interested in getting to know my business without prying or trying to pressure me into an immediate commitment.
- Live Chat – This is a feature available from Instore’s website and is only available Monday through Friday from 7am to 7pm PST. My questions were answered quickly and the employee who helped me was very knowledgeable.
- Phone Support – This is probably the fastest way to get your questions answered, but same as chat, you’ll only be able to contact someone on a weekday between 7am and 7pm PST.
- Email Support – This is about as close as Instore gets to 24/7 service since email support is manned over the weekends in addition to the standard Monday through Friday. The woman I spoke to (and most of the customer reviews) reported that emails are generally answered within an hour, with the exception of those coming in late at night. All the emails I sent were answered within one day by friendly and knowledgeable staff.
- Help Articles – Naturally, these online resources are available any time. Given how easy the system is to use, it’s relatively safe to say these articles will allow you to troubleshoot during off-hours when live technical support isn’t available. Instore also offers some helpful video tutorials.
- Social Media – Instore also has a blog that is not really intended for technical support, but features a bunch of helpful articles filled with business tips. Instore also has Facebook and Linked In pages (both don’t appear to be very active), and a YouTube page.
Negative Reviews and Complaints:
There are only a couple merchant reviews of Instore’s software, most of them extremely positive. Instore isn’t perfect, however, and I do have some of my own concerns with the system:
- Customer Support – Instore’s chat, email, and phone support are somewhat limited. Almost all the businesses Instore caters to are open later (or earlier) than the available live support. That may be fine for now, but there is going to be an increasing need for more support coverage and more than one customer mentioned that they appreciate it if Instore did offer 24/7 support.
- No Accounting/eCommerce Integrations – Not having an accounting integration isn’t a dealbreaker since all of the reports generated through Instore can be exported as a CSV file or emailed to an account address, but it is a bit irritating. The lack of an eCommerce integration is a little harder to overlook as so many consumers are looking for an online shopping experience these days. Even an online ordering and reservation management system would be a huge boon for most restaurants.
Positive Reviews and Testimonials:
Instore’s website is littered with customer testimonials from satisfied merchants, and there are a couple reviews from merchants on other sites that seem equally satisfied with the software. The common themes are as follows:
- Customer Service – Many customers seem to be extremely satisfied with Instore’s responsive and professional customer care.
- Reliable Software – A couple of customers noted that Instore is a reliable software and were very pleased with this fact.
- Easy to Use – Customers like the fact that Instore has an easy to use interface.
Final Verdict:
Instore is well made and ridiculously easy to use. It not only performs quickly but also streamlines a lot of tasks seamlessly in one place. I think Own Group has a winner on its hands, and with its recently added functionality and features, Instore is a real player in the retail shop space. Instore’s intuitive design and excellent customer service team almost entirely removes the IT headache from business owners. Though not the cheapest iPad POS system out there, the Pro plan’s monthly fee is somewhat competitive for a service that not only powers your POS, but bundles in marketing, employee management, and reporting tools as well. I wish the same competitive pricing structure could be applied to Instore Terminal as well, but if your business makes heavy use of gift cards/loyalty programs, or is looking for a less expensive way to start using Instore while you build your way up to Pro, it can be a great option.
As great as the system is, there are a few changes I would like to see in the near future. The lack of third party integrations is going to mean a lot of extra work for you. You’ll likely have to invest in supplemental software to make up for Instore’s deficiencies in accounting, eCommerce, and advanced inventory/supply chain mangement. I understand that Instore is focused on the customer-facing features like a smooth point of sale, social media integrations, and great loyalty programs, but merchants also have to be able to manage the back-end before the customer ever comes into play.
Despite a few hiccups, Instore has enormous potential and has demonstrated a great track record of constantly improving its software. If you’re a business owner in the market for a new POS system then by all means, take Instore for a go with a comprehensive 30 minute demo or a 7-day free trial. If Instore continues in the practices that have gotten it this far, it should gain even more traction in the near future.
Merchant Maverick Contributor
Merchant Maverick is a highly successful partner referral site which has helped over 1 million business since 2009. We provide high-quality, non-paid, unbiased reviews of business and e-commerce products and services to allow entrepreneurs make better decisions. At Merchant Maverick we make small business simple.
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I own a car wash and I was looking for a Pos System the car wash Pos system are 40k-60k depending on the company you go with very expensive, Along my search I was so lucky to find instore Pos at first I wasn’t sure because they do more restaurants clothing stores but when I talk to sandy she assured me that this would work so I went for it why you ask 1-NO contract 2-69.99 a month 3-No risk Sandy set me up with Andrea she gave me 3 classes of 20 minutes over the phone that’s how easy the instore is and Andrea is a good teacher I learned everything so quickly. I could get all my reports Merchan reports cash flow reports how many items I sold by each item It’s just amazing what the instore could do. I recommend this POS to anyone if the harbor hand car wash loved it I know you will.
This comment refers to an earlier version of this review and may be outdated.
This system falls a far cry south of what is needed for an F and B operation. Theres zero accounting as far as sales to cost. They claim it’s built for Restaurants and not just retail and I found nothing that supports that claim. IT’S PERFECT FOR RETAIL. do not get me wrong. My fiance runs outlets for a major global athletic company and this would be erfect if you’ve got one to two boutiques she says. but I cancelled today because I found the sales staff uneducated on a food and Beverage application and somewhat scammy on trying to sell me on hardware. I had paid the 300 setup and was auto deducting the 50 something monthly when I discovered this shortcoming during my setup process. I voiced these concerns and was insured “theres a software patch coming out in 2 months that will address all of that” to which I was like “ok” We didn’t get approved for the monthly payment on equipment so I said, ” It’s off season let me handle payroll and We’ll just buy outright, but my staff comes first” She was cool with it. She called me today to secure hardware sales and I had to tell her you know I’d like to see the software addendum before I buy a 1200 dollar system. I’m fine paying the 50 something a month until so but I want to feel it out. I got a sales pitch, that typical “well why wouldnt you want to take care of your business and get this going” thing which to me is a huge red flag. It came off immediately like those merchant processor calls you get like 5 times a day or the guys trying to sign your mom an pop restaurant for a service that manages your yelp reviews for like 500 a month. I actually took the time to explain (this part briefly) past credentials over the last decade and a half and why this product in it’s current form, through substandard reporting, serves our restaurant no current purpose and why. Then I assured that we would wait the two months until that software patch rolls out. At which point I’d check it , then pull trigger ( I felt this sensible especially since they’re getting 50 something a month from me for nothing until then) I got another push for equipment. We ended this call for a revisit on a later date. This, to me, was so beyond infuriating that I was being sold a product in a market the sales person did not understand and the relationship had come to such a point of mistrust (and I know many of you in hospitality have this same problem as I do where you’re like, ‘yeaaaaah, everythings fine. no it’s ok, time and time again and you gotta go , ‘ no, this time I’m the client and I shouldn’t have to eat shit on this deal’ I called her back and politely approved account cancellation. I dont trust these people. But Bottom Line, this product in it’s current state is not suited for F& B use. It cost me $300 set up (which is cute because the only service provided initially from start to finish is an online demo, and I’m sorry millenial start up but your bare bones program is extremely self explanatory, and assigning me a self designated login username and password. I’ve got no problem with the tediousity of setting up a POS. I’ve dont this half a dozen times but dont charge me for it) plus whatever I’ve spent on monthly subscription that was spent for me to learn this lesson. I’m fine with it but I hope the next guy heeds my warning and just listens with a keener ear. I should have been more aggressive with my due dilligence. Best of Luck
This comment refers to an earlier version of this review and may be outdated.
apologies, anyone wanting specifics on the downfall is free to email me at cbailey@goldfishpointcafe.com merchantmaverick.com has been a trusted resource for all my friends who are operators and owners. we thank you guys for doing the amazing work that you do
This comment refers to an earlier version of this review and may be outdated.
Corey
Sorry to hear about your experience with Instore. As CEO, I must say that we don’t treat our customers the way you describe. We are a merchant-centric company and our mission is to provide you access to technology that helps you run a more profitable business. If you had a different experience, you have my apologies.
At the time you wrote this, we had not launched our Retail solution, so Instore was best fit for food service businesses. Instore Retail is now live, allowing us to effectively serve a wider variety of merchants. We’d be happy to discuss how we can meet your business needs today. Give us another chance, and I assure you we’ll make you a fan.
Regards
Matt
This comment refers to an earlier version of this review and may be outdated.
Yes, Matt. You’re retail program was about a month out at the time. You can call it whatever the hell you want. What I am telling you is your Restaurant platform does not produce the proper back office reporting for a restaurant operation. Your restaurant reporting goes as indepth as detailing whole units sold. Spend some time on Aloha, Micros, dinerware, Harbortouch, etc and you’ll see the difference. I want to see a variance report on romaine lettuce based of the recipes programmed for my menu items. Theres no way to run inventory / accounting on ingredients even though I was assured of this. Your reports end at counting how many menu items I sold in the Span of time frame X. Great I sold 117 Classic Burgers this month. That’s helpful………
I suggest going to work for a corporate restaurant for a little while and learning what it is you are actually promising people for their money before locking them into a contract. The fact that you cant make the distinction here tells me you have no experience in the field but I appreciate you challenging my 17 years.
We signed with Dinerware.
This comment refers to an earlier version of this review and may be outdated.
Organization Name: The Dover Grille
I will second Corey’s review. Word for word I feel the same way. We needed to be able to split checks to take back to the table and were never able top do that. We also got the wait, we have an update coming for that in 2-3 months, well after 6-8 updates and just over 2 years still no table splitting. Oh, they did finally come out with that update, 2 days after I signed with Toast. But it still wouldn’t work, Our app froze up every time we tried. Like Corey said, great for a retail outlet, not for the restaurant industry.
Been with Toast 2 weeks,LOVE<LOVE<LOVE it! I as the owner love it, kitchen loves it and the servers love it. Simple yet made for the restaurant industry. any questions on it shoot me an email. johnwilson3@mchsi.com toast is a little more money but well worth it. Promises Kept!
This comment refers to an earlier version of this review and may be outdated.
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Be very weary if you are using more than one iPad. The time lag between iPads is exhausting. Printer errors were common during busy periods. Because it’s Cloud based, lots of info does not get translated in due course. Readings from iPads at end of day did not match Cloud figures, making cash outs a problem. Phantom chits would arrive at the kitchen that were actually a sale from the previous day, reprinting itself. Very easy to program and use, I’ll give them that. But the problems experienced, and the lack of support afterwards, made this unusable for my business.
This comment refers to an earlier version of this review and may be outdated.
After doing extensive online research (which almost made my head explode) and trying a few different services I made the decision to go with Instore. I own a cafe/bar and the decision to go with them was actually pretty easy after I tested different systems, most offer free trials. What I needed was a system that offered an employee time clock, open tabs, split tickets and item tax because we sell bottled beer to go. To my surprise these capabilities are not available with all of the other service providers I looked at. I also liked that they also offer gift cards and online ordering.
Pretty much every website I went to said that their system is the easiest to use but the Merchant Maverick review of Instore is very accurate….it was the easiest of all the systems I’ve tried. Just my opinion. I’ve had it in my place for about a month and this was one of the best things I’ve ever done for my business.
This comment refers to an earlier version of this review and may be outdated.
Glad to hear we helped out – thanks for letting us know!
This comment refers to an earlier version of this review and may be outdated.