Lightspeed Retail vs. MicroBiz

Overview
ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price
Lightspeed Retail
Score 6.9 out of 10
N/A
Lightspeed Retail is a retail PoS system from Lightspeed headquartered in Quebec. Core retail POS features are expanded on higher service tiers with ecommerce option and payments gateway, an accounting system, and a customer loyalty program.N/A
MicroBiz
Score 8.1 out of 10
Small Businesses (1-50 employees)
MicroBiz is an eCommerce retail management solution butil around features such as inventory management, payment gateway, and purchase orders / receiving tracking.
$60
per month
Pricing
Lightspeed RetailMicroBiz
Editions & Modules
Basic
$79.00 ($69.00)
per month (when billed annually)
Starter
$119.00 ($99.00)
per month (when billed annually)
Standard
$139.00 ($119.00)
per month (when billed annually)
Advanced
$189.00 ($169.00)
per month (when billed annually)
Pro
$259.00 ($229.00)
per month (when billed annually)
Enterprise
Contact Sales
MicroBiz Cloud
$60
per month
Offerings
Pricing Offerings
Lightspeed RetailMicroBiz
Free Trial
NoYes
Free/Freemium Version
NoNo
Premium Consulting/Integration Services
NoNo
Entry-level Setup FeeNo setup fee$200 per installation
Additional Details
More Pricing Information
Community Pulse
Lightspeed RetailMicroBiz
Considered Both Products
Lightspeed Retail
Chose Lightspeed Retail
Lightspeed is faster, sleeker and more modern than our previous POS system. I can’t express enough how easy the online store portion of Lightspeed is - it just intuitive and sometimes, is TOO easy, I feel like I have to be forgetting something. Lightspeed is staying modern and …
Chose Lightspeed Retail
When we used Revel Systems Point of Sale systems, we had problems for many months where each device would mysteriously show different pricing for the same product, which is a no-go in a retail environment, this has been several years ago, so unsure if they fixed that, but …
Chose Lightspeed Retail
The challenge with this is that because Lightspeed has such poor reporting with their POS, and the ability to actually see your data, it is nearly impossible to move to another POS without a very expensive integration process. So while I have explored these other options, I …
Chose Lightspeed Retail
Most Pet Care industry software doesn’t offer such a robust POS and inventory control system. We didn’t look at too many softwares but Lightspeed Retail had everything we were looking for and more.
Chose Lightspeed Retail
Vend was terrible for inventory management, as was Square. Neither worked with Shopify. We selected Lightspeed when it was still MerchantOS based on cost and functionality, and haven't left because we haven't had time to research migration costs or alternatives.
Chose Lightspeed Retail
Lightspeed Retail is much much easier to use than Shopify. We replaced Shopify shortly after I started working here because Lightspeed Retail not only was much more user-friendly, but it also integrates with the other systems we use (Skuvault and BigCommerce). They also have …
Chose Lightspeed Retail
We used Microsoft Retail Management System before this and this was in a whole other league of its own with features and ease of use. I really like using Macs also. They are much more reliable and longer lasting than IBM or Similar computers. The cloud based system is great …
Chose Lightspeed Retail
Lightspeed was recommended to us; we didn't try others.
Chose Lightspeed Retail
I searched through a few other POS systems however, lightspeed is the first and only that I have used. Because I can customize attributes for custom art projects they were my only option and for that reason we chose them.
MicroBiz
Chose MicroBiz
We looked at several systems. Some POS vendors had really bad reviews (Revel). Others had systems more suitable for other types of retailers such as kioks and quickserve (Square). Some were too complicated or more focused on foreign markets or ecommerce. We took a hard look …
Chose MicroBiz
It was close but we just liked some of the features in microbiz better. Plus it was cheaper
Best Alternatives
Lightspeed RetailMicroBiz
Small Businesses
Square POS
Square POS
Score 10.0 out of 10
Square POS
Square POS
Score 10.0 out of 10
Medium-sized Companies
Epicor Eagle
Epicor Eagle
Score 7.9 out of 10
Epicor Eagle
Epicor Eagle
Score 7.9 out of 10
Enterprises

No answers on this topic

No answers on this topic

All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
User Ratings
Lightspeed RetailMicroBiz
Likelihood to Recommend
7.7
(0 ratings)
8.3
(0 ratings)
Usability
10.0
(0 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Support Rating
9.8
(0 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
User Testimonials
Lightspeed RetailMicroBiz
Likelihood to Recommend
It is perfect for any small business looking for inventory control, Tracking purchase history, and just an all round easy to use software for retail and beyond. I would not use it if I have only a few hundred items or was a larger company that can afford to build my own POS software.
Read full review
Great for retail stores that want to manage inventory. Great for stores that want to have different prices for different types of customers.
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Pros
  • Very very user friendly.
  • Easy iPad interface that is easy to upgrade to new hardware if an iPad breaks, etc.
  • On the Advanced plan the reporting is outstanding.
  • Very easy to train new employees, especially younger employees raised on phones and tablets.
  • We use their payments system and it's a very easy integration. I believe Stripe is their payment provider.
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  • Ring up transactions and take payments
  • Manage inventory
  • Management Reporting
  • Discounts and promotions
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Cons
  • They have not had major updates to their system in years. The inventory system is stagnant. Although their inventory system is robust, it is outdated.
  • They do have 24-hour support, however, wait times are excessive and representatives have challenges understanding your issues.
  • Trying to get issues resolved can take months or never at all. Management is non-existent. Trying to reach a supervisor is impossible.
  • They have a culture of telling you what you want to hear but have no intentions of actually following through.
  • Lightspeed is a great solution if you are a small business just getting started. But if you are intending to grow and expand, Lightspeed will become detrimental to your growth.
  • The reporting/analytics is basic at best. They do offer paid options that are very expensive, but it is very robust. The basic reporting is very minimal.
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  • Missing a couple helpful features (such as a free loyalty program)
  • The formatting on some screens is whacky and the font can be small
  • It could be easier to email receipts (need to set this before the transaction)
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Usability
Very easy to use and figure out without calling customer support which is also very responsive and helpful.
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No answers on this topic
Support Rating
I gave the rating of a 9 because ninety percent of the time when I talk to their support they're very helpful. One of the only real issues I have is there are times where the queue will be 7-9 people deep. When you have an error you don't know how to fix, sometimes this is very troubling. But overall their support is usually quick and friendly.
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No answers on this topic
Alternatives Considered
We used Microsoft Retail Management System before this and this was in a whole other league of its own with features and ease of use. I really like using Macs also. They are much more reliable and longer lasting than IBM or Similar computers. The cloud based system is great also so you do not have to have another unit to store you database on
Read full review
We looked at several systems. Some POS vendors had really bad reviews (Revel). Others had systems more suitable for other types of retailers such as kioks and quickserve (Square). Some were too complicated or more focused on foreign markets or ecommerce. We took a hard look at Lightspeed, but just liked MicroBiz better (was also cheaper).
Read full review
Return on Investment
  • I have to spend a lot less time training my employees because Lightspeed is so easy to use!
  • Keeping track of our inventory is as simple as clicking a few buttons.
  • Our online sales have grown tremendously since changing to Lightspeed
Read full review
  • Really amazing value for the monthly fees. Less expensive than other serious cloud POS applications
  • Synch with QBO allows us to save time manually entering financial data into our accounting system
  • Bar code scanning in both the front end and back end saves time and money
Read full review
ScreenShots

MicroBiz Screenshots

Screenshot of MicroBiz Cloud runs on iPads, Macs and PCsScreenshot of Register Screen - Ring Up Sales Quickly and Easily.  Quickly scan items into the register using bar codes – or add items with one touch. Discount individual items, groups of items or the entire transaction. You can do price checks and check inventory. It’s so intuitive that employees will be able to use the POS application with almost no training.Screenshot of Register Screen  - Add any items to a transaction with one touch – even non-inventory items such as service and delivery charges. The keys can be set to prompt for the price or the size or color of an item. You can set up an unlimited number of Quick Pick Panels, use colors to highlight keys and arrange them in any order that you choose.Screenshot of Customer Order Dashboard - Manage Layaways, Work Orders, Deliveries and Phone Orders. Use the Orders in Progress capabilities in MicroBiz to manage layaways, phone orders and orders in progress.  You can collect a deposit and set whether the order will be fulfilled via store pick-up, shipment or delivery.Screenshot of Filtered Product Search - Use multiple ways to search for products and add them to a transaction. In addition to the top product search bar, MicroBiz Cloud features a flexible advance search feature.  This feature allows you to search by item name, SKU, style, UPC or Alternate ID.  Search results can be displayed in table format or as product tiles.  Advanced filters allow you to view results by category, vendors, brand, color, size or other attribute.Screenshot of Product Record - Simple and Matrix Products and Flexible Pricing Schemes.  Products records are critical to a retail system – as the sale of products and services drives revenue.  Our product records make your job easier by offering all kinds of flexibility and capabilities around product type (simple products, matrix products, prompt for price, services, etc) and pricing strategies (discounts, promotions, customer-based pricing, quantity-based pricing).