Top 54 Retail Analytics POS Software (Feb 2023)

2023's Best 55 Retail Analytics POS Systems

Shlomi LaviShlomi Lavi / Feb 26, 2023

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1. Rezku POS Software

  • Best for: Small businesses and start ups
  • Price: starts at $99 per license
  • Mar 09, 2022
Compare Rezku POS Software Vs. Rezku POS Software

Rezku POS is a cloud-hosted iPad point of sale solution designed to serve all categories of restaurants and bars, and that can also be installed on-premise. The primary features of Rezku POS include staff management, advanced menus, tableside ordering, customized floor plans, mobile access, online o...


2. Revel iPad POS

  • Best for: Small, medium and large size businesses
  • Price: starts at $99 per terminal/month
  • Mar 09, 2022
Compare Revel iPad POS Vs. Rezku POS Software

Revel iPad POS software is a point-of-sale solution that is designed to transform businesses. The solution has a number of features that include a gift card tool that increases sales, earn new ones by offering gift cards and retain old customers.


3. Epos Now

  • Best for: Small businesses and start ups
  • Price: starts at $39 per user/month
  • Mar 09, 2022
Compare Epos Now Vs. Rezku POS Software

Epos Now is a cloud-based point of sale (POS) software offering users a unified platform in which they can control inventory, employee activity and back office.


4. Shopify

  • Best for: Small, medium and large size businesses
  • Price: starts at $29 per month
  • Mar 09, 2022
Compare Shopify Vs. Rezku POS Software

Shopify is a web-based eCommerce shopping platform that is fully customizable to suit any type of business needs. This hosted shopping cart application allows anyone to sell goods and services on the web. The program is easy to use and setting up of an online shop would only take a couple of minutes...


5. MINDBODY

  • Best for: Small, medium and large size businesses
  • Price: starts at $159 per month
  • Dec 30, 2022
Compare MINDBODY Vs. Rezku POS Software

MINDBODY is cloud-based appointment scheduling, and club management solution designed salons, spas, wellness centers, and massage centers among others in small and midsize businesses.


6. Acuity Scheduling

  • Best for: Small businesses and start ups
  • Price: starts at $14 per month
  • Dec 30, 2022
Compare Acuity Scheduling Vs. Rezku POS Software

Acuity Scheduling is a web based appointment scheduling solution for small and medium businesses. Its capabilities include 24/7 booking, third party integrations, customization, client management, and others. The software was designed and launched by Acuity Scheduling Inc headquartered i...


7. LightSpeed

  • Best for: Small, medium and large size businesses
  • Price: starts at $69 per month
  • Mar 10, 2022
Compare LightSpeed Vs. Rezku POS Software

LightSpeed software is a point of sale solution that helps retailers run their businesses. The solution has a number of capabilities that include merchant services that manage all transactions from one place and increases security.


8. AmberPOS

  • Best for: SMBs
  • Price: starts at $999 per license
  • Mar 11, 2022
Compare AmberPOS Vs. Rezku POS Software

AmberPOS software is a point of sale and retail management solution that is designed for small and midsize businesses. It offers a number of features that include a customer management function that establishes, tracks and maximizes the lifetime value of each customer.


9. Aralco POS

  • Best for: Small, medium and large size businesses
  • Price: starts at $99 per month
  • Mar 14, 2022
Compare Aralco POS Vs. Rezku POS Software

Aralco POS is a cloud-based point of sale and inventory management software solution that has an e-commerce integration. Aralco POS is designed with a goal, which is to meet the needs of the small and mid-size retailers within the footwear, automotive and industrial supplies, apparel, as well as pha...


10. PHP Point Of Sale

  • Best for: Small businesses and start ups
  • Price: starts at $28.25 per month
  • Mar 20, 2022
Compare PHP Point Of Sale Vs. Rezku POS Software

PHP Point of Sale is a cloud-based point of sale software that helps drive small retail businesses to more customer-focused and profit-generating establishments.


Pricing Guide - Retail Analytics POS Software:

Retail POS Price Range

Most retail point of sale products in the market have pricing based on the number of users, physical locations, machines, or sales outlet. Most products are priced per month, and their pricing can be divided into three tiers, starting from $29 to $39, $39 to $75, and then $75 upwards.

These are the price ranges for basic offerings of most vendors; hence, premium offerings which come with more features cost more. For example, Ricochet pricing starts from $99 per month, KORONA costs about $49 per month, and WooPOS pricing starts from $29 per month. Perpetual licences can also be bought for some retail POS software. An example is RetailEdge which can be bought with a one-time fee of $449.

In addition, retail POS vendors target different organization sizes, so business size determines the price.

  • Small Businesses that are looking for a retail POS system can expect to pay between $25 to $50 on a monthly basis. For instance, Epos Now pricing starts from $39 per month, and ThriftCart starts from $50 per location, per month. Meanwhile, some products have freemium plans for small business, while some products are completely free. For example, HadePay is 100-percent free to use.
  • Medium Businesses can expect pricing points between $50 to $120 for a retail POS system monthly. For example, Heartland Retail pricing starts from around $99 per month, LightSpeed POS from $69 per month, and Realtime Cloud from around $80 per month. The number of user accounts paid for on each plan can also attract discounts, depending on the pricing terms from each vendor.
  • Large Businesses can expect prices that fall between the range of $120 to $500 for a retail POS system monthly. For example, RUnit Realtime Cloud pricing starts from $258 per machine monthly, WinWard System Five from around $125 per month, and Epicor Retail Solutions costs around $350 per month for each user account. However, many vendors do not disclose their pricing for large businesses so as to enable them to adjust their pricing based on the need of each organization.

Here are some Retail POS best of breeds and their price ranges are as follows:

  • Retail Management Software Retail management products can be divided into three tiers, and the price ranges for each tier are $28 to $39, $39 to $83, and $83 above. Also, most retail management products are priced on a monthly basis per user or physical location managed with the software. For example, Quant Retail pricing starts from $180 per user monthly, PHP Point of Sale from $39 per month, and POSExpress costs up to $190 per month.
  • iPad POS Most iPad POS products in the market are priced per user or per usage based on a monthly basis. Their price points fall into two tiers, starting from $0 to $30, and then $30 to $85. For example, TillPoint pricing starts from $29 per month, Ambur POS from around $60 per month, and Loyverse pricing starts from $0.01 per usage every month. Meanwhile, some iPad POS software have perpetual licenses that can be bought with a one-time fee; an example is Digital Dining which costs $10,000.
  • Bar POS Software Bar POS products in the market can be divided into two tiers, with each having a different price range depending on the robustness of features. The price ranges fall within $15 to $40 and $40 to $85. For example, BePOZ Point of Sale pricing starts from $69 per month, HarbourTouch POS from $29 per month, and Unicenta from $49 monthly.
  • Restaurant POS Software For a restaurant POS software, users can expect to pay between the ranges of $50 to $100 above per user, table, or managed location. For example, SpotOn Restaurant pricing starts from $65 monthly, Toast POS from $79 per month, and Upserve POS pricing is around $59 monthly. However, most products may incur extra one-time fees that fall between $2,000 to $7,000 because they require additional hardware equipment to run.
  • Retail Management POS Most Retail Management POS software in the market are priced on a per-user, per-month basis, and their price can fall between three ranges, from $0 to $50, $50 to $100, and then $100+ upwards. For example, Lavu pricing starts from $69 per month, PoinOS from $39 per user monthly, and TouchBistro from around $70 per user monthly.

11. Salon Ultimate Software

  • Best for: SMBs
  • Price: starts at $175.99 per license
  • Mar 20, 2022
Compare Salon Ultimate Software Vs. Rezku POS Software

Salon Ultimate Software is a growing cloud-based Salon software, it is designed to support small and medium size salons. Salon Ultimate Software received a rating of 5 from ITQlick team. The software cost is considered average (3.6/5) when compared to other solutions in their category.


12. SimpleOrder

  • Best for: SMBs
  • Price: starts at $79 per month
  • Mar 20, 2022
Compare SimpleOrder Vs. Rezku POS Software

SimpleOrder is a retail & POS app designed to help food & beverage establishments simplify their back of house operations and management.


13. AIMsi POS

  • Best for: SMBs
  • Price: starts at $995 per license
  • Apr 18, 2022
Compare AIMsi POS Vs. Rezku POS Software

Much more than a typical ‘off the shelf’ package, the AIMsi is a complete point of sale (POS), accounting and business, inventory management application software. This software offers, not only a way to control the inventory, management of the customers, tracking all of the sales, but also includes ...


14. GiftLogic software

  • Best for: Small businesses and start ups
  • Price: starts at $49 per month
  • Apr 18, 2022
Compare GiftLogic software Vs. Rezku POS Software

GiftLogic is a point of sale management solution for businesses of sizes. Its capabilities include inventory management, customer management, employee management, accounting management, and others. The software was designed and launched by GiftLogic headquartered in Florida, United State...


15. Cash Register Express

  • Best for: Small businesses and start ups
  • Price: starts at $599 per license
  • Mar 03, 2022
Compare Cash Register Express Vs. Rezku POS Software

Cash Register Express is a point of sale cloud-based software that allows users to streamline their business management as well as saving resources. It manages customer data in a very secure manner and sustains configurability.


16. AestheticsPro Online

  • Best for: Small businesses and start ups
  • Price: starts at $125 per provider/month
  • Feb 26, 2023
Compare AestheticsPro Online Vs. Rezku POS Software

Aesthetics Pro Online is a cloud-based medical software hosted on a flexible platform that combines concrete web-based hardware compatibility with EMR capabilities to empower on-the-go usage. Its features such as EMR capabilities and innovative technology, enable users to see the performance of thei...


17. Odoo Point of Sale

  • Best for: SMBs
  • Price: starts at $7.50 per user/month
  • Apr 01, 2022
Compare Odoo Point of Sale Vs. Rezku POS Software

Odoo Point of Sale is a growing cloud-based Retail-POS software, it is designed to support small and medium size business. Odoo Point of Sale received a rating of 4.2 from ITQlick team. The software cost is considered affordable (1.1/5) when compared to alternative solutions.


18. NetSuite POS and Retail Manager

  • Best for: Large business
  • Price:
  • May 13, 2022
Compare NetSuite POS and Retail Manager Vs. Rezku POS Software

Netsuite POS is a cloud-based business management software developed to work in retail shops in all industries. The software works well in all sizes of businesses, small-sized businesses, medium-sized businesses, and large-sized businesses.


19. Square Register POS

  • Best for: Small, medium and large size businesses
  • Price: starts at $799 per license
  • May 24, 2022
Compare Square Register POS Vs. Rezku POS Software

Square Register POS software is a cloud-based mobile phone app Point of Sale Software available on the App Store and Google Play. Square Register POS is built to operate on a mobile phone or a tablet. Some core features of Square Register POS are online payment processing, inventory & digital receip...


20. Springboard Retail Software

  • Best for: Small, medium and large size businesses
  • Price: starts at $80 per month
  • Jun 01, 2022
Compare Springboard Retail Software Vs. Rezku POS Software

Heartland Point of Sale is a cloud-based POS and retail management software that offers a fresh approach to POS solutions and a better retail software experience. Starting from item entry via look up or scan to customer lookup and creation, this POS system offers all the features you need and is als...


21. Nobly POS Software

  • Best for: Small businesses and start ups
  • Price: starts at $49 per month
  • Jun 07, 2022
Compare Nobly POS Software Vs. Rezku POS Software

Nobly POS is a cloud-based Retail & POS software that enables retailers to garner more insights on their products through analytical tools and reports.


22. Insight Software

  • Best for: SMBs
  • Price: starts at $35 per feature/month
  • Mar 31, 2022
Compare Insight Software Vs. Rezku POS Software

Insight Software is an award-winning cloud-based Salon software, it is designed to support small and medium size salons. Insight Software received a rating of 5 from ITQlick team. The software cost is considered average (3.3/5) when compared to other solutions in their category.


23. Ace Retail POS

  • Best for: Small businesses and start ups
  • Price: starts at $675 per license
  • Jun 01, 2022
Compare Ace Retail POS Vs. Rezku POS Software

Ace Retail POS software is an inventory management point of sale solution. The solution offers a number of functionalities that include an e-commerce integration tool that coordinates between a companys e-commerce site and back-end accounting and inventory system.


24. Ambitious Point of Sale Software

  • Best for: Start up, Small business, Medium business, Large business
  • Price:
  • Jun 01, 2022
Compare Ambitious Point of Sale Software Vs. Rezku POS Software

Ambitious Point of Sale Software is a POS solution that helps businesses in the creation of bids, sales orders, and invoices. The solution offers a number of functionalities that include an order processing feature combines the power you demand with the simplicity of operation to get employees produ...


25. Vend

  • Best for: SMBs
  • Price: starts at $99 per month
  • Jul 02, 2022
Compare Vend Vs. Rezku POS Software

Vend is a cloud-based and on-premise Point of sale system that is specifically designed for use in businesses of all sizes from small-sized businesses, medium-sized businesses, and large enterprises.


26. pcAmerica Cash Register Express

  • Best for: Small businesses and start ups
  • Price: starts at $599 per license
  • Jul 07, 2022
Compare pcAmerica Cash Register Express Vs. Rezku POS Software

Cash Register Express is a cloud-based point of sale system that is suitable for use by retail shops, small businesses, liquor stores, grocery stores and other types of stores.


27. Timely

  • Best for: SMBs
  • Price: starts at $20 per user/month
  • Sep 30, 2022
Compare Timely Vs. Rezku POS Software

Timely is a scheduling software which was designed for businesses big and small. Not only does it schedule appointments, it also has performance reports based on the set schedules. It was designed to make it easy to schedule appointments, and create the reports based on the set schedules. Users are ...


28. When I Work Scheduling

  • Best for: Small, medium and large size businesses
  • Price: starts at $2.50 per user/month
  • Oct 12, 2022
Compare When I Work Scheduling Vs. Rezku POS Software

When I Work is an online employee scheduling management solution for businesses of all sizes. It also offers payroll management, customized reporting, trade shift management, and other services. The software was designed and launched by thisCLICKS Inc headquartered in Minnesota, United St...


29. Vision Store

  • Best for: Large business
  • Price: starts at $1,500 per license
  • May 15, 2022
Compare Vision Store Vs. Rezku POS Software

Vision Store POS is a retail & POS software that helps connect costumers and sales channels to order for products from anywhere and make payments online.


30. NOVA Point of Sale

  • Best for: SMBs
  • Price: starts at $89.99 per month
  • May 15, 2022
Compare NOVA Point of Sale Vs. Rezku POS Software

The Nova Point of Sale app empowers business owners to be connected and in control all the time. This software offers extremely powerful and efficient tools for store owners for one or more locations. This makes decision making and taking action faster and ensures that people and products are where ...


31. Zing

  • Best for: Small businesses and start ups
  • Price: starts at $14 per month
  • May 15, 2022
Compare Zing Vs. Rezku POS Software

Zing is a cloud-based software that syncs instantly with multiples stores and devices. It is an indispensable tool for e-commerce sites and online stores because it can accommodate high resolution images as well as a Point of Sales. It can be used on PC, Mac, as well as Android and iPads. This POS a...


32. Profit Premier by Edge Technologies

  • Best for: Small businesses and start ups
  • Price: starts at $500 per license
  • May 15, 2022
Compare Profit Premier by Edge Technologies Vs. Rezku POS Software

Profit Premier by Edge Technologies is a cloud-based point of sale and retail solution that offers users with all the functionality required in a retail shop. The solution is designed for retailers, small-sized businesses and medium-sized businesses.


33. Preferred POS Software

  • Best for: Small businesses and start ups
  • Price: starts at $89.95 per license
  • May 16, 2022
Compare Preferred POS Software Vs. Rezku POS Software

Preferred POS Software is a trending cloud-based Retail-POS software, it is designed to support small and medium size business. Preferred POS Software received a rating of 3 from ITQlick team. The software cost is considered affordable (1.2/5) when compared to alternative solutions.


34. BarTab Software

  • Best for: Small businesses and start ups
  • Price: starts at $39 per feature/month
  • May 16, 2022
Compare BarTab Software Vs. Rezku POS Software

BarTab Software is an on-premise and cloud-based point of sale solution that is designed for bars and pubs that runs on iPads. BarTab Software is a tool that maintains the till reports which provide notifications in case of a variance occurrence.


35. VIENNA Advantage POS

  • Best for: Small, medium and large size businesses
  • Price: Has a free version
  • May 15, 2022
Compare VIENNA Advantage POS Vs. Rezku POS Software

Vienna Advantage is a retail ERP software designed to help users automate approvals and tasks. The software supports email SMS integration which makes it possible for users to track all communications related to a particular file or record.


36. RetailEdge

  • Best for: SMBs
  • Price: starts at $495 per license
  • Nov 23, 2022
Compare RetailEdge Vs. Rezku POS Software

RetailEdge is an on-premise retail point-of-sale software solution that is designed to serve the small and mid-size businesses. With the software, a user can manage to have multiple location support as well as a mobile POS.


37. IndicaOnline Dispensary Software

  • Best for: Small, medium and large size businesses
  • Price: starts at $249 per month
  • May 16, 2022
Compare IndicaOnline Dispensary Software Vs. Rezku POS Software

IndicaOnline is a cloud-based point-of-sale (POS) solution designed to allow the users process transactions as well as manage daily operations for medical marijuana dispensaries and businesses.


38. Cin7

  • Best for: Small, medium and large size businesses
  • Price: starts at $299 per 2 users/month
  • May 14, 2022
Compare Cin7 Vs. Rezku POS Software

Cin7 software is a cloud-based inventory management solution built to support small & midsize wholesale and retail businesses. Cin7 provides inventory management, warehouse management, reporting, and point-of-sale functionality within a single suite.


39. Cashier Live

  • Best for: Small businesses and start ups
  • Price: starts at $75 per store/month
  • May 18, 2022
Compare Cashier Live Vs. Rezku POS Software

Cashier Live is cloud-based retail Point of Sale (POS) which was designed to assist the store managers and owners run their businesses on different devices. The solution core features include Point of sale, inventory, and reporting.


40. Quetzal

  • Best for: Small businesses and start ups
  • Price: starts at $75 per month
  • May 18, 2022
Compare Quetzal Vs. Rezku POS Software

Quetzal is a cloud-based software developed to offer a platform for retailing in a specialized field. The software works well in small-sized businesses and medium-sized businesses dealing with items such as fashion, leather goods, and gift shops.


41. KORONA

  • Best for: Small, medium and large size businesses
  • Price: starts at $49 per month
  • May 23, 2022
Compare KORONA Vs. Rezku POS Software

Korona is a cloud-based point of sales (POS) software that is designed for all retailer sizes. Integrated in this POS module are CRM and inventory management.


42. Retail NEXT Software

  • Best for: SMBs
  • Price: starts at $99 per month
  • Jun 12, 2022
Compare Retail NEXT Software Vs. Rezku POS Software

RetailNext is a retail & POS software designed as an occupancy and monitoring solution for retail businesses to be more efficient via automatic reporting & configured occupancy thresholds.


43. COMCASH Retail ERP

  • Best for: Small, medium and large size businesses
  • Price: starts at $125 per license
  • May 25, 2022
Compare COMCASH Retail ERP Vs. Rezku POS Software

COMCASH ERP is a retail management software solution for multi-channel and multi-location retailers. The software was designed by COMCASH, Inc., headquartered in California, United States. It offers a verity of cloud-based features for efficient regulation of your retail business. 


44. VisitBasis

  • Best for: Small, medium and large size businesses
  • Price: starts at $15 per user/month
  • May 29, 2022
Compare VisitBasis Vs. Rezku POS Software

VisitBasis is a web based field service management solution for businesses of all sizes. It offers such capabilities as billing and invoicing, routing and scheduling, work order management, and others. The software was designed and launched by VisitBasis Tech LLC headquartered in Florida, United Sta...


45. MarketMan

  • Best for: Small, medium and large size businesses
  • Price: starts at $127 per location/month
  • Jun 12, 2022
Compare MarketMan Vs. Rezku POS Software

Marketman is a restaurant inventory management software designed for restaurants and foodservice operators to optimize inventory ordering processes, track cost of goods sold, plan and budget menu items, and manage suppliers.


46. Wylie Systems

  • Best for: Small businesses and start ups
  • Price: starts at $45 per month
  • Jun 12, 2022
Compare Wylie Systems Vs. Rezku POS Software

Wylie Systems is a design and construction software designed for companies to bring innovative solutions to the creation and design of metals, custom metals, railing designs, creation of partitions, and queuing products.


47. Rapid Bev POS Software

  • Best for: Small, medium and large size businesses
  • Price:
  • Jun 10, 2022
Compare Rapid Bev POS Software Vs. Rezku POS Software

Rapid Bev POS software is a comprehensive cloud-based point of sale platform mainly built to serve wine shops, liquor stores, breweries, wineries, and wholesale distributors. The core features of Rapid Bev POS are inventory management, security, labor management, reporting, e-commerce, accounting, a...


48. Bindo POS

  • Best for: Small, medium and large size businesses
  • Price: starts at $59 per user/month
  • Jun 17, 2022
Compare Bindo POS Vs. Rezku POS Software

Bindo POS is a retail and POS management system for businesses of all sizes. Its services include inventory management, order management, customer management, analytics, and others. The software was designed and launched by Bindo Labs Inc headquartered in New York, United States.


49. AdaPos more+

  • Best for: Large business
  • Price: starts at $25.42 per month
  • Jun 21, 2022
Compare AdaPos more+ Vs. Rezku POS Software

AdaPos More+ is an internet-based retail software for businesses to detect and manage online shops, improve retail and POS systems, eliminate hassles in contacting suppliers and facilitate merchandising processes.


50. Phorest Salon Software

  • Best for: Small, medium and large size businesses
  • Price: starts at $99 per month
  • Jun 22, 2022
Compare Phorest Salon Software Vs. Rezku POS Software

Phorest Salon Software is a growing cloud-based Retail-POS software, it is designed to support small, medium and large size business. Phorest Salon Software received a rating of 4.9 from ITQlick team. The software cost is considered affordable (1.4/5) when compared to alternative solutions.


51. Shoptree Software

  • Best for: Small, medium and large size businesses
  • Price: starts at $253.20 per year
  • Jul 02, 2022
Compare Shoptree Software Vs. Rezku POS Software

ShopTree is a point of sale software designed to help businesses manage their business activities from customers, inventory to payments.


52. Lightning Online

  • Best for: Small businesses and start ups
  • Price: starts at $139 per license
  • Jun 24, 2022
Compare Lightning Online Vs. Rezku POS Software

Lightning Online software is a cloud-based point of sale solution that is designed for various retailers. The solution offers a number of functionalities that include key demographics tool that views purchasing patterns and builds customer loyalty with their program.


53. Kounta

  • Best for: Small, medium and large size businesses
  • Price: starts at $80 per month
  • Dec 18, 2022
Compare Kounta Vs. Rezku POS Software

Kounta is a point of sale software for hospitality businesses to manage order production and delivery, control stock and expenses, get detailed organizational reports, and make transactions.


54. JDA software

  • Best for: Small, medium and large size businesses
  • Price:
  • Dec 18, 2022
Compare JDA software Vs. Rezku POS Software

JDA software is a supply chain and inventory management software solution for your business. The software was designed by JDA Software Group, Inc., headquartered in Arizona, United States. It incorporates planning, management, and accounting services to streamline the supply chain of a business. 



A Buyer's Guide to Business Software Solutions

How to Evaluate and Buy Business Software
 
If you’re somehow puzzled if this article is only for a specific size of business, no, it’s not. This is for you SMEs, MNEs and start-ups software buyers. Also, we’re not talking about a specific software solution here. Whether the software solution that you’re planning to buy is for Accounting, Business Intelligence, ERP, CRM, Help Desk, Maintenance Management or other types of application, one thing is for sure; with the help of this article, you will be able to know the right process in evaluating and buying a business software solution.
 
We’ve been into the software business for years and we’re seeing a lot of nitty-gritty things that often bring confusions and hesitations to many companies looking for better software solutions. Some companies can’t afford to let go their legacy systems while a few is encountering technological snags once the new system is in place. While this is the underlying truth behind software acquisition and implementation, what’s exciting about buying a business software solution is that there is a clear and obvious proof that thousands of companies and corporations today are happy with the benefits this technology is bringing into their respective businesses.  There is a significant increase in their revenue and the growth is on-going. And it’s easy to say; many from the Fortune 500 companies are making a lot of money because of their smartly-acquired business software.
 
So, let’s get straight to the point. What should you do in order to acquire that business software that could make your organization achieve its goals? The answer to this is pretty straightforward: evaluate and buy that right business software. Yes, that’s what you need to do and here’s the best manual from ITQlick.com that could certainly help you in doing that strategically.
 
Consider the Needs of Your Organization
Let’s assume that at this point, the entire management team agreed that you are ready to invest on a certain software application. The budget has been compromised and the key persons who will be involved in the acquisition process were already identified. Therefore, it’s time to approach things the project management way.
 
Define the Project
Every business software solution is categorized base on application type, features, deployment model, market size and pricing model. Remember that our objective here is to evaluate and buy a business software product that will fit into the size and present needs of your business. So what the project management team should try to deal with first is to define the real requirements of your business exactly base on the categories set by the software industry. Moreover, by doing this activity, you are already narrowing down your search for the right solution. Now, consider bringing this list of FAQs to the project management and aim to come up with clear-cut answers.
 
  1. What type of software is needed? Is it Integrated-Suite, Best-of-Breed or Industry-Specific? Ask your CEO’s main agenda and find the perfect match from these available options.
  2. What are the core and secondary features? Are you looking for basic, advanced or hi-end features? List down the specific features per category and allow the department managers and supervisors to give their insights on this list.
  3. How are you going to deploy the system? Would it be on-premise, cloud-based, hosted, or mobile-based? Weigh these options with the help of your CIO.
  4. Are you going for Tier 1, Tier 2 or Tier 3 vendors? Their offered solutions are base on the size of their target market - SMEs, MNEs or start-ups. Seek your CFO’s advice as it is important to match your financial capacity against the cost of the solution that the providers have for you.
  5. Are you willing to pay for the perpetuity software license or a subscription-based solution is way better? How many users are there and what would be their roles in using the system? Solicit feedbacks from future end users for they know better what challenges and risks might possibly come along their way when they’re using the system.
 
Finalize the BOM or List of Requirements
After providing definite answers on the above questions, we can say that the project has already been defined. Your procurement team is now ready to do their role in the acquisition process of this solution. However, in order for them to execute their job properly, they must have the complete list of requirements - features, specifications, hardware, and the software product. In other words, the Bill-of-Materials (BOM) that is final, complete and well-prepared must be handed over to the procurement director. Needless to say, it is very important that everybody is following the company purchasing and procurement protocols at all times.  
 
Request for Proposal (RFP)
The RFP process will bring everything into formality. Since you’re more likely in a line of business that doesn’t regularly buy software products, it is of critical importance that your RFP is well-structured before you send it to your prospect solution providers.
 
Draft the RFP
An RFP that contains all the relevant information as discussed during the project management meetings will enable the providers to return back to you their proposal that is complete and substantial. Therefore, your RFP should basically contain the following:
 
Brief Introduction
  • Company Name
  • Mission and Goals
  • Purpose of the RFP (or the need for software solution)
Business Background
  • Organizational Structure
  • Current Situation (IT infrastructure, system currently in-use, system issues and desired solutions, etc.)
  • Major Objectives of the Software Purchase
Request for Specific Requirements
  • Solution Functionality
  • System Specifications
  • Vendor Company Information
  • Price Model, Service Plans, Package Options
Other Important Inquiries (if necessary)
 
Send the RFP
Well-structured RFP will bring a lot of advantages especially when the proposals from various providers are received and then subjected for review and analysis. Send your RFP to at least three to five providers (or prospects which you have already shortlisted during the project definition phase). Depending on the complexity of the solution, most vendors will send their proposal in a matter of time, which could be around 4 to 6 weeks for Integrated-Suite solution.
 
Why still send RFP?
Is there really a need for RFP if your preferred solution (like cloud-based) and the service plans or packages are already displayed on the vendor’s website? Well, yes, you still need to undergo the RFP process. For most sales people, they certainly know that those figures appearing in the vendor’s website are usually the “list price” and not the “actual price”. More importantly, the vendor’s proposal (response to RFP) will serve as your main basis for the negotiation. Therefore, sending an RFP is a strict requirement.
 
Follow up questions relevant to RFP
More often than not, questions and concerns will be raised by the vendors to whom you send the RFP. You have to entertain them with utmost professionalism. Solution providers who are seeking further clarifications relevant to the RFP are consisting of professional software experts who wants to help your organization as much as they can. Entertain them but at the same time, always be cautious when providing additional information which you know is confidential or proprietary.
 
Evaluate the Proposals
Always refer to your finalized BOM when tabulating the contents of each proposal. Part of this process is to check the features that are available from this certain vendor and to cross out those that are not. While using spreadsheet aids the tabulation process, laying down the document proposals on the table and allowing your project management team to review them one by one should always be conducted. Evaluating the proposals in full force can help strengthen your decision-making process. Have another round of brain-storming session and come with the name of your preferred solution provider.
 
When selecting the final vendor, always promote the best interest of your organization. Consider answering these questions with full sincerity.
 
  1. Which vendor can provide the long-term benefits to your organization?
  2. Which vendor can provide the best and honest service from acquisition to full implementation?
  3. Which vendor is willing to devote most of its time in better serving its client?
 
Contact this solution provider and in your own strategic approach, try to get the answers to those three important questions above. In most cases, vendor who really wants to prove its craft will offer product demos on a higher level. Others will even invite you to check their already deployed and working systems. Feel free to connect with this type of vendor. Conduct simulation and testing, be it a cloud-based or on-premise solution. Examine all aspects and angles especially those that your project management team want to really know in-depth. For as long as it could help you arrive at a better decision, consider doing all the options available – for the interest of the organization.
 
Enter the Negotiation Process
Most solutions providers can be flexible in terms of pricing. Although the final say is oftentimes on the mouth of the sales person from the vendor’s side, a good negotiation process can always deliver a win-win situation to both parties involve. While negotiation sometimes cannot be settled in one sitting session, always be honest with your intentions whenever negotiating with your provider. If it’s about your budget, justify it with clarity. If it’s about their service plans, tell them what’s lacking or missing on their solution. At the end of the day, the most important event that should happen is that both of you are shaking hands because of a well done negotiation process.
 
Seal the Contract
So what are you going to do on a contract that involves a significant amount of investment? There are three project management approaches for this.
 
  1. Pass the ball to you legal team. They know what to do and more or less they will tell you if there is something wrong with the contract. Give them enough time to review before they affix their signature and then finally seal the contract.
  2. Hire a consultant base on the technical aspect that you want to clarify in the contract. If it’s the Scope of Work (SOW), a software implementation expert is the right person. If it is related to complex legal terms and conditions, a lawyer can help. If it has something to do with money, invite an accountant to conduct a thorough review and computation if necessary.
  3. Always consider consulting your project management team. Remember that the CIO, CFO and CEO are all team members. They will be the signatories and they know what’s best for the interest of the company when signing a contract agreement.
 
From evaluation to buying stage, it is important that the project manager must take full responsibility of monitoring all the works identified and distributed among team members. This is why delegating the right project manager is also an important consideration when buying a business software solution. And again, ITQlick.com wants to emphasize that whatever the size of your company is, using the project management approach will always lead you into a better outcome – that is getting what you paid for the right business software solution. 

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Auditor - Shlomi Lavi

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Shlomi Lavi is an entrepreneur and founder of ITQlick.com. He holds a Bachelor of Science (B.Sc.) in Information Systems Engineering from Ben Gurion University in Israel. Shlomi brings 17 years of global IT and IS management experience as a consultant and implementation expert for small, medium and large-sized (global) companies. Shlomi’s goal is to share the best knowledge and news about information systems so you can make smarter buying decisions for your business.