Aloha Cloud Reviews

Pros

This cloud based system met the majority of our needs when I began searching for a new POS system when our retail store was adding a second location. I was looking for a system that could be accessed remotely, share information between the locations and could grow as our store grows. The 24/7 Customer Service is reliable and accessible. Most times, a single phone call is all it takes to resolve a problem.

Cons

The biggest drawback was discovered shortly after we began installation. We were told during the sales pitch that our system of alpha numeric sku numbers would easily transfer to NCR silver. The use of the bar code scanners and ticketing system would be simple process. This was not the case. We have to manually key in the alpha numeric sku numbers which is much more time consuming the scanning.
Four years later, we have of course adapted.

Pros

I liked the ease of set up of this product as well as the ability to run categorical reports. I also like the ability to use this as a time clock system too!

Cons

I would like to see a way to customize each category more, I sell cupcakes, I would like an option for more specific categories and options.

Alternatives Considered

Reasons for Switching to Aloha Cloud

Pros

We liked using the machine before it became obsolete. There is nothing to like now.

Cons

Customer Service, their management, and the lack there-of. We have been waiting over a year for help. And now that we ask for our contract to be broken, they chain us to it.

Pros

This software is amazingly easy to use. I love that it integrates with online ordering. It is user-friendly and the reports are in real time.

Cons

I wish it was more updated looking. I wish you could change between screens without logging back in

Alternatives Considered

Reasons for Switching to Aloha Cloud

Pros

Aloha POS is like one of those giant old swiss army knife. Sure you only need a knife but it also has this and that. For when you need them.

Cons

Given the size and base of Aloha its a slow to move monolith and thus feature implementation is limited and slow. For example customizing the button colors on the digital POS screen is only implemented in select cases.

Pros

I liked it a lot in the 80's but now, it's still the same. It's clean and front end easier to use as it always was.

Cons

The software is challenging to navigate and is not as easy to use as many of the other systems on the market today. They system is clunky and takes forever to program and input new information for use. Then, the refresh that has to be completed. Outdated program.

There are way too many people and systems involved in the customer service. i3, NCR, Aloha...it's a joke when you need something done and it takes forever to get resolution.

Pros

Stable performance, easy to use interface, good quality stand, printers and drawers.

Cons

We should have access to the programming staff, either directly or via a liaison. There are many small changes that would greatly enhance our experience.

Alternatives Considered

Reasons for Switching to Aloha Cloud

Pros

The system generally is up most of time.

Cons

It removed a lot of our stored hold tickets - thus, loosing info on contractors and the amount of purchases they had pending to pay

We had been in touch MULTIPLE times with NCR and level 1, 2 & 3 Guy named representative and many others
NO ONE EVER EVER GOT BACK TO US _ what the problem is/was / what info they recovered/ why that it lost our stored info etc. OR WAS THE ISSUE EVER RESOLVED ? This has been many, many months we have been trying to work thru this. It has cost us $ and customers. NCR Silver does not seem to care !! We have talked to many different support members and get the same general run around. Very Very discouraging, would not recommend product to any one.

Pros

Ability to customize things like loyalty, gift cards, gratuity reporting is very good. system is a workhorse.

Cons

Updating pricing and creating buttons takes too long and is too complicated compared to newer POS systems. Customer service not very responsive.

Pros

I like that it's so easy to navigate through the different pages and areas of the software. Everything so self explanatory on the different pages that training someone on it is a breeze!

Cons

I dont like that the software freezes up multiple times a week. When it acts up on one tablet, its messed up on all of them. That can be very inconvenient at times.

Pros

The back office, inventory management, and customer tracking is terrific. Any system can fulfill the basic need of helping you ring up a sale, but Silver offers features that I didn't know I needed until I had them. Computing sales tax for state filing, locating past customer purchases, super useful features.

Cons

I'd like to be able to add devices without additional fees. I guess I don't understand why having a second device changes anything with regard to the costs incurred. I had a copy of the app on my phone purely as a backup in case something happened to my tablet but realized it was costing me every month for something that I wasn't using.
When wifi is having problems, I wish there would be a way to cache those transactions offline for processing when wifi is connected again. As it stands, I end up using the old carbon copy forms to take and impression and running the transaction later.

Pros

Ease of teaching my employees, Ease of getting my reports, Ease of looking up so many things like cancelled tickets(times of cancellations would help), helps me keep track on employees.

Cons

Not seeing the integration of my online calendar system, thought their might be a discount for the calendar. Control of emails is a "0" - no means to click on several at a time to delete as I uploaded 6,000+ only to find out I could only use 2500 at a time, not I need to upload them all again in groups. But then if I have duplicates there is no easy way to tell and I do not want to bother my customers with duplicate emails. I also have no idea if my (Cimplebox) calendar emails are automatically going over to the Silver.

Pros

I like that I can program in the specifics of the items that I sell. We carry several thousand sku's and I can program each barcode of each variation of each product. I also like that there are reports that are valuable to my business, such as sales reports and time clock reports.

Cons

There are limitations to the reporting that I need for my business. There is no way to show what quantity and dollar amount of inventory I have on hand during any given period.
With our industry, I need to know monthly inventory totals on hand, both quantity and dollar amount. In addition, there is no shrinkage tracking for damaged, shopworn, or missing items.

Pros

I like that it's super easy to train new hires on the POS and as I a manager I love that I can access so much information in the back office so long as I have access to a computer/laptop.

Cons

There are just a few things that I wish we could change, but a lot of the software updates eventually address a lot of them. Like any software out there, there are glitches that happen but they're minor so it's not a deal breaker. Customer service is a hit or miss. Most times friendly, but a lot of times it just gets sent to a different department because they can't figure it out, which takes time and follow ups.

Pros

Easy to install, update and use. They answer all calls promptly and fix any issues that might occur quickly!’

Cons

No issues , we are pleased with the system and products.

Alternatives Considered

Reasons for Switching to Aloha Cloud

Pros

Ease of use. Programming is simple with back office. POS is very user friendly.

Cons

Certain features need to be added to accommodate other businesses like salons. Tip feature needs to allow you to code the tip to specific employees for one example.
Needs feature to not allow cashiers to look in recall history at other employees tips. This has been an issue for us.
Would be nice if under customer info you can add multiple contact numbers like cell and home.
We are in the pet industry and it would also be nice to have a customizable customer tab, so we can add pet name and breed or pets DOB etc. under customer tab.
Certain glitches I reported keep repeating. Tech support needs better resolution and faster respond time.

Pros

The cons outweigh the pros! The cons make it useless to my business!

Cons

customer places order with waitress or bartender, tickets print at bar and kitchen. food and drinks are prepared but have no idea which waitress orders go to for delivery to customer due to the wrong waitress name coming up on the ticket. very time consuming and inefficient to figure out where the order actually goes.

another example... we run specials every day. such as wing it Wednesday. Half price hot wings.
when an item is on special, each item has to be ordered individually. which means, when a customer orders 40 wings, the waitress has to enter it 40 times!!!! in the past we would simply input a quantity of 40. now it is tying up a waitress and an iPad for 40 times the amount of time it use to take! UNACCEPTIABLE wasting time and money for my business! Have complained to customer service for three months about these issues with no results.

Pros

Easily programmable, I have a restaurant and getting the program running and keeping it up to date is very easy.
Time clock feature is easy for payroll. Having a report for payroll is very important for accounting.
The ability to go into back room and change item prices on the fly or add new specials instantly

Cons

The only problem I’ve had is the time frame for employees to either ring in a customer or the logging out for employees so they don’t overlap each other. The time it takes to log in with machine number and then employee number when it’s very busy takes those extra seconds that customers always notice.

Pros

when the computer it worked it was very stable system, i think its rediculas that i need to write one words of positive when it isnt a positive experience

Cons

service is awful- cant fix all the problems, we had credit card processing issues and checks double printing on multiple kitchen printers. sometimes just switching out the unit isn't the solution. We have called and emailed for weeks and problems are not being resolved.

Pros

What I like most about this software is the fact that it met all our needs for our small business. We offer a large number of products and the software is able to accommodate the number of products and gives us the capability of customizing our sales with discounts and other promotions. Customer service is prompt and accurate.

Cons

Inputting the large number of items and all the variables can be time consuming.

Pros

Easy to use when it is working. User friendly.

Cons

New upgrade has a lot of issues and it doesn’t seem like anyone has the knowledge to fix them. Spend way to much time dealing with these issues. They fix one problem and create another.

Pros

The sales staff is very well trained at making their system & staff seem competent. While the reality is you are basically on your own with a mob of indifferent outsourced support reps who could care less about their jobs.

Cons

Reports are broken, support is unavailable 99% of the time, estimated call back times for messages from our experience were 3-7 days for a standard issue, their staff asks you for extensive notes when creating issue tickets yet somehow other support members will call back with no idea what the problem is beyond the basic description. No chain of command so when a lazy support rep hangs up on you after being on hold for 30 min you cant even submit a complaint.

Pros

Pretty easy to use and great back office helps keep up with inventory and sales.

Cons

System crashes sometimes and usually when we are busy so we have to try to figure out how to fix it ourselves and sometimes call customer service but hold for long time before ever getting help.. still have issues that need to be corrected with Quantum unit.

Pros

It's the complete package, nothing I can't do, I have always loved Aloha, if you don't have it because you can't afford it, I can understand that. If you don't have it and can afford it...you're just not very bright.

Cons

Price but whatever...it is 100% worth it, if it was mine I wouldn't sell it cheap either...support is what you pay for the product, as expensive as it is, is still worth waaaaaaaay more than what you pay for it in percentage of mistakes lost alone! Dial into your number and find the money for it!

Pros

Ease of use. It is fairly easy to navigate through all of the back office items.

Cons

Inability to delete a variation after you have added it to an item. This is only a problem when you are trying to delete the only remaining variation from an item.