Open Source Rings the Tills at Burger King Franchises

Specialist EPOS provider Viridian Sun and distributor DED Limited have got the urge to offer retailers massive cost savings when it comes to their EPOS systems with Open Source.

EPOS systems are becoming increasingly popular, with the ability to access information and real time reports at the touch of a button it's hardly surprising, but along with this increasing popularity comes an increase in price.

Installation of a simple EPOS system can cost as much as £15,000. Add to this the ongoing support costs and updates, and EPOS software providers can have customers locked into expensive deals. It is the source code which makes EPOS systems work and which, unavailable to clients, ensures staying with the same provider over long periods of time to save the cost of moving.

Enter Viridian Sun, a revolutionary EPOS provider with an alternative system - Open Source. As the name suggests, with this software the source code is available to the client, and the software is generally free of charge.

Open source is flexible, easy to maintain, always up to date with proper maintenance and easy to move contracts to another provider should the need arise, whilst keeping the same EPOS equipment and software.

Managing Director of Viridian Sun, Brian McDonough explains: "We find that the flexibility means our clients' staff members typically migrate onto the new systems with little or no training, because the systems can be made to fit current ways of working and expectations."

"The beautiful thing about Open Source is the hardware does not have to be the very latest with the highest specifications to run it. We focus on reliability and performance, rather than raw power. We partner up with companies like Star Micronics and DED Limited in this regard, who are a solid supplier of cost-effective and well-built receipt printers."

A company reaping the benefits of Open Source is Comcatco Ltd - currently managing 13 food courts in shopping and leisure centres around the UK, they operate as an independent franchisee for many well known brands including Burger King and Café Select.

Managing Director of Comcatco, John Morrison comments - "We continually look to maximise our economy of scale benefits through seamless integration between back office, purchasing and operations. And with over 4 million customer visits per year, fast and efficient information flow is absolutely vital."

"To allow us the latest in real time management reporting we were therefore looking to upgrade the old EPOS systems already in place at our sites. However the cost of doing so appeared initially abhorrent. We were then fortunate enough to be introduced to Open Source software by Viridian Sun. The initial saving from the lack of software licensing fees was tremendous."

"The flexibility Open Source offers is unprecedented. Viridian Sun constantly adapts it to suit us. For example the real time reporting means we can now track promotional and marketing campaigns with lightening speed and efficiency. This allows Comcatco to produce more responsive campaigns, by seeing exactly when (i.e. date and time) consumers are responding to promotions. It's like having our own custom written EPOS system but without the six or even seven figure price tag."