Lavu POS Review: Is It Right for Your Business?

The cryptocurrency market is still in its infancy, but as it grows and matures, the number of businesses accepting digital currency will increase. The first step to fulfilling this need for companies looking to integrate cryptocurrency into their operations? Setting up a point-of an-sale terminal with Lavu POS software.

Lavu POS is a new restaurant and retail point of sale system that has been developed by the same company that created Square. The software is designed to be accessible for all types of businesses, but it does come with a hefty price tag. Read more in detail here: lavu pay.

Lavu is an iPad point-of-sale system for restaurants and other food-service establishments. This low-cost restaurant POS system has a robust built-in ingredient-level inventory, online ordering, and a plethora of third-party connectors. It also has an in-house payment processing system as well as payment connections with Square and PayPal, allowing you to tailor Lavu to meet a number of restaurant kinds. With an annual subscription, software pricing begins at $69 per month, but there is also a month-to-month alternative for a higher subscription fee.

Pay a visit to Lavu.

For What We Recommend Lavu

Lavu is one of our top restaurant POS systems because it combines low cost with a high degree of customization at an affordable price point. Despite the fact that Lavu has a number of formidable rivals, this system remains a viable alternative for food-service enterprises with unique requirements.

Lavu is especially recommended for:

• Quick-service restaurants (QSRs) looking for a customisable iPad point-of-sale system: Lavu creates a highly customized POS environment using iPads and other iOS devices. It’s a full-featured iPad POS that’s also in our list of the top quick service restaurant POS systems.
• Inventory management for small restaurants: Lavu’s sophisticated menu and built-in ingredient-inventory level module provide crucial services including units of measure customisation and low stock notifications at an entry-level pricing. While it doesn’t make our list of finest inventory POS systems, it’s a great low-cost alternative if Toast is out of your price range.
• Small businesses that need a variety of payment processing alternatives include: Lavu POS is a low-cost solution that includes an all-in-one payment processor as well as integrations with other payment providers such as PayPal.
• Small pizzerias with menu items that may be customized: The pizza builder in Lavu’s POS system enables you to handle menu changes for pizza goods such as crusts, sauces, and toppings. These capabilities, together with Lavu’s inexpensive pricing, won it a place on our list of the top pizza POS systems.

When Lavu Isn’t the Right Fit

• Food trucks with poor internet access: Because Lavu is a mobile POS, you won’t be able to fully use the system if you don’t have a stable internet connection. Square for Restaurants and Rezku, which can keep transactions for up to three days without an internet connection, are examples of POS systems that work on cellular data or Wi-Fi and support mobile hot spots or LTE-enabled hardware.
• Restaurants interested in QuickBooks integration should: There are several third-party connectors available for this POS, however QuickBooks is not one of them. If you need direct QuickBooks connectivity, look at Square for Restaurants or TouchBistro.
• Restaurants that wish to use their POS to submit vendor orders: Although Lavu has a large inventory, it is unable to interface directly with vendor order systems. Upserve by Lightspeed is a wonderful alternative if your busy restaurant need this feature.

Do you need additional options? See our list of the finest POS systems for small companies to pick the one that’s right for you.

Overview of Lavu POS

Pay a visit to Lavu.

Pricing at Lavu

• The software for a single terminal begins at $69 a month, which is a very reasonable pricing.
• Month-to-month option: You may subscribe for a month at a time for a higher monthly fee.
• A unique quotation will be required for extra terminals and add-on features.

While the price and feature lists on the Lavu website seem to be straightforward, they do not present a true picture. It’s unknown whatever features Lavu incorporates in its standard POS. You’ll need an unique quotation from the Lavu sales department to acquire the complete price. You’ll also want to double-check that the features you desire are included in your bundle. Restaurants with many locations or huge volumes may negotiate unique, all-in-one deals.

For a single terminal, Pricing at Lavu starts at $69 per month. This price requires paying for a full year of software fees upfront. At one time, this was a very competitive price point, but in the aftermath of COVID-19, competitors like Toast have lowered their entry-level prices. Now, $69 per month puts Lavu in line with competitors TouchBistro and Lightspeed.

Lavu also offers a one-of-a-kind monthly software subscription. You may avoid long service contracts for a higher monthly charge (Lavu’s sales staff previously offered me $79 per month). This month-to-month cost, in my experience, is like a hidden menu item—the sales crew doesn’t publicize it; you have to inquire about it personally. A monthly membership, if available, enables you to try Lavu before committing long-term. It’s also ideal for seasonal eateries that only need a POS for a few months at a time.

Payments by Lavu

• If you’re looking for an all-in-one solution, LavuPay is the built-in choice.
• Low rates: Lavu strives to keep LavuPay rates as low as possible.
• LavuPay accounts are completely functioning within two days, with a 48-hour turnaround.
• Gift cards: Use the Lavu POS to sell open-priced or set-amount gift cards.
• Customer service: LavuPay transactions are supported by Lavu’s in-house, 24-hour customer service.
• Lavu works with a variety of third-party payment processors, including PayPal.

When it comes to payments, Lavu is accommodating. You have the option of using LavuPay or a third-party processor. Vantiv, Moneris, and Heartland are just a few of the payment gateways that Lavu works with. LavuPay claims to have the lowest processing fees, therefore getting quotes from different processors to negotiate the best prices for your business is a smart idea.

A monthly membership is required to add gift cards to your Lavu POS through LavuPay. To acquire a personalized quotation, you’ll need to contact Lavu sales directly. To issue and redeem gift cards, you don’t have to be a LavuPay client; it can accept gift cards hosted by integrated processors like Heartland.

Built-in EMV-compliant tap, dip, and swipe card readers, as well as mobile PIN pad scanners, are all compatible with Lavu. As a result, you’ll be able to take contactless near-field communication (NFC) payments as well as mobile wallet payments such as Apple Pay. For purchases made using the MenuDrive module, the system now accepts online payments. Meanwhile, PayPal integration enables small businesses to accept payments using a PayPal merchant account.

Hardware by Lavu

• Tableside functions employ iPhones or iPod touch devices, while terminals use iPads.
• Lavu provides hardware leasing; for pricing, contact Lavu sales.
• Bring Your Own Device: Lavu is only compatible with Apple devices running iOS 11 or later.

Lavu is compatible with iPads, iPhones, and iPod touches running iOS 11 or later. It’s simple to utilize Apple devices you already possess since the software can be downloaded simply from the App Store. The Lavu support page leads you through the configuration process for supported devices. Tableside ordering and payment may be done using iPhones or iPod touches, as well as mobile card readers.

To boost offline capabilities, a Mac mini server may be used as a Lavu Local Server (LLS). The LLS installation is considered a higher quality of service by Lavu than the regular, mobile-based iPad POS, hence additional prices apply. An LLS package is required for reliable KDS operation. It uses iPads or Epson displays with bump bars for its KDS.

Lavu also supplies the following auxiliary hardware components to modify your POS configuration:

• From $30 for a tablet stand
• From $95 for a consumer display at the back.
• Cash drawers with integrated cash drawers start at $85 and go up from there.
• Hardware for KDS starts at $800.
• Routers start at $75.
• Mac mini Servers: a variety of sizes are available.

Hardware may be purchased directly from Lavu’s web store or via a third-party reseller. Third-party resellers can put together a comprehensive hardware package for you and give local technical support, but many restaurants feel that a reseller is just another middleman who may pass the blame if there are problems with the system.

When purchasing gear directly from Lavu, you may choose to lease instead of buy. Although hardware leases come with a long-term service contract, the leasing program may make a POS system more affordable for small establishments. The leasing agreement might extend for up to three years and is very tough to terminate. Many of Lavu’s unfavorable internet evaluations come from clients who regretted signing up for a hardware lease.

Features of Lavu POS

Ingredient-level inventory with order management, online ordering, and personnel scheduling are just a few of the restaurant-supporting features included in Lavu. Basic restaurant POS features such as seat and course numbers, check splitting by item or seat number, pre-authorized bar tabs, numerous modification menus, and configurable floor layouts are also included in the system.

To expedite order processing, customize your POS screen with menu favorites. (Photo courtesy of Lavu)

Lavu takes gift cards and party deposits, as well as allowing you to build special menus for occasions such as happy hours. Apple’s App Store offers direct downloads of Lavu’s POS software, KDS, and self-order kiosk capabilities. You can set Lavu to conduct any imagined restaurant-specific job thanks to more than 100 third-party connectors.

Below, we’ll look at Lavu’s mobile ordering, inventory management, customer management, customization possibilities, and reporting. Lavu additionally supports the following functionalities in addition to those listed above:

• Workforce management: Lavu POS offers a built-in scheduling module that facilitates digital shift swaps, as well as customisable employee permissions. Your tip pools and tip outs may be automated depending on employee positions, hours worked, or even divided using this system.
• Online resources: Your staff may examine their schedules and make shift swaps via Lavu’s online employee site. On the Lavu support site, you may find searchable Server and Manager handbooks to help you with your training.
• Integrations: There are over 100 third-party integrations in this system, and more are being added all the time. From bookings administration to staff sales contest tools, you can discover an integration for every restaurant duty that the POS lacks.
• Accounting: Use a general ledger (GL) report to track and identify expenses and revenues. To simplify accounting operations, assign applicable account numbers to particular line items in the GL.

Inventory of Lavu

• Tie ingredients to recipes so that your stock level changes as you sell.
• Vendor log: In the POS, create vendors, assign them to goods, and make vendor orders.
• Management of Purchase Orders (POs): Create and receive POs directly in Lavu to expedite inventory adjustments.
• Cost analysis in real time: Keep track of the goods you have on hand at all times. Determine the worth of your merchandise.
• Low-stock alerts: When stock levels fall below a certain threshold, Lavu sends messages to your iPads.

Lavu’s POS software incorporates ingredient-level inventory, much as rivals TouchBistro and Lightspeed Restaurant—though Lavu’s inventory is significantly more automated than other systems. The inventory module in Lavu allows you to create orders in the POS, but it cannot place orders with vendors directly.

You can organize your orders in Lavu and create POs for them, but you’ll still need to contact your vendors directly to place the orders. The PO function keeps your orders organized and saves you time entering new products as you receive them. When you enter ingredients into Inventory of Lavu, note where they are located in your restaurant and create categories for easy inventory counting.

Lavu allows you to add specifics to each menu item, such as gluten or dairy-free comments, and monitor availability depending on component inventory levels. (Photo courtesy of Lavu)

You may also change the weights and units of measurement to monitor raw materials the way you like. When it comes to inventory reporting, you may calculate your Cost of Goods Sold (CoGS) based on the average price you paid for an ingredient over a certain time period or configure reports to compute First In/First Out (FIFO) style. FIFO calculations will compute your expenses even more accurately by using the price of the oldest stock you acquired.

Staff Management at Lavu

•  Default access levels: Lavu comes with five pre-made user profiles with varying degrees of access, which may be changed in the Manage Users box.
• You may create and browse shift schedules by day or week, as well as by employee or employee class.
• Time clock: Using the PIN screen or the Service Type screen, employees may clock in and out straight from the POS.
• Manage employee time cards: Keep track of staff attendance with comprehensive time cards that you can modify and export to a CSV file.
• Open tab monitoring: You may arrange your system to prevent your employees from clocking out while they are working on open orders.
• Overtime, double time, and holiday settings: Customize overtime, double time, and holiday restrictions.

Lavu, like Upserve, has a workforce management feature that allows you to manage your employees’ logins and permissions, as well as their scheduling, attendance, and performance. While Lavu’s standard membership is significantly more expensive, it already contains an ingredient-level inventory capability, which Upserve customers may purchase as an add-on. Set tip-out rules and modify when and whether overtime and double-time are paid in the workforce settings. On your staff schedule page, you may even see your expected payroll expenditure for the week as a footnote.

With Lavu’s simple staff administration module, you can easily manage user settings and rights. (Photo courtesy of Lavu)

Lavu’s workforce and reporting modules both have the ability to produce and manage employee time cards. The summary page is the default view, which displays each employee per line entry, but you may expand the view to get comprehensive attendance data. Before exporting your record to a CSV file, you may update the time card to remedy any errors, such as missing clock-ins and clock-outs, and filter your view by date, employee class, or position.

Mobile Ordering and Delivery by Lavu

• Built-in MenuDrive: Lavu POS owns and operates one of the most popular online ordering solutions, MenuDrive.
• GPS-enabled: Find the most efficient routes and provide instructions to drivers’ cellphones through email.
• To keep track of who delivered each order, assign vehicles to drivers and drivers to orders.
• Text orders: In addition to email, phone, and internet orders, Lavu’s online ordering module allows text orders.
• Promotions and marketing: Directly in the online ordering environment, draw attention to promotions, combinations, or coupons.

MenuDrive, an online ordering and delivery management software, is owned by Lavu. This product is a free-standing tool for non-Lavu restaurants that operates as a native online ordering solution for the Lavu POS. MenuDrive assists you in creating vibrant, branded menus that complement your restaurant’s appearance. Many MenuDrive customers can set up online ordering in under an hour since the platform is so simple to use.

You may establish unique delivery zones and set delivery costs for them using the MenuDrive module. Customers’ delivery preferences and information are stored in the delivery routing tools, which are integrated with your customer database. You can allocate deliveries to drivers and send turn-by-turn instructions with delivery information to your drivers’ cellphones from the Lavu dashboard. You may utilize third-party drivers for a fixed price thanks to an interface with DoorDash delivery.

Lavu keeps track of client delivery information so that orders may be processed quickly. (Photo courtesy of Lavu)

You can also establish client categories in MenuDrive and use them to customize promotions and marketing campaigns. The cost of integrating the online ordering module to Lavu’s POS is not specified (the Lavu website directs you to get a custom quote). The MenuDrive app is available for free and costs $149 a month, but I’m sure POS members could get a better deal.

Customer Service at Lavu

• Gather and store chosen customer information in the POS using a central database. Integrate with loyalty and delivery tools.
• Customer loyalty: Keep track of your customers’ transactions and award them with points.
• Customizable: Offer percentage or dollar-amount discounts to loyal customers.
• Take command: You have complete control over how many points each menu item receives. Set a minimum amount of points required to get a discount.

Customer relationship management (CRM) and customer loyalty capabilities are available for an extra, custom-quoted fee from Lavu. When you enable this module, your team will be prompted to enroll consumers in your loyalty program whenever they make an order. You may utilize client phone numbers as member numbers or issue loyalty cards. Customers may use their loyalty numbers at numerous places after they’ve been registered.

You may also create discounts that apply when consumers hit a certain sales level, and your employees can apply them right on the payment page. You may determine whether or not you require manager approval to conduct loyalty discounts using user permissions.

Your customers may pay for their purchases by scanning or manually inputting the number on their gift card. (Photo courtesy of Lavu)

Customization of Lavu

• Pizza Builder: Modifier screens may be customized to facilitate pizza operations.
• Plugin software for anything from third-party delivery systems to restaurant management software, deep-dive bar inventory tools, app-based mobile payments, and more.
• Workforce: Add 7shifts scheduling to Lavu’s basic workforce management, or use Tipzyy to gamify staff sales competitions.
• Using Lavu’s open application programming interface, you may create your own integrations with any third-party software (API).

The main POS features of Lavu offer good assistance for small restaurant businesses. You may pick built-in modules for loyalty, online ordering, self-order kiosks, and digital menu boards if you wish to expand the POS capability. With a distinct modifier category for pizzas, Lavu readily handles the large number of alterations required by a pizza shop. With a few clicks on the manager dashboard, you can activate the pizza modifiers and create alternatives for different crusts, sauces, and toppings.

Lavu has a pizza setting feature that enables you to build basic pizza options and use force modifiers to alter them with various toppings. (Photo courtesy of Lavu)

More than 100 third-party applications that enable reservations, personnel scheduling, third-party delivery, and inventory are directly integrated with Lavu. Integrations with event management software, such as event Rental Systems, are available for restaurants that host a high number of private events.

However, there is one significant integration aspect that Lavu might improve: accounting. Lavu does not have pre-built connections with QuickBooks, Xero, or other popular small company accounting software at the moment. While the system works with the full restaurant management systems Restaurant365 and Compeat, such technologies are more powerful than what small eateries need. If you want to automate your accounting using QuickBooks, you’ll either have to construct the connection yourself using Lavu’s open API or register a Shogo account, which needs a monthly fee.

Reporting by Lavu

• There are more than 40 built-in reports: Built-in reports show you everything from daily sales and expenditures to details like overtime, voids, and employee-by-employee shift breakdowns.
• Real-time labor and sales reporting: The Lavu control panel provides you with an instant view of your sales and cost performance.
• Customizable: Built-in reports provide many filters that allow you to dig down to the precise data you need.
• Lavu’s Pilot reporting app enables you to view real-time performance data from your smartphone, allowing you to make quick choices.

Lavu’s reporting features are good for a low-cost cloud POS. The filter and sub-filter menus run along the top of the report screens, with several dropdowns to let you customize your report quickly. You may dig down to the exact sales or expense statistics you’re looking for, for the exact time period you’re looking at. You may quickly share results with bookkeepers by exporting them as CSV files, or construct spreadsheets for additional in-depth examination.

The Lavu management dashboard provides a quick overview of your restaurant’s performance. (Photo courtesy of Lavu)

Sales and stock trends are shown in dynamic charts and graphs on Lavu’s management dashboard. While it falls short of rivals such as TouchBistro, which allows you to define and show daily, weekly, and monthly goals, Lavu’s dashboard can help you figure out where to make adjustments that will impact your Conclusion. To acquire additional in-depth information, use the navigation option on the left side of the control panel to quickly go to dashboards for inventory or labor management. From the control panel, you can also generate POs based on your low stock notifications and change your staff schedule.

User-Friendliness

• The system is iOS-based, which means it works with iPads and iPhones.
• Training handbooks and a searchable support database are both accessible online at any time.
• Customer service is available by phone, email, and webchat 24 hours a day, 7 days a week in the United States.
• Mobile access, in conjunction with the Pilot reporting app, Lavu’s browser-based manager control panel, and employee portal, ensures that you and your team have all you need at all times.

Lavu, like other iPad POS systems, is simple to use. On the left side of the screen, there are check boxes, and on the right, there are order buttons. To speed up ordering, you may attach photos to menu items and utilize forced modifiers to create combinations. This is a bit detailed, but I enjoy how Lavu’s order screen has faint notebook-style lines that let you see problems before submitting orders to the kitchen.

Lavu keeps things easy in the kitchen. Epson printers and iPad or Epson KDS displays are used in the POS. The KDS is color-coded to differentiate between orders placed in-house, takeout, and delivery.

Lavu’s KDS is simple and straightforward, which some chefs like. (Photo courtesy of Lavu)

The Pilot reporting app will appeal to managers, particularly the built-in scheduling functions. All of your schedule is kept in the POS, and online shift swaps are supported, ensuring that your desk isn’t covered with easily misplaced Post-it Note requests from your staff. The online staff training handbooks and searchable support site from Lavu may assist you in creating complete training programs. The option to download software from the App Store allows you to add features as needed without having to wait for an installation crew.

Kiosks in front of customers and online purchase displays are fantastic. They let clients to take care of themselves while immersed in the branding of your business. The online ordering module’s combo construction and menu descriptions are very user-friendly.

Overall, the system is simple and straightforward to use. However, there is one important caveat: Lavu was built to be a mobile restaurant POS, and its amazing capabilities do not work properly when the system is not connected to the internet.

Alternatives to Restaurant Software

Lavu covers most bases with built-in features and third-party connectors. However, there are a few instances when an alternative POS might be preferable.

What Users Have to Say About Lavu POS

Users comment on how simple it is to get started with the Lavu POS system in good Lavu POS reviews. Many people also praise the affordable price and the large number of incorporated features. Although the customer review ratings are lower than many Lavu rivals, industry professionals find plenty to praise in this system.

Lavu has received the following ratings on prominent review sites as of this writing:

• Online Finances: Lavu has an 8.9 out of 10 Smartscore rating from experts, while a total of 26 Lavu user evaluations give the system a 4.3 out of 5 rating.
• G2: Lavu has a 3.3 out of 5 star rating based on 82 user reviews.
• Capterra gives Lavu a 3.2 out of 5 rating based on 92 customer reviews.

Finances Online conducted an online poll of Lavu evaluations and found that the system had an 88 percent customer satisfaction rating. This is lower than many similar POS systems, therefore it’s evident that not everyone is impressed with Lavu. Long wait times for customer service and issues with the mobile reporting app have been mentioned in negative Lavu POS evaluations. Furthermore, several consumers who accepted hardware leases wish they had done more research on Lavu before signing a three-year contract.

Conclusion

Lavu POS is a restaurant point-of-sale system with a lot of useful features at a reasonable price. It works on iPads, iPhones, and iPod touches and is mobile-optimized. The POS software is available for iOS devices straight from the App Store. Although this highly configurable system needs ongoing administrative care, if you have the time, Lavu may be an outstanding addition to a variety of eateries.

Pay a visit to Lavu.

The “spoton reviews” is a review site that provides information on the latest and greatest in the world of point-of-sale software.

Related Tags

• lavu pos down
• lavu pricing
• myr pos review
• spoton website builder reviews
• lavu control panel