Lavu Review
- Date Established
- 2010
- Location
- Albuquerque, NM
Pros
- Constantly updating
- Highly customizable
- Simple employee management
- Helpful integrations
Cons
- Gift card option costs extra
- Occasional glitches in software
Overview
When you think of Route 66, you likely imagine a nostalgic landscape with retro diners and kitschy tourist traps. What you’re probably not envisioning is a state-of-the-art point of sale company. But that’s exactly where you’ll find Lavu, an innovative company located in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Lavu burst on the scene in 2010 and had some early successes but, in a crowded market, its ability to adapt and stay abreast of customer needs has vaulted it to near-elite status. Lavu specializes in helping small to mid-sized businesses with some features specifically tailored to food trucks, pizzerias, breweries, and cafes, but it’s robust enough to handle pretty much any type of food service industry.
Lavu is downright thoughtful in its design, packed with many industry-specific features essential to food trucks and large restaurants alike. The software was conceived as a wireless experience and jives with the user-friendly interface of the Apple products it runs on. Lavu can currently be found in over 20,000 restaurant terminals across 88 countries and it shows no signs of slowing down. The development team continues to create new features and add-ons to keep up with the industry. Florida International University’s School of Hospitality and Joliet Junior College’s Culinary Arts Program both use Lavu as a learning tool for their students.
Lavu does a lot of things very well. Its layout is highly customizable and, although it’s not the most intuitive and simple system around, it provides enough materials to help with training. With the roll-out of its Inventory 2.0 function, Lavu has addressed arguably its biggest deficit and its inventory management and purchasing ordering features are now on par with those of other top-rated systems.
Lavu is an impressive product, one that does what it aims to do and does it well. 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
- Hardware & Operating System Requirements
- Cloud-Based Or Locally-Installed
- Specific Industry
- Specific Size Of Business
- Ease Of Use
- Features
- Integrations & Add-Ons
- Compatible Credit Card Processors
- Customer Service & Technical Support
- Negative Reviews & Complaints
- Positive Reviews & Testimonials
- Final Verdict
Pricing
Lavu has joined the ranks of many other POS systems in that its pricing plans no longer include a separate licensing fee. Instead, all charges are included in a single monthly (or annual) payment:
Lavu:
- $79/mo ($69/mo with an annual contract).
- Single location.
- Additional terminals cost the same
- 300+ features, free updates, 24/7 customer care, and employee management functionality.
Enterprise:
- Call for pricing.
- Multiple locations.
- Additional terminals $20/mo each.
- Customer regional reporting, global menu push, and enterprise-level support.
You have the option of trying out Lavu in a free 14-day trial or a live demo.
Hardware & Operating System Requirements
For any iPads and peripherals you may need, just go to Lavu’s website. Lavu does offer a couple of starter kits but for those of you interested in buying your hardware in separate pieces, these are the brands optimized for Lavu:
- Routers
- Ubiquiti
- Credit Card Readers
- Blue Bamboo
- Dejavoo
- ID Tech
- Ingenico (EMV-enabled through Moneris)
- MagTek
- Miura
- PAX
- Printers
- Epson
- Cash Drawers
- APG
- iPad Stands
- Vault
- Heckler
You also have the option to install the Lavu Local Server (LLS), which is essentially an in-house server backup for if you ever lose your Wireless connection. The LLS comes preconfigured, so it is easy to plug and play. It is run on an Apple Mac mini, but as I understand it, you can’t just pick up any Mac mini and call someone in to make the installation. Remote installation is included in your LLS purchase; if you would like help with a physical installation you will need to contact a Lavu reseller.
Though you can shop for hardware elsewhere, Lavu does recommend that you purchase your hardware through Shop Lavu or one of their 100+ resellers across the world.
Cloud-Based Or Locally-Installed
Lavu is cloud-based and usually requires an internet connection to operate. In the event of an internet outage, Lavu can be used in offline mode, which allows for offline credit card processing for certain payment processors and platforms. You can contact Lavu to learn more. As I noted above, there is also a Local Server option, which runs on a dedicated Mac Mini installed at the customer’s location. The iPads need only connect with the Mini to operate, adding a layer of protection against an Internet outage. The Local Server syncs with the cloud whenever the Internet connection is active. It will cost a little extra but, when installed it provides very strong offline functionality.
Specific Industry
Lavu is designed for the foodservice industry and can fill most niches within that industry. With Lavu’s revamped inventory management and ability to integrate with a barcode scanner, it is even capable of handling some light retail. For instance, a food and beverage shop which also sells small gift shop items and packaged goods or merchandise would not find Lavu lacking. The company also offers some customization to meet the “special needs” of any establishment. For example, Lavu has unique functions specifically for pizzerias.
Specific Size Of Business
Lavu’s features are fairly extensive, intending to support everything from small coffee shops to large dining establishments. With its new inventory update, we can now recommend Lavu for more complex businesses as well. Virtually any type of restaurant industry could use Lavu. The company is also excellent about issuing software updates regularly; if you’re a small business owner, Lavu will have basically everything you need now and will probably have the features you need as you grow.
Ease Of Use
Lavu has a sleek, attractive interface that’s largely user-friendly. The front end has all the shiny appeal of a well-made iOS app: it is modern looking, responsive, and fluid in its execution.
The backend is accessible via any web browser and is laid out well with persistent menus across the side of the window. Upon first logging into the back-office, Lavu’s Guided Setup presents you with an extensive step-by-step guide to get you up to speed quickly. It’s a nice feature, as your first time through may take some time and concentration; Lavu is not quite as intuitive as some other systems. However, once you’ve had your hand held through the training, it makes perfect sense.
Lavu handles both forced and optional modifiers well, helping servers upsell customers efficiently. (Forced modifiers are those things that the POS interface will force you to select at the time of order: small, large, etc. Optional modifiers are similar except that they’re, well, optional. “Add onions” is an optional modifier, as is “light spice”.) Again, this is not overly complex, but it is definitely something that requires a little knowledge beforehand.
Features
Lavu is rapidly updating and boasts an impressive list of functions and features. Instead of taking the time and space to list them all, however, I’ll focus on the aspects that are unique to Lavu.
- Easy Order Taking: Alternate between Table (for restaurants), Tab (for bars), and Quick Serve (for fast food and cafes) layouts depending on your service needs. Assign customer receipts and kitchen orders to specific printers. Combine multiple orders while maintaining separate checks.
- Customizable Table Layout and Menus: Create specific multi-room table layouts with the ability to assign seats and course numbers, making it look like your own restaurant. When ordering, a customer will be walked through multiple modifiers that can all be created easily.
- Advanced Menu Management Create custom discounts for specific tabs or items. Utilize optional modifiers such as “add onions.” Add secondary detours that are activated when a customer selects a forced modifier option (i.e. Salad > Salad dressing). Selecting “pizza” as an item opens the creator, where you can select crust type, size, and toppings on one screen.
- Convenient Employee Management: Employees can clock in and out from the iPad app with unique ID numbers. Calculate employee overtime or double time based on daily, weekly, and holiday hours. Specify minimum access level for each discount type.
- Complete Inventory Management: Until recently, Lavu’s inventory system set it back a bit. But with the roll-out of its Inventory 2.0, you can now create your own purchase orders and mass import inventory — a huge time saver. Track inventory by individual ingredients or complete dishes. Manage inventory levels from the remote back office or front end register. Create low inventory alerts for when supplies reach pre-determined levels. Transfer inventory quickly from one location to another. Analyze what items are selling and which aren’t profitable.
- Full Cash Management Functions: Track incoming and outgoing cash flow for non-sale items, such as petty cash, paying the band, etc. Credit card tips are automatically tracked and subtracted from the end-of-day till count.
- Multi-location Management: Maintain multiple tax profiles, inventories, menus, discounts, reporting groups, manager groups, user groups, and restrictions per location.
- Gift Cards: Lavu has its own gift card program which can be used with or without credit card integration. Adding this feature will cost $25 per month or you can purchase a bundle deal for $40 a month that includes the ability to use gift cards and Lavu’s loyalty program.
- Loyalty Program: This point-based loyalty program can be added onto your monthly Lavu subscription for $25 per month. You can also add both loyalty and gift cards onto your subscription for $40 a month.
- Security Lavu has end-to-end encryption and is EMV compatible.
Integrations & Add-Ons
Lavu has developed several add-ons that have different capabilities:
- Lavu Pilot: A free iPhone dashboard app that allows you to monitor basic POS data, including labor reports, in real-time. View reports from today, yesterday, last month, or even last year. Pilot can also compare how you are doing now to how you were doing during the exact same period of the year before.
- Lavu Local Server: This is basically an in-house backup in case you lose your wireless connection to the cloud. Because the LLS connects to your router with an Ethernet cable, you can still operate the POS during an internet outage; you cannot, however, process credit cards, and the system is not designed to handle prolonged usage without a wireless connection. That being said, Lavu’s cloud version also offers an offline mode.
- Lavu KDS 2.0: A kitchen display system designed to completely eliminate printed kitchen tickets. The interactive iPad displays are connected to the Lavu system and can be further displayed on wireless TV monitors (this requires a connection through an Apple TV). KDS has also recently been updated to allow for greater customization when it comes to interface, headers, and display options. For example, the date and time label that displays when an order was created and when it was sent to the kitchen can be turned on or off. Additionally, the table number and order timer can be turned on or off. Voiding an order has also been made easier and ingredients are clearly shown on each ticket. Some of Lavu’s KDS 2.0 features include:
- Closed order tracking.
- Order prep instructions with ingredients down to the base item clearly shown on each ticket.
- A color-coded system that identifies paid and unpaid orders.
- Real-time communication with ticket updates and late order notifications.
- An order timer that also includes reports on order and item times.
- Modifiers will appear in red.
- Lavu ToGo: An add-on interface designed to allow customers to browse your online menu and place to-go orders for pickup. Once a customer has placed an order it is sent to the kitchen and completed. The customer email is kept on file for promotional purposes, and customer order data is tracked.
- Lavu Delivery: Lavu helps you make deliveries with an add-on that allows you to create orders, assign drivers, mark when a delivery is completed, and track your customer’s information.
- Lavu Routing: To be used in conjunction with Lavu Delivery, Lavu Routing will group two or more orders together and determine the most efficient route to take with turn-by-turn directions.
Additionally, POS Lavu also integrates with some third-party apps and services:
- Accounting: Lavu integrates with Quickbooks, Xero, and Invu (which is also a loyalty program).
- Tax Prep: Davo Technology.
- Business Managment: Avero.
- Online Ordering: CrunchIT, Open Dining, and Spoonity.
- Liquor and Beer Control Systems: BeerSaver, Digital Pour, EKOS Brewmaster, and Tap Hunter.
- Customer Loyalty App: Lavu Loyalty is a mobile customer loyalty app that allows frequent customers to earn rewards based on the accumulation of points.
Compatible Credit Card Processors
Lavu is one of the more flexible products I’ve come across when it comes to credit card integration, especially in the US. Lavu directly integrates with BridgePay, Heartland, PayPal, Nets, Vantiv Integrated Payments, and Lavu Integrated Payments. Setting up credit card payments in Lavu doesn’t require you to configure it with your merchant account information; you only need to point it to the right gateway.
Customer Service & Technical Support
Lavu has a wide variety of customer service options. There’s no separate plan to purchase; it’s included in both the monthly and annual subscriptions.
- Phone Support: Phone support is available 24/7 at (855) 528-8457.
- Email Support: Another form of 24/7 support, you can email a representative at support@lavu.com.
- Live Chat: Live chat is accessible from anywhere on the Lavu site. Like most live chats, you’re unlikely to get in touch with someone right away but you can close out of the chat window and your question will automatically become a support ticket, which will be answered over email.
- Knowledgebase: The Lavu support page consists of FAQs, articles on new features, and various troubleshooting and how-to articles. You also have the option to submit a specific request for support from Lavu’s customer service team.
- Community Forum: Lavu provides a forum on which users and support folks can hash things out in the open. Based on the response rate, this is not a good place to go looking for immediate answers to your questions, but it is a great place to get multiple opinions on an issue.
- YouTube: The company’s YouTube channel is well developed with multiple comprehensive videos on everything from basic settings to printer setups, as well as a few clips of Gordon Ramsay teetering on the brink of violent insanity before being soothed back into a state of dreamy calm as he extolls his love of Lavu.
- Blog: Lavu’s blog is updated frequently, and not just with nonsense chatter: there are legitimate things happening with the company, and its growth is being well documented there.
- Restaurant Resources: Lavu also provides a series of helpful business guides for restaurants, including one for creating successful menus.
- Onboarding Help: You can receive direct onboarding assistance through Lavu, as well as help with installation. They can help with hardware setup, staff training, and menu building. You also have access to a Lavu Certified Specialist who is not employed by Lavu, but has been trained in helping people set up their businesses. They can go to your specific location, help evaluate your needs, and create a deployment plan specific to your business.
- Social Media: Of course, there are the obligatory Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn presences.
Negative Reviews & Complaints
From my experience, Lavu seems very proactive at addressing issues when they come up. Kudos to Lavu for being on the ball, but as with any system, there’s still some room for improvement.
One of the main issues customers had with Lavu in the past was frustration over some of its inventory features or lack thereof. The company’s Inventory 2.0 seems to remedy most of these issues. There are still some scattered problems, however:
- Glitches/Bugs: Several customers complain about glitches in the system that occur from time to time. While this is a definite problem that should be addressed, I’m not too worried about it being a long-term issue. Lavu is excellent about updating their software regularly, and the majority of their client-base seem very happy with the system.
- Customer Service: Some customers are not satisfied with Lavu’s customer service and say they’ve dealt with unhelpful representatives.
- Reporting Confusion: A few customers complained that the reporting functions were difficult to navigate and occasionally spit out inaccurate information.
Positive Reviews & Testimonials
Most people know that customers are more likely to write reviews of their negative experiences than positive ones, which is kind of a bummer for great products. Generally, I have to rummage through several sites to collect a pool of positive comments that establish enough of a pattern that I feel comfortable writing: “Users seem to like this feature…” However, this hasn’t been the case with Lavu. On all the review sites I checked, customers are overwhelmingly pleased with their POS.
Here are the most common compliments:
- Great For Line Busting: Gone are the days when you have a line of people at the register waiting to pay and leave. Because everything is totaled up in the system and the POS is completely mobile, business owners are saying that service runs much faster and more smoothly.
- Ease of Use: Nearly every review notes how easy Lavu is to use and how this has allowed for greater accuracy, faster service, enhanced customer satisfaction, and a better general experience.
- Great Customer Service: Another consistent plus for many users is the friendly, knowledgeable, and (exceedingly) patient support staff. Even people who have reported unusually long wait times say they’re always happy once someone actually picks up. This is actually fairly rare in the POS industry, and it’s a great sign for the company’s future.
- Frequent Updates: Like I noted above, more than half of the problems people reported with Lavu in the last couple months have been quickly addressed by a software update. Every time I contacted support to ask about a feature they don’t have, they immediately offered to make a feature request on my behalf.
Final Verdict
All told, Lavu is an impressive product with near-comprehensive usefulness. It’s not merely a cash manager—it manages your employees, reports, tables, inventory and more.
Both small to mid-sized businesses will no doubt benefit from Lavu’s many features, which can help improve table turnaround and customer satisfaction. If there’s something more you’re looking for from Lavu, chances are they’re actively working on it. Plus, with its open API, innovative business owners can create what they need themselves. And while iPads represent a luxury in the consumer market, they’re an inexpensive commodity when compared with legacy POS hardware.
On the other hand, Lavu has yet to achieve perfection. Though it claims to be scalable to every niche within food service, there are some key features missing that may be deal breakers for mid-sized and most large business owners. If you’re a restaurant owner who’s looking for more than just a flashy front-end register, Lavu may be just what you’re looking for.
Matt Sherman
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To learn more about how we score our reviews, see our Point Of Sale (POS) Software Rating Criteria.
Organization Name: Crabb & Company
We are going on our second season with this product and man it is disappointing. This POS has the potential to be a wonderful product but they refuse to remedy the most important piece…payment processing. PayPal blames Lavu and Lavu blames PayPal. We are on the phone with them weekly and they still can’t fix it. We haven’t balanced nightly since we have had the product. We are spending countless manhours chasing down credit card transactions that are supposed to be integrated. If you process any type of added tip it is also a nightmare. Now we batch nightly and then even 3-4 days later we still have to “capture” transactions????? What does that even mean??? I can tell you what it means…last year before WE realized there was a problem we lost thousands of dollars. This system seriously needs to refund money and let people out of their agreements when they are NOT meeting the expectation. I mean what business owner would expect a company to actually follow through and collect a credit card transaction! The interface is easy and the rest of the system is ok but this is TOTALLY not acceptable.
Organization Name: Papa Felipe's Mexican Restaurant
Bought LAVU system and got it going on November 2, 2018. I have not been able to balance since then. System has lots of internal accounting flaws. Even our CPA is amazed as to how bad this system is. I have lots of calls into support with no results. I would not recommend until they fix their accounting system in their POS. As of February 25, 2019, we are still experiencing daily problems. Lavu has yet to remedy them.
Organization Name: Crabb & Company
We have the same problem. Also PayPal is constantly blaming Lave and visaversa. It is so frustrating. They are on the verge of a wonderful product and refuse to fix the most crucial part. We are constantly missing sales and have to “capture” tickets days later. This comes from a system that is supposed to batch nightly but it doesn’t work. We are to the point of trying to decide if we should report them to the better business bureau. We literally are on the phone with them weekly and they still can’t get it fixed. Anything to do with adding a tip is also a nightmare. No telling how many $ we lost last season due to this idiocy. We refuse to let a day go by without triple checking it. There are always sales that we have to try to recoup and NO REMEDY OFFERED!!!! Too much labor in credit card transactions and double checking and we still can’t balance a drawer.
Organization Name: Gecko Parx
This is the worst mistake we made as a company picking Lavu. This has cost us tremendously financially and lost man-hours. Please, please reconsider another system before Lavu and save yourself time and money. I could write a book on all the challenges and issue we had with this system but I do not have the time. You are welcome to call my company and talk to directly if you want to hear the whole story. These are very bad guys and do not use them.
Organization Name: Village Vintner Winery & Brewery
They sure can paint a pretty picture and promise the world but don’t follow through on anything. Here it is November and back in April we were told about an integration with a loyalty program called Bloyal which we were told had everything we were looking for in a loyalty program. In Aprill we were told it would be ready by July and we had to pay up front to receive the 3-year free financing which we took advantage of. Here it is going into December and we have nothing but some ipads sitting in a cabinet. I’ve looked high and low and asked for names of managers but the people answering will only pass you on to the tech department. I’ve asked for a refund but they tell me I signed a 3-year lease and cannot get out. We checked out many other POS systems and there’s many better. We only picked Lavu because of what was suppose to be the integration with Bloyal. DO NOT USE THIS COMPANY, YOU WILL BE PROMISED A LOT OF BULL.
Organization Name: Rough Diamond Brewery
Lave is the worst POS (piece of shit) that we have ever used…….the only thing that is sorrier than the POS is their customer service…….just a bunch of idiots that cant fix anything……..We would warn anyone thinking about going with Lavu to not do it…….you’ll regret it……….we made the mistake of payinbg for a full years service so were screwed……..time to get a lawyer
Organization Name: Martinez Brother's Tacos
I HIGHLY recommend this POS to EVERY food truck out there! My brother and I just celebrated our truck’s second anniversary last week and thanks to Lavu we are showing some amazing profits! With the inventory management option I’ve been able to make sure my truck is stocked perfectly for food shows and the Balloon Fiesta. It especially helps knowing that we can turn my wife’s iphone into an additional terminal whenever we get a huge rush. Not only that- but I was also able to drastically cut the time my wife and I spend doing end of day reports; now we click a button and can see what items are most popular and which items we can remove from the menu to save money on ingredients. We started using the display units that Justin had recommended to help draw more customers in when we are doing events at night and we’ve noticed a 20% increase in business. I am thankful that Lavu helped me transition from Clover; though my system hasn’t endured any hiccups while I’ve owned it- Justin assured me that their customer service team is here for me 24/7/365 and that support and updates are FREE! Next to my food truck and stovetop- this is hands down the BEST investment I have ever made. Thanks Lavu from the Martinez brothers <3
Organization Name: Lavu
Hi Christopher,
We are so happy to hear Lavu is working out for your food truck! The lines at that Balloon Fiesta are no joke and I’m sure the reporting was a nightmare before Lavu. Thanks for being a customer!
The Lavu Team
Organization Name: Grand View Cafe & RV Park
We have a seasonal restaurant and switched to Lavu last year. There are many things we really like about the system. Customer support and developer follow through is not one of them.
We reported three weeks ago that our employees were showing overtime that was unwarranted. We then realized that OT was calculated incorrectly all of last year as well- a very costly problem .
Overtime Regulations in Alaska require daily overtime pay. An employee is entitled to 1 ½ times their regular rate of pay for all hours worked over 8 per day or 40 scheduled hours per week. If an employee is paid overtime pay for working more than 8 hours on any day of the week, those hours do not need to be counted again when determining whether an employee has worked more than 40 hours for the week because those hours have already been counted and paid as overtime. So, for exapmle,our employees who work 2 hours of overtime per day were being paid overtime on their 5th day of work because they had reached total of 40 hours.
I would warn any other AK businesses to review timecards carefully, as LAVU settings are incorrect for calculating overtime. We have had to do the last two pay periods manually, and still have no solution to the problem. In fact, now when we look at employee timecards, the dates are not even in chronological order! This is a mess. LAVU- get this resolved!! You say that the problem is being worked on, but we see no progress. Three weeks is too long!
Organization Name: Lavu
Hi Dwight,
Very sorry to hear about the issues you’ve been having with overtime calculations and support through the process. It sounds like you’ve already been in touch so I will pass your name along to our support department and ask them to please reach out to you with an up date as soon as possible. We really appreciate you as a customer.
Thank you- The Lavu Team
Organization Name: Wild Cat Saloon
Most of the system is fine. However, they took something like tip entry that should be an afterthought and made it a living nightmare. If we were a restaurant, it would be fine. They just aren’t set up for high volume bars. I wish they would fix this one little issue but it is impossible to speak with a developer. I don’t know why they made something that should really easy and instead made it incredibly difficult. Tip entry should be done at the close of the transaction not afterward.
Organization Name: Lavu
Hi Phillip, We are very sorry to hear about your experience with tip entry. Sounds like you have already tried getting through to a developer but please know I am going to give your information directly to someone on our team and have them reach out to help you. We appreciate you as a customer. Don’t hesitate to call our support team at 855-767-5288. Thank you- The Lavu Team
Organization Name: On the House Pizza
I honestly don’t see where all these bad reviews are coming from. I’ve been a customer of Lavu for about a year and a half. At first, it was different. Coming from just an old fashioned cash register – the ipads took some getting used to. Fast forward to now- I can not imagine running my business without Lavu. It’s easy (this coming from a technically challenged person) to use and easy to train on. I’ve spent no more than 20 mins to train my employees. I call and get a live person here in the US to help me if I have any issues. This means a lot to me. They call to make sure my issues are fixed even after the problem is solved. One thing I can say is – Lavu cares about me as a customer, and Lavu cares about my business. You cannot find a better company out there.
Organization Name: Lavu
Hi Christina,
Thank you so much for your review. We are so happy to hear Lavu is working well for you. Don’t hesitate to call us if we can help with anything.
Thanks- The Lavu Team
Organization Name: Grand Father Burritos
I had Aloha before I went to Lavu and what a huge difference. Night and Day. We’re a quick serve place so our orders are mostly just on the go. I love the fact that I can configure whatever the hec I want and how i want my menu to be configured. I dont need an IT because its just simple to use. If I do have an issue I just call customer service or my salesman and they take care of things. Luckily I only had to call once and it wasn’t even their fault. Internet was down. I can keep track inventory and granted I also could do that with Aloha, I can edit, submit and save, and keep actual track of the traffic that comes in and out. This is easy stuff here. Love it
Organization Name: Lavu
Hi Roberto,
So happy to hear Lavu is working out for you! Thank you so much for the review. Sincerely- The Lavu Team
Organization Name: Belhurst Castle
After purchasing LAVU in April of 2018 and spending over $8,000, three months have gone by and the LAVU system is still inoperable. It’s some of the worst customer service I’ve seen and that’s if you can even get a response from someone. LAVU is a VERY poor choice if you’re looking for a POS system and I do not recommend purchasing.
Organization Name: Lavu
Hi Duane,
We are very sorry to hear about your experience with Lavu. We do our utmost to provide best-in-class customer service to all of our customers and would love the chance to improve your experience. Please call us at 855-767-5288. Thank you- The Lavu Team
Organization Name: Gecko Parks, LLC
I made a HUGE mistake by going with this company. As you may know as a business owner picking your POS system is critical to your business. They got nothing right and months and months have passed and I get the same message from them that our team is working hard on fixing the issues. I have lost a ton of money by using these guys. I escalated to the CEO and he refuses to talk to me and work out some compensation for their lack of incompetence. If you are making a decision AVOID these guys. The sales reps are nice and sweet and draw you in that they can make this happen but at the end of the day, it does not work. AVOID AVOID AVOID !!!
Our offices have been working with Jessica Schell at Lavu since we discovered this system…and we couldn’t be more satisfied! Her service-based approach with all the merchants we have referred is the reason we continue to refer. Our merchants are so pleased with the level of attention and focus, they’ve mentioned that they feel like her only clients…that’s huge!
This comment refers to an earlier version of this review and may be outdated.
Organization Name: Lavu Inc.
Thanks, Linda! We are so glad to hear Jessica has taken care of you!
Everything else! Whenever we have a issue they send it to the “developmental team” also known as the black hole. When we signed up they said “offline processing was in the works” that was 2 years ago. Reports are literally ALWAYS wrong. If you look at sales on two different reports they never are the same. For a span of about three months they miscalculated sales tax, having us over pay hundreds of dollars! For a long time they randomly doubled numbers on server reports, and now there is a random .50 added to numbers on servers reports. I have a tax background an I informed them the liability they were putting on us and our servers by misreporting so they showed me on the IRS website where they were right, THEY SET UP THERE SYSTEM BASED OFF THE WRONG PART OF THE IRS CODE. Not to mention that it randomly opens tickets from all different times that we have to re-close and I’m not sure we get paid for them or not. When we call customer support they are really nice, but our issues always get sent to the “Developmental Team” to never be heard about again!
This comment refers to an earlier version of this review and may be outdated.
Organization Name: Gecko Parks, LLC
I am having the same issues. Very bad back office support. Also, when you call in it takes hours to get ahold of someone.
How much money does Apple pay Lavu for them to push apple products down our throat, if iI don’t see Android support soon we are going to move to a diffrent product.
This comment refers to an earlier version of this review and may be outdated.
Why would you want Lavu to be on android? It would make integration a HUGE headache. I like that you can just go to your local Walmart or Beat Buy and buy a new iPad with the piece of mind knowing it works. With Android you are at the mercy of cost cutting measures to make them affordable. Also I do not trust some of the engineering of Android brands! It’s a can of worms… then Lavu would have to scale the app to fit even more devices of which might have lifespans of less than 8 months due to hardware expiration. No thanks! Maybe if one Android tablet became dominant then it would work… but with all the different resolutions and screen sizes and cpus… it would be impossible to have a polished product like Lavu has now!
This comment refers to an earlier version of this review and may be outdated.
The iPad is a much more stable and secure platform than Android. Androids are cheap. You can buy them in China for $27. They typically don’t have quality parts. With the iPad developers can predict the outcome of the performance with android every customer has a different product with a different outcome. iPad is the preferred device that is why it is used in hospitals and on airplanes.
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Choosing Lavu was probably the worst decision I have made for my pizza business. Customer service is average at best but if you want to hire a salesman to sell for you, strongly think you should hire one of theirs. I was oversold to the point almost 20% of my total bill, I can’t use the equipment and they won’t return it. I have had multiple days in which their equipment failed and I had to let customers walk out without paying. Took me over an hour to get help but too late.. I would run from Lavu and their scam as fast as I can, wish I never heard of them!
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Lavu COULD BE 5 star software! But there are some quirks that I would like to see fixed. For the new price, its SUPER worth it! So I am pretty happy with it. BTW… This is SUPER EASY to install on a basic router and network! You can DIY (which I did, note I have a web development background) or pay a local IT guy $50/hour to do it. If he hasn’t installed it in less than 4 hours… kick him to the curb.We are a full service restaurant that seats about 60. We needed a POS to keep up with the fast pace of our restaurant. We do about 300 covers/night. Lavu has filled our needs and made us a more streamlined and faster operation! We used to be old school paper and pen… And got quite good at it… but the POS has revolutionized a lot for us. But here are a few things that need to be changed:1) Receipt templating options. Would love more configurable print and receipt options. The print outs are sufficient, but don’t scream “professional”. Allow us to move stuff, remove stuff, make font bigger for some sections, ect. An advanced user (support-less) mode would be great for people who know basic coding. A lot of people these days know basic PHP, XSLT, HTML, CSS! The current receipts are set in stone aside from name change, font size, and logo. Its OK, but not perfect. Also why are we stuck with a “Powered by LAVU” logo on our receipts?… This feels like open source software trying to do black-hat SEO tactics!2) Control of what prints out of the printer and when. Lavu prints little papers for EVERYTHING. Employee clock ins and clock outs (Two papers that just get thrown away right away)… 3 pieces of paper for every credit card transaction. It is honestly annoying, and its a mess of paper at the cashier station if someone isn’t on top of cleaning it all. Please allow us to configure what gets printed and what does not. The thermal rolls aren’t cheap, and its a waste of paper! The hospitality industry is trying hard to go green. The POS should be more mindful about paper waste as well.3) Allow employees to view their hours, breaks. Give all employees access to their hours, and breaks so they don’t keep having to ask management for summaries. Also allow them to request time clock changes that require management approval in case they forgot to clock in or out. Maybe this is out of scope for the software. Will be happy for the time being.Other than that really good POS software that saves time and money! Definitely
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Oh by the way I give it a 5
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As I read through these reviews, I can’t believe its the same system I’ve been running for 2 years. True we are a small diner but Tableside checkout on the Ipad, no batching at the end of the day and the new Paypal EMV reader have saved us weeks of time (and money Paypal only charges 2.7%)versus the old “green ticket” at the central register.
This system will work reliably for anyone with a good understanding of networking, menus and modifiers, /back of the house operations. You will still need a good accounting software suite. I recommend Quickbooks.
Bottom line is I’m getting reliable service from a do it yourself product that costs a 1/3 of anything even close. Thanks Lavu
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After 6 months with LAVU our experience is TERRIBLE.Problem number one the system is UNRELIABLE, and I am not talking about details but the very core of the activity of a restaurant that is:- ORDERED ITEMS DISAPPEAR FROM CHECKS and therefore are not charged to customers.Customer support is always investigating, no answer given about the solution- CUSTOMER CREDIT CARDS CHARGED TWICE RANDOMLY- REPORTS GIVE NON CONSISTENT RESULTS (for instance in a report I can read a certain amount for tips and in a different report I read a different amount)- INVENTORY FUNCTIONS EXTREMELY POORso poor to be almost useless. It is probably a project that have been halted and clearly looks not finished.- POOR CUSTOMER SUPPORTbasically they do not solve any problem, but if you complain a lot, they offer you a discount on the monthly fee.- PROMISED FUNCTIONALITIES NOT EXISTINGfunctionalities, like Lavutogo, Lavudelivery, kitchen display, Quickbooks integration and others look like they have been started and then abandoned at the stub level, with no practical usage or further development in years.Unfortunately the company seems to invest more in advertising with testimonials like Gordon Ramsay than in development We run a single location in California with quite a complex menu (more than 100 items), 2 registers, 3 ipod, 5 kitchen printers, wifi setup by LAVU representative.We have received, in the last months, any kind of suggestions to solve the problems without getting to the point:- downgrade from LAVU 3 to LAVU retro- install a local server- upgrade to LAVU 3- downgrade to LAVU retro- upgrade to LAVU 3- uninstall the local server Probably LAVU might work ok for very small locations, but if the complexity level increases they are well below the par.I strongly suggest all those in a similar situation like us to look elsewhere to more robust and serious contenders. Today I think I would choose REVEL
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We had the same problems that you are having. I started using my iphone 6 and it worked great. (no crashes, no printing drops, lost checks) I still having problems with the Ipads. Crash, crash……….and on and on. So I called the guy that installed the system 2 1/2 years ago for and had him come out. Long story short, he told me to go out and get new ipads. That was 2 weeks ago and we haven’t had any problems since. I just wish that support could have suggested that to me so i didn’t have to go through all the STRESS over the last few months. Hope this helps
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Their back office reports are terrible. We had a very outdated POS (as in 9 years old) and I was under the impression that anything would be better…oh man I was wrong. There is no way to split out tips for the servers to tipout, so they end up having to claim the full amount and pay taxes on monies they don’t recieve. And Hosts/bartenders don’t have anywhere to claim their tips they receive from , leaving them exposed. Next the reports are terrible, they never tie out, I have no idea how much sales I actually did for any month and it can vary by 1k or more… If you call them they say “We’ll send it to the development team”, a dead end, black hole to get you off the phone. If only I didn’t get this EVERY TIME I called… For this I recommend using someone else..
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After using software and trying to find the right solution for our business in DC, we ran across POSLavu. Installed in 15 min and had my complete system setup in 1 hour. I currently use 3 IPads, 3 printers and my staff love the system. They use their own IPhones and ITouch during service which allows food to table time cut by 20%. If you’re wanting an easy to use top of the line system, this is it! Keep up the great work! Bryan Managing Director
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We started using Lavu about 6 months ago after a major renovation and adding 30 seats. We have had nothing but a headache with Lavu. Due to the size of our restaurant we installed a local server. Lo and behold, everything that was promised to us, ie gift cards and customer loyalty points, are not integrated into LLS clients. We have many, and I mean many, software crashes. There are still many glitches and every time we call customer support in the last three months we are told that they only have time to work on the EMV issues and not the other bugs that have surfaced. We are in the process of leaving Lavu. Hey Lavu, we ARE the customers. You have promised, promised, promised and have done nothing!!!!!!! Good bye
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Dear Joyce,I really sounds like your network is not set up properly. Who set it up for you? Did you use a certified Lavu expert? If so, why call Lavu support and not the installer themselves? I would be glad to give a hand if you contact us.IMPORTANT, the network is always key! Make sure you are using top rated wifi hardware NOT APPLE. There are better wifi transmitters. Make sure you have a dedicated internet connection for Lavu DO NOT SHARE IT WITH GUESTS OR CAMERAS! Make sure it is a fast connection! At least 15 Megabits down and 3 or 5 up! Specially in a large busy restaurant. My big restaurants use a cable modem connection with 50 mbs down and 15 up!!!!! Keep this in mind everyone reading about Lavu. Have a professional install the system!!!!
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Problem is they RECOMMEND Apple, we paid a pretty penny to have them send someone out and install their preferred network which was all Apple.
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Apple does not send anyone to any business. They have certified consultants which the refer to interested parties. Those are independent contractors. And because you use Apple hardware, it does not make it an Apple network. And there is much more to the hardware (read proper configuration) than a network. Why not have that installer come back and check out the problem? Lavu recommends Apple Wifi transmitters. But was a Lavu certified installer used? Again, in order to have a properly working system, a certified “professional” should be used. In this case, a certified Lavu specialist. And about the reporting. I have several dozen clients that would disagree with your comments.
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Dario – you are absolutely wrong about the reports. They are terrible! Where’s the report to tell you what your net profit is for a month? Since you are inputting your cost’s, and you know your sales, that report should exist…but it doesn’t. This is a basic business requirement. As for the hardware, they do recommend up front using Apple Airport extreme/express, but if you have a problem, their support will blame that 1st. It’s a decent solution, but a larger restaurant would be miserable using POS Lavu. Needless to say, they are never ready for iOS releases BEFORE they come out, enough said!
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Mike,
All reports can be exported to Excel. Once there, add a simple formula and you have more numbers and info. FYI, a more advanced system is coming. FYI, I have a third party solution that will give you details to the grain of salt. It costs more. But then again so do systems like Micros which may or may not do what you wish. This 3rd party is what Micros uses for more advanced reporting. Meaning Lavu can have that power too. And even if you had a system like Micros or Aloha, you would still have to buy this extra reporting system. Much more expensive than Lavu by at least 2x! Regarding your networking, you still have not said if you had a professional install it. Apple airports are one component of a network. There remain many variables which can affect the performance. I have 20 years experience as an Apple Certified Expert. 20 years experience as a networking expert. And 5 years as a Lavu Certified Specialist. If you hire someone like me to install/fix the Lavu system, you won’t have the same problems. And as for iOS updates. Those updates do not bring any functionality to your business specific app (Lavu in this case). Apple is famous for breaking other apps when they release their updates. Heck, they even broke their own WiFi with iOS 8 (which caused a lot of problems with apps including Lavu to no fault of their own). So as I tell my clients. Once I have you at a stable point DO NOT WORRY ABOUT UPGRADING! Specially if it is not bringing a must have feature to your business. And as the professionals with experience, we make the decision of when and how to do safe upgrades. Finally, I have many restaurants that are quite large and busy ( a million per year big enough?). They run with Lavu just fine. Again, Lavu works best when installed by trained professionals.
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We were sold a LAVU system that does not do what we thought we were buying. Support keep promising and tell us they are working on ‘it’…..we’ve realized that we overpaid for a system that is still being developed, like buying a car that isn’t ready to drive, will probably switch to Square very soon……anyone need a slightly used LAVU system?
I started using Lavu Point of Sale about 2 years ago. Before switching to the system we were using paper tickets, I didn’t realize how inefficient this really was until I made the switch to an electronic system. Not only are we now spending less time managing each order, accuracy has gone up, and my shrinkage has gone down. The kitchen is only allowed to make items that are rung into the system and print out which has help cut down on theft or giving items away. The biggest time savings is getting the customers checked out. Previously during our lunch rush we would have a line of people waiting to pay and leave, now we are able to handle them as they come up to the counter since everything is already totaled up in the system.Another big help has been the ability to use iPods to take orders at the table. We usually have a rush after church on Sundays, sometimes a line at the door. Before my servers had to go to the table, take the order, then take the ticket back to the kitchen. Now my servers go to the table, take the order, hit send and it prints in the kitchen. Then they can go straight to the next table. Anything we can do to speed up the time it takes to turn a table is a plus.The amount of features that have been added in the last couple years has been amazing, it’s nice to see that they are actively working on the software. The biggest thing for us has been the addition of “always offline mode”. You just use the system and the orders go to the cloud in the background. When we first got setup we had some issues with the internet which interfered with using the system. They offered us a local server option but I did not want to install more hardware. While my internet situation was much improved by switching from DSL to cable I always worried that my connection going out could be a possibility. With the new version (3.0.3) the system keeps working even if my internet connection were to go out.The Lavu POS software has worked great for us and I highly recommend it.
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When you read reviews for any POS system, it seems you never see reviews that are lukewarm or moderate. People either love the system, or hate it and want to throw it out the window. However, the longer the negative review, the more the poster convinces you that it’s exactly their fault why the POS doesn’t work for them.What we as restaurateurs do is uniquely complicated. It’s an old saw that we are both manufacturers and service providers, and that’s very true. It seems that no matter what system we put in place, that system is overlaying the unique challenges that we all face in our industry. Such as it is with a POS. Folks expect that the systems should “just work” without their having to gain at least a basic understanding of how to troubleshoot and maintain! Restaurant people have no problem learning the mechanics of every piece of equipment in the kitchen, the air conditioner, the walk in, such that on-the-spot, initial troubleshooting can be conducted to save a service call, but somehow, the POS is exempt from this.When I chose Lavu, I had already narrowed down the systems that I considered worthy of a look to those that are iPad-based. No way in hell I was going to trust some Windows-based system. After all, iPads are now in every commercial airliner cockpit and operating room for a reason! The local sales rep (Buckeye POS) did the install and loading, and that was money well-spent. Just as with any other application you can possibly think of, iPad-based technology, while MILES ahead of any PC-based technology, is still developing. You have to take that into account as both a pro and con (although far more of a pro, as opposed to the stagnancy of any other system).Look, we had hiccups and “problems” with Lavu in the beginning. We have virtually none now. What’s the difference? We learned the damned system, which really wasn’t all that difficult. Lavu was there for us with any questions in the meantime, and troubleshooting was actually very easy when issues did come up, but in retrospect, any problems that we had were simply learning-curve issues, which I feel you are going to have with ANY system. The difference is that the now that we understand the system a bit more, as you do with any damned mechanical system in the restaurant if you are worth your salt as an operator, the issues we have are very short-lived and are usually resolved by a server or supervisor immediately. We only had to do one upgrade, and that was to the memory of the Mac Mini to speed up the system because of our high volume of business. I think that was $250, and took the Apple store about 20 minutes. Yes, I griped at Buckeye POS about this, as you gripe to any vendor (that’s part of their job, to take grief), but big deal! I’ve had to replace fryers on a Saturday night! POS Lavu is an exceptionally powerful and reliable system, and I would recommend it to anyone. As with anything, you get what you pay for, so spend the money for professional install and service.
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In my experience as an Apple and Lavu consultant, most unhappy Lavu clients have done a self install. Apple centric or not, Lavu requires networking knowledge for ultimate performance. There are many Apple solutions that require an expert to show people around. After all the old standards, Photoshop and Quark were not for the novice. Lavu is one of those. But most importantly, networking is the back bone of any solid business solution. Lavu is a multi faceted business solution. It is not an App! Lavu compares to big names like Micros and Aloha for the hospitality industry. Those will cost around double for about the same functionality. And you can bet nobody complains about hiring a professional to install, deploy and train on those other systems!Bottom line, you need a mission critical solution for your business (any business)? If you are not an expert and try to deploy it yourself, be ready for the consequences!
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We have been using Lavu for over a year. I decided to go with this company because I wanted my restaurant to be more efficient and effective. We had our system installed by a certified Lavu representative. The first problem that we had was our system kept losing the network. When this happened, checks wouldnt print out to the kitchen and so when the server was ready for her for the kitchen had no idea about the order! We had ALOT of printing problems. Then we had an issue with the printers just not printing checks randomly. Finally or LAVU rep got them solved, but it took over 6 months to figure out what the problem was. Then I updated the system to a newer version of lavu and I wasn’t suppose to because there were bugs they needed to fix….(you would think they would get the bugs fixed BEFORE letting the iPad tell you to update) My biggest complaint…I mean two biggest complaints…..I mean 3 biggest complaints are1.) When they introduced there newest version, my credit card processing system charged my customers TWICE and we had no idea. Customers started calling us up, some screaming at us telling us we were trying to scam them. uggggggg!2). When you call for help after 9pm, plan on being on hold for a half an hour or longer and sometimes the representative isn’t well trained with the product so they end up having to call you back……a whole day later…if you are lucky. Sometimes you have to call them back!Once I called just to find out what the difference is between the two price brackets in service and the rep told me to look it up on there website!!! HE HAD NO CLUE!!! 3). There is no CID (CASH IN DRAWER) feature on your z report. Therefore plan on having a calculator handy. You have to first add the auto gratuity to the credit card tips then subtract this number for your cash total. PAIN IN THE BUTT!. 4) The scheduling system doesn’t work well. Its great for simple scheduling, but if an employee wants to trade a shift with another employee, a manager doesn’t have the ability to approve it. There are many things that need to be improved with this feature.PROS1). For a small business, the price can’t be beat. 2). My Lavu rep from Merchantile Processing and his entire staff are amazing. It is the only reason why I haven’t switched to a different POS company. I am hoping that Lavu will get it together and get some of these glitches fixed. I wonder if Gordon Ramsey had any of these issues at any of his restaurants.
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Hello,
I see a lot of comments about the speed of Lavu. Lavu has released version 3.0, and is soon releasing 3.0.1, which is noticeably faster than before, and has a lot of features that have been requested by consumers.
Also, internet speed plays a huge factor in whether your system is going to work at it’s fullest capabilities. The recommended speeds for Lavu to run efficiently are 3-4 mb/s upload and 8-10 mb/s download.
If you don’t have consistent internet speeds in your area, Lavu Local Server is recommended. According to Lavu, LLS is a dedicated server installed on a Mac Mini computer. Since the server is setup in-house, your business can continue operating even when there is no Internet connection to the cloud servers, like during an Internet “outage”. As soon as the connection to the cloud server is restored, all of the latest sales data will be automatically uploaded and synced.
Lavu does say that not every Lavu customer needs LLS, but also lists a few reasons you may want to consider it for your business:
Improved performance due to on-site server.
Fail-safe backup to ensure non-credit card orders are always processed regardless of Internet connection.
Independence from your slow or inconsistent Internet connection.
Your local Internet Service Provider (ISP) occasionally drops your internet connection.
The nature of cloud computing is inherently at the mercy of your internet connections stability and speed.
Morgan Murr
Lavu Specialist
Mercantile Processing Inc.
lavu@mpiprocessing.com
store.mpiprocessing.com
800-518-5020
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1. Unreliable2. Unstable3. See 1 & 2Never now when it’s going to lose an order, charge a customer for someone else’s bill, double charge a credit card, randomly charge the wrong card to the wrong order, not print to the kitchen, lock up, lock up.We have refunded hundreds of dollars to customers whose card was charged for another guests bill. Today an order printed up almost five minutes after it was sent to the kitchen.Updates don”t address these issues and usually create new problems. The only things that keeps me using it are a lack of time to devout to changing over to a new POS and the loss of all the sales data when that change happens.Unbelievable that it got a review above 2 stars. If you are a restaurant owner and want to occasionally walk away from your business and not worry about you POS going haywire this is not the software for you.
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Every night I want to take a hammer and smash the iPad running LAVU behind our bar. I’m writing this review just to vent some of my frustration. I find myself holding my breath every time I have to interact with it, esp. running CCs. Oh, and then it’s even more fun when it stops printing tickets. On a busy night I am sure I’m burning 10% of my work hours exiting and restarting it. That’s 10% more sales I could be making for my place of work. Soon we’ll be switching to Micros, which is certainly far from perfect but leaps and bounds more stable that this POS. And I MUST ASK: did the people who wrote this spend ANY TIME looking at the competition (Micros, Aloha, etc) and did they spend ANY TIME studying industry needs? For example, you do realize that splitting checks evenly across multiple CCs happens ALL THE TIME in food service? Hardly an advanced feature.OK…you get the point.
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Michael,
Thanks for the heads up. In response to your question of whether we spent any time studying the competition or studying the industry. We have not looked at Micros, Aloha, or any of the legacy systems mainly because our focus is on iPad based systems. As for industry research, our goal is to consistently become better, so yes, we do spend a lot of time trying to understand the industry. I would say we have a ways to go, and it’s input like yours that will help us get there.
Best,
Amad
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Your statement about (willfully) not bothering to look at legacy POS systems followed by your assertion you spend time trying to understand the industry those same systems are built to address simply boggles the mind! Who would possibly try to build a solution that meets the needs of it’s target customers w/o also looking at the existing market leading products? It’s either, bulls**t, hubris, or stupidity. Not sure. Possibly a combination of all three.P.S. If I read a review like the one I wrote here by a customer of a product I made, I’d be doing my utmost to contact that customer personally and find out what I could do to make them happy.
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I wouldn’t say that it’s bulls**t, hubris, or stupidity. We prefer to focus on iPad based solutions because that’s what we’re good at. It’s difficult to test a legacy system without actually buying all the software/hardware, so our evaluations wouldn’t be very thorough.
Best,
Amad
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We’ll just agree to disagree and end things here. Best of luck to you in the iPad market.
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Thank you Michael. Take care!
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Hi Michael,
We are sorry for all of the trouble that you have been having with your system. If you can provide us with your location name, we would love to have a Lavu Certified Specialists and the Lavu Support team reach out to you to assist you with resolving issues with your system.
In the mean time, here is a video on how to split checks evenly across all credit cards:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4aCHMVk3gRs
You can split checks evenly across all cards. This has been a feature for 2+ years.
If you are uncomfortable providing us with you location name, please send us a direct email at Specialists@poslavu.com. We would love to help you get your issues resolved ASAP.
Thank you,
Hannah D.
Lavu Inc.
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This has to be the greatest POS scam known to man kind. I agree with all the above comments- stops printing, turn on and off/restart, slow, losing bills, the list goes on and on. Support here in Australia is non existent- headed by what appears to be non contactable amateurs. I’m exploring other options and my company will be seeking compensation for our loses. The fact that Lavu can’t even send a representative to ensure the set up is correct boggles me. Stay away from this company and this Pos.
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We installed Lavu in Sept of 2014. We had been using Ambur but got frustrated with Ambur when the “upgraded” and fell flat our their faces. Our experience with Lavu has been very positive. We did install the server addition due to the unreliability of our ISP (Comcast) in our city. We do about 400 or so covers in a week (lunch and dinner). We did opt for a “specialist” to help install and it was inexpensive and money well spent. I do have a local guy that is tech savvy to help when needed but, all in all, we would recommend Lavu to people who use someone to help set it up.
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Cherin: It sounds like you updated to iOS 8 without uninstalling Lavu first. Uninstall Lavu. Update iOS8 and then reinstall the app.
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I notice there are a lot of negative comments about connectivity/server issues. It sounds like people don’t know how to properly set up the networks and think just because its an iPad they don’t need to have any technical skill to set up a Point of Sale system. As a Lavu Certified Specialist I can tell you that there are many many more satisfied customers due to the fact that they got their system installed and setup by a professional and not by their bus boy who said he’s a whiz with computers.
Also the monthly fees are extremely cheap compared to long term costs. Lavu systems can be 70% cheaper over 5 years versus legacy systems like Micros. Monthly costs included. Also companies like Breadcrumb consistently charged $300-$400 per month for the length of your stay with them adding up to double/triple 5 year costs.
Some of the information in this article isn’t even up to date but that’s another post entirely. Lavu will be releasing version 3.0 in the very near future so please check it out and if you have any questions I’ll definitely try and get them answered.
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Where does one start? I have encountered all the above issues but having to reboot every half hour is a JOKE! Stops working right when you need it the most and is so embarrassing. I will be insisting on a full refund as the product is not fit for use.
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There is a lot of good ~ and bad with Lavu.If you are strictly a restauranteur with little to no tech savvy, this system is going to be frustrating and time consuming. If you have someone on staff that has some tech prowess, then it is not horrible. The biggest issue we have is instability. It seems the servers go down when we have a full house. And when I say go down, I mean down… not able to enter orders, print to the kitchen, print out a check for a table. Fortunately for us, we use Square as a back up for payment or we’d be screwed. The other issue we have are what you’d think would be easy fixes:Reporting is cumbersome and not relevant. Inventory reporting is non existent. If you wanted to run an inventory report that includes starting inventory, sales for a specific date(s), and current inventory ~ it does not exist. Also, you can not import large volumes of data via .csv ~ meaning you need to manually type each ingredient, unit of measure, cost, etc. Taxable v non-taxable sales. When you run your end of day, there is not sales totals by tax. Gift Cards are not taxed when they are sold, only when they are redeemed. It makes for an accounting nightmare.We are a 45 seat restaurant with a limited menu and drink options (beer, wine) so it works for us. However, we are opening a new restaurant with full liquor (and all the options that entails!) and are not sure if we will be using it again. Just my two cents.
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At first glance, Lavu POS seems very impressive, however, that is where it stops.Lavu has no field support so everything has to be done over the phone. Most of the time, you have to wait for them to get back to you. Once they call you back, they talk about 50 levels above your knowledge of the POS. By the time you hang up, you’re so frustrated that you just want to burn the system down! Now, lets talk about the reports. Many of them tell you the same thing in a different format. However, important statistical reports, like how much sales do you have on certain days of the week, is nowhere to be found. When you try to train someone on Lavu, there is no way to do it except by entering actual sales into the system and then deleting them later. God forbid you get audited by the government, the auditors think you’re trying to pull a fast one on them with all the sales being deleted. Our staff is very disappointed in this system, and as an accountant, I would not recommend it. Unfortunately, we paid so much money for it, we HAVE TO keep it.
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Terrible company. I was mistakenly charged over $1000 and they wouldn’t refund the charges. Had to turn it over to my bank’s fraud department.
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I work with POS Lavu on a daily basis. Since printing over a wireless network, it’s very , very, important to have the proper network set up by a Lavu Specialist. The iPad’s ease of use can provide a false sense of security if you want to set it up on your own. I highly recommend working with a Specialist to assist you in setting up things properly. I work with over 20 POS Lavu users, and most all of them are very happy happy. All my printers are hardwired and nobody has any problems. I am happy to help anyone who’s having problems, has questions or wants to talk about it.
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I would like to share my story of wasting $2000 on POS Lavu…http://bboym0de.wordpress.com/2014/03/18/how-i-wasted-2000-on-lavu-pos/
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It seems somewhat delusional to claim there is “no contract” but you have to pay $895 up front for a license, which is about a year of some other product. The first sign of deception is always a red flag for other things to come.
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It might just be a matter of semantics, Dennis, but the license fee is for the software itself, while the monthly charge covers hosting and support, for which there is no contract. You can cancel anytime. Whether or not the software justifies the upfront price is open for discussion, considering there are other POS solutions that don’t charge license fees.
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I cannot stress enough how untrue the merchant maverick rating and statements are. This will cause problems and cost you way more money than you think! It does not work at all and the constant issues that you are told to keep track of and report to the tech team so they can release a new update that never fixes ANYTHING!!! This is beta software from a credit card processing company who has the money to screw people across the country. DO NOT PURCHASE THIS!!!!
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This is the worst investment we have made. We bought into the story of how great it works.This system is a complete waste of money. I do not believe the bugs will ever go away…..to many to fix.
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Worst POS system ever. Full of promises but no results… Worst purchase ever
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We installed this system in Utah’s biggest and busiest night clubs in August of 2012. We learned quickly you get what you pay for. I am not going to say we didn’t have a lot of bugs to deal with, or that there are limitations in various areas because there are. However, after researching several POS systems over the past 15 month’s, and watching other restaurants and their POS system, I am convinced that we made a good choice to stick with Lavu. Speed – Speed is ultra important to a night club. Our first major problem was that our network wasn’t setup properly. While we purchased all the expensive Apple Hardware we were told would work, we didn’t take into account the fact that thousands of orders in only a few hours were going to be placed on the weekends. As good as Apple Hardware is, it just wasn’t cut out for the job. We replaced our network hardware with different hardware (that turned out to be not as expensive, but required some technical knowhow) and our network efficiency and speed increased greatly. Interface – The interface is easy to use on the front end. I’m not going to lie, the back end menu setup while great for smaller locations with limited options, does not work very well for large menus or nightclubs with hundreds of cocktails and drinks. However, we make due. One of my favorite things about Lavu is that I can get on their Lavu Community forums and talk with other Lavu users and see what solutions they have come up with. Every single POS on the market will have limitations in your business…something you don’t like. Users often find clever ways to get around limitations and Lavu allows the users to communicate and work together. This may sound like they are putting tech support on the users, but in fact it’s the opposite. Lavu is very active in the community as well and I have seen dozens of User conversations about features or work arounds turned into new features over the past year. Lavu is the core of the user community and they are very active in it, which is very nice.Overall I would recommend Lavu to non-nightclub owners. There are a few limitations that we as a night club must deal with, but I know from the Lavu community, tech support, and personal conversations with the developers that they are working to fix my problems as well as other great features I had not even thought of. The fact is, iPads are only 5-7 years old. In POS terms, that’s very young. POS systems are 40+ years old, and many of them have had a decades head start. If you want to use Lavu, it’s because you want a CLOUD based system with automatic data backup, easy of use, ease of expandability, and a good amount of non-propriety hardware (meaning as new hardware comes out, you can upgrade and easily sell your older iPads and iPod touches). At this point, I can’t see a reason I would leave Lavu. They are a fantastic POS system.
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i give it 2.5 stars
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We unfortunately bought into the hype of the POSLavu system and have had nothing but issues with it. We did not go the cheap route as an earlier poster suggested some people do, we have new ipads and the newest router. Our biggest issue is that you can not split an item on a check (let me rephrase) you can split an item but it splits the whole check so if you have 3 people at a table but 2 of them split an item the system only allows you to split it 3 ways so the third person has to pay. the reporting is ok not great but suffice and the only other issue we have is checks disappearing and items disappearing of checks we have contacted lavu and we get the same auto response that the issues are high on their list. DO NOT buy this system until it has all the bugs worked out
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I have Lavu as well and am wondering if you ever got your issue worked out with disappearing items? We seem to have the same issue although everything else is fine
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I did receive a call from lavu within a few days of posting my comments and the system has been updated and does run rather smoothly, however the original complaint has still not been fixed as we still can not split an item. It is rather frustrating as he said he would “talk” with the CEO about this issue but it has been almost 3 months and still no resolve. This system is great for a QSR type set up but for a large restaurant i would still not recommend it
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With one week until opening we installed Lavu when we found out that the old POS system left behind by the previous owner was boot legged and installed on hardware that was not working ( blown mother board in main PC)As mentioned in this article, the system has a slick easy to use look on the front end and I was attracted to the fact that a server could take an order anywhere that the wifi reached ( I’ve taken orders at the bar next door and in the parking lot!…pretty neat trick)However, that “neat trick” is not nearly worth the hours of agravation I’ve experienced with this system…so much so that I’ve contacted an atty. Everything mentioned in this article has happened to me, my staff and my customers: missing information on tickets, printer failures ( the register printer will start printing receipts that are completely black for no discerable reason, for example), kitch printer will suddenly disconnect from the wifi. Issues with the handhelds loosing contact with the wifi. Recently the one handheld we have has decided to soom print to billboard size and being an apple, it is not an easy matter to pull the battery ( the swipe to the right to turn off is…bill board sized)We have a full service restaurant with delivery and getting the ticket assigned to the driver ( who gets the tip ) is very cumbersome since the kitchen takes the order.My experience with tech support has not been very good….I’ve called them twice during the east coast dinner rush only to be put on hold for over 50 minutes ( Yes, I timed it). As anyone in the resturant industry knows, when you have a tech issue with your POS you’ll have customers waiting, servers waiting, kitchen waiting….you need need support NOW…even 5 minutes seems like a life time.The system seems simplistic…perfectly fine if you have a coffee shop; but a full service resturant, with delivery, take out, on-line ordering, the need to have “1/2 items” ( Like “1/2 pepperoni, 1/2 mushroom” on a pizza)…just not the right thing. I’m sorry I purchased it. Lavu states that they will have a “Pizza shop module” rolled out soon ( for extra $$…like pizza shops are some exotic creature) …but the beta is far from complete ( would charge full price for 1/2 items. we’ve all ordered a pizza with 1/2 something on it…I doubt any reader would tollerate being charged full topping price for 1/2 the amount. Oddly, this never occured to Lavu when they were rolling this out)Backend…easy to understand and do a bit of programming; but again Lavu failed to build in any security that would prevent two users from being in the back end at once. I had the menu function open one day while a hired programmer was making some changes…the result? A totally scrambled menue! We are still working it out. We both later learned that only one person can be in the menue at a time. The ability to block multiple users from being in a menue or document at the same time has been around for years now…MS Access and MS Excel are examples; but again, Lavu IT apparently did not plan for this common issue.The whole software has been around now for 3 years and still has the feel that it was cobbled together and rushed to market by a couple of smart computer guys who’s experience in the resturant industry consisted of ordering lattes at a coffee shop while typing the code for Lavu. I really regret purchasing it almost every day. My staff is frustrated with it and me, I’m frustrated, and customers really do not want to hear, “I’ll have your credit card receipt in just a minute…problems with the POS system.”
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I gave Poslavu 4 Stars so as to leave room for an extra star when the team over there gets it to where they want it….without doubt it will be a 5 star product at some point in the near future. We’ve been using Poslavu in our restaurant for a little over 1 year and our overall experience has been fantastic. When we initially set up the system the support staff were excellent and really helpful. Anytime we’ve had an issue I’ve been able to get it resolved through the forums very quickly.We have a 70 seat restaurant and have a high volume of take-away orders. We have just been through our peak season (we are a gateway town for the snow fields) and over that 3 month period Poslavu worked like charm. It’s not uncommon to turn the tables 3 times a night and the phone seems like it will never stop ringing. On weekends we literally have to close the doors when we run out of food. Here and there we had the odd issue as described above but with a little understanding of how the system works these can easily be resolved. We have been extremely happy with our choice to use Poslavu, the support staff are excellent, the dev team are constantly working to make the system better and better and most importantly our restaurant workflow is so much better and that means quicker and more efficient service so our customers are thrilled too.I would say that the system is very stable, those having problems may need to look at how they have everything set up.
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I am user of POS Lavu since september 2012, for me it always worked fine , I have never a single issue, i think most people who had issue with it need to fix the IF to fix so that will protect eventual auto IP setting, POS lavu is appreciated by our employees and clients, the system offers several features, so take your time to setup for your restaurant, the system also works in cloud so internet speed is important,
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This is a review from an actual restaurant (mine) Lighthouse Cafe in Berthoud CO and the person (me), Hollis Hunt who actually purchased POS LAVU, set up and manages the entire system.It started out a bit rocky, like all technology it takes some getting use to. When I first bought Lavu back in February 2013 the customer service was terrible, over 24 hours for call backs and responses. It was very frustrating. I did not feel like a valued customer at all.Beginning in September 2013 customer service has increased significantly. I would even go as far to say that customer service is excellent based on my recent experience. As of today I feel valued as a customer, which is a relief. I had considered switching numerous times between February and August and am very glad I didn’t. In my restaurant I use the KDS (Kitchen Display System) which is awesome! The KDS has paid for itself a couple times over in the saving’s on paper alone, my expedite and line cook love it! We also have One iPad, one iPad mini, and one iPhone 5, we have recently launched LAVU online (1st ones to do that) and love it, more importantly our customers love it! feel free to check it out on my website http://www.lighthousecafe-gp.comI highly recommend skipping silver and going straight to Gold, which we just upgraded to in September 2013. Especially if you track time and wages through the iPad. The reports you need and the flexibility you’ll want is there and worth it. Last, do use Zephyr Hardware, they are amazing! When I wasn’t able to get support through Lavu these guys saved me as a customer. They are extremely helpful, knowledgeable and have always answered the phone. In Summation: If you are looking for a dynamic iPad based POS for your restaurant this is the one. Some quirks? Yes. But they are constantly updating, and open to your input. The features you get are just not found anywhere else, for the price and ease of set up. I set up both my breakfast and lunch menu (a lot of items), with modifiers in less than a day. Had the system up and operational in my establishment in less than an hour. Trained my employees in 30 minutes. I went live to online ordering in less than 30 minutes. Things are very easy to change even when I am on vacation, Service has only continued to improve in my experience and needed features continue to be added. Be patient, it will take some getting used to and there is a short learning curve, I have never lost money, or business, Maybe some hair but thats it. I purchased all of the equipment and set up everything myself, I am not an expert by any means but do have a little knowledge, between the online support videos and Zephyr Hardware it was easy. I know now that the support from LAVU is much better and would expect that they would be the go to if you were to begin now, I have demo’d pretty much every solution out there and none of them do what POS LAVU does for the price.
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10 months with POSLavu…
I have almost nothing positive to say regarding Lavu. In January 2013 we were sold the Gold package through a Lavu distributor. Setting up the software was a nightmare and was never completed. The software is FULL of bugs aside from the general difficulties and shortcomings the system has in it. At its most basic function it cannot split a bill down the middle; the closest I’ve seen it come was within 6 cents. Orders are dropped from the system or not sent to the kitchen – this year has been one problem after another with the software. Every time Lavu is contacted, if you can even get someone on the phone, there is an update coming soon to fix the problem or no resolution to the problem no matter how much you stay on top of them.
Our most recent issue is that we have come to find out that Lavu’s distributor sold us on a package that does not exist. Now we have a terminal shut down as Lavu started tracking devices. We never purchased a single thing – our distributor set us up with all the hardware we would need and now Lavu tells us to take up the matter with their distributor and refused to even contact him on our behalf. If you like to feel swindled, ripped off, and like to deal with a company who could care less about customer service (even if you pay extra for 24/7 customer care) then Lavu is definitely for you.
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HATE HATE HATE LAVU. Terrible support and continual problems. Save your money. We bought all the newest equipment, upgraded our internet connection, spent hundreds on outside tech support, changed to the recommended credit service, and even paid hundreds for support services from the re-seller and-it still sucks. Wish I would have read the reviews. We ordered Square Reader today.
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Dis-agree with all the comments above. I actually program back-offices for a local dealer here in SoCal and own my own gastropub which runs the hardware and software without much of any problem. Most of the issues are that the above owners are cheap and want everything for FREE. Refuse to get a descent internet connection, won’t hard wire the printers, buy first generation iPads, want to hook up printers that they’ve had for 10 years, use an antiquated router, because they bought it 5 years ago. As far as the request to their re-seller. They want all their staff trained,(multiple days and travel expense) menu which was only one page and turned out to be a dictionary and which changes daily,or don’t understand modifiers, won’t implement inventory or service plan and want this done for $500 if that, forgot taking pictures of their whole menu. Try the competition, won’t cut it without 20K AND service plan!NEVER update to any new software update ( iOS or LAVU) until you have read the forums and now it’s stable for YOUR configuration!
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forgot to rate this product, -5
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poslavu has released their product way before it’s time. Untested in a real scenario, they are using real customers that are stupid enough to buy it as beta testers, and the sales department is pushing this as the next great thing that ISN’T. 24 hour customer service is a joke, “no operators are available, please email your questions” at 10PM when we are the busiest. David Miles keeps promising fixes but they never seem to come. Screw the tutorials too, they are so outdated and not understandable to even a seasoned tech since they constantly chase their butts with updates but don’t change the outdated tutorials. I have not implemented yet and will not. Thumbs down
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Jeff, we were one of the “stupid” people that thought this was gonna be the greatest thing since sliced bread. We were dead wrong. Our system has not worked right since day one. The person that sold it to us is an idiot. He hasn’t helped us at all. We were left to our own devices to troubleshoot this system. Our printers don’t work, the orders don’t send, and the CC swipes have all broken. If any body is considering this system….take out advise….DON”T DO IT! It’s the worse investment…over $6,000 that I have ever made. I am seriously considering taking legal action.
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I also forgot to rate this product. If I could give zero stars I would.
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We installed POSLavu back in November and have had problems with it constantly. At times, often at the wrong time, it can be extremely slow. Connectivity between the iPad and the receipt printers is frequently an issue, as well as the kitchen printer. One of my biggest frustrations is that when there is a problem, it is very rare that our restaurant staff can work through the fix on their own. It’s almost never as simple as rebooting the iPad or printer.The reporting isn’t too bad, though I have a hard time really trusting it. If you operate anywhere that offers tax exemptions, it is hard to track tax exempt sales at the end of the day. I’ve also been having a hard time with the Meal Period function. I built our meal periods and was able to get a report for it that day. Then everything went kaput. I’ve tried deleting the old periods and rebuilding them, but that doesn’t work. Even tech support didn’t have an answer for me. Also, our restaurant is attached to our 62 room hotel. This system doesn’t talk to anything! So when we have a room charge in the restaurant, we have to manually walk those tickets over to the front desk to have them entered into our guest’s folio. Hardly efficient.In the end, I’m so frustrated with this product that I’m about to rip it out of the wall and throw it in the ocean and start over on paper tickets. The concept is great, but in practice, it just isn’t working.
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here here! I agree. I am so darn frustrated I could SCREAM! In theory its a wonderful system–but each upgrade comes just when you finally feel like it might work right. Split check crashes and printer connectivity issues are making me insane.
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We tried it. Way too slow! Splitting checks is a nightmare. No quickbooks integration.
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So I’m looking at Square and Lavu and I’m not getting why Lavu has this $40/month hosting fee. I mean if you look at them both, Square is just much cheaper and has just as easy to use of an interface. Lavu might have some better features with regards to inventory tracking and reporting (though you can only get them if you purchase a license), but how do they justify that extremely high hosting fee? They are still charging you a processing fee correct?
So the way I see it:
Square
-$275/month OR 2.75% per transaction
-$300 set up minus the ipad and printer
Lavu
-$1.95% per transaction and $40/month
-around $450 set up minues the ipad and printer (since you need a card reader that they don’t provide for free)
Square seems like the no brainer here, anyone have any input?
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Zeezo,
I think you have the wrong idea about your square/Lavu comparison. It’s the classic apples to oranges mismatch. PosLavu is trying to replicate the complete POS solution in the cloud (or on a local server). Square is only offering you Credit Card Proccessing. Compare square to a traditional merchant account from your bank or other MSP like heartland, Mercury or Paymentech. Compare PosLavu to a POS system like Aloha, Micros or even a good Cash Register. Both of these solution don’t stack up in my opinion.
This comment refers to an earlier version of this review and may be outdated.