Vending software review

Another great tool for vending machine companies that is designed to help streamline operations and management needs is VendSoft. This software helps manage your company from top to bottom with three goals in mind:. Seaga is a vending machine manufacturer that has also developed software to help manage information at the machine level. Their proprietary system allows operators to set pricing, manage temperature controls, input calorie information, and more.

However, the software is not a comprehensive solution, and it only works with Seaga vending machines. Developed by Crane Merchandising Systems and powered by Streamware software, VendMax is a a vending management system that covers all of your operational needs in a single solution. VendMax helps you manage revenue, routes, scheduling and more while reducing waste.

They may limit the products that can be vended and expect your customers to align with their offerings. The independent vending provider ensures your customers can continue to use the products they are accustomed to without interruption to their operations. What is the end-user experience when using vending?

We previously discussed the importance of simple, easy-to-use vending solutions. But what does that mean for your customers and their end-users? For your customers, they should be able to easily navigate the inventory control software, set customizable minimum and maximum stocking levels, create reports for better inventory tracking and quickly add and remove users.

Additionally, their workers should be able to use the machines quickly and confidently. Usability is an important feature of industrial vending. Things to consider when choosing a vending solution include:. Are you limited to where you can place vending machines? To offer the most benefit to your customers, vending machines must be strategically placed in their facility with production flow in mind.

Placing a vending machine at the opposite end of the facility does little to increase worker efficiency. Often, machines are not allowed in facilities due to connectivity issues so offering a built-in cellular option could open up this option. How much training will sales representatives and end-users need to operate vending machines? Complicated vending solutions may require hours of training for both the distributor and their customer.

Talk to your provider and ask how they plan to simplify the process. Most vending software is cloud-based, allowing distributors and customers to populate content before the machine even arrives, essentially removing any downtime associated with the set-up of a new vending machine. Similarly, if the software is easy to use and intuitive, most trainings can be completed in a short, online session. Most importantly, ask if training is included in the cost of the machine or if it will be an additional fee.

Are there unexpected fees associated with a new vending program? When done right, vending and inventory control software can help distributors maximize customer spend, reduce labor costs associated with in-person inventory counts and offer insulation from the competition.

Some providers may offer an attractive introductory offer then later surprise you with hidden fees like continuation costs or machine rental fees. Then I could specify when they needed service with the calendar.

The one thing I didn't like is that you couldn't see which machines needed to be serviced you couldn't see their names on the month view, just that a certain number of services were needed. It's not a deal breaker, as you can hover over the text that says "Services due" and it will show you the name of the location s that needs servicing. You can also group locations together into a single route.

This is great, since the program also calculates a route for you with a map view. To me, this aspect really showed the power of the program to handle a much larger business. Every location has a ton of info that you need to keep track of - everything from hours of operation, to preferred snacks, to the names of the receptionists so you don't have to keep asking.

That's where the handy custom fields come in. You can specify the name of a field and then enter customer data into it. So one field could be tracking numbers for service requests for a third party repair service. Another could be "Seasonal changes" - to remind you to take the candy out of the machine in the summer time so it doesn't melt.

This was great for me as it allowed me to download all the data I've been holding in my brain into the program, thus freeing it up for more important things like writing this review. This program has the ability to truly be the one stop information source for your entire business. If you like to keep a really close eye on your product, Vend-Trak allows you to create a product list and then specify how many of each product you put into each machine.

We don't track our inventory that closely with as much volume as we do, but it's nice to know that functionality is there. For a business where you deliver goods, you can write off your mileage as a business expense. Vend Trak can help you track all of the mileage you use. But that's not the best part. Taxes speaking from a California company are a beast to keep track of for small transactions like these. Not only that but each county has a different sales tax code. The people who made this program know this and allow you to specify a tax rate based on each location.

This will then reflect on the reports you generate. This is seriously awesome, as it makes the quarterly sales tax much more manageable. The program is mostly very easy to use, but the few question I had were answered in the forums.

The forums weren't very well used, but it doesn't seem like Vend-Track is trying to build a community. I emailed technical support just to check their response time, and they got back to me within a couple of days. Here are some questions I had before using the product and other vendors have asked me during my evaluation period.

As of now, Vend-Trak does not have separate apps for smartphones. This is not ideal, but its workable for data entry in the field. Afterwards though, it worked just as well as any full website on the phone, since I could use the pinch and zoom function to enlarge fields to enter data and most data is numeric while in the field in the first place. Maybe we can tweak it for your needs at a low cost. It is web based, so you would need hosting service like linode.

If I was you Candyman I would seriously consider Broncho's offer of using his software especially if he can tweak it to get it the way you want it. I don't know a whole lot about Vending Management Software but I do know that it can add up to be very costly so I would think that if you went with Broncho's software you would definitely save yourself some money. This solution, in my opinion, needs to be mobile-friendly perhaps a Google Docs template or app-based iPhone and Android app so I can keep track of inventory and sales on the go.

A separate bank account with regular deposits seems to satisfy the finance tracking needs I have, but an inventory management solution that shows me in a visually appealing, easy-to-understand way what items sell best, what items are making you the most profit, etc. We use Stream VMS vending management software. The system is built around an iPhone app and all data is pushed thru the cloud and viewable in a web browser.

I've been with Parlevel since Sept. The team is always available via a group messaging app so when I need something, all members see it and whoever is available can respond. Any questions, issues, etc are handled usually in minutes. The software is robust and continues to get better, adding features requested by operators.