Slurp Review: 8 Delicious Features & 5 Burnt Things

 

 

If you’re here to read reviews on the much-discussed Slurp POS system , you’ve landed on the right page.

 

We’ve taken time out from our busy schedules to check out their POS system so we’ll be giving you the full rundown of our thoughts, including everything good, and everything bad with the system.

 

 

In short, we got down and dirty with their POS lah, so we’re gonna give you our little 2 cents.

 

But first, a little history.

 

Slurp Out of Order

 

 

Slurp was founded all the way back in 2014, when the founders (probably frustrated with how mamaks got their orders wrong all the time) decided to create an assuming little app, just to make order taking easier for small cafe operators.

 

Their ordering app proved to be quite successful, with enough demand for them to turn the app into a full-fledged Cloud POS system.

 

Today, Slurp serves over 1000 F&B brands around Malaysia and Singapore, which isn’t bad at all considering they’ve only been in the market for less than 5 years.

 

Since Slurp was founded by people with a background in the food and beverage industry, they’ve made their POS system with industry-related features in mind, giving them a leg up over their competitors when it comes to handling F&B clientele.

 

Even with the popularity of the ordering app which evolved to Slurp POS, the founders aren’t one to sit on their laurels – their R&D department is hard at work looking for ways to provide a more comprehensive Cloud POS system to their users.

 

However, they’re keeping developments pretty close to their chests, so we don’t know much about it except that users will love what’s coming their way.

 

Anyway, enough about what lies in development in the Slurp labs, let’s get on with our thoughts about Slurp’s cloud POS system.

 

 

8 Delicious Features About Slurp

 

1. A Tasty Looking UI

 

A good looking user interface that’s pleasing to the eye is definitely something that any Cloud POS player should aspire to have.

 

Slurp’s UI doesn’t just look good though. It’s pimped out with unique F&B based features (which we’ll get into later), it’s functional, and designed to be really easy to learn how to use.

 

The founders understand that training new staff to use the POS system is really time consuming. Pair that with a turnover rate that is notoriously high, and you find yourself in a cycle of perpetually training new hires.

 

Slurp’s POS system is designed to almost eliminate the training process, so that new hires can get to work, watch someone use the POS and learn how to use it in under an hour.

 

 

Kudos to the R&D team for coming up with a solution to this pain point!

 

 

2. They’ve Got A Dashboard App

 

Restaurants and cafes usually have silent partners, those that are just interested in funding the business and watching their investments grow.

 

As the one running the business, you’ll want to keep your partners informed of day to day profits, but you don’t want them poking around with your carefully set up system.

 

Slurp has a Dashboard app that you can download for your silent partners or investors, which allows them to remotely monitor performance and read reports, which eliminates the need for you to personally keep them updated on things (who has time for that when you’re running a restaurant?!).

 

As someone who’s running the show, you can log into your Slurp account’s backend, where you’ll find all the necessary controls for your Slurp account. This allows you to be away from the country yet able to remotely create and assign tasks, monitor attendance, create promotions, watch the sales numbers, and run the show.

 

 

Remember, the back end is a sacred place for you to create AND delete tasks, so unless you’re okay with one of your partners bumbling around in the back end and accidentally deleting stuff, you’re going to want the back end access all to yourself.

 

 

3. Unlimited Storage

 

Slurp doesn’t have a storage cap on your account!

 

Wait, why does my POS system even need storage?

 

Well my good sir, like any quality cloud system, Slurp stores all the data you key in on the cloud, which is housed in a physical server. As we all know, physical servers come with limited space, and to get more space for your data, the company needs to purchase additional server space.

 

It won’t matter much when you operate a small cafe, but once you start expanding, you’ll have different menu data, inventory controls, staff data, reports – all that requires storage which comes at a price.

 

The fact that Slurp provides you with unlimited storage is huge, because you’re given the leeway to grow as big as you want without needing to make any upgrades to your account!

 

That’s not all, all the data you’ve keyed into the system is backed up, so if you accidentally made a boo-boo by deleting a menu, you’re able to perform a rollback and get your system back into its sparkly old self!

 

 

4. Detailed Inventory Management

 

It’s pretty much the norm for POS systems to come with inventory management, but Slurp takes it a step further for F&B entrepreneurs with inventory controls that are specifically made to support busy restaurants.

 

Take for example, Slurp’s recipe management system.

 

Assuming a Maggi Goreng Ayam Telur has 5 ingredients:

 

 

Slurp will automatically deduct the amount of ingredients needed to create this recipe from your inventory, so you’ll always know exactly how much ingredients you’ll have left in the pantry.

 

It can also track individual products like carbonated canned drinks!

 

In short, Slurp’s inventory management is really comprehensive and makes it easy for restaurateurs to track their ingredients.

 

 

 

5. A Buffet of F&B Features

 

I know I’ve already mentioned it a few times in this review, but Slurp’s F&B features really changes the restaurant POS game.

 

We didn’t manage to cover everything, but here is a list of things I found to be pretty damn impressive:

 

 

 

 

6. Waiter Mode Is Super Convenient

 

If you’d like your waiters to have the convenience and speed of using their own assigned iPads to take orders, you can easily do so by purchasing a license at only RM49/month per app.

 

This allows your waiters to take orders on the spot quickly and accurately, reducing the need to write down orders first then waiting in line to key the orders into the main POS system.

 

 

If you want, you can also place the waiter app unit in static “halfway points” in your outlet, so your waiters can save time on ordering.

 

These might seem like small perks and conveniences for your waiters, but these can actually help your restaurant succeed. Customers don’t like waiting, and the waiter app cuts down waiting time tremendously by eliminating mistakes and order lines.

 

 

7. No Cash, No Problem

 

Everybody and their grandmothers are using e-wallets to pay these days, and we’re not surprised. It’s easy, convenient, and a whole lot more safer than cash.

 

With Slurp, your cafe or restaurant will be able to accept e-Payment using Boost and Maybank QR pay. It’s not a very impressive list of e-Payment options, but at least it’s there!

 

 

 

8. Easy Support System

 

What happens when your POS system stalls or stops working?

 

You call support to find out how to fix things!

 

Most POS providers have live chat, email and phone support. But in the restaurant business, none of these options can provide solutions fast enough, especially during the chaos of lunch / dinner rush.

 

As the best cloud POS provider in the restaurant business, Slurp understands this problem all too well, and they have included a rudimentary yet effective solution to the issue: Support via WhatsApp.

 

It’s quick, effective, and… just so freaking simple.

 

Think about it, everyone has a phone and most Malaysian use WhatsApp. You can take a picture of your problem, make video calls for remote advice, or if you’re feeling particularly antisocial, just plain old text them your issue and wait for a reply.

 

Support is available every day from 8am – 2am, so that should be sufficient enough to cover most businesses in the F&B industry.

 

 

 

5 Things that Slurp Burnt

 

Slurp definitely got a lot of things right as a POS provider for cafes/restaurants, but they’re not exactly perfect. The points I’m listing down in this section aren’t exactly dealbreakers, but they’re irritating enough to make a note out of.

 

1. No Bookkeeping

 

Slurp doesn’t provide us with any sort of bookkeeping software whatsoever. The most they can do is to export reports in CSV, so you can use that data in the accounting software of your choice.

 

It seems like this is a feature that most Cloud POS players aren’t looking into. If one of them decides to implement an accounting feature, I’m pretty sure it’ll prove to be pretty popular among users.

 

 

2. No Loyalty Program

 

Slurp’s POS is unable to provide loyalty programs or any sort of customer relationship management.

 

This is rather surprising, especially since Slurp caters to companies in the service industry, where it’s important for businesses to have some sort of relationship with their customers.

 

It’s not a complete dealbreaker, because if we really wanted to create loyalty programs for customers, we can always use old school redemption cards. If you find that you really can’t live without this feature in your POS system, StoreHub is a fantastic alternative that allows you to do just that.

 

 

3. No e-Commerce Features Whatsoever

 

Slurp is a Cloud POS system that targets restaurants and cafes, so I understand that e-Commerce platforms may not be useful for their customers.

 

The thing is, more and more businesses are going online. Most restaurateurs have found success in launching a website for their restaurant and providing delivery service for online orders. Not having an e-Commerce platform means that restaurants that want to go online, will have to spend more money and time setting up a separate domain just to make this work.

 

People that are primarily selling food online and are looking to expand into physical stores may find this to be an issue too, as they won’t have an ecosystem where they can manage their online and offline stores in 1 system.

 

This may not affect everyone, but if it does affect you, then keep in mind that StoreHub’s ecosystem allows you to do just that. They’ve got an e-Commerce platform built right into their system, so you can manage your online and offline stores easily with one account.

 

 

4. Inventory Management Doesn’t Work With Fussy Customers

 

All of us in the service industry aims to please all our customers, but some really fussy ones are really the bane of our lives.

 

If a customer steps in and orders a Maggi Goreng tambah 3 telur with cempedak ice-cream on the side (I threw up a bit just writing that sentence), Slurp won’t be able to update the inventory for those additional ingredients.

 

The base recipe ingredients will be deducted from the system, but the additional 2 telur and cempedak ice-cream has to be manually keyed in to deduct those ingredients from inventory control. Not a dealbreaker, but still an inconvenience.

 

As far as I know, Slurp is aware of this issue and is trying to fix it but for now, it remains a concern for me.

 

 

5. The System Doesn’t Prompt You When Stock Is Low

 

The thing about relying on a POS system that does almost everything for you is that if it doesn’t do something for you, you won’t realize it until it’s too late.

 

One good example is the fact that Slurp does not provide you with a low stock prompt.

 

If the amount of eggs left in storage is pretty low and you forget to check the POS inventory, then you’re pretty much screwed. You’ll have to send someone to buy a whole bunch of eggs (hopefully not during rush hour) or worse, forgo all your dishes that are made with eggs.

 

 

Slurp Plans & Features: Overview

 

Like most of the competition, Slurp’s cloud POS has subscription plans that cater to new or small business owners, the seasoned veteran and the enterprising restaurant mogul.

 

 

The Essential plan is no frills and is great for those operating out of food trucks or really small cafes. You get the POS system, some basic features and nothing else. That’s all you really need, to be honest, if you’re running small eateries.

 

For medium sized cafes, restaurants, or anything with more than 2 staff members, you’ll probably want to go for the Pro plan. Aside from Pro level features, it allows for multiple outlets, which are great for franchises and multi-store owners.

 

All the plans include the following essentials:

 

 

It’s worth noting that if you need a kitchen display to minimize docket errors and display pending orders, you can purchase it for RM600.

 

Also, the license for the waiter app will cost you an additional RM49 per month.

 

 

Slurp Hardware Bundle: Overview

 

Slurp has 4 types of hardware bundles, which are essentially the same, except for whether or not the bundle comes with an iPad or with the yearly subscription bundled in.

 

 

 

Looking at Slurp’s hardware bundles, I’m pretty happy that they included a version of the bundles where the iPads are not included. As small business owners, it’s crucial to keep costs as low as possible, and the savings we can enjoy from using our existing iPads is immense.

 

If you’re going to get the hardware, I’d suggest that you spring for the Cloud subscription hardware bundle. You’ll save more compared to getting the hardware and the software separately.

 

However, if for some reason you’d like to use your own hardware, you can do so. Just make sure that the parts you have are all compatible with Slurp’s system. If you have incompatible pieces, you can purchase the individual parts over here .

 

 

Verdict: What Do We Think About Slurp

 

Overall, I am quite pleased with the Slurp’s Cloud POS service.

 

The UI is very pleasant to look at and so easy to use. It’s comparable to StoreHub’s beautiful interface.

 

Slurp is not perfect, but they’ve managed to get a lot of things right, especially for the F&B market.

 

Detailed inventory management, F&B centric features, easy to use table management system, simple table switching, voiding and bill splitting makes Slurp the best POS system for restaurants so far.

 

Their price is quite affordable too, except for the high entry level plan (compared to StoreHub and Xilnex). Their Pro plans and above remain very competitive.

 

The only major drawbacks with Slurp is that they have no e-Commerce system and there is no customer loyalty program available. We can live with the former because they’re catered to physical stores, and the latter is an inconvenience we CAN sidestep with old school methods like redemption cards.

 

If you’re thinking of starting a strictly offline cafe, food truck or restaurant, I’d have to say that Slurp is probably the best cloud POS for your business. If you plan to move into the digital world in the near future, I’d say something like StoreHub might be better for you.

 

Right now, we love Slurp’s service, but they could do with a few minor improvements. Keep it comin’ Slurp