Heartland Retail vs. Revel

Looking for Point of Sale software? Here's how Heartland Retail and Revel stack up.

Mark Hammersley

Mark Hammersley

Last updated 2o October 2020


Heartland Retail

3.9  Stackupp rating


Pricing from

$ 80.00 / month

Free Plan?

No


Best for

retailers of all sizes. A number of packages which cater to different business needs are available.

Revel

3.6  Stackupp rating


Pricing from

$ 99.00 / month

Free Plan?

No


Best for

small food businesses like restaurants, coffee shops and cafes.

Heartland Retail or Revel: Which is best?

Can't decide between Heartland Retail and Revel?

Find the best platform for you with our side by side comparison of Heartland Retail and Revel. See how each platform stacks up across ease of use, features, integrations, support and value for money.

Let the comparison begin. Don't worry, we'll guide you.

Is Heartland Retail right for you?

Heartland Retail is a comprehensive point-of-sale system that is suitable for retailers of all sizes, with cost-effective plans for smaller companies and custom packages for larger enterprises. Custom plans come with an array of high-level features like custom user interface branding, training accounts, and location access controls.

Heartland also puts a lot of emphasis on metrics. It has one of the most in-depth analytics platforms we’ve seen in a point-of-sale system, with real-time data and daily summaries.

Users can also take advantage of robust inventory management and customer relationship management tools, along with a dedicated package of features for retail buyers.

On the negative side, the integrations library is a little sparse and payment processing costs are worked out on a per-user basis.

Advantages

  • Excellent reporting tools.
  • Feature-rich, robust POS system.
  • Suitable for retailers of all sizes.

Drawbacks

  • Limited integrations library.
  • A little pricey when compared to other options on the market.
  • Some features are only available on the higher-tier or custom plans.

you’re looking for a feature-rich, comprehensive point-of-sale solution, irrespective of the size of your business. In particular, users that are eager to take advantage of in-depth reporting functionality will find a lot to like in Heartland POS.

Is Revel right for you?

Revel POS is an iPad point-of-sale solution that’s aimed largely at small businesses in the catering space. It’s used by restaurants, coffee shops, food delivery services, and so on. Revel also offers a dedicated retail solution.

Revel was one of the earliest iPad POS platforms and the feature-kit is reasonably robust. Users have access to everything they need, including payment processing, inventory and employee management, analytics, a wide library of integrations, and a number of reasonably-priced and well-designed hardware packages.

The big downside is the cost. Cheaper small business solutions are available and there are a number of “hidden” costs, such as for use of the API and mobile inventory management app.

Advantages

  • Straightforward, relatively intuitive system.
  • Excellent customer support and onboarding options.
  • Some innovative features like the self-service kiosk.

Drawbacks

  • Expensive for a small business solution.
  • Extra costs for features not included in the base plan.
  • Interface can be a little confusing at times.

you’re a small business in the catering space and are looking for a functional, straightforward iPad system that comes with an excellent customer support package, a decent library of integrations, and a reasonably-priced hardware range.

Ease of Use

Our first comparison criteria, ease of use. Why? Because it’s the most important.

Think about it. You don’t want to invest a lot of your precious time setting up an online store and tweaking the design only to find out that it’s a pain in the butt to manage day to day.

We take a look at how simple the Heartland Retail and Revel platforms are to run.

How easy is Heartland Retail to use?

Rated 4/5 for Ease of Use

While the Heartland Retail user interface isn’t the most intuitive we’ve come across, it isn’t difficult-to-use by any means. The main POS dashboard is accessed via an iPad or Android app or via a browser (if you want to use a desktop computer to run your POS).

Both the tablet and desktop interfaces follow a fairly typical design. A top-of-the-screen menu links to dedicated areas for processing sales and payments, reporting, inventory management, customer relationship management, employee permissions, and so on.

Keep in mind that Heartland is best-suited to an iPad or Android tablet set-up. Alternatively, you can run the software using a computer browser. At the time of writing, we are not aware of an offline mode.

What Heartland Retail customers are saying...

"It's mobile and in the cloud so we have access anywhere and anytime."
"Reports are entirely customizable and there are several metrics to choose from."
"It's easy for my seasonal employees to use, but not remarkably more or less than any other POS."

How easy is Revel to use?

Rated 3.5/5 for Ease of Use

On the whole, we found Revel POS relatively easy to use. It’s not as intuitive as some other options on the market, but it’s by no means difficult.

The backend office, which is accessed via a browser, includes dedicated areas for inventory management, employee permissions, sales and analytics data, customer information, and restaurant menu and table customization.

The iPad app, which acts as the main sales terminal, also follows a typical POS block format, with options to create and hold orders, add discounts, search for saved customer information, and so on.

Notably, Revel also offers the option of a kitchen display system for visualizing the flow of orders.

What Revel customers are saying...

“It's easy to learn and accessible.”
“Nice clean look and fairly easy to find what you're looking for.”
“The cloud-based system allows me to access and make changes remotely which is fantastic.”
Heartland Retail is our winner for ease of use

Heartland Retail Features

Rated 4.5/5 for Features

Heartland doesn’t disappoint when it comes to features. It definitely ranks as one of the most feature-rich platforms we’ve reviewed, especially on the analytics and reporting front. It is recommended that Heartland be used with an iPad, but it’s also possible to run the software on an Android tablet (depending on the software version) or through a browser on a desktop computer.

Retailers will have access to an array of tools for managing inventory, organizing vendors and retail buyers, running advanced reports, storing customer details, setting employee permissions, and more.

In regards to the POS system itself, features include email receipts, gift cards and loyalty program discounts, a customer-facing display, and a mobile app.

Finally, enterprise users have access to price lists and customizable products, purchase order allocation, user interface training, training accounts, and the API.

As a slight negative, it’s also worth pointing out that advanced analytics are not available on the lowest-priced “Plus” plan, although limited reporting functionality is included.

Revel Features

Rated 3.5/5 for Features

As far as features go, Revel has everything you would expect in a point-of-sale system. The iPad display is intuitive, customizable, and users can take advantage of employee permissions, add-on options during checkout (like discounts and gift cards), and saved customer details. The backend office, which is accessed via a browser, has ample tools for inventory management, customer relationship management, and analytics and tracking. Revel also offers a number of innovative features that you will struggle to find elsewhere. These include self-order kiosks, mobile ordering (for customers that prefer to make orders via their mobile devices in your store or restaurant), and a large library of integrations, although intermediary third-party connectors are relied on quite heavily.

Prospective users should remember, however, that many features aren’t included in the core package. Online ordering, API use, mobile barcode scanning, and multi-location management may all incur extra costs.

What’s more, Revel doesn’t integrate with any third-party payment processors, so you will have to use the in-house solution, Revel Advantage. Pricing is on a custom basis, with discounts for larger enterprises.

Finally, Revel provides an always-on mode (so you don’t need to worry about the WiFi going down), high-level security, and regular data backups. There is no cap on the number of users per terminal.

Heartland Retail is our winner for features

Heartland Retail Integrations

Rated 3/5 for Integrations

When it comes to integrations, Heartland doesn’t perform as well as some other solutions we reviewed. The integrations library isn’t terrible, but there could be a lot more on offer. What’s more, use of some integrations incurs extra costs.
We would like to point out, however, that if you are happy with the broader feature-set of the POS solution and the integrations library does meet your needs, then the limited number of options to sync with third-party apps is unlikely to be an issue. Judging from user reviews, Heartland also seems very responsive to requests for new integrations.

On the ecommerce front, BigCommerce, Shopify, Magento, and WooCommerce are all supported. Sales integrations include Salesforce, Mailchimp, and Annex Cloud. The main accounting integrations are Quickbooks and Oracle Netsuite. Unfortunately, a connector for Xero isn’t provided.

Another downside with the integrations library is that Heartland isn’t compatible with any “intermediary apps” like Zapier or Kosmos which would provide access to a large range of third-party tools.

Revel Integrations

Rated 3.5/5 for Integrations

Revel performed very well on the integrations front. The library of integrations is fairly extensive, especially when compared to other similar solutions on the market. It includes connectors for everything from mobile ordering to additional security services.

Two points are worth mentioning, however. First, Revel often makes use of intermediary tools, rather than direct integrations. So you will have to use third-party providers to sync Revel with some apps in your tech stack. Second, payment processing is only available through Revel Advantage, Revel’s in-house payment solution. No third-party integrations are offered. Pricing for Revel Advantage varies depending on the size of the user’s business, so you should get in touch to check prices before making a decision.

The main highlights of the integrations library include connectors for accounting platforms like QuickBooks and Xero, mobile ordering with big delivery services like UberEats, and numerous loyalty and gift card programs.

Users can also connect up to many major ecommerce platforms through the Kosmos eSync app. A limited online ordering toolkit with a customer portal (mainly for food purchases) is available. Revel doesn’t offer a high-level in-house ecommerce platform, so retailers that want to run their own online store will have to opt for a separate package from a brand like Shopify, WooCommerce, Magento, and so on.

Revel is our winner for integrations

How much do they cost?

Everyone’s favourite topic - pricing. Let's dive in to see if Heartland Retail or Revel offers better value for money.

How much does Heartland Retail cost?

Rated 4/5 for Pricing

A short introduction to pricing ~100 words Heartland offers three plans. The “Plus” plan is $80/month per register, the “Professional” plan is $160/month per register, and the “”Enterprise” plan is priced on a custom basis. Heartland stipulates that it integrates with a variety of payment processors but doesn’t publish payment fees on its website, so it’s likely that you will be able to use your preferred payment processor but may have to pay additional fees.

While Heartland isn’t as inexpensive as some other solutions we’ve reviewed, it’s important to keep in mind that users are getting access to a pretty extensive feature-set.

We were also pleased to see that most functionality is available on the entry-level plan, with the exception of API access. If you opt for Heartland, you won’t be compelled to move onto a higher plan because certain essential features are lacking.

How much does Revel cost?

Rated 3/5 for Pricing

Revel POS falters a little when it comes to cost. Much of the pricing is on a custom, per-user basis, so you should get in touch for a specific quote for your business. This also applies to Revel’s payment processing service, Revel Advantage.

You should also be aware of the fact that there are some semi-hidden costs for features that aren’t part of the core plan. These features include the API, the mobile inventory management and barcode scanning app, multi-location management, and online ordering functionality.

Pricing starts at $99/month per terminal, with possible discounts available depending on the size of the business and the number of locations. An installation package, which includes tailored onboarding assistance, is available for $649. A variety of hardware options, with varying price-points, are available.

Heartland Retail is our winner for cost

Help and Support

If things go wrong (and they often do) you need to know someone’s there to help get you back on track. So, how does Heartland Retail's and Revel's support measure up?

How good is Heartland Retail support?

Rated 4/5 for Help and Support

Heartland offers a solid support package with email and live-chat services available on the basic plan from 8 AM to 9 PM EST. The mid-tier plan also includes phone support, and the enterprise plan has an “Elite” customer service package with a faster response time guaranteed.

Onboarding packages are included on all plans with the option to upgrade for more one-on-one time.

How good is Revel support?

Rated 4.5/5 for Help and Support

The level of support offered by Revel is very good. 24/7 phone and web (email) support is included on all plans. The user documentation is also very detailed.

Companies can take advantage of a comprehensive onboarding package for $649. This includes management console training, hardware installation, and payments set-up. Dedicated long-term account management is also available.

Revel is our winner for support

The Bottom Line

The final say. Let's wrap up our thoughts on each platform.

Heartland Retail: Our Verdict

Heartland Retail is one of those rare beasts - a point-of-sale solution that is genuinely suitable for retailers of all sizes, from mom-and-pop stores to enterprise chains.

It has an excellent set of features, one of the best analytics dashboards we’ve seen, and is reasonably priced. While there are cheaper alternatives available, it’s unlikely that you’ll have access to the same number of features.

The support package is also excellent, with onboarding and data-migration options for new users.

The one big downside is the limited integrations library, so be sure to check that you have access to all the connectors you require before subscribing.

Revel: Our Verdict

For the right kind of business, Revel POS is a good solution. We feel that it is definitely geared towards companies in the restaurant and catering spaces. If you sell retail merchandise, we suggest trying other solutions before making a final decision. Small restaurants, coffee shops, takeouts, and so on, however, will find a lot to like.

Overall, it’s an intuitive, feature-rich, and reasonably well-priced solution that comes with an excellent support package. Just be careful to check the prices of any additional features and keep in mind that you will have to use Revel’s in-house payment processor. If you are thinking about going with Revel, take advantage of the free demo first.

Overall, we found Heartland Retail to be the better Point of Sale platform.

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