The short answer
If the work happens at a counter and must never stop, a desktop application on the business's own computer is usually the safer choice. If several branches need one live stock figure at the same moment, or the owner runs the business from somewhere else, cloud software, or a desktop system that synchronises, starts to earn its keep.
Most businesses sit somewhere in between, which is why the useful question is not "desktop or cloud" but "what has to keep working when something fails".
When the connection drops
A browser-based till needs the internet for every sale. When the fibre line goes down, the router restarts or the mobile data package runs out halfway through a Saturday, the counter either stops or falls back to paper, and somebody types the paper in later.
A desktop application keeps its records on the machine in front of the cashier. The sale completes, the receipt prints and the stock moves whether or not the internet is there. Anything that genuinely needs the internet, such as copying a backup off site, waits and catches up when the connection returns.
Many cloud products now offer an offline mode. Before relying on one, unplug the router during the demonstration and ring up a split payment, a return and a credit sale. Whatever still works in that test is what will work on the day.
The hardware at the counter
A counter is more than a screen. There is a thermal receipt printer, often a label printer for barcodes, a scanner, a cash drawer that opens on a signal from the printer, and sometimes a customer display.
A desktop application can talk to these directly. It sends the receipt straight to the printer with no print dialog, prints labels in the printer's own language, and opens the drawer at the right moment. From a web page the same jobs usually go through the browser's print dialog or a separate helper program, which is one more thing to install, update and troubleshoot.
Where your records live
With cloud software your records sit on the supplier's servers and you reach them through their account. That is convenient, and a good supplier looks after it well. It also means that if the account lapses, the price changes or the supplier closes, access to your own history depends on them.
With a desktop system the records sit on hardware you own. That puts backups in your hands, so they must be automatic, kept off the same disk, and actually tested by restoring one. Done properly, the business owns its data outright and can open it without the supplier's help.
Cost over three years
Compare the total over a realistic life, not the first month. Put your own figures into a table like this one, and ask every supplier you are considering to fill in their column:
| Typical cloud subscription | A desktop system built for you, the way we price it | |
|---|---|---|
| Up front | Setup fee, if any | The agreed build price, in stages |
| Every month | Fee × users or counters × 36 months | Nothing required to keep it running |
| Support | Usually included, often through a ticket system | An optional support arrangement |
| Hardware | Computers, printers, scanners, drawers | The same |
| If you stop | Access to the software ends | The system and the data stay on your machine |
A subscription spreads the cost and is quick to start. A built system costs more on the first day and nothing to keep running. Which is cheaper depends on your numbers and how long you expect to use the software, which is exactly why it is worth writing them down.
When cloud really is the better answer
- Several branches must see one live stock figure and move goods between them during the day.
- The owner, the accountant or a head office works elsewhere and needs up-to-the-minute figures, not last night's copy.
- There is nobody on site, or nearby, who can look after a computer.
- Staff record their work out in the field on their own phones, far from any office network.
If one of these describes your business, say so at the start. It changes the design, and pretending otherwise produces a system that fights you every day.
The middle path most shops end up on
For a single shop or a small factory, the arrangement that tends to work best is a desktop application at the counter or in the office, other devices on the premises reading it over the shop's own wifi, and an automatic backup that leaves the building every night. The counter never waits for the internet, the owner can check the day's figures from a phone in the back room, and the records survive a stolen computer or a failed disk.
You can see that shape in real screens, shown with invented data, on our desktop applications page: a phone shop and a tape factory that are both used from a phone on the premises.
Five questions that decide it
- If the internet is down for a whole afternoon, what must still work?
- How many places need to see the same stock figure at the same moment?
- Which hardware must the software drive: receipt printer, label printer, scanner, cash drawer?
- Who looks after backups, and when did anyone last restore one?
- Over three years, what does each option cost in total, including the day you stop?
Answer those honestly and the choice usually makes itself. If it does not, send us your answers and we will tell you which way we would go, even when that is not something we would build.