Multi-Unit Franchisee Magazine Issue III, 2013 | Page 59

P O S 2.0 +

The Point of Sale Takes a Walk

T

he growing popularity of tablets, most notably Apple’s
iPad, has created a growing market for companies providing shopping, ordering, and payment solutions built
specifically for these devices, whether remotely or from
inside the four walls of a business. Revel Systems, based in San
Francisco, is one of those companies.
Started three years ago, not long after the first iPad appeared
in April 2010, Revel bills itself as “The iPad Point of Sale Solution.” CEO Lisa Falzone says the iPad is “a great device, incredibly powerful, and there are no ports where grease can get
in” (other than the data port, which is covered). She says iPads
are durable, easy to replace (no waiting for a vendor to show
up), and are quick to use, simply by downloading and installing an app. They’re also easy to use, reducing training time.
No argument there.
Revel’s iPad POS system provides integrated payroll, inventory tracking, customer relationship management, and more.
And it can operate without an Internet connection. “We’ve cut
out the back office server and host everything in the cloud,”
says Falzone. “Franchisors and franchisees can see how everything’s doing in real time from one website.” And a Revel iPad
setup can cost about one third the price of a typical legacy POS
system, she says.

But what really makes it so powerful, she says, is its thirdparty connections and open API. “We have a developer’s marketplace that makes it really easy for third-party developers to
develop off and connect into our API,” she says. The result?
Integration with loyalty programs, gift card companies, ERP
systems, accounting software, online ordering, Twitter, Facebook, Groupon, and Living Social.
The company offers gift cards through providers such as
Mercury Gift Cards, Valutec, and Givex, and has reward partners
through LevelUp!, LoyaltyTree, and Synergy Rewards. Revel
has also developed its own gift and reward card programs that
integrate directly into its system and reporting suites.
Recent news confirms Falzone’s high opinion of the company: in June Revel received $10.1 million in funding from two
private investors to fuel overseas growth. One of the investors,
Tim Tighe, is the former CEO of Hungry Jack’s (Australia’s
Burger King master franchisee) and senior vice president of
McDonald’s Southeast Asia. “This company is making huge
strides for revolutionizing point-of-sale as we know it,” said
Tighe, who also joined the company’s advisory board.
Another number in Revel’s favor, says Falzone: a prediction
by McKinsey & Company that 5 million businesses will be on
tablets in the next year.

Lisa Falzone

Multi-Unit Franchisee Is s u e III, 2013



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