Windward System Five
About Windward System Five
Windward System Five pricing
Windward System Five does not have a free version but does offer a free trial. Windward System Five paid version starts at US$129.00/month.
Alternatives to Windward System Five
Windward System Five Reviews for UK Users
Feature rating
- Used Daily for 6-12 months
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Review Source
A powerful POS with unlimited flexibility, reliable stability, and great support staff.
Saved our company time and money in the ling run. Being able to customize the look, feel, and functions of the application let us implement EXACTLY what our company needed. We evaluated MANY other products before choosing Windward, and nothing comes close. It was one of the better decisions made in our organization, and is a big personal red-feather in my hat.
Pros
- Extremely customizable. Allows you to customize anything from report, to custom price-labels, to customized POS screen (even changing the size/color/look of virtually every button). If you are a little more adventurous, you can even write code that allows you make your own functions.
- Easy to learn. For as advanced as this is, most people can pick up on the majority what thy need in a day. For those who want to do more, their is a complete 'Windward Academy' that you can watch videos and read comprehensive guides.
- LOTS of support. If I ever have a question, there are about ten people I can call. Of-course, they have 24/7 technical support, but virtually anyone in the company is eager and willing to help. I can call my account manager, or any number of others I have talked to throughout the installation process. Even the lovely receptionist is awesome has walked me through issues on more than one occasion.
- Philippines support. You might think this would be under the "Cons" section; but it isn't. The Philippines support is not outsourced like other companies, but they are actual employees working in a Windward office in Cebu. They all speak great English, are EXTREMELY knowledgeable about the product, and aim to please. No matter how frantic I am when I call, they never get upset and are always positive. And they are not going to give up until it's fixed. - You typically don't find this level of customer service in Western support groups.
Cons
- Price tag will be your biggest hurdle. And some features will cost you extra. Having to pay extra to have the software integrate with our merchant account is probably the biggest complaint I have with the company. But even this is vastly outweighed by the Pros. If you want the best, it probably isn't going to be the cheapest.
- There are occasional errors that pop up and random issues. But 90% of these are self-resolving (very intuitive software). For the other 10%, support is right there to remote in and stay with you until it's resolve.
- Industry: Retail
- Company size: 2–10 Employees
- Used Daily for 2+ years
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Review Source
We couldn't live with our our System 5
We couldn't do without them and their service is fantastic.
Pros
How the inventory management and purchasing work. So many extra features here that make it so helpful.
Cons
How the form creation functions. It is a difficult process and way too time-consuming.
Response from Windward Software
Thanks for your review!
We're sure it will help a business owner make the right call by switching to Windward Software.
- Industry: Retail
- Company size: 11–50 Employees
- Used Daily for 2+ years
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Review Source
WindWard System 5 for Business
It has been great learning a new system and tailoring it to the needs of my bosses and the business. The learning I have been able to gain from the videos and training I attended have helped.
Pros
It is a different system but once you get to know it and set it up for your business requirements it sets it apart from quickbooks and other accounting software. It is more POS friendly.
Cons
The bugs that can happen where the system is not updating correctly. The system is more POS friendly than accounting friendly. If you do not learn about the system, it can mess up the information more so there needs to be better training especially for the older users that have been using the system for a long time.
- Industry: Automotive
- Company size: 11–50 Employees
- Used Daily for 2+ years
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Review Source
FIX MOST ANY THING..FOR A COST
Pros
The system has many good functions and tracking abilities.
Cons
Had to have a "wildcard" search for part numbers programmed in after they said it wasn't part of the system. It was already in the system for description but not for parts. As like so many other reviews, updates are a roll of the dice to see what will be affected when they are done. The biggest issue is, A PRICING MATRIX WITH VARIABLE RATES BASED ON COST. Currently I can set up different percentages based on supplier, sub category and others, BUT I am unable to set a pricing matrix with varying percentages for an increasing cost value. That is $1.00 may be marked up 300% but $1000.00 isn't. That function does not exist and system 5 support team as well as account manager act as if I am the first person/business to want this incorporated into the system. I was told we could spend more money to have some one talk to us to tell us they don't know how to do this. The irony of it all is that I came from a Winworks System that we were out growing, but it had that function available to a great extent. Again kudos to the sales team for saying this system could do every thing we first questioned.
Response from Windward Software
Thanks for your feedback. We appreciate customer input like yours to help improve our software solutions and services. We are committed to fixing defects (bugs) that cause errors in our solutions at no extra charge for our customers. This has been our standard practice for over 40 years.
We've assessed the complex pricing matrix you described in your feedback and understand that the requirements include varying percentages based on increasing cost tiers for parts. As you mentioned, this functionality does not exist in System Five and it is complex to build. Our Custom Development Services are designed to fulfill a request like this. We will build or enhance a solution to suit your unique needs. Yes, this type of custom work is a billable service.
We encourage you to have a conversation with your Windward Account Manager for more information and to arrange for a consultation if this is important to your business.
Our team is here to serve you and support your growth and success.
- Industry: Building Materials
- Company size: 2–10 Employees
- Used Daily for 2+ years
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Review Source
Great system management
When we first took over this long-time local business, previous owners did most reports or tracking by hand (ie hand-written invoices entered into QB and hand-written price books) WWS5 helps us keep track of items in inventory, current prices and mark-ups for inventory, general price increases from vendors, EOD reports and sales, and AR accounts much more easily. We do not currently use the accounting portion, but hope to move over to the accounting option with the new data set.
Pros
We currently use Windward for our POS and AR needs. This helps keep us on track for monthly billing to AR clients and keeps up with the daily till. We do very much like the additional features such as inventory management, price checks/updates, but have trouble at time keeping it current due to staffing issues. With more staff, this system would be absolutely amazing.
Cons
When we first installed Windward, there were issues with understanding the larger picture during set-up. Understanding more about the system prior to set up would have helped. We are currently setting up a new database now that we understand more about the full operation of WWS5.
Alternatives Considered
Lightspeed RestaurantReasons for Switching to Windward System Five
Other POS options were too simplistic for our needs tracking hardwood lumber bought & sold by the board foot. WWS5 allows us to use the Z sheet to calculate board footage much more quickly when checking out customers and was not as expensive as other lumber yard systems.Related categories
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