Then & Now - Interfaces & Integrations

Interfaces to various third-party programs, hardware and products can be as simple as an export or using their provided API or drivers, or be as difficult as getting minimal documentation and throwing hours and hours at it to try and get it working. We've done it all. Here's a look back at what we started with and what we have now.

Way back when we first released Ideal POS System 2.5, there were various Receipt and Kitchen Printer options, a single Cash Drawer, Customer Display, a single Scale option, IKM output, PDE and a link to Gilbarco for fuel. That's it! Bare bones at its best.

When 3.0 was available, we'd stepped it up a bit and included our first EFTPOS integration which was PC EFTPOS, and also to the NZ 200s. We now linked to 3 Scales as opposed to 1, and clerks could be given a wrist strap to work with a proximity reader. Gaming was available using StarrServer and the Sharp UPX500 magstripe could be used for both Clerks and Customers. A few more receipt printers had also been added.

Ideal POS System 4.0 started to bring a lot more to the table, literally. We introduced Restaurant features, and the ability to link to Waiter Pads. A 2nd Cash Drawer port was added and we could configure up to 7 different Scales. If you had a UPX500, you could now use Contactless Clerk Keys, and we added the Table Server to keep track of things. What a time to be alive! You were also able to export data for Liquorfile and Liquology. Version 4 would also allow Electronic Invoice and Order Formats.

With version 5.0, we added Pagers and introduced our internal Reservations interface. We also released our Accounting Interface with MYOB only. Our EFTPOS advanced to include the Ice Terminal also.

It was the release of version 5.5 where we started to step up in offerings. Caller ID was now possible directly on the terminal, and we had a dedicated EFTPOS tab with 7 available interfaces. 5.5 was also when we released IPS Client to better handle comms between the terminals. We also introduced the Room Interface with 3 integrations

Idealpos 6.0 was another step in what we would offer. 10 EFTPOS integrations were available and we linked to ResPak reservations. We also added another Room Interface and that was pretty much it while we worked away on Idealpos 6.01, 6.02 and eventually 6.03.

6.03 gave us a lot of new integrations to better improve our offering. PayPal, ePay and BevCon were all added to the Interfaces tab in Global Options. In fact, a second Interfaces tab was included to deal with all the integrations now included. Tyro Pay@Table locked in and we now included up to 11 Room Interfaces. We launched the Clipp bar tab app integration, Web Ordering with WebIT and Fuel Console with POSTEC. Web Reporting using Summa and MealCard, Thor and Kinnov were programmed for the Customer Interface. We also included Mag Card Printing and the ability to access FTP. We re-wrote a Gaming Interface with 7 vendors to improve service in this area. In regards to Accounting, the Xero file-based export was available. There are now 16 EFTPOS integrations and we added the Talaris NMD Cash Dispenser. You were also able to export sales data for additional use in Impact Data, Live Sales and TimeTarget. As you can see, integrations were now a large part of Idealpos.

We're currently on Idealpos 7, and even though it's only 18 months old, we have already stacked it full of new interfaces to make it that much better. The Sprint Liquor Gun has been added, and we now have 18 EFTPOS integrations. You can export sales for use in Tanda, Deputy, Zuus, Nielsen and iKnow. We have recently had Konami included for the Gaming Interface to make it 8 vendors in total, and we have 13 integrations total for Room Interface. We integrate with Dimmi, Gunnebo, WhyteWater and up to 3 different Pager systems. Accounting we have added QuickBooks, Xero API and Attache. And, we're not stopping there.

Looking to the future we're releasing MYOB AccountRight Live, Quest WEX Integrated Cards, BP Cards and WeissBeerger. Longer term, who knows what we're going to be able to do, but if it makes our product a better one, you can be sure we will add it.