Idea
Flexible POS is a point of sale system that helps to process orders at events or in restaurants, regardless of location or device. With the application, orders can be processed and guests are informed about the order status. To use it only mobile devices with internet access are necessary. It allows optional self-ordering by guests.
I made the first prototype in a course during my student days. After that, I improved the application and wrote a diploma thesis about it. After a few years I got it out of the drawer (2020), adapted it and now it is publicly available. It was mainly built for events.
Part of the university project was to make a quantitative survey, ask the staff of events what they need, ask the customers what they need. Then I built the application and made an event to test it. This enabled me to collect a little feedback.
Implementation
The application uses Meteor (Node.js Framework) with BlazeJS as template engine. Stripe is used for the payment process. Deployment is done with Meteor Up.
How it’s going
At the moment I just have one customer (pricing is $79 per location and month) with one to two events per year. So I can say I have a project that makes money 😉.
The hard part for me is marketing and sales and I do not invest time in it. I think this is something were you really need to go and talk to a lot of possible customers, which takes a lot of time and probably very good sales skills because there is always a lot of skepticism and things to explain how this works.
In the beginning I posted the beta version (which was called Order Link) on Beta List in 2017. I got about 100 visitors and 20 signups. People tested it but no real users and probably not the right target audience.
After a few years I tried again and posted on Hacker News with a lot of traction (about 4.600 visitors) and good feedback but again no real users.
In 2019 my local football club used it for a music festival and the people that worked with it were happy with some wishes for new features. Unfortunately, the festival has been suspended due to the COVID-19 pandemic. But the club used it again in 2021 and 2022 for another event. It worked well and I got positive feedback.
I also tried to get local customers with cold emails but without success. A lot of marketing and talking to customers is necessary.
Gallery
Features
Take orders as waiter or guest
After a location with products and tables has been created, orders can be taken as waiter. For guests unique URLs and QR codes can be generated and printed for each table to allow self-ordering. The products are entered before and guests only need to select the number. Alternatively, a comment on the purchase order may be entered.
Processing orders
Orders are displayed and processed in real time. A tap/click on a product changes the status.
Check order status in real time
Waiters and guests can check the order status in real time and see which orders have been placed at the table. Waiters have the possibility to accept payment and checkout payed products for each table.
FAQ
- How to start?
- If you have signed up you can create locations, products for each location and generate tables. You need to generate tables to make it work for waiters and guests.
- How does Flexible POS help with the ordering process?
- Flexible POs helps at the point of sale (POS). Allowing self-ordering by guests reduce errors, saves resources and increases guest satisfaction. Flexible POS is user-friendly and easy to use.
- How much does Flexible POS cost?
- Flexible POS is free for locations up to 5 tables. If more than 5 tables are needed, pricing $79 per location per month. Every location can be activated separately.