Aloha Cloud Reviews

“useful management tools”

Pros

Pulling reports and training employees on it has been the easiest. I can quickly look up a lot of details so it's been useful for monitoring my staff as well. Checking cancelled tickets is helpful too although having the exact cancellation times would make that even better.

Cons

I'd say the only thing its missing is an integration with my online calendar system. Email management is extremely limited right now.

“multi-store management”

Pros

When we were preparing to open a second retail location this cloud-based POS checked most of the boxes I needed. Remote access was important and so was being able to share information between both stores and have something that could scale as the business keeps growing. The 24/7 customer support has also been dependable and easy to reach. Most of the time one phone call is enough to get an issue taken care of.

Cons

Our alphanumeric SKU system did not transfer over to NCR Silver. Instead of scanning we have to manually enter the alphanumeric SKU numbers.

“security problems need attention”

Pros

The front end is very plain and simple to use which I appreciate. Also pulling reports and details from past sales is pretty convenient.

Cons

Security problems don't seem to get addressed until they've already caused trouble like credit cards being declined after we were told they were fine. The issue was fixed after changing the security settings on the iPads but we had to contact support first instead of being notified proactively. It also really needs an accounts receivable feature. Right now we have to rely on a workaround and handle payouts with notes just to balance the drawer and having a fourth category would make that process much more manageable.

“in-depth sales tracking”

Pros

Getting a detailed breakdown of daily sales including time-based reporting inside the system has been something I've really appreciated. The amount of information this platform gives me is impressive. It's been fairly easy to set up and use. Whenever I run into a question I can just open the chat from the back menu and usually get my issue resolved within minutes.

Cons

The only thing I'd want more of is employee tracking although it seems like those features are included in the next monthly pricing tier.

“Extremely inefficient!”

Pros

Any positives are completely overshadowed here. The problems are serious enough that the system ends up being useless for my business.

Cons

It immediately created confusion for us. A customer orders through a waitress or bartender, the tickets print in the bar and kitchen but the wrong waitress name shows up on the ticket so no one knows which server the order belongs to when it's time to deliver food and drinks. It takes far too much time to track down where the order is actually supposed to go. On top of that we run daily specials like Wing It Wednesday with half-price hot wings and whenever an item is on special, every single one has to be entered separately. If a customer orders 40 wings the waitress has to ring it in 40 different times instead of just entering a quantity of 40 like we used to. That ties up both the server and the iPad for way longer than necessary. It's unacceptable and is costing my business both time and money. I've been reporting these issues to customer service for three months and nothing has been resolved.

“solid and reliable hardware”

Pros

The system has been consistently stable, the interface is easy to work with and the stand, printers and cash drawers all feel well-built and dependable.

Cons

Would really help to have access to the programming team whether directly or through a dedicated point of contact. There are quite a few small adjustments that could make the overall experience much better.

“flexible back-office access”

Pros

With the cloud I can get into the back office from anywhere. That is really convenient.

Cons

It can be a bit slow at time and the monthly price has gone up without any added value to justify it.

“missing integrations”

Pros

Regular updates keep the system improving and most problems can be troubleshooted without too much difficulty.

Cons

Every now and then I run into problems that regular support can't resolve and have to be passed to a higher-level support team. I'd also like if delivery services were built into the POS so we don't have to manage several different tablets.

“color-coded organization”

Pros

The system's color coding helps my cashiers quickly remember where each item is located.

Cons

I only wish there were a way to require every customer to enter their information in the system before checkout starts.

“too many crashes”

Pros

I like that we can use it offline.

Cons

It's slow it crashes all the time and the setup with two terminals involves confusing techniques that make it harder to use.

“poor support experience”

Pros

Really appreciate being able to keep track of everything.

Cons

Dealing with customer service can be frustrating and harder than it should be.

“Order slips are hard to read”

Pros

I'd say the biggest benefit has been finally having a simpler way to track sales.

Cons

This is my only issue with the system but it affects such an important part of my business that if I had known about it before signing the deal it honestly would have been a deal breaker. In a restaurant being able to read order slips clearly is absolutely essential. The font is incredibly small and really hard to make out unless you're standing right in front of it.

“unreliable system and support”

Pros

The back-office side is probably the most organized part of this product. It's simple to use.

Cons

Either the software or hardware regularly shut down or fail in the middle of service which causes us to lose sales. We've been trying to get a solution from NCR for months now. Customer service has been terrible.

“quick setup and launch”

Pros

Against a really aggressive deadline to get our business ready and open NCR still delivered and got everything up and running on time.

Cons

The product description field has a frustrating character limit and being required to use an iPad as the POS screen isn't ideal.

“EMV features don't work”

Pros

Some components work well as a cloud-based POS and the automated email receipts are a nice touch. It also sends coupons automatically which helps with marketing. Also I like being able to manage inventory remotely especially when adding new SKUs and UPCs.

Cons

Not truly EMV compliant. The extra chip scanner felt flimsy, did not stay on consistently and kept shutting itself off every 30 minutes. The EMV pad itself seemed defective and was never fully functional or properly compatible with the NCR POS. We eventually had to remove it from the terminal and were stuck using swipe only. There were also no contactless payment options at all. Updating the VAR sheet for the NCR terminal after the Worldpay/Vantiv merger was a nightmare and I can only imagine switching to another processor would be just as painful.

“good fit for busy retail”

Pros

We carry a wide range of products and it handles that volume without any trouble. It also gives us plenty of flexibility to customize sales with discounts and other promotions. Customer service has been quick to respond and consistently helpful.

Cons

Adding a large number of items and all of their different variables does take quite a bit of time.

“Simple to set up and use”

Pros

The setup was easy and daily use is simple and to the point. Updates are hassle-free. Whenever we've needed help their team has answered right away and resolved any problems very quickly.

Cons

We really haven't run into any problems. Overall we're very happy with the system and the products.

“great backend”

Pros

I think the back-office reporting is amazing. It lets me review, track and make adjustments to orders without much hassle. I also appreciate the features tied to accounting and tax paperwork. The more information I continue adding the more I can tell this software will become an even better fit for my company.

Cons

Entering all the information for my register items was difficult. A lot of things were placed in the wrong spot so now I have to go back through each item individually to enter missing details and correct errors.

“unreliable system”

Pros

Getting familiar with the product doesn't take much effort and thank god it doesnt because the instructions and tech support rarely point you in the right direction. Searching online is usually the best option although even then you mostly find basic feature walkthroughs instead of the real technical details.

Cons

Reliability has been a big problem for us. The system going down almost every other week and support is very hard to deal with. Getting everything running again can take hours. In one case it even took two weeks because of mistakes from technical support. Even simple questions often mean being put on hold for 20 minutes just to get an answer.

“User-friendly”

Pros

My staff had no trouble adopting the software. They were up and running within minutes. I also really like the back office features.

Cons

I don't really have any complaints about this software. That says a lot coming from someone who used to implement software for a Fortune 20 company.