Product Reviews

LightSpeed 1.3.5 is a point-of-sale application designed for Mac OS X. A complete solution for small to medium-sized businesses, it covers all the main bases, from quoting and invoicing to stock management and tracking.

LightSpeed utilises the OpenBase SQL database to store all your information and run the front end. OpenBase SQL is a scalable, fast and powerful engine that requires little support.

You access the various elements of the application from the transparent top bar, and each section is managed from its own window. You can edit your exiting stock file and wholesale purchases from the interface, as well as invoicing and staff time sheets.

Putting your stock file into the LightSpeed application is simple, and there are a number of options for making transactions smoother. For instance, you can import an image of the product so that when a sale is processed at the till point, there's visual confirmation of the item on screen. You can also have related links that suggest accessories for those all-important, margin-boosting add-on sales.

The customer information interface has some neat touches. As well as capturing all the usual name and address data, you can enter notes regarding communications and even capture images. You can also print labels, view addresses on Google Maps, send email or call customers directly through your VoIP or Skype phone. Remember, though, there are data protection issues that you'll have to investigate when capturing this kind of information.

The actual point-of-sale front end of LightSpeed is one of the application's strongest

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features. The floating palette motif is also used here and the interface not only looks fantastic, but is easy to pick up, too. The central section displays the product code, item description, quantity and price elements. Either side of this are further information palettes that display the suggested accessories and other items.

The clean lines and simple design make the interface really clear: anyone who's ever used a till won't have the slightest problem getting to grips with this system. Items can be entered with any generic barcode scanner that can be programmed to carriage return at the end of the scan or manually through the keypad. There are also a number of till drawer and receipt printing options, although LightSpeed works just as well with or without these.

LightSpeed can also handle credit card processing through a third-party and can manage gift cards in all their various guises. It's built-in features such as this that add real depth to the application.

It's important that an off-the-shelf, point-of-sale system can integrate simply into an existing setup, and that training and implementation are smooth and efficient. LightSpeed is certainly capable of this: our copy was up and running without us having to refer to any instructions or support manuals. LightSpeed's only real quirk is that you have to install it in two steps: the OpenBase database first and then the main application. Xsilva says this will be ironed out in the next release, but even now it's hardly a major issue.

At $749 for a single-seat licence, the price is very attractive, especially when you take into account the level of development and testing required to roll out your own bespoke point-of-sale system. Other licences and support options are available to suit your particular business.

With LightSpeed's flexibility and support options, we can find little to complain about: the application looks great and operates with aplomb, and we struggled to find a scenario that it didn't cover. If you're after a point-of-sale application to manage all your sales needs from top to bottom and that requires only minimal training, then LightSpeed is certainly worth checking out.