Brilliant POS Review

Why Brilliant POS Is Best for Tracking Inventory

Brilliant POS’ inventory management services are great for businesses of all sizes. New businesses need to closely monitor inventory, whether you run a retail store figuring out which items are its hottest sellers or a restaurant identifying which ingredients it runs through most quickly. 

Brilliant POS specializes in configuring Clover hardware and software to maximize your inventory management capabilities. It enables you to track products at the item level, receive notifications when you’re running low on stock and upload unlimited SKUs. You can also manage your vendor relationships directly within the platform and set and configure your local tax rates. You’ll manage everything through Brilliant POS’ intuitive dashboard.  

Brilliant POS offers the hardware and software you need to run your restaurant, bar or quick-service store. Source: Brilliant POS

Usability

Clover’s software is fairly intuitive and easy to use, but it’s also highly customizable. Fortunately, the Brilliant POS customer service team walks you through the entire process. They’ll set up the system for you, answer your questions and even train your team on how to use the software. This is great for new or very small businesses without dedicated IT staff, because they can still take advantage of the flexibility the platform offers without the need for technical expertise.

Brilliant POS has many positive online reviews, and most customers seem happy with the company; it has a rating of 4.9 out of 5 stars on Trustpilot based on nearly 500 reviews. Many of these positive reviews focus on the easy setup process and helpful employees. 

Brilliant POS Features

Payment Processing

Brilliant POS is a Clover reseller that offers hardware and software for accepting customer payments via credit card, debit card, contactless payments and mobile wallets. You can choose from a variety of hardware options, depending on the type of business you run. 

The company is a direct processor on the Clover POS system and doesn’t use a third party. Plus, the payment processing fees tend to be much lower than what other providers charge. However, the exact cost will depend on your business and its monthly transaction volume. 

Inventory Management

The company’s inventory management features allow you to upload unlimited SKUs. If you run a retail store, Brilliant POS will upload your inventory items for you for an additional charge. We found the inventory management capabilities especially useful for very small businesses that operate on thin margins, allowing them to run as lean as possible and build up cash reserves to support their cash flow.

You can use the software to track inventory and reorder items when they’re running low. If you run a restaurant, you’ll see which menu items are your top sellers and which are the least popular. You can also create categories, labels and modifier groups to ensure everything stays organized. 

Reporting and Analytics

The cloud-based reporting and analytics features allow you to run real-time reports from anywhere. You can run basic reports directly from the POS or access more advanced reports from the web dashboard. 

You can create custom reports for your sales data, inventory and employees. For example, you can learn how your sales break down by the hour and which items are your top sellers. You can also monitor your staff’s performance and use your sales data to create more efficient employee schedules. 

Brilliant POS allows you to create custom reports for your sales data, inventory and employees. Source: Brilliant POS

Employee Management

The intuitive labor scheduler allows you to build out employee schedules and keep track of when employees clock in and out. You can also monitor how many hours your employees work each week so you’ll be better prepared for payroll. When it’s time to run payroll, you’ll export your time sheet to your accountant or accounting software. 

The intuitive labor scheduler makes it easy to build out staff schedules and track employee hours. Source: Brilliant POS

Customer Engagement

The customer relationship management (CRM) functionality allows you to create profiles where you can track information about your customers’ buying habits and preferences. You can use this information to create loyalty and rewards programs for your customers. The software also lets you create new promotions and reengage customers who stopped buying from you. 

A rewards program can encourage customer loyalty. Source: Brilliant POS 

Brilliant POS Costs

Brilliant POS offers three pricing plans. Source: Brilliant POS

Here’s how much you can expect to pay for each of Brilliant POS’ pricing tiers:

• Payments: With this plan, your first device is free and you’ll pay $7.95 for additional devices. The Payments plan lets you accept all forms of payment, and you can monitor your sales in real time. You can accept electronic signatures, send digital receipts and set employee permissions. You also get access to a limited selection of apps in the Clover App Market.
• Essentials: The Essentials plan costs $14.95 for the first device and $11.95 for additional devices. In addition to including everything in the Payments plan, the Essentials plan comes with a basic inventory and order management system. You also receive expanded access to the Clover App Market and personalized setup and training.
• Register: The Register plan charges $49.95 for the first device and $19.95 for additional devices. In addition to everything in the first two plans, you receive advanced inventory and order management features. You also get full access to the Clover App Market.

If you’re looking for restaurant-specific features, you can choose from the Counter and Table Service plans. With the Counter plan, you’ll pay $59.95 for the first device and $19.95 for additional devices. 

The Table Service plan costs $89.95 for the first device and $19.95 for additional devices. Both plans give you access to these features:

• Contactless dining
• Item and order-level discounts
• Clover online menu 
• Pickup and delivery orders
• Individual logins and permissions
• Shift management and payroll integrations
• Stock tracking and “sold out” marking by item
• Item modifiers and labels with color-coded categories

Brilliant POS Setup

Brilliant POS provides a dedicated account manager to every new customer, and you can reach out to that individual anytime. We recommend new businesses especially find services that provide dedicated account managers, as they can help streamline the process and get you up and running without delay.

The setup time depends on the business; for example, if you own a food truck, you could be up and running in as little as 30 minutes. In comparison, a full-service restaurant that needs a lot of customization will take more time. 

As a new customer, you also receive free unlimited remote training. The company can access the system remotely and do a guided setup. You can also schedule training sessions for employees. 

Brilliant POS Customer Service

Brilliant POS’ customer service helps the company stand out from competing POS providers. In addition to offering free onboarding to all new customers, the company provides 24/7 customer support via phone, email and live chat. Around the clock support is something we especially recommend for new businesses and those who are using a POS system for the first time.

There are many Clover resellers, but most don’t have Brilliant POS employees’ depth of knowledge. The company prides itself on being an expert on the Clover system and understands how to customize it to fit your business’s needs. 

Brilliant POS Drawbacks

If you like the Clover system and want stellar customer support, Brilliant POS is an excellent option to consider. However, there are a couple of drawbacks. The biggest one is probably the limited app integrations. 

In addition, Brilliant POS may not be the best option for companies with existing POS systems. You must have Clover hardware for the software to work, so you won’t be able to integrate the software with your existing hardware. 

Methodology

To understand more about how Brilliant POS works and how it stands out from competitors, we attended a demo with the company. During this demo, we saw how the software works and asked questions. We also compared the company to dozens of other POS providers and looked at online reviews to see what kind of experience current customers have had. 

Overall Value

We recommend Brilliant POS for …

• Restaurants, retail stores, salons, grocery stores and service-based businesses. 
• Businesses that are looking for advanced inventory management features.
• Businesses that want detailed analytics about their sales, inventory and staff.

We don’t recommend Brilliant POS for …

• Companies that are looking for a POS system provider with many app integrations. 
• Businesses that want to integrate their existing hardware with a POS system.