Rain POS is a specialized point of sale system designed to meet the unique needs of niche retail industries. If you’re running a music store, bike shop, quilt shop, or other specialty retail business, you may wonder if Rain POS is the right solution. This comprehensive guide will dive deep into Rain POS’s features, pros, cons, and ideal use cases to help you make an informed decision.
We’ll explore which specific industries Rain POS caters to, examine its key features like integrated eCommerce and rental management, and weigh the advantages and potential drawbacks of the system.
We’ll also compare Rain POS to some popular alternatives. Whether you’re considering implementing a new POS system or evaluating options to upgrade your current setup, this guide to Rain POS will provide the insights you need to determine if it fits your retail business.
Rain POS Review: Our Verdict
Rain POS Overview
Rain POS is a cloud-based point of sale solution tailored for specialized retail stores. It offers comprehensive inventory management, seamless eCommerce integration, and robust customer management tools. The software offers both in-store and online sales management.
Industries Served
- Best For: Bike shops, music stores, sporting goods stores, and other niche markets
Unique Features
- Integrated website builder
- Automated marketing tools
- Robust inventory tracking
- Rental management
Payment Processing
- Supports a wide range of payment options, including major credit cards and contactless payments, through integrated processing and provides Integrated payment solutions
Ease of Use
- User-friendly interface
- Strong customer support and training resources
- Mobile app for on-the-go management
Pros of Rain POS
- Comprehensive retail features
- Integrated website builder
- Automated marketing
- User-friendly interface
Cons of Rain POS
- Niche focus
- Limited customization
- Pricing
- Learning curve
Rain POS Pricing
StartUp
$49/mo
- Customer invoicing
- Quote management
- Basics reports
- Native POS and website integration
Core
$79/mo
- Multi-location functionality
- Trade-in tracking
- Consignment
- Long and short term rental
Plus
$139/mo
- Native email marketing
- Scheduled sale
- Shopify integration
- Wishlist and registry
Which Industries Does Rain POS Cater To?
One of the cool things about Rain POS is that it’s designed for several niche retail industries. Here’s a list of a few of those, along with a brief explanation of how Rain goes above and beyond to cater to them:
Music stores
Rain POS is well-suited for music stores that sell instruments, sheet music, and accessories. It includes instrument rentals, repair tracking, and specialized inventory management for guitars, drums, and wind instruments.
With its integrated eCommerce platform, seamless Reverb integration, and robust inventory management, Rain POS enables store owners to manage in-store and online operations efficiently.
As a National Association of Music Merchants (NAMM) member, Rain collaborates with music industry experts to ensure their software aligns with industry best practices. This dedication to understanding the music retail landscape translates into a POS system that streamlines operations and allows store owners to focus on what truly matters – connecting with customers over their shared passion for music.
Bike shops
Rain POS offers inventory management for bicycle shops for bikes, parts, and accessories. It also supports repair services and bike rentals, which are common in this industry. Its user-friendly interface ensures quick adoption by staff, while its comprehensive features allow owners to manage all aspects of their business from a single platform.
With specialized capabilities like targeting customers based on their biking interests and facilitating review invitations, Rain POS empowers bike shops to enhance customer relationships and boost their online presence.
Quilt shops
Rain POS stands out as the ideal solution for quilt shops, offering a tailored system that addresses the industry’s unique challenges. Rain POS streamlines operations for quilting retailers with precise fractional yardage tracking, advanced inventory management for fabrics and notions, and seamless in-store and online sales integration.
The system is developed in collaboration with industry experts through the National Association of Quilting and Fabric Merchants (NAQFM) and incorporates best practices and cutting-edge trends. This specialized approach allows quilt shop owners to focus on nurturing their creative community while efficiently managing their business across all channels.
Dive Shops
Rain POS offers a comprehensive solution tailored for dive shops. Its user-friendly system streamlines inventory management, sales, and gear servicing through advanced work order management.
The software excels in course management, allowing dive shops to post classes, handle online registrations, and process payments effortlessly. Rain POS simplifies equipment rentals, easily tracking inventory and managing balances.
With built-in marketing tools and integrations with essential services like SmartWaiver and SSI Courses, Rain POS empowers dive shop owners to focus on their passion while efficiently running their business.
Ski shops
Rain POS stands out as the ideal solution for ski shops, offering a purpose-built system tailored to the industry’s unique needs. Unlike generic POS systems, Rain’s platform is designed to manage ski shop inventory, facilitate in-store and online sales, and leverage automated marketing tools.
Its user-friendly interface ensures quick adoption by staff, while the comprehensive system consolidates all essential business operations in one place. With industry experts behind its development, Rain POS combines a deep understanding of ski shop requirements with powerful features, making it the perfect choice for elevating any ski shop’s efficiency and customer experience.
Outdoor and sporting goods stores
Rain POS is a great solution for outdoor stores, offering a comprehensive system tailored to the industry’s unique challenges.
With its seamless inventory and online rental management tool, Rain POS helps stores efficiently handle their diverse product range across seasons.
The integrated eCommerce features ensure a smooth transition between online and offline sales, catering to the varied purchasing habits of outdoor enthusiasts.
Rain POS’s data-driven approach enables store owners to identify trends, optimize inventory levels, and understand customer behavior, leading to improved sales and revenue year-round. This system works well for stores selling outdoor gear, sporting goods, and apparel. It handles complex inventory needs, including seasonal items and product rentals like bicycles or camping equipment.
Jewelry stores
Rain POS is the ideal solution for jewelry stores seeking to streamline operations. This comprehensive system simplifies sales and inventory management and seamlessly integrates in-store and online presence through its eCommerce platform.
With Rain POS, jewelers can track inventory fluctuations, gain valuable customer insights, and maintain organized order fulfillment processes. The system’s ability to accurately process and document online and in-store purchases ensures that jewelers can focus on their craft rather than administrative tasks.
What Tools to Expect from Rain POS?
Rain POS excels in handling serialized inventory, rentals, and repair services, making it indispensable for businesses that require precise tracking of unique items and customer services.
The system’s integration with eCommerce platforms also allows seamless online and in-store sales, catering to the modern retail landscape.
Additionally, Rain POS offers built-in marketing tools, including automated email campaigns and text messaging, which are invaluable for customer engagement and retention.
Let’s dive into several of its top features:
Rain POS Key Features
Rain POS is a cloud-based point of sale system designed specifically for retail businesses, focusing on specialty retailers like music, pet, bike, and hobby stores. Below is a more detailed elaboration on some of Rain’s most commonly used POS features, including their relevancy to the various industries they serve.
Rain POS Features
| eCommerce POS | • Connect physical store with online presence • Consistent inventory management across all channels • Drives traffic to website and boosts sales |
| Retail marketing | • Data-driven marketing tools • Reach the right audience at the right time |
| Rental management software | • Cloud-based for real-time updates • Simplifies short-term rentals, rent-to-own contracts, and rental packages • Customizable deposit amounts, late fees, and customer information • Detailed reports for inventory tracking and business decisions |
| Inventory management | • Tracks stock accurately • Provides data-driven insights for purchasing decisions |
| Work order management | • Manages repairs and service-based operations • Streamlines task-driven work orders • Enhances productivity and reduces confusion |
| Payment processing | • Secure and versatile payment processing capabilities • Supports various transaction types, both in-store and online • Provides tools for managing financial operations effectively |
eCommerce POS
One of its key strengths lies in its robust digital commerce capabilities. The platform provides a unified system that seamlessly connects your physical store with your online presence, ensuring consistent inventory management across all channels.
By syncing inventory across platforms, Rain POS drives more traffic to your website and boosts sales, all while keeping everything—from inventory to rental systems—conveniently accessible in one place.
Retail marketing
Effective retail marketing is crucial for connecting with customers, and Rain POS empowers businesses to do just that. With its data-driven marketing tools, retailers can craft personalized messages that reach the right audience at the perfect moment.
Rental management software
Rain POS excels in managing rentals. It offers comprehensive rental management software that streamlines the rental process for both customers and retailers. Its cloud-based POS system ensures real-time inventory updates, making it easy for customers to make reservations confidently.
The software integrates seamlessly with your point of sale, simplifying the management of short-term rentals, rent-to-own contracts, and rental packages. Retailers can customize deposit amounts, late fees, and the customer information collected, all while generating detailed reports to track inventory and make informed business decisions. Rain POS makes rental management efficient and user-friendly.
Check out our guide for more info on the differences between cloud-based and server-based POS systems.
Inventory management
Rain POS also addresses the complex needs of inventory management by offering an efficient and effective solution. Retailers can easily manage high volumes of inventory thanks to the system’s ability to track stock accurately and provide data-driven insights that inform purchasing decisions.
Work order management
For businesses that handle repairs or other service-based operations, Rain POS provides work order management software. This feature streamlines the task-driven nature of work orders, helping retailers manage incoming requests with ease and efficiency. Rain POS enhances productivity and keeps operations running smoothly by reducing the confusion associated with multiple work orders.
Payment processing
Rain POS incorporates secure and versatile payment processing capabilities. The system supports various transaction types, both in-store and online, providing a seamless checkout experience for customers while giving retailers the tools they need to manage their financial operations effectively.
You can check out our payment processing calculator below to see how much you pay to your processor.
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Pros of Rain POS
Seamless integration with eCommerce platforms
Rain POS allows businesses to effortlessly integrate their physical and online store inventories. This synchronization ensures that stock levels are accurate across all sales channels, preventing issues like overselling. This feature is particularly beneficial for businesses looking to manage both in-store and online operations efficiently.
Comprehensive customer relationship management (CRM)
Rain POS includes built-in CRM tools that help businesses manage customer information, track purchase history, and create personalized marketing campaigns. This allows for more targeted promotions, increasing customer retention and loyalty. The POS CRM features are handy for niche retail markets where customer relationships are crucial to success.
User-friendly interface
The system is known for its intuitive design, making it easy for employees to learn and use. This reduces training time and minimizes operational errors, which is crucial for small and medium-sized businesses needing more IT support.
Customer support
Rain POS offers responsive and knowledgeable POS customer support, available 24/7. This ensures businesses can quickly resolve issues, minimizing downtime and maintaining smooth operations. Many users have praised the support quality, noting that it contributes to a positive overall experience with the system.
Do you have trouble getting your POS customer service on the phone?
KORONA POS offers 24/7 phone, chat, and email support. Call us now at 833.200.0213 to see for yourself.
Cons of Rain POS
Limited customization options
While Rain POS offers a range of features, some users have noted that it lacks the flexibility for customization, particularly in design aspects. Businesses with unique branding or specific operational needs may find the system’s templates too restrictive, requiring external help for customization.
Weak reporting capabilities
Some users have found Rain POS’s reporting features less robust than other POS systems like Lightspeed. These limitations in data reporting might hinder businesses that rely heavily on detailed analytics for decision-making.
Initial setup complexity
Setting up Rain POS can be challenging, especially for businesses with specific requirements. The system may require significant initial configuration, which could be time-consuming and frustrating for those unfamiliar with POS systems.
Not suitable for non-retail industries
Rain POS is designed specifically for retail businesses, which might not be ideal for other industries, such as hospitality or service-based businesses. This limits its applicability for companies looking for a versatile POS solution catering to multiple operations. If you’re a full-dining or quick-service restaurant owner, read our blog about the best POS system for quick-service restaurants or the best POS system for restaurants.
Rain POS Pricing Structure
Rain POS’s pricing typically revolves around a monthly subscription fee, but the exact cost can vary based on the size of the business and the specific features needed. They generally offer customized pricing based on your business’s unique needs, so contacting them directly for a quote is often necessary.
However, Rain POS offers three main pricing tiers:
1. Startup ($49/mo)
The Startup subscription is ideal for single-user businesses with basic POS requirements.
Features:
- Core POS functions (sales, returns, payments)
- Basic inventory management
- Customer management
- Basic reporting
- Customer tracking
- Pooled inventory tracking
- eCommerce order fulfillment
2. Core ($79/mo)
Core subscriptions are best for businesses with multiple users and locations.
Features:
- All features from the Startup plan
- Multiple user access
- Multiple-location management
- Employee management
- Advanced reporting
- Short-term and long-term rental
- Quickbooks integration
- Product styles and options
3. Plus ($139/mo)
Finally, the Plus plan is best for businesses with complex needs, including inventory management, marketing, and analytics.
Features:
- All features from the Core plan
- Integrated marketing tools (e.g., email marketing, loyalty programs)
- Serialized inventory management
- Request for reviews at the register
- Shopify integration
- Custom reports
- Scheduled sales/promotions
- Avalara/TaxJar integration (tax compliance)
Some Alternatives to Rain POS
While Rain POS is a great fit for many businesses, it doesn’t work for every business type. This section will cover a few popular alternatives to the solution, including Lightspeed, KORONA POS, and Shopify.
Lightspeed Retail
Lightspeed Retail is a robust alternative to Rain POS, particularly well-suited for jewelry stores, outdoor retailers, and boutique shops. This versatile system caters to various industries, including apparel, sporting goods, pet supplies, and home decor stores.
Lightspeed Retail offers comprehensive features that can rival Rain POS in terms of inventory management, customer relationship management, and reporting capabilities. Its user-friendly interface and cloud-based architecture make it an attractive option for businesses seeking a scalable solution.
Lightspeed Retail’s strength lies in its ability to handle complex inventory systems, making it especially valuable for businesses with multiple product variations or intricate pricing structures.
Read about Lightspeed POS alternatives for more info.
KORONA POS
KORONA POS is an excellent alternative to Rain POS, particularly for music and bike shops. In addition to these specialties, KORONA POS caters to various retail sectors, including convenience stores, liquor stores, and small to medium-sized retail businesses.
Its flexible nature allows it to adapt to different verticals, offering features tailored to specific industry needs. KORONA POS provides robust inventory management software, which can benefit businesses with diverse product ranges.
The POS system’s reporting and analytics features enable business owners to make data-driven decisions, while its scalability makes it suitable for single-location stores and multi-outlet operations.
KORONA POS is processing-agnostic, meaning it can integrate with payment processors. Learn more about the difference between POS and payment processors here.
Payment processors
giving you trouble?
We won’t. KORONA POS is not a payment processor. That means we’ll always find the best payment provider for your business’s needs.
Shopify POS
Shopify POS is a versatile system that can be an alternative to Rain POS, especially for businesses that focus heavily on eCommerce integration. It suits various retail sectors, including fashion, electronics, home goods, and specialty stores.
Shopify POS provides a seamless omnichannel experience, allowing businesses to manage online and offline sales from a single platform. This integration is particularly valuable for retailers looking to expand their digital presence or those already operating successful eCommerce stores.
Shopify POS offers inventory syncing across channels, customer profile management, and detailed sales reporting. Its user-friendly interface and extensive app ecosystem make it a flexible solution that can be customized to meet specific business needs.
You can compare Shopify and Lightspeed here.
Conclusion
Rain POS offers a robust solution for specialty retailers, particularly those in niche markets like music, bike, and quilt shops. Its integrated eCommerce capabilities, comprehensive inventory management, and industry-specific features make it a strong contender for businesses in these sectors. However, like any POS system, it has limitations and may only be the perfect fit for some retailers.
While Rain POS excels in certain areas, it’s essential to consider alternatives that better suit your specific business needs.
If you’re interested in learning more about KORONA POS, you can sign up for a personalized demo with one of our product specialists or start a free trial. Click below to get started.
