It really depends on how many products you have and how busy you are. Some merchants complete the process within a couple of hours, but if you have tons of SKUs and not a lot of free time, it could take weeks.

We do understand that time IS money for entrepreneurs, so in order to make set-up as quick and painless as possible, we recommend that you prepare CSV files of the following before starting the process:

• List of all products
• List of prices and tax information
• List of SKUs or barcodes
• List of customers

For more info, you might want to check out Vend’s POS Buyer’s Guide where we provide more information + checklists of what you may need when choosing and setting up your POS. If you need someone to walk you through the process, just get in touch with us and support staff can assist you.

Vend also offers professional services that include hands-free setup (where we take care of everything, including migrating products and customers) and one-to-one training. Find out more.

Alternatively, you can find a Vend partner in your area to provide on-site POS installation and account set up for you. Our partners are certified Vend experts who can get you up and running with the hardware, software, and add-ons you need to run your store.

It’s very likely that Vend will play nice with the printers, scanners, credit card readers, and equipment you already have. We focus on making the software work with the best and most commonly used retail hardware and we hear a lot from retailers using Vend successfully with printers we’d never even heard of.

But to be sure, swing by Vend’s Hardware Guide as well as our Recommended Hardware Page for detailed specs on the hardware, peripherals, and computers compatible with Vend.

Can’t find your existing hardware on our list of recommendations? Contact our sales consultants at sales@vendhq.com or sign up for a free account and see how Vend works with your store’s existing hardware.

First off, good for you for deciding to use an iPad-based solution. An increasing number of retailers are opting for mobile POS systems because they’re sleek, portable, and allow you to bring the check out process to your customers.

And yes, Vend runs great on an iPad. You’ll be able to get the system up and running either by downloading our iPad app or using our web-based application. Check out this article for step-by-step instructions + a video on how to set up Vend on your iPad.

It shouldn’t be that difficult if you know your way around CSV files and importing tools. Vend lets you add your products one-by-one and we also have a CSV import functionality if you want to add products in bulk.

For step-by-step instructions on how to do this you can check out the following articles:

• How do I import my products into Vend using a CSV?
• Importing customers in a CSV file

We even made a guide to try to make it easy and fun to get started. Check it out here. And if you need someone to guide you throughout the migrating process (or even do it for you) you may want to consider investing in Vend professional services so we can get you up and running in as little time possible. Find out more.

Most people who switch to Vend never look back. Merchants love the software’s user-friendly and intuitive interface, as well as its features and integrations. You don’t have to take our word for it though; here are some examples of happy Vend customers and what they have to say about the POS.

However, we understand that each business is unique and not all tools may be a good fit for you. That’s why we invite you to take a tour of our software and see if it meets your needs.

You can also register for a free account to get a hands-on feel of how it works. Finally, you can always talk to our trusty sales consultants for any specific questions or concerns and they’ll help you decide if Vend really is right for you. Drop us a line at sales@vendhq.com.

You getting paid is very important to us, which is why Vend works with leading payment processors including PayPal, Tyro, Element, DPS, and many local merchant service providers so you can accept various payment types including cash, credit, debit, and mobile payments.

There may be some variations depending on your country, so for more specific details on payment processors, please visit our payment processing overview and this handy help article on Integrated Card Payments and Merchant Providers.

Vend works great with Xero online accounting. Data flows seamlessly between your POS and accounting software giving you greater insights into your business performance and eliminating the need for manual data entry. The integration is simple to set up and free to use, check out more information here.

Vend also integrates with other cloud-based accounting software like Xero.

To see if Vend connects with your other business tools, check out add-ons page here.

Vend has offices in New Zealand, Australia, USA, Canada, and the UK, and works in many countries around the globe. Talk to a friendly member of our team for more details.

We wouldn’t want you to get to get stuck either. Fortunately, Vend support is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Online and phone support is free with every plan, so you can send us a message or call whenever you get stuck. You can also consult our Help Center anytime to find the answer to your question.

You sure can. We know how valuable your data is to you so we’ve taken the steps to ensure that you never lose it. Vend offers an “On-Ice” service for £5 a month, where retain all your store data until you’re ready to use your account again.

If you prefer to download the data yourself, or if you want to permanently cancel your account, you can export your sales history, product list, customer list, and any other reports you might need.

Click here to learn more about Vend’s On-Ice service and instructions on how to export your store data.

While we highly recommend that you run Vend with a stable Internet connection, we know that occasionally, your web provider might let you down. That’s why Vend has an offline mode that still lets you perform a number of store tasks such as taking cash payments and searching for products. Other features however, won’t be available offline.

To learn more about what you can and can’t do with Vend when you’re offline, check out this help article on offline mode. Needless to say, you need to invest in a reliable Internet connection to make sure that Vend (along with other parts of your biz) can function without a hitch.

Yes. Existing barcodes can be scanned into the SKU field in the product page, so you won’t have to generate new ones from scratch. Check out this article for step-by-step instructions + a video on how to import your products into Vend using a CSV.

Vend connects with several leading ecommerce solutions, including Ecwid, BigCommerce, Shopify, WooCommerce, and more.

Click here to see our full list of integrations. You can also discuss your ecommerce situation with the Vend support staff or one of our certified experts.

Yes. Vend works great for retailers with multiple locations and it makes it easy to manage your inventory, staff and customer information across all your stores. See our pricing page for more information about our multi-store plans.

Relax, Vend doesn’t store any sensitive data (like credit card info) so data breaches are highly unlikely. As far as crashes or outages, our entire server is backed up to the hour so in the (again, highly unlikely) event that something goes wrong, your data will remain safe.

If anything, your data is actually safer when you store it in the cloud compared to saving it locally. Why? Because in case (knock on wood) something happens to your devices (i.e. you get the blue screen of death or they get stolen) you’ll still be able to access and take control of your information using other devices that can log into Vend.

We get it. You’re business-savvy, but not necessarily tech-savvy. Good thing Vend has partners in various cities all around the world who would be happy to come to you. These Vend partners can set up your POS system and educate you and your employees on how to use it. That way, you can focus less on the techie details and do more of what you love.

Click here to view our expert directory and locate a Vend partner near you. Can’t find one in your area? Vend also offers professional services which are designed to take the pain out of migrating from your current POS system. Find out more.

Talk to us! Really. We’d be happy to discuss your questions or concerns so you can make the right decision. Also swing by our support forums, our fun Getting Started guide and Vend University for video tutorials, articles, and other resources about how to use Vend (and how to be a better retailer in general.)

But the best and sure-fire way to determine if Vend is a good fit for your biz is trying it out for yourself. Try us for free for a month, and take advantage of our email support while you’re at it so you can get all the answers you need.