NCR POS Systems Review: Is It Right for Your Business?

NCR has been a major player in the point of sale market for over 40 years. NCR POS systems provide businesses with seamless, advanced operations and security features to keep employees happy and customers satisfied.
The question is whether or not your business can benefit from an investment in NCR’s POS system.

The “NCR POS Hardware” is a hardware that allows businesses to process credit card payments. This type of system is typically used by restaurants, grocery stores, and gas stations. Read more in detail here: ncr pos hardware.

NCR develops point-of-sale (POS) software and hardware for retail, restaurants, gas stations, and internet purchases. Small businesses to major franchises are among its clients. While it’s seldom our top-rated POS software (with the exception of gas station POS software), it’s still popular, well-liked, and simple to use. To get pricing, you must contact NCR directly or one of its local dealers for a consultation. Continue reading to find out more about NCR (including its Silver, OPTIC, and Emerald options), what it has to offer, and what we and real-world users think of it.

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When Should You Use NCR?

We’ve looked at a lot of POS systems and can confidently state that NCR has the most comprehensive POS software and hardware on the market. As a result, it excels at a variety of tasks—but not all of them wonderfully. It’s also the most difficult to price due to the software’s numerous variants and add-ons, as well as the fact that it integrates with third-party sellers that provide various discounts.

As a result, NCR is ideal for:

• Stores with a variety of sales types: NCR’s characteristics make it ideal for a bookshop with a coffee shop, a grocery store with a deli and gas pumps, or a service station with a restaurant adjacent. Other POS software can handle various usage, but NCR has solutions that are developed expressly for it.
• Gas stations: NCR’s EMV-compliant OPTIC system allows cashiers to handle car washes, retail, snack counters, and more from their station. It also offers television displays and touchless payment at the pump. It came in first place on our list of the top gas station POS systems.
• NCR Emerald not only offers grocer-specific software that takes into account produce, deli, and other factors, but it also offers self-service kiosk software and hardware. (For more information on other supermarket POS systems, see our evaluation of grocery POS systems.)
• Self-service retail: NCR’s FastLane Mobile Shopper is a good option if you need Self-checkout.
• Businesses who desire a single point of contact for all of their needs: NCR is a fantastic choice if you prefer having a single point of contact for all of your business tools. It features a full set of HR and payroll applications in addition to POS, inventory systems, and Processing of payments.

Are you new to point-of-sale software? Learn more about the most prevalent tools and purposes, as well as what to look for when assessing the best POS system for you, in this post.

When to Use a Substitute

• Businesses looking for a mobile POS: NCR’s mobile solutions aren’t particularly well-liked or rated, however Ring Up is receiving decent, though sparse, feedback. Consider Square if you require a mobile POS system; it ranks first on our list of the best mobile POS applications and mobile using a credit card processors.
• NCR provides outstanding flexibility and a choice of hardware/software combinations for stores in need of a basic POS system. However, this might result in a lengthy purchase and deployment procedure. Check out our list of the top iPad POS systems if you’re looking for something quick and easy.
• Firms looking for a low-cost system: NCR may be more machine than many small businesses require—at a higher price point. Although free POS systems might be a good deal, higher-end, feature-rich systems like Lightspeed and Shopify are less expensive than NCR.
• NCR offers various restaurant-specific options, but its complicated pricing and out-of-date interfaces keep it from making our list of the top restaurant POS systems.
• Boutiques and speciality stores: An economical retail POS system with various hardware choices and online store offers might be more beneficial to small businesses.

Are you looking for something unique? To choose a service or software that’s perfect for your company, see our guide to the top POS systems for small companies.

Overview of the National Capital Region

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Pricing at NCR

NCR offers a variety of software and hardware solutions, as well as variable pricing. NCR Silver is listed as “beginning at $149 per month” on one third-party site, which covers both hardware and the POS system. When compared to other POS systems, which sell directly and charge fixed monthly prices for plans as well as set costs for hardware purchase or rental, this is a better deal. In addition to Processing of payments expenses, software options range from free to $100 a month for a single register with the basic plan.

We were unable to get alternative prices or typical expenditures for small firms after repeated efforts to contact them. NCR does not provide any free plans or trials, but you may schedule a demo.

A sales person will evaluate your needs and give suggestions. You may also purchase NCR through one of the company’s partners. It offers a directory on its website that allows you to search by industry, nation, and state.

When we analyze POS systems, NCR seldom reaches the final list because to its complicated and opaque pricing, as well as the fact that long-term contracts are the norm.

Hardware from NCR

NCR has the most hardware options of any of the POS systems I’ve looked at, which is one of the reasons its price is so complicated. Although it may be used on an iPad, most sites rely on the built-in hardware. To give you a sense of what it has to offer, below are a couple of the hardware alternatives. Prices vary depending on the plan and the reseller. You may also be able to locate some that have been previously utilized.

RealPOS XR7 Plus from NCR (Source: NCR)

The NCR RealPOS XR7 Plus is an all-in-one point-of-sale system. It sports a 10-point multi-touch viewscreen and Intel Core 6th and 7th generation processors. It may be installed on a tabletop stand, kiosk pedestal, or pole, or it can be wall-mounted. The viewscreen is either 15″ or 18″ in size.

POS NCR P1535 NCR P1535 NCR P1535 NCR P15 (Source: NCR)

The NCR P1535 POS contains a 12″ or 15″ screen, a card swipe, and various connections for accessories like as cash drawers and receipt printers. It may also be used for self-ordering, much as the XR7. It’s powered by an Intel Celeron N3160 processor, which is the latest iteration of Intel’s Celeron processor (Quad-core, 2.24GHz).

OPTIC 12 NCR (Source: NCR)

NCR OPTIC 5 and 12: These are used to handle gasoline sales at gas stations. A keypad, an integrated card reader, and a display are all included. The OPTIC 12 sports a bigger screen and supports touchless payments.

NCR FastLane is a service provided by NCR (Source: NCR FastLane brochure)

NCR FastLane: NCR’s self-service checkout interfaces with other POS systems as well as NCR’s. It has a 15-inch touch screen with built-in audio, as well as cash input/output and a card reader. For the greatest match for your business, it supports several upload and download bagging modules. To reduce product orientation concerns, the imager is either 1D or 2D, with six-sided scanning and top-down scanning. The RealScan 78 bi-optic scanner is also available. It features integrated weight verification and electronic product monitoring.

KDS NCR (Source: JCR Systems)

NCR Silver, Silver Pro, and Aloha are all compatible with the NCR Kitchen Display System. It’s been toughened for use in the kitchen and is simple to clean. It’s also Energy Star certified and can be used in either landscape or portrait mode. It may be used as a touch screen or with a bump bar.

Payments to the NCR

• using a credit card
• ACH and e-checks are two types of electronic checks.
• Processing in batches
• Ecommerce
• Mobile
• Tokenization

NCR will integrate with other payment processors, or you can use its own. Payments to the NCR can process using a credit cards, ACH and e-checks are two types of electronic checks., and card-not-present transactions. It keeps payments secure with Tokenization and PCI compliance. It partners with Chargeback Gurus for chargeback protection online.

NCR Processing in batches lets you load multiple using a credit card transactions at once into NCR’s system for processing. Considered best for businesses that process over 50 transactions a day, it’s a good choice for recurring payments. NCR resubmits “soft declines” for 12 days, renews aging authorizations, and updates renewals and card account changes.

PayPal, Zelle, bitcoin, and other payment methods are all supported by NCR POS and ecommerce systems. If you have a certain payment method in mind, let the sales agent know. Processing of payments is likely to be included with POS systems.

Products and Features of NCR

NCR differs from the other POS systems we’ve looked at in that it provides a large range of POS and other software solutions, which we’ll go over in depth below:

NCR Silver—Point of Sale for Retail and Snack Bars

• POS
• It is simple to learn
• Processing of payments
• Inventory control is important.
• Loyalty-building tools
• Email marketing campaigns
• Management of many locations
• Support is available at all times of the year.
• Installation assistance

NCR Silver can be downloaded to iPad, or you can purchase Hardware from NCR with a variety of options. (Source: NCR)

NCR Silver is the company’s flagship point-of-sale system, and it has a lot to offer. It may be used for a number of purposes, including an internet shop or a service company without a physical presence, as well as a chain of stores or franchises. It’s an excellent option for quick-service restaurants, although Silver Pro or Aloha are better for sit-downs.

All forms of sales, gift cards, discounts, refunds, coupons, loyalty programs, and more may be handled via the POS system. Employees of all skill levels may easily learn the system, making it a viable alternative for companies with a high turnover rate. Each shift, employees may log in and out of the system. You may create several categories, such as favorites and departments. It has the ability to compute rates based on weight, handle deviations, and place tickets on hold.

NCR Silver is capable of handling shops with a variety of departments, including ones with food counters. It can also print kitchen tickets and interface with kitchen display systems, so someone can purchase a book and order a sandwich while they read the first chapter.

Managers have access to information such as who is on duty, sales vs. labor, and other time clock information. Customers’ loyalty information and customer remarks may be found by looking them up. In the back office part, there are various dashboards that cover store performance, inventory, customer analysis, and personnel data.

NCR Silver is often on our list of POS systems to examine, and it always performs well but not outstandingly in terms of feature set. Because of this, as well as the cost, unavailability of a free plan, and backend complexity, it often falls short of our final ranking of top POS systems for small companies.

Alternatives may be found in our top selections for the best retail POS and best fast service POS.

NCR Counterpoint Inventory control is important.

• Inventory might be regular, gridded, or serialized.
• Keep track of what you have on hand.
• For grouping objects, there are up to six user-defined classes.
• Each object may have an unlimited number of barcodes.
• Produce or meat barcodes with random weights
• Five different selling units (individual, box, carton, etc.) are available.
• Weight
• Images, sounds, or video snippets are all acceptable.
• Management of vendors
• Order management, including Processing in batches
• Codes for employee commissions
• Capability of the kit
• Pricing based on margins and pricing regulations
• Tracking of Markdown
• Transfers

Counterpoint is the name of NCR’s Inventory control is important. system. It’s a very adaptable system that works well for both typical retail and more complicated scenarios including weights, variances, and even expiry dates. You may put goods, categories, or locations on hold while you count and update your inventory. It’s easy to move goods across places, and there’s even a study that suggests doing so. You may also include shipping, assembly, and warranty expenses when creating kits.

You may assign several barcodes with variable prices to various items, such as reduced stock or price variances between your airport shop and a mall kiosk. It has order management capabilities that can handle ecommerce, postal orders, and custom orders.

When it comes to classifying and identifying a product, you have a lot of options. (Image courtesy of SoftwareConnect.com)

There are also strong Management of vendors tools, letting you set multiple vendors for a product and automatically generate restocking orders. This automated system calculates how much to reorder based on current levels, backorders, desired stock levels, and vendor minimum requirements. You can even set it to order from the lowest-cost vendor. NCR Counterpoint integrates with online sales and shopping carts like Shopify, Magento, and BigCommerce.

Customer Loyalty and Management at NCR

• Promotions based on segments
• Data in real time
• Determine which consumers are at danger.
• Promotions that are tailored to you
• Receipts that are personalized
• Tools for gamification
• Reports, analysis, and business information
• Tools for preventing fraud
• Machine learning, automations
• Promotions that are more advanced
• Organize third-party deals

NCR includes some of its discount, customer management, and Loyalty-building tools in each of its platforms. For example, most have customer databases with notes and loyalty programs built-in. Some include email marketing tools and customizable receipts. However, if you want more extensive marketing and loyalty programs, NCR offers additional programs to help.

The Loyalty Pro program from NCR contains capabilities for in-depth research and business analytics. (From the NCR brochure)

NCR Loyalty Pro incorporates machine learning and personalisation to provide offers that are tailored to a customer’s interests and purchasing history. It may, for example, include a coffee voucher in NCR OPTIC.

NCR also offers a retail-focused Advanced Marketing Solution (AMS). This allows for omnichannel promotion, loyalty, and promotion rules to be created. It also includes methods for preventing discount abuse, copying, and code-breaking. Do you want to accept promotional codes from other parties? It’s no problem with NCR AMS.

Multichannel Sales at NCR

NCR offers online tools for retail and restaurants. Retailers can build their own online stores and set up omnichannel sales. It can process using a credit card payments securely and integrates with NCR Counterpoint for inventory tracking as well as shipping services. If you have a third-party online store, NCR can integrate with it. For restaurants, it offers online orders and integration with third-party delivery services.

Silver Pro and Aloha NCR for Restaurants

• Management of the menu (Silver and Aloha)
• 86 automation of lists (Silver and Aloha)
• Credit that may be used offline (Silver and Aloha)
• Table reorganization (Silver and Aloha)
• Customer loyalty is important (Silver and Aloha)
• Marketing through email (Silver)
• Orders made over the internet (Aloha)
• Gift certificates (Aloha)
• Scheduling Employees (Optional)
• Showcase in the Kitchen (Optional)
• Signage on the internet (Optional)
• Inventory control is important. (Optional)
• Paystubs (Optional)

NCR Silver was created with small eateries in mind. (Photo courtesy of NCR)

NCR offers two restaurant systems: NCR Silver Pro and NCR Aloha. Each has its own set of advantages. On the NCR Aloha website, you may view a comparison. The primary distinction is that Silver Pro is a cloud-based system, while Aloha is a traditional POS with robust offline capabilities.

The basic plans for both offer POS, customer onboarding support, Processing of payments, a basic customer loyalty plan, and restaurant-grade hardware. Silver includes email marketing, while Aloha has online ordering, contactless payments, business intelligence, and gift cards. It also comes with a POS screen, card reader, and receipt printer. Other hardware costs extra. Other software tools, like employee scheduling, are add-ons that cost extra.

The front-facing POS from NCR is simple to use and may incorporate clock-in and clock-out. To make it simpler to ring up, ordering is based on conversational models. Customers may place takeaway, curbside pickup, and dining-in orders online, and they can pay either online or in-store. NCR also offers portable gadgets for ordering and paying at the table.

For delivery, scheduling, loyalty, bookings, and more, NCR has over 250 interfaces with third-party providers. From start to end, the program links all of your restaurant’s activities. NCR’s solutions are scalable, so you may manage one or a dozen restaurants.

If you’re looking for a different restaurant POS system, check out our list of the top restaurant POS systems.

OPTIC for Gas Stations by NCR

• Compliant with EMV
• APIs for food service orders, loyalty, and more are available.
• Remote tamper detection in real time
• Fits most pumps and is available in 12″ and 5″ sizes.
• VGA screen with full color
• Fleet cards and contactless payments are accepted.
• There are 44 nations and 40 languages available.
• NewsBreak Media was a partner.

NCR tops our list for gas stations and convenience stores. With NCR OPTIC, you can handle product sales, run a kitchen, monitor the fuel pumps, and even process car wash sales. These require Hardware from NCR, which lets your cashiers manage pumps from their station. You can also set up self-service kiosks for restaurants or snack bars.

You don’t have to replace your pumps with NCR OPTIC since retrofit kits are included. (Photo courtesy of NCR)

NCR offers hardware for the pump that not only accepts all types of payments, including contactless, but also includes video to advertise your goods, loyalty programs, and specials, as well as play educational snippets. In fact, it collaborates with NewsBreak Media to offer content that is tailored for the local market. Wet inventory monitoring and fuel requests are not available. Check out LS Forecourt if that’s something you’re interested in.

Emerald NCR for Grocers

• Retail POS for all types of foods
• For petrol stations, a fuel POS system is available.
• Features of a Pharmacy Point of Sale
• POS for quick-service restaurants
• Third-party applications may use open APIs.
• Platform for ecommerce
• Loyalty and incentive programs are two types of loyalty and incentive programs.
• Promotional and discount tools
• Inventory control is important.
• Self-checkout
• FastLane Mobile Shopper is an app that allows you to shop on the go.

For busy grocery businesses, NCR provides hardware and software solutions. (From the NCR brochure)

NCR Emerald is a versatile, all-in-one system that can handle any grocery store setup, from huge stores with gasoline pumps to mom-and-pop shops with a small deli and sandwich bar—even online for order-to-pick-up. Everything is connected to the POS terminal.

FastLane Mobile Shopper in the NCR (FLMS)

• Customer-facing
• Which is better, Android or iOS?
• Hardware for personal scanners is available.
• Compatible with current point-of-sale systems
• Customers may make changes to their shopping lists and keep track of their expenditures.
• Item location, product data, and price verification are all supported.
• You may pay at the register, on your own shopping gadget, or on your phone.

Customers may shop and pay for items in-store using the NCR FastPay Mobile Shopper app. (Image courtesy of Google Play)

NCR’s FastLane Mobile Shopper keeps up with the trend of touchless and independent checkouts as they become more popular. This software allows customers to scan their own purchases in the aisle and pay for them either on their phone or in the checkout line. Customers may either download the software on their smartphones or buy personal scanning gear to use in-store. While we identified other independent mobile apps that conducted comparable work, NCR’s is solely focused on its point-of-sale system.

The smartphone application, which was released in August 2020, has yet to get any feedback. I downloaded it on my Samsung Galaxy S9+, but it broke as soon as I tried to gain permissions, thus I couldn’t test it.

HR and Payroll at NCR

• Keeping track of time
• Management of vacation time
• Management of performance and training
• Payroll
• Benefits
• Compliances
• Consultations with HR
• Recruiting new employees
• Onboarding
• Self-service tools for employees
• Loans for small businesses

NCR offers a comprehensive set of HR and payroll tools and functions, from Keeping track of time to advising you on HR Compliances for your area and industry. It also provides dedicated representatives. The employee dashboard includes enrollment, pay history, documents, and more. NCR’s Human Capital Management solutions are powered by Workforce Today.

Integrations with NCR

You have access to over 250 third-party connections regardless of the NCR system you buy. NCR can establish an integration for any software that doesn’t currently have one, from design through testing to ensure it’s working properly. Here’s a look at a few of the integrations that are currently accessible.

• Shopify, Magento, BigCommerce, WooCommerce, and Brightpearl are examples of ecommerce platforms.
• UberEats, GrubHub, Chowly, and Doordash are some of the delivery services available.
• Loyalty2: Loyverse, Loyalty3: Loyalty2: Loyalty3: Loyalty2: Lo
• QuickBooks, Zoho Books, Brightpearl, Sage, and EDI are examples of accounting software.
• Salesforce, Zoho, Netsuite, and Ontraport are examples of customer relationship management software.
• Stripe, PayPal, Atrium, and CardFree are examples of payment processors.
• Shipping companies include USPS, FedEx, UPS, eShipper, and ShipStation.
• 7Shifts, HotSchedules provide scheduling and time monitoring.

NCR (National Center for Reporting)

• History of the retail industry
• Sales
• Discounts
• Throughput of sales (with gross margin return on investment and turn rates by item)
• Counts of stock
• Valuation
• Inventory depreciation
• Customer segmentation and analysis
• Employee productivity
• Promotional trends
• Marketing Return on Investment

Run a multitude of inventory reports in NCR. (Source: C&K Systems on YouTube)

There are a variety of reports available with NCR, depending on the software you get. (NCR Counterpoint, for example, has 40 reports related to inventory, sales, and purchasing.) These cover sales, inventory, profit, Keeping track of time, payroll, and more.

Because the data is stored in the cloud, you can view reports from anywhere. It provides real-time information on anything from sales to labor hours to the number of widgets at your branch location. Advanced reporting may compute things that are less than whole, such as divided checks.

Your dashboard already has some reports and notifications. For example, you may get an alert for higher-than-usual sales, a breakdown of discount or coupon use, and information on the success of your most recent email campaign.

NCR (National Communications Regulations) for Mobile

NCR has a number of mobile apps, but none of them have received a lot of positive feedback. Although Ring Up is well-liked, the overall ratings were not excellent. The software contains a catalog and inventory and enables you to process transactions on your phone exactly as you would on an NCR register. Basic reports are also available in the Ring Up app. The restaurant version (available only on iOS) appears to be more sophisticated, with the ability to manage both employees and sales.

The iOS app for NCR Silver seems to be outdated, and it has a bad rating. (Image courtesy of the Apple App Store)

Users have given NCR mobile the following ratings as of this writing:

• 4.3 out of 5 stars with 6 reviews for Android (Ring Up by NCR Silver).
• With 39 reviews, iOS (NCR Silver POS) has a 2.7 out of 5 star rating.
• 3.4 out of 5 stars with 23 reviews for iOS (NCR Silver Pro for Restaurants).

Overall, the apps did not impress us. If you’re looking for a mobile POS system, have a look at our list of the finest mobile POS systems.

Ease of Use for NCR

• Front-end It is simple to learn
• Onboarding, training, and local service
• Customers have access to learning materials, but there is no online knowledgebase.
• Live customer service is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, all year.

NCR provides installation assistance, ranging from guidance to comprehensive hardware and software setup on your premises. Customers may take use of local training and self-learning tools. (However, you won’t find them on the website.) Furthermore, the customer support center is open 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and you may contact for not only technical assistance or issue resolution, but also for guidance and recommendations on how to get the most out of your system.

Alternatives to NCR

Compare NCR to our best POS services if you’re not sure whether it’s appropriate for you.

What Users Have to Say About NCR

Because NCR has numerous models, we looked at reviews for NCR Silver, which has the most reviews. Users were generally pleased, though not too excited. However, it received few fiercely unfavorable evaluations, leading us to assume that it is an overall good program and service.

The front end was nearly universally praised for being simple to use, making onboarding new staff a snap, while the back-office tools were criticized for being clumsy. There were a few sporadic remarks regarding outage and unreliability, but not enough to establish a pattern. Several people complained that it was overly “restaurant-centric.”

Here are some of the patterns I discovered when reading customer reviews:

Conclusion

NCR is a large corporation that wants to take care of all of your POS and business requirements, from ringing up customers to ensuring that your staff are properly compensated. It offers top-notch hardware and software. As a consequence, you may make it as basic or as complicated as you like. It’s easy to get confused in all of the options, and pricing isn’t made public, so your best chance is to contact NCR or one of its local vendors for a consultation. Visit the NCR website to schedule a consultation right now.

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The “NCR POS Systems Review” is a review of the NCR Silver support system. It discusses how it is used in different businesses. Reference: ncr silver support.

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