If you’re looking for a cheap point of sale solution, then Lightspeed is NOT for you. That being said, if you have money to throw behind an expensive point of sale solution, Lightspeed is also not for you. Lightspeed isn’t the cheapest option on the market, nor is it the most expensive. Instead, it strikes a mid-range value that combines affordability with a comprehensive suite of robust features. With Lightspeed, you’re investing in a solution that offers ease of setup, advanced reporting, and powerful tools.

As a an official Lightspeed Partner, Forward Multimedia is making it easy for physical stores to venture online with a one-stop POS/eCom platform designed to work in harmony and to grow your business in Trinidad & Tobago and beyond. Lightspeed is a single brand that supports a complex global offering across multiple industries and regions via a robust product ecosystem.

The local market for Point of Sale systems in Trinidad & Tobago is fragmented, with no single brand being dominant . While there are a couple of popular players, small and medium enterprises (SMEs) generally find their systems out of reach, being expensive to set-up and maintain, lack or have expensive E-Commerce modules, and opt for lesser or even obscure brands.

In 2023, there has been some growth and variety in the market evidenced by the many Facebook ads for POS systems. However, they all promote the POS aspect only, with no mention of any online store capability.

As a Web Design/E-Commerce solution provider, the issue that Forward Multimedia has been facing with POS systems, is their ability to connect and sync with an online store. In our experience, available connectors or plug-ins are very expensive, and workarounds via our own scripts and programming though workable, have not been optimal. Given the current and projected growth of local online shopping, we’ve always been on the lookout for a better solution… which we found in Lightspeed.

Over the past few years, Lightspeed has steadily been increasing their footprint in T&T, somehow being independently found by local businesses. Founded in Montréal, Canada, in 2005, Lightspeed is dual-listed on the New York Stock Exchange and Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX: LSPD). With teams across North America, Europe and Asia Pacific, the company serves retail, hospitality and golf businesses in over 100 countries, including, of course, Trinidad & Tobago.

Forward Multimedia’s first introduction to Lightspeed came from a client looking for payment integration, back in 2019. The company was Super Technologies where we integrated WiPay. Others then followed: iWorld Trinidad, and the very popular apparel store in South, Michael’s & Jody’s (FAC) at Gulf City Mall, Cost Savers (Scotia eCom+), and more recently and under development, City Furniture which has 6 stores nationwide.

With the local online market exponentially increasing in the post-pandemic era, there’s no Trini business that’s not eyeing E-Commerce at some point… some as a strategy, others for survival.

Forward Multimedia is an official Lightspeed Partner which allows us to refer customers looking for point of sales solutions with resources, onboarding support, discounted pricing, via a Dedicated Partner Manager. Lightspeed is designed to make set-up and onboarding very easy because there is no software to install. The traditional on-premises software installation to your store’s computer makes it out to be a technical to set up, connecting scanners, printers and cash drawers but really it’s not that technical, it’s really something you can do on your own, supported by the vast onboarding resources provided by Lightspeed.

Forward Multimedia offers a complete solution for both physical and online stores via Lightspeed Retail. The solution comprises:

1. Lightspeed Retail POS (X-Series)
2. Lightspeed eCom (E-Series)

Because merchants in Trinidad & Tobago may not always be ready for a complete solution in one go, they can opt to start with their physical store only via the Lightspeed Retail POS (X-Series), which is just the Point of Sale system, and when ready for their online store, add the Lightspeed eCom (E-Series), to make it one integrated platform.

Lightspeed now has a basic E-Commerce feature included with its smallest plan, good for testing the online store waters. Upgrading from Basic to next level Core plan, provides the full E-Commerce functionality (explained later down).

Please note that all merchants in T&T who signed up with Lightspeed prior to 2022 will currently have the Lightspeed POS (R-Series), and if using the additional E-Commerce option, it will be the eCom (C-Series). These merchants will eventually be migrated to the above X-Series, and E-Series per Lightspeed’s migration schedule. This means all new sign-ups henceforth will only be for the X and E. The Lightspeed eCom (E-Series) is described more below.

Offer the best retail checkout experience. Lightspeed Retail POS has the software you need for your shoppers at the checkout counter and beyond. Whether you’re using a laptop, PC or tablet, Lightspeed Retail lets you stay on top of your sales and customers with:

• Robust inventory management
• Built-in customer relationship management tools
• In-depth reporting and analytics
• Single and multilocation business capabilities
• Extensive app network

Lightspeed is a cloud solution, which means it’s not software you install on your in-store computer. This makes it more affordable to set-up via a monthly or annual subscription, with the smallest plan being the Basic plan, which costs $89 USD per month if paid annually. As mentioned before, the Basic plan includes a very basic E-Commerce feature, which it never had before.

It also means you need always need an active internet connection. It is advisable to have back-up internet access via alternative provider, MiFi, or you may use your phone’s data plan. However, such interruptions in Trinidad & Tobago are rare, and you may also keep manual records in the event of internet interruption and update when restored.

Being a web-based POS, it requires the use of web browsers, and compatible with both Apple’s macOS operating system and Microsoft’s Windows operating system. Officially, it recommends Google Chrome or Mozilla Firefox for optimal performance.

Depending on your needs, you may use a mobile device like tablet, laptop etc., or station your POS on a counter. Typical hardware for a Point of Sale system are:

• Desktop/Laptop/Tablet
• USB scanner
• USB receipt printer
• Cash drawer
• Label printer

Forward Multimedia provides the necessary hardware and accessories as part of our service, and at varying price points as we are cognizant of the economic realties in Trinidad & Tobago.

Once your Point of Sale system is up and running, it integrates seamlessly with Lightspeed eCom (E-Series). If you have multiple locations, you can connect all your locations to your eCom store for a more efficient supply chain that lets you sell all your stock online. Easily import stock from your physical stores to your eCom shop in one click and give shoppers live updating quantity on hand levels. And if it’s that easy for multiple stores, then of course if you have just one store, it’s a piece of cake… especially if your store is a bakery!

Lightspeed eCom (E-Series) is it’s own E-Commerce platform and was previously known as Ecwid by Lightspeed. You may or not know, Ecwid was an independent hosted E-Commerce platform similar to Shopify, and was acquired by Lightspeed in 2021. Being “one brand, one company, one Lightspeed”, the name eventually became Lightspeed eCom (E-Series).

As it requires the POS system, adding this full E-Commerce option requires an upgrade of subscription plan from the Basic plan to the Core plan which includes both, which costs $149 USD per month (when paid annually.

If the default Ecwid shopping cart is too tame for you, extend the power of Lightspeed Retail by connecting with other business and productivity apps to help you grow and streamline your business. These become available from the Standard plan, and includes popular shopping carts like Woo Commerce, Shopify, Big Commerce. Other apps are accounting like Quickbooks Online, and customer engagement, like Mailchimp.

This is what makes this Lightspeed partnership so perfect. Forward Multimedia prefers the Woo Commerce platform, especially for large sites, because of its robustness and flexibility. When you upgrade from POS only (Lean plan) to Standard plan (which includes E-Commerce), Woo Commerce integration can easily be enabled by a click of a button.

This solves the perennial problem faced with other POS systems which were either very expensive to upgrade to a similar seamless option, or for which the programming workarounds were not optimal.

For those of you who love Shopify, the integration is available, but of course requires a separate subscription to Shopify. Technically this may not be financially optimal as unless you’re going with the Shopify Basic plan of $29 USD per month, the general plan is $79 USD per month, while the upgrade from Lean to Standard Lightspeed plan is an upcharge of $50 USD per month with a similar platform in Ecwid.

Yes the big question, how much will it cost? The final cost is the total of the three (3) main components:

1. Software- the monthly or annual subscription for Lightspeed
2. Hardware- Desktop/Laptop/Tablet, scanners, printer, cash drawer etc.
3. Installation and implementation

There’s not much you can do on the Lightspeed pricing as their software costs are fixed. But there is a lot of room on the hardware and implementation side. For example, you may use a desktop/laptop/tablet you already have as long as it meets the minimum requirements (and most will), and the hardware, once compatible, are available at any price point depending on your budget.

You are free to source hardware yourself via local suppliers or import yourself if it will be cheaper. Forward Multimedia is not in the POS hardware business; we provide hardware only as part of the complete solution.

This is the minimum cost of software and hardware only for a basic E-Commerce ready POS system. It excludes the Desktop/Laptop/Tablet as a business can save this expense if they already have one.

Traditionally, POS software is installed on the premises on your local computer or network in your back office. But the overall trend is towards Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) where you pay a monthly subscription. Traditional standalone software is bought at a one-time cost. As a service, it’s cloud-based so accessible from anywhere with an internet connection.

Eventually, all major software will be cloud-based SaaS, leaving the smaller and lesser brands to market ‘Legacy’ software to those who prefer stick with the traditional way. Both have their pros and cons.

Forward Multimedia’s goal is not to pick a side or convince you, we’re offering what we think is an optimal solution if you’re thinking about long-term online business.