Aloha Cloud Reviews

“simple and dependable”

Pros

Very user-friendly and simple to work with. I'd definitely recommend it.

Cons

The only thing I'd really want is for it to cost a bit less.

“reliable inventory tracking”

Pros

Its inventory tracking capability is a great advantage for me and my team.

Cons

Sadly the service isn't consistently reliable.

“slow support”

Pros

Every part of running my dispensary from the employee time clock all the way to inventory management is covered by this product.

Cons

At one point it was extremely glitchy. The credit card readers weren't working and bulk emails couldn't be sent. Those issues did eventually get fixed but it took NCR several months to resolve them.

“Easy to use”

Pros

Very simple to work with. The customer service team has been friendly and supportive whenever we've needed them.

Cons

It can't be used without an internet connection.

“Lots of small issues”

Pros

My workflow is made so easy with the modifier functionality and reporting. The system is coachable and the back office is simple to navigate.

Cons

The modifiers help tremendously but I just wish they were grouped better. Notes only show up on the kitchen display so customer requests don't print on the server receipts. My servers have to check the kitchen display instead of having those requests right on the receipt.

“many report options”

Pros

I really enjoy the range of reports this system provides.

Cons

There was a bit of a learning curve but I got a hang of it.

“easy mobile check-ins”

Pros

We set this up on iPads across our store and it has been working pretty well overall. Being able to log in from a mobile device and check things in real time is really useful.

Cons

Every now and then the interface gets a little glitchy and needs a reboot to get back on track.

“effective personalized campaigns”

Pros

Having built-in email templates has been a big win for us. The way customer data ties into the email system lets us segment our audience and send personalized offers.

Cons

Email templates from platforms like MailChimp are more polished. If you want to make them look more appealing some basic HTML knowledge helps.

“solid choice for restaurants”

Pros

For most of the restaurants I've worked in this has easily been the POS system I've seen used the most which makes the transition simple for servers. Training new staff is pretty easy. It can also generate all the reports you need.

Cons

The back-of-house side hasn't been as easy to navigate as the front-of-house functions.

“Cost barrier”

Pros

The system comes across as sturdy and built to hold up well over time even with heavy daily use. It helps larger setups because you can run multiple units within the same restaurant.

Cons

For a small business like ours the pricing is way too high. I contacted the company about it but in the end it was outside what we could afford to use.

“capable POS”

Pros

I think the back office tools, interface, inventory control and overall usability really make this POS system stand out.

Cons

The setup can feel a little confusing at first because there are so many functions but it becomes much clearer pretty quickly.

“adaptable for restaurant needs”

Pros

This is built specifically for restaurants with plenty of features that can be customized to match different operational needs.

Cons

When the internet connection gets unstable it can cause serious problems for us.

“Extremely buggy”

Pros

So user-friendly. On the programming side Aloha introduced new options with each upgrade and made setup and programming much more manageable.

Cons

A few features still do not work properly even with help from the support company such as the Movies at clock-in function. I know some larger businesses with dedicated IT teams have managed to get it working but that is not realistic for everyone. Since the 12.3 release I also can no longer drop databases onto the file server because that function was removed when they switched to a SQL server setup. That change has made programming across multiple locations much more complicated unless we pay extra for another service.

“not suited for growth”

Pros

It feels like an attempt at keeping up with stronger cloud-based platforms such as Toast. It can get by if you're running a very small business.

Cons

Once you need support for multiple locations thats where it starts to fall apart. The lack of integration with third-party software is a major issue. I wouldn't recommend this product.

“support is not what it used to be”

Pros

Simple setup and user-friendly system. Early on whenever I had questions or suggestions the call center staff were knowledgeable and actually knew how to help.

Cons

Things have changed a lot over the past year or two after the call center was moved to India. I have been using NCRSilver since 2015 so I can usually handle most issues on my own but when something comes up that requires calling support it is usually more complicated. The contracted agents now seem to know less about the system than I do and often sound like they are just reading from a script. They are polite but it is annoying because they usually cannot answer the question, have to place it in a queue and then follow up later. When someone finally does get back to me they often just repeat things I already know. It just feels useless now and I am starting to look for different POS software.

“Simple for the whole team”

Pros

It's the easiest thing in the world to use even for those of my employees who aren't very comfortable with technology.

Cons

The reporting could be more detailed when it comes to certain payment types.

“easy back office navigation”

Pros

Navigating the back office sections is fairly simple.

Cons

I don't like how once a variation has been added to an item it can't be deleted. That really becomes an issue when you're trying to remove the last remaining variation from that item.

“Too complicated”

Pros

There were plenty of features built into it with lots of options for different kinds of reports like tax and sales plus access to customer information.

Cons

After I got used to the system it became manageable but it often took far too many steps to get from one place to another. I also used this software at a previous job where it was set up in French and even though there was an English option not everything translated. Some of the parts that did translate still didn't make much sense.

“sales tracking”

Pros

Sales and labor hour reporting is handled really well.

Cons

I'd like to see more report options added.

“Major limitations”

Pros

The basic dashboards and reports are solid and having remote access to data and menus is a really valuable feature. Being able to export POS transactions into Excel also helps a lot with analysis even though some fields are missing from the downloads.

Cons

The biggest concerns for us are that the credit card processing is not EMV compliant and the system does not calculate overtime. The transaction audit tools are basically nonexistent so it's hard to trace when items were entered or voided and limits the ability to catch fraudulent voids. There is also no inventory control to monitor usage or on-hand quantities. Reporting is fairly limited with no ad-hoc reporting available. If someone is very comfortable with Excel they can still build useful analysis and reports through downloads and Power Pivot. Another issue is that resellers tend to oversell the POS system without clearly explaining the actual functionality, pricing, required specs, implementation needs or the level of after-sales support.