Aloha EPOS

I have worked in restaurant management across the world, and have encountered various ePOS systems that do the job but that's about it. Aloha is not one of those. You could quit literally sit someone down in front of it and in 5 minutes they'll know the basics, 10 minutes they will be able to enter more complex orders and complex checkouts (e.g. split checks, etc.), and in 30 minutes they could be capable of programming your entire business into it from scratch and running any report you could want. A la iPhone. It really is that simple to use.

Like any computer, terminals can sometimes get glitchy and must be rebooted, but impatient folk servers and managers alike may start thumping on the screen with their pens, fingernails, etc, and after awhile it will take a toll on the touchscreen. But I've experienced this in $10mln/yr volume restaurants when they are under heavy use, not $2mln/yr volume businesses.

The thing I like most is that it does integrate across most restaurant functions - it covers loyalty, POS, has build-ins for inventory, etc. And the POS terminals are great. But the software does not have much going for it.

This software looks like it was built super well for the early 10's and hasn't been updated since. When I was onboarded, I watched videos that were made in 2012 and the look/feel of the functionality hadn't changed at all. Almost 10 years after being built, it hadn't made any UX updates.
The loyalty program, though it says it has the ability to segment, does not. You must pull a report that shows every single one of your Guest Loyalty members, then in your own Excel sheet, filter by location, then filter by when they were last in the restaurant, then filter by the information you're actually looking for.
There is no easy way to pull any of this Marketing information.

I believe that Aloha gives the user more abilities in the front of the house than most POS systems I have used. The ability to highlight multiple items at once and duplicate/delete is a great feature not found in other systems. I also enjoy the overall lay out of the buttons, as far as having space between each button (which makes it easier for touch screen use), and the ability to add as many different sub menus at desired.

I wish that there was a way to customize the color of the buttons. When this system is implemented in busy restaurants (which is my experience with it) color coding different things such as ingredient/sauces/allergies could make the adjustment period for new servers much quicker, and cut down on the amount of time spent searching for certain things in the menus. I also feel like the strength of Aloha is in its day to day use. When using the master computer to try and revamp, or set up new menu items in the office the process is far from intuitive, and takes a long time to become proficient in. Maybe if there was a 'helpful hints' type feature for new user that would be a great addition.

The Aloha POS System was by far the easiest software I have encountered throughout my work experience in the Food & Beverage Industry. The interface of the actual system itself that I used to enter customer orders into had everything right in front of your eyes on the main page of the screen, which allowed me to enter my orders quickly and accurately. This layout also helped me manage several customers tabs at once without having to jump through several hurdles to do so. Anytime an order needed a modification last minute, I was able to get the system to help in time.

There were honestly no features in this software that I came across and questioned its purpose or use. Everything has a place and where that place happens to be just makes sense for the establishment that it is attached to.