Open Source Point-of-Sale - What's Out There? 61
aztektum asks: "I have taken on the task of designing a building a networked Point-of-Sale system for a friends new restaurant/club. We have looked at out of the box solutions, but their upfront costs are a bit staggering, so I suggested a DIY approach. We are going to buy hardware outright, probably using Elo touch-screens and basic white boxes. It's the software that we're coming up short on. We are looking for a system that has good back-end management (running reports for end of day, from a central location and other such features), has a flexible/customizable UI, and as a bonus doesn't suffer from too much proprietary lock-in. Since Elo's screens have Linux support, I wanted to see if anyone on Slashdot has worked on similar projects and has experience with open source POS solutions. I have Google'd a bit and found some options, but I cannot spend a lot time testing out multiple setups because of a firm deadline. Quite bluntly, what's the best but least expensive option that you know of?" This is not the first time this particular issue has appeared on Ask Slashdot. The last discussion on this particular issue was way back in 2003. What has changed since then?
What a business! (Score:3, Insightful)
The cost makes you choke... yes, but does it make your friend choke? When I ran/owned a small cafe, I didn't choke at spending $6000 for a display case/cooler, $3000 for an expresso machine, &etc. Its the business... (ps, back in 1984 -- I don't know what prices are now).
If you want an "open source" solution, try to get someone to customize -- and get someone good. This is where you can most help your friend; weed out the bullshit so that your friend gets quality product.
And that's good advice for a "closed source" solution as well.
YMMV
Ratboy