The frustration you feel when all you want to do is improve how your business functions!
I think many small to medium-sized businesses have experienced this feeling. You're trying to build something, to move your business forward, but there's just one thing stopping you: costs!
That's exactly how I felt years ago. I own an ice cream and beach store in the southwest of the UK—a busy little spot for most of the year.
I was using an EPOS system. I wouldn't call it brilliant; it had issues, but it was in place, and it was too late in the season to consider switching providers.
I had queues—not just queues, but impatient customers walking away. This is probably one of the most frustrating things that can happen to a small business: watching potential customers leave because they're not prepared to wait.
So I took the plunge. I contacted my EPOS provider and asked for two additional terminals. The response was staggering: it would triple my monthly cost.
I tried reasoning with them in numerous ways, but they were adamant—same monthly price regardless.
I refused. Not only did I refuse, I was furious!
Having programmed in PHP, JavaScript, .NET, and several other languages for websites and databases, I decided to go on a mission.
A POSable Mission!
The store struggled through peak season into the quieter winter months, and I sat at my laptop and coded. The result? POSable v0.1.
Patched together with some third-party projects found on GitHub, it was functional and connected to an admin dashboard where I could import my categories and products from my now-terminated EPOS vendor.
I was ready for the next trading season with the massive pain point of monthly costs eliminated.
It worked—really well. But not without a learning curve. I quickly realized I needed better reporting, stock controls, accounting, and perhaps a backup payment system, as card terminals kept breaking.
Combined with feedback from staff on the shop floor, POSable started to develop rapidly. Revenue increased as the system improved. Staff finding their jobs easier and quicker meant happier customers and happier staff.
Then the realization hit: if I'd experienced this pain point of large monthly costs eating into my margins, plenty of others were facing it too.
POSable was then developed into something not just for my own shop, but as an affordable EPOS solution that could eliminate the same costs I'd been quoted for others.
Does it work? Yes—it's used daily in my shop, and I think this is where the ultimate difference lies between POSable and other EPOS apps created by people who've never set foot on a shop floor. "What do I need it to do?" was the question I raised countless times.
POSable is fully featured and reliable. It removes that terrible pain point of cost-per-terminal by offering a low cost for multiple terminals from the start.
That's truly software with the small business owner in mind—but don't take my word for it. You can try it yourself!