Linga POS Review

Pros

• Advanced inventory management
• Advanced features
• Loyalty program
• Suited for large businesses

Cons

• Moderate learning curve
• Potentially expensive monthly cost

Linga POS Overview

Linga doesn’t promote itself as a point of sale provider. Instead, the company touts its rOS — Restaurant Operating System. Linga promotes its product as “the operating system that adapts to you” and is suitable for various types of restaurants of all sizes.

Linga rOS boasts an impressive set of features and robust capabilities. Integrated credit card processing, reporting, email marketing, and employee tracking are among the features you can expect even with the entry-level package. Linga comes with options for everything you might need in a point of sale system, whether you operate a franchise, local diner, bubble tea cafe, or cigar lounge.

Linga rOS does come with a slight learning curve, more so than some of the other best POS systems for small businesses, so beginners, beware.

To further complicate matters, phone and chat customer support options are only available to subscribers of Linga’s more expensive plans. In other words, if you don’t have experience using POS systems and don’t want to pay extra for customer support (and advanced features), it’s time to look for another POS provider. But if you want a versatile and feature-rich POS solution for your restaurant, bar, lounge, or cafe, Linga may be an option to add to your list.

Linga POS Pricing

Linga has competitive pricing plans that range from $29.99-$89.99/month billed annually, but to get a fully functional and deep feature set, you’ll likely need to pay for some add-ons. Here are Linga’s subscription plans:

Basic

• Unlimited users
• Unlimited products
• Modifiers
• Multilanguage
• Multicurrency
• Discounts
• Happy hours
• Gratuity
• Gift cards
• Tax exceptions
• Coupons
• Refunds/returns
• Offline transactions
• Void transaction
• Integrated credit card processing
• Digital receipts
• Till management
• Barcode scanning
• Sales dashboards
• Reports
• Employee performance tracking
• Unlimited employees
• Assign security access levels
• Nest cameras
• Nest thermostat
• Wi-Fi hot spot guest data collection
• Email marketing
• Email support

Pro

• All features of the Basic plan
• 24/7 support
• Phone support
• Chat support
• Employee dashboard
• Transfer check
• Transfer table
• Merge check
• Bar tabs
• Quick bar
• Bar tab preauthorizations with EMV
• Bar tabs to tables
• Kitchen display system
• Kitchen printing
• Label chit printing
• Purchase orders
• Recipe/sub recipe
• Food costing
• Inventory storage locations
• Inventory comparison
• Multiple vendors
• SKU/UPC inventory tracking
• Delivery
• Phone orders
• Pizza portioning
• Time clock
• Payroll reporting
• Table layout

Enterprise

• All features of the Basic and Pro plans
• Enterprise gift cards
• Multisite management
• Country-level management
• Consolidated reporting
• Royalty/ACH reporting
• Customer loyalty
• Customer analytics
• House accounts

There are definitely some affordable options here, depending on what your business needs, but you’ll also need to keep in mind that Linga offers many of its other features as pricey add-ons, which can balloon your monthly payments quickly. You can also add things, such as scheduling, a call center, and a kitchen display system, but if you need a handful of these features, you can easily pay hundreds more per month.

If you want to give Linga a test drive, a 14-day free trial is available.

Extra Costs & Fees

As you can see, Linga does leave out a handful of features that come standard in other systems. Linga does offer some of these features in bundles that can help defray costs, and the company seems pretty flexible with its ability to tailor a package to fit your business. Just be aware that the initial software cost likely won’t be what you’ll end up needing to pay.

Linga Is Best Suited For…

• Restaurant owners looking for a POS system with a low-cost entry point
• Mid-sized to larger restaurants who can afford Linga’s add-ons
• Restaurants looking for an advanced loyalty and inventory program

Linga POS Features

However, despite the interface issues, the features themselves are pretty strong. Some standout features include:

• Register: Linga’s register covers all the bases and then some. You can split payments by several payment methods (cash, credit card, and gift card). The payment calculator continuously calculates the amount still owed as payments are added. The payment tab also allows you to enter in tax exemptions, add gratuity, and apply discounts. When you open the register, you will immediately be prompted to select an order type: for here, to go, or delivery. According to Linga’s website, delivery orders allow you to “group orders based on destination and ETA, and make sure your drivers get there in time with the least amount of resources.” Linga is also a good POS for bars as it handles bar tabs, and open or closed tabs can be searched for by name, order number, or the last four digits of the credit card.
• Modifiers: You’ll be able to modify an item when selecting it at the beginning of the order process. A menu item can be preset to have either optional or mandatory modifiers. Once the item has been sent to the kitchen, however, further modification is not possible. Modifiers make menu items highly customizable. Any item included in your inventory can be added. You can also add a custom message for the kitchen staff, detailing a customer’s specific preferences.
• Customer-Facing Interface: You can provide an enhanced customer experience with onscreen tipping and digital signatures for an extra $9.99/month per station.
• Pizza By The Slice: Designed to be a top POS for pizzerias, the pizza-by-the-slice feature maximizes the customizability of a pizza. Customers can choose how they want each slice prepared and what toppings they would like on it.
• Inventory Management: Linga’s inventory management abilities — included with the Pro and Enterprise plans — are impressive. From the back office, you’ll have access to Linga’s inventory homepage. The homepage displays the total value on hand, the cost of goods sold (COGS), low stocks (and their respective quantities), and non-consumer orders. The “ingredient categories” tab displays each ingredient within your inventory. Each ingredient entered into your inventory is assigned a category (food, beverage, etc.), storage location (freezer, cabinet, etc.), and the vendor from whom the item was purchased. The system tracks low stocks and notifies you when an inventory item dips below a certain quantity (set by you). Linga can automatically reorder inventory at your discretion, or you can manually create a purchase order. The details of each item’s purchase history are saved for future use.
• Offline Functionality: Linga can function even without a working Wi-Fi connection.
• Reporting: The back-office dashboard provides a quick way to glance at your business’s sales status. The photo below is a screenshot of the dashboard and the reporting categories it displays. In the back office, you can also adjust modifiers, sort menu configurations, and see customer information
• Loyalty Program: Linga offers a point-based loyalty program that customers can use to receive rewards.
• Multilanguage & Multicurrency: Linga POS can translate into over 30 different world languages, including Chinese, Spanish, Arabic, Hebrew, German, Polish, Turkish, Portuguese, and more. Linga also claims that additional languages may be able to be added if they are not already available for translation. Additionally, Linga POS is compatible with every world currency.
• Time-Sensitive Discounts: Apply discounts for certain holidays, days of the week, or even hours of the day. This type of feature is useful for happy hour specials.
• Table Management: You design your floor plan layout, and Linga POS will do the rest. It can calculate guest count at particular tables, dining time length, and even the average check amount.
• Delivery Dispatch: This function allows you to keep track of your drivers. Know the time and location of every delivery so no orders are delivered late.
• Online Ordering: Linga’s online ordering system add-on seems pretty advanced. It has a branded mobile app option and a multilocation functionality that sends customers to the correct location based on where they are.

Linga POS Ease Of Use

While Linga is not necessarily difficult to use, it would be nice to have a bit more guidance when first setting it up. (An initial tutorial, for example, is lacking.) Figuring out how to add inventory, create menu items, and sync the POS register with the back end is a time-consuming process that requires some trial and error to sort out.

Overall, though, Linga is intuitive enough. After a slight learning curve, it’s reasonably easy to use. You can also find YouTube tutorials on individual functions, such as how to add a basic menu item in Linga POS.

The difficulty involved with Linga is the sheer number of features available and the level of detail each one entails. Unless you’re a POS pro, don’t expect to be able to begin using Linga immediately without first taking some time to play around with the software. You’ll likely have to consult the knowledgebase to learn about each feature. Again, there’s a bit of a learning curve here, and it can be time-consuming.

Linga POS Customer Service & Support

The level of support you receive from Linga depends on the plan you pay for, which we’re not big fans of. Linga’s Basic plan does not allow for direct access to the support team. Only email support is available.

For Pro and Enterprise subscribers, Linga offers 24/7 direct access to a support team via phone and live chat.

For all users, there is a knowledgebase on the company’s website that includes training videos and user manuals.

Linga also maintains a blog. The blog focuses on topics related to restaurant businesses in general and should not necessarily be seen as a source for help with Linga specifically.

A Facebook page, Twitter account, and YouTube channel are also available for tips and added support.

Linga does not specify whether its support is US-based; the company’s US headquarters is in Naples, Florida. However, Linga’s parent company, Benseron Hospitality, also has offices in India, Dubai, Canada, and Turkey.

Payment Processing With Linga

Linga has its own in-house credit card processing, Linga Pay. You have to contact Linga for a quote, although the website does promise simple, transparent, and fair pricing.

If you don’t want to use Linga Pay, there are several credit card processors that integrate with Linga POS. This includes:

• Bank of America
• Chase
• Clearent
• EPX
• EVO
• First Data
• Global Payments USA
• Heartland
• TSYS
• WorldPay

Linga POS Reviews, Complaints & Testimonials

While Linga doesn’t have as many reviews as some of its competitors, there are a handful of reviews scattered across the web. Reviews are mixed but lean more toward the positive side, and here are some of the trends:

Negative Linga POS Reviews & Complaints

• Software Bugs & Lagging: Several customers noticed that the software had some bugs and issues with lagging, particularly after updates.
• Difficult To Use: Some reviewers found that Linga was difficult to learn and use. There were also a few complaints about navigational challenges.
• Poor Customer Service: Multiple reviewers mentioned struggling with Linga’s customer service, either finding them difficult to get in touch with or struggling to solve problems when they came up.

Positive Linga POS Reviews & Testimonials

• Robust Features: Multiple users were pleased with the available features, although one user did note that it would be nice to be able to test out some of the add-on features before committing to a purchase.
• Helpful Customer Service: While some reviewers had negative things to say about customer support, other reviewers note that customer support is helpful and readily available, even if they are not always able to resolve issues.
• Fair Pricing: Several users noted that Linga is a competitively priced POS system.

Final Verdict Of Linga POS

One of the biggest selling points of Linga rOS is its advanced features. Even better is that these advanced features don’t have to come with a huge price tag. With an affordable basic plan, Linga is a solid POS solution for foodservice businesses with basic needs. Even with the “Pro” plan, Linga still provides a lot of bang for your buck, from bar tabs to pizza portioning. The sheer number of features it boasts, however, puts it at risk of becoming an overly complex, “jack of all trades, master of none” software. And depending on what you need in a POS, that may be true.

Despite the interface’s steep learning curve and awkward copy, I can see that Linga’s underlying functionality is strong. The Pro plan seems as if it would provide much of or all the functionality any restaurant would need.

If you know what you’re looking for and you know your budget, you should be able to craft a solid system from Linga. I would highly suggest utilizing its free trial so you can see firsthand if the system is right for your business and also check out some of the the other best POS systems for restaurants.

Unsure if Linga rOS is the best fit for your restaurant? Make sure to research and test out top-rated POS systems such as Square for Restaurants or Lightspeed Restaurant. Or if you’re looking for an option that’s easier on the wallet, check out the best free POS systems to find a reliable, budget-friendly POS solution for your business.

Restaurant POS Review Methodology

We evaluate and test each software system that we review at Merchant Maverick, placing special emphasis on certain key software characteristics in order to generate our granular product ratings.

For restaurant POS software in particular, we have a 56-point rubric we use to evaluate the system in terms of its pricing, ease of use, features, and user reviews. These points are based on attributes relevant to the restaurant or foodservice POS niche—such as the availability of features like online ordering, ingredient inventory, table management, tipping, and others.

Our rating system also takes into account attributes that are desirable for POS systems and cloud-based software in general, such as the availability of monthly pricing plans, free trials, and transparent software contracts.

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