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Open Source Linux Based POS Systems?
tha_mink asks: "I am currently working for a number of clients that have very similar needs for a cost-effective POS system that may be integrated online. (read : cheap if not free) These are all small business clients with small budgets and so I would like to suggest
something Linux-based, with a nice GUI, and a database I can get at through the web (PostgreSQL would be great). I have searched for and read the past Slashdot articles on the subject only to find that they are old and out of date. I have also done numerous google searches only to find that there is not a clear leader. My clients don't really need things like payroll and purchasing but inventory control, accounting, and customer storage are important. So I ask: What systems are available to fulfill the needs of small business without breaking the bank and without requiring any software from Redmond?"
I got one of those cheapo e-machines once.. that thing was a real P.O.S. lemme tell yah...
:-)
is that what you're talking about?
it had to be said...
who would want a Linux Based Piece Of Shit system?
My Linux box is a real POS; I would be glad to sell it to you for $400!
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Kiss the rat race goodbye!
Although, the meaning of POS is ambiguous, in this case.
Vote in November. You won't regret it.
What you want are pre-built scripts, right?
Head over to Matt's Script Archive. Tons of stuff there. There's probably exactly what you are looking for.
POS means POINT OF SALE!
As in, cash registers!
JWZ's proof of concept pos. Note that he gave up, but IIRC thats because he couldnt find drunk-goon proof hardware.
I know for a fact that these guys have developed point-of-sale linux apps for big time customers. I've dealt with them before and they're friendly enough to contact. You may want to ask them if they have small-fry offerings that fit your budget.
Why limit yourself to Linux? There are many nice POS systems based on Windows CE or Embedded Windows. In my previous job I supported both UNIX-based and Windows-based POS sytems, and I must say that the Windows-based systems are just as stable. The cost of the Windows license shouldn't be much of concern, because the cost of the POS application and hardware would be much bigger. I bet I will be modded down for saying this, but I am just telling my experience.
A Linux based POS will run on this. A WinCE system will only run on something that is less powerful and more expensive.
"I assumed blithely that there were no elves out there in the darkness"
We use OneSystem - www.onesystem.com , in our pizza stores. I cannot comment about the cost, as it worked for the company before I did, But the system is simply great.
never used it. it's been around for many years, used to be a SCO app (so it's politcally a propos
http://www.linuxcanada.com/pos.html
you can download evaluation rpms for free.
It depends on what type of POS you need. C-store, Qsr, Big store, Mom & Pop. I have worked POS most of my computer career you need to be A LOT more direct as to your needs. I know of several that the MS tax is less than you think. Contact me for questions.
Last summer, I accepted a contract with a client to customize and install a Linux POS solution based on L'ane POS, a Perl/Tk/PostgreSQL point-of-sale system designed for touchscreen-equipped terminals. The basic codebase was decent, (if typically under-documented) but since this particular customer had some very weird pricing and product bundle logic requirements, I ended up building them a custom app using Ruby, its Gtk+ bindings, and PostgreSQL.
;) may need to develop (or at least heavily customize) an open-source solution to really meet your customer's needs. Just like any buy vs. build question, you just need to look at the time pressures, special requirements your customers may have, etc., and come up with some numbers and feature lists for each of the options.
Needless to say, it was a fair bit of work to buird a full backend and GUI "while they waited," but in the end it was a much better-adapted system for their needs. So I would personally recommend that you keep in mind the possibility that you (or someone else -- I'm available for contract development work, of course
I do tech support for PC based credit card processing applications at one of the biggest credit card processors (at least the company tells us they're one of the biggest) and if you need this software to run credit cards I can tell you it's unlikely you'll find a free version.
The reason for this is that the processors require the software vendors to "certify" every version with them before they allow merchants to use a given piece of software on their system, and the processor charges the software vendor a hefty sum for this "privilege".
Mileage may vary with other processors but this seems to be common practice. At my company you can go for the cheaper class B cert, where the vendor provides the support, or the more expensive class A, where I provide the support. Generally we provide half-assed support for about 50 (maybe more these days) different apps, both internal and 3rd party, and quality support for a couple.
Only a few seem to be Unix based. I know there is an old version of IC Verify that runs on Unix (dunno much about it, it's class B), but it's wildly out of date, doesn't seem to be used much, I don't think it's supported by the vendor (Cybercash) anymore and it's definitely not free.
I see the POS market as very tough to enter, especially the retail POS market. I've worked retail and found many companies still use out-of-date 10-15 year old computers. The IT departments are just plain stubborn and underfunded. I'm sure there are some great OSS POS systems out there, but its going to be very difficult to get some kind of foothold in the market.
- tom -
Actually, there are companies like Wincor Nixdorf that have written POS applications for their intel based linux terminals. I happen to be looking at a Beetle XL right now with their application on it, right before I pop in our redhat Kickstart disk to blow it away and load our java based POS app that we're currently piloting in some european stores. Should things go well, we'll be deploying it to all of our european and american stores. Down with 4690!(grin)
Quazar is a fantasic system.
The back office app is written with the Qt libs, it's i18n-ified (which was terribly important to us) and can handle multiple tax configurations (Canada's mix of HST - one tax, GST/PST - two taxes and a few bizzarre tax-on-tax situations we have as well).
At the checkout you can either use the backoffice app, or a dedicated POS app. It's written in TCL, so it can be customised any way you want. It is also suitable for running in the root window (ie: dickless machine with no WM) and is entirely keyboard driven. The last thing you want someone at the checkout doing is pointing and clicking.
I had an opportunity to spend a couple hours talking to one of the developers when they were in town doing an upgrade for one of their customers. He told me that there are alot of people that just download it and use the version that's there. Alot more start out that way, decide they really like it, then buy an upgrade licence. (which gets you periodic updates and source code, BTW)
The guys there are quite clueful, and are willing to help you do just about anything you want with the system, from setting up a single store, to having a distributed, or large centrally managed chain of stores.
This is one product I would have to say is well worth several times the price you pay for it.
Cheers!
John
Cooperative Grocer magazine has an article this month on a Minneapolis Coop that designed there own linux POS system, and released it with a GNU license. http://www.cooperativegrocer.coop/cg2003/0503_ande rson.html
I am currently in the process of rolling out this software at my place of business, Raiford Gallery. We are a consignment based art gallery and hence the software is designed primarily around consignment point of sale.
The Unix version of ICVerify has been discontinued, but they say they are 'working on' a new version that will support Linux.
"I assumed blithely that there were no elves out there in the darkness"
Banks love this because they get to charge more to make up for this 'risk'. They'll continue to push insecure solutions a la Explorer/Windows and make everyone else use their internet gateway because everyone knows they're insecure and that just means more money for them.
"I assumed blithely that there were no elves out there in the darkness"
" Yeah, they'll let you charge whatever you want through their internet services because the rates are absurd."
That is so false. So false. Typically, my clients pay about 2.3% per trans plus about $0.20 per for processing. So long as you're not dealing with $2 charges, those prices are better than a regular merchant account. (the kind with the machine) One of my clients pays 2.8%/trans with his machine in the store and only 2.3%/trans for his online transactions. No monthly fees and no setup charges. How is that absurd?
You'll have that sometimes...
here's some stuff I did up when evaluating POS systems for a food coop. The information therein may or may not be useful or up-to-date. My conclusion was basically that L'ÃnePOS is probably the best option available right now.
Windows in POS systems.... is that why I walked into a Krispy Kreme the other day and noticed that their drive-thru display had blue screened?
... When not being crashed, imagine how inconsistent the donuts produced would be!
Imagine how productive business could be if the donut making machine ran windows
Ever need an online dictionary?
I'd like to see how you did it. (-:
Got time? Spend some of it coding or testing
...de-slashed. No link to IS4C yet, that I can find.
Got time? Spend some of it coding or testing
www.sql-ledger.org
I'm glad to hear that that's wrong, though. It's been almost a year since I looked into it, and maybe I wasn't looking in the right places or maybe things have changed.
"I assumed blithely that there were no elves out there in the darkness"
You've probably already come across it, but Compiere is a great ERP/POS. It's open source (MPL), but currently requires Oracle, which ups the minimum investment to $1,500 -- probably not in your budget. The PostgreSQL port is reportedly in progress.
There are other small systems around that you've likely already seen, such as SQL Ledger (with a web UI, yuck).
This site seems to have some suggestions as well:
Christopher Browne's compilation of free software for accounting.
It would not be outside the realm of possibility to utilize wine to run your accounting software. FYI, I wasn't able to get QuickBooks 2002 running with Wine 5/08/03 snapshot -- but I didn't try very hard.
Good luck.
Daniel