How to choose between Lightspeed Retail and Lightspeed OnSite ?

It isn’t apparent what the core differences are between both products carried by Lightspeed HQ. Even Lightspeed sales consultants aren’t able to give a straight answer to my question: What features does Lightspeed Retail has over Lightspeed OnSite?

So I decided to dig in this and share my findings to those wondering what both products are. Having worked around Lightspeed for +5 years now, I know the Lightspeed Retail mechanism very well.

Questions asked to Savannah support agent @Lightspeed retail states:

What is the main difference between both ?

The biggest difference is that Retail is cloud based so it can be accessed from any device. Onsite is tied to a specific computer and it has to be a mac. The programs themselves are also quite different so it is essentially learning how to use a new point of sale system.

Are there any features available to LS-Onsite which aren’t available on LS-Retail ?

I only work with LS Retail so I am not sure if there are any features that onsite has the retail doesn’t. I know that the reports are displayed differently and some of the procedures are different but most everything should be comparable. That particular question might be better suited for your sales rep since they are trained to know the key differences between the two products to help determine the best fit for your company.

Doesn’t really have an answer for me. This is what I dug from my analytical case study, if anyone else know some features I don’t please comment below

Lightspeed Onsite specifications:

• grounded to 1 Apple MAC terminal.
• self-hosted as its own server (on same terminal).
• limiting business expending capabilities (poor API and performance output)
• usable in Off-line mode.
• usable with intermittent background internet connection.
• using its own type of report design rendering (more graphical)

Lightspeed Retail specifications:

• accessible from any operating system (as it’s on the Cloud it operates from any web browser, just like Dropbox)
• cloud-hosted on Lightspeed’s high-end servers
• not available to all countries. Supported in North America and slowly rolling out to the World
• requiring constant internet connection to process every single input made. (the interface feels really fluid, no apparent delays)
• more expand-ability, you can use 3rd party API integration to sync various data back and forth such as: inventory, orders, customers from external eCommerce platforms. E.g Magento can sync back and forth with their system using this Magento Connector module which makes use of Lightspeed’s API
• using its own type of report design rendering. Less graphical but with more collected data (more advanced statistical)

Conclusion:

Depending on your store location in the world, one should seriously consider the reliability of their Internet Service Provider. Using a business grade internet access is a must for all RETAIL usage, you can’t afford to go OFFLINE in front of a customer impatient to complete a transaction. Having a backup 4G/LTE connection may be a good investment, talk to your IT/Technician.

RETAIL is for:

1. Shop owners with more Registers, Multi-shop locations and 3rd party capabilitie
2. Show owners seeking omni-channel solution
3. Shop owners who need to access any register or shop from any location around the world
4. Shop in need of advanced integration with APIs such as. i.e. Magento eCommerce

ONSITE is for:

1. Shop owner not willing to invest that much in the local shop’s IT infrastructure
2. Shop owner not willing to integrate with 3rd party eCommerce solution. (Lightspeed eCommerce could be your solution)
3. Shop owner who don’t find it problematic to access a register only by physically moving to that terminal
4. Shops located in countries where RETAIL is not available (i.e. confirmed source in Spain)