The stakes are high when an independent retailer chooses POS software. Get it right and your operations run smoothly. Get it wrong and you’re dealing with administrative headaches for months.
Most retailers start with online reviews — fair enough. But if Trustpilot is your only stop, you may be getting a distorted picture.
The Paid-Tier Problem
Trustpilot runs on a freemium model. Software companies can pay for tools that tilt the playing field.
They can’t buy positive reviews or delete negative ones outright. But paying subscribers get automated systems that invite recent buyers to review — constantly. That steady drip of fresh 5-star ratings buries older complaints before most people notice them. Businesses can also flag negative reviews as unverified, pulling them offline while an “investigation” runs its course.
If a software company has thousands of glowing reviews but almost no detailed commentary, that’s a managed profile. Not an honest record.
Where to Look Instead
Google Reviews are harder to game. They’re tied to local business listings, not corporate accounts. Check how a software company responds to its negative Google reviews. Do they fix the problem? Ignore it? The response from a software company is more revealing than any star rating.
Reddit is worth your time. It’s one of the few places where tech marketing has little grip. Search for subreddits covering small business, retail, or your specific niche — newsagencies, gift shops, toy stores. Retailers post raw feedback about software crashes, hidden fees, and how long it actually takes to get someone on the phone.
Private Facebook groups and industry forums are useful too. Ask directly. Most retailers are happy to share what works and what doesn’t.
Read the Reviews Differently
Don’t focus on the top-line score. Filter for 2, 3, and 4-star reviews — that’s usually where the useful detail sits.
Look at support complaints across multiple platforms. Bugs happen with any software. What matters is whether the company fixes them. Repeated complaints about slow or unhelpful support, appearing independently across different sites, is a pattern worth taking seriously.
Prioritise reviews from long-term users. Someone who installed the software last Tuesday has nothing useful to tell you. Someone who has run their business on it for two years does.
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