Aldelo's main POS offering is the Aldelo Express POS, a cloud-based iPad app most useful for table service and quick-serve restaurants, though it can be used for retail stores as well.

It is billed as a free downloadable service, and it is – with one catch. If you want to use the free version, you'll need to use Aldelo Pay, a merchant service that charges you a percentage of each sale made through the POS. This is similar to Square's free POS plan. This will work well for many small business owners but will add up for more established companies. If you skip Aldelo Pay, your only option is to pay $99 per month per device, with a device access limit preventing you from adding additional iPads.

The Aldelo Express POS is available on desktop as well as mobile. Users can use their existing POS hardware, provided it meets Aldelo's system requirements.

Our review covers the main features that Aldelo POS has to offer, before going on to address what to expect from the technical support options available along with more background details on Aldelo's price plans.

Find out more – 10 Best Restaurant POS Systems

In this review:

• Aldelo POS Core Features
• Aldelo Express – What hardware will you need?
• Aldelo POS Set Up and Customer Support
• Aldelo POS Plans and Pricing
• Aldelo POS Review – The Verdict

Pros

• Free to use with Aldelo Pay merchant services
• Works on iPads and Windows PCs
• 24/7 support

Cons

• No inventory tracking
• Support doesn't include network or OS issues
• Pricey if you're not using Aldelo Pay

Aldelo POS: Core Features

The features aren't the issue when it comes to the Aldelo POS: It's the software that is supposed to make the features work. Various users have reported a “slow” response time due to software that crashes “a lot” and may qualify as “incomplete.” With that grain of salt, here are the (honestly, pretty comprehensive) features that you can expect from the software.

Tableside Ordering

The interface supports visual floor plans and table management, all with a blocky interface and plenty of primary colors. Additional restaurant features include guest reservations, wait lists, bill splitting, discounts, surcharges and gratuity.

Delivery Management

Aldelo Express also supports delivery service operations, which not all restaurant POS services do. It offers an integration with Caller ID and includes a feature that enables driver dispatches from the app.

Employee Management

​A built-in time clock measures when employees check in and check out of their shifts, ensuring managers can track their hours, and  a scheduling feature lets managers prepare a shift schedule to plan for the weeks ahead.

Offline Ability

The Aldelo Express POS functions offline, allowing you to keep your business in operation even during quick power outages or if someone trips over your internet router. It's an essential POS functionality for any serious business, and Aldelo delivers.

Stats and Reporting

Aldelo's End of Day dashboard offers sales overviews that tell managers at a glance what their total net sales were, breaking down the results by checks, guests, and tables. It can also break out the taxes, gratuities, and additional tips earned during a set period.

Missing? Inventory Tracking

Inventory and Recipe tracking are listed as “Coming soon in 2019,” on Aldelo's website, along with store transfers and serialized tracking. However, Aldelo said this in May when we initially published our review and, it's now September and these features are still listed as “coming soon in 2019.”

Of these, inventory tracking is the most useful, as it lets managers know when to restock certain items ahead of time, making sure they never run out. It's a pretty common POS feature, and one of the few more basic options that Aldelo doesn't offer.

Aldelo Express – What Hardware Will You Need?

If you want to get started with Aldelo you might be wondering whether you'll need any hardware. Fortunately, as its a cloud-based POS, Aldelo doesn't need bespoke hardware to function. Instead, you can use an iPad or Windows PCs to run Aldelo Express.

One of the big advantages of a cloud-based system is that your workforce will likely be familiar with the hardware provided — all you have to do is to train them on the software. Of course, iPads can be expensive, and not all PCs are cut out for this kind of work, so it's worth making sure you've got the right hardware before taking the plunge with Aldelo Express.

Find out more – Which iPad Should I Buy?

Aldelo POS Plans and Pricing

The Aldelo Express POS can be downloaded and used for free if you use Aldelo Pay Merchant Services, which charges you a set percentage of each sale you make using the software. However, this “free” version does include unlimited users and devices.

If you don't want to use Aldelo Pay merchant services, Aldelo will charge you $99 per month per device to use Aldelo Express. That's a pretty pricey starting point: For comparison, industry leaders like Touchbistro and Square start at $69/month and $60/month, respectively. Granted, one top POS, Lightspeed, also starts at $99/month, but it comes with more to recommend it.

Don't take my word for it, though: If you're interested in seeing for yourself how well Aldelo compares to quotes from across the POS industry, you should check out Tech.co's comparison tool, which offers a fast way to collect custom quotes from the best POS vendors around.

Aldelo POS Review – Verdict

Aldelo is not a recommended POS vendor. The service offers a good range of features, but can't overcome a buggy interface or lackluster customer support when it comes to justifying its premium price tag. If Aldelo undergoes some major overhauls, we'll update this review to let you know, but for now, you should probably pass.

As you'll likely need to start looking at other POS options, we'd recommend taking a moment to fill out our quick and easy quotes form. You'll receive obligation-free quotes from leading POS suppliers tailored specifically to your business' needs. It'll only take a minute and you could save a small fortune.