Windward System Five Reviews

Pros

- Extremely customizable. Allows you to customize anything from report, to custom price-labels, to customized POS screen (even changing the size/color/look of virtually every button). If you are a little more adventurous, you can even write code that allows you make your own functions.

- Easy to learn. For as advanced as this is, most people can pick up on the majority what thy need in a day. For those who want to do more, their is a complete 'Windward Academy' that you can watch videos and read comprehensive guides.

- LOTS of support. If I ever have a question, there are about ten people I can call. Of-course, they have 24/7 technical support, but virtually anyone in the company is eager and willing to help. I can call my account manager, or any number of others I have talked to throughout the installation process. Even the lovely receptionist is awesome has walked me through issues on more than one occasion.

- Philippines support. You might think this would be under the "Cons" section; but it isn't. The Philippines support is not outsourced like other companies, but they are actual employees working in a Windward office in Cebu. They all speak great English, are EXTREMELY knowledgeable about the product, and aim to please. No matter how frantic I am when I call, they never get upset and are always positive. And they are not going to give up until it's fixed. - You typically don't find this level of customer service in Western support groups.

Cons

- Price tag will be your biggest hurdle. And some features will cost you extra. Having to pay extra to have the software integrate with our merchant account is probably the biggest complaint I have with the company. But even this is vastly outweighed by the Pros. If you want the best, it probably isn't going to be the cheapest.

- There are occasional errors that pop up and random issues. But 90% of these are self-resolving (very intuitive software). For the other 10%, support is right there to remote in and stay with you until it's resolve.

Pros

How the inventory management and purchasing work. So many extra features here that make it so helpful.

Cons

How the form creation functions. It is a difficult process and way too time-consuming.

Pros

It is a different system but once you get to know it and set it up for your business requirements it sets it apart from quickbooks and other accounting software. It is more POS friendly.

Cons

The bugs that can happen where the system is not updating correctly. The system is more POS friendly than accounting friendly. If you do not learn about the system, it can mess up the information more so there needs to be better training especially for the older users that have been using the system for a long time.

Pros

The system has many good functions and tracking abilities.

Cons

Had to have a "wildcard" search for part numbers programmed in after they said it wasn't part of the system. It was already in the system for description but not for parts. As like so many other reviews, updates are a roll of the dice to see what will be affected when they are done. The biggest issue is, A PRICING MATRIX WITH VARIABLE RATES BASED ON COST. Currently I can set up different percentages based on supplier, sub category and others, BUT I am unable to set a pricing matrix with varying percentages for an increasing cost value. That is $1.00 may be marked up 300% but $1000.00 isn't. That function does not exist and system 5 support team as well as account manager act as if I am the first person/business to want this incorporated into the system. I was told we could spend more money to have some one talk to us to tell us they don't know how to do this. The irony of it all is that I came from a Winworks System that we were out growing, but it had that function available to a great extent. Again kudos to the sales team for saying this system could do every thing we first questioned.

Pros

We currently use Windward for our POS and AR needs. This helps keep us on track for monthly billing to AR clients and keeps up with the daily till. We do very much like the additional features such as inventory management, price checks/updates, but have trouble at time keeping it current due to staffing issues. With more staff, this system would be absolutely amazing.

Cons

When we first installed Windward, there were issues with understanding the larger picture during set-up. Understanding more about the system prior to set up would have helped. We are currently setting up a new database now that we understand more about the full operation of WWS5.

Alternatives Considered

Lightspeed Restaurant

Reasons for Switching to Windward System Five

Other POS options were too simplistic for our needs tracking hardwood lumber bought & sold by the board foot. WWS5 allows us to use the Z sheet to calculate board footage much more quickly when checking out customers and was not as expensive as other lumber yard systems.

Pros

Immediate processing of credit card transactions. The fact that System 5 is in the cloud is one of the primary reasons we purchased the product.

Cons

Not enough explanation of defaults in System 5 caused redundancy in our chart of accounts. The monthly reconciliation requires that several routines be performed before you can have a reliable balance report of income/expense reports. Modifiers were disappointing as we learned that they must be setup on an item-by-item basis, rather than a category or brand basis. Custom reporting is extremely lacking and doesn't allow for us to produce the reports we need.

Pros

Required Orders system and ability to interact with the invoice easily throughout.

Cons

Lack of multiple kits. Purchase orders with SO items become buggy with large quantities. If a user moves too quickly in the system, it can break.

Alternatives Considered

STORIS

Reasons for Choosing Windward System Five

Needed inventory management, the option for more departments

Reasons for Switching to Windward System Five

Price and size of the business did not warrant its need.

Pros

The Support is A1 and the features of everything from Inventory to Sales Invoices, everything is connected and very user friendly. Reports are easy to run, reconciliations, sales and purchase invoicing, ageing, financials are easy to read and all other functions are again, user friendly.

Cons

No cons at this time. We didn't like that it didn't have a payroll feature when we started with it but now it does.

Alternatives Considered

QuickBooks Enterprise

Reasons for Choosing Windward System Five

We didn't like their Inventory feature or their GL postings that you could never correct even if it wasn't reconciled.

Reasons for Switching to Windward System Five

When we were given a demonstration, we knew right away it could handle what we needed and more.

Pros

Ease of use, technical support answers all questions

Cons

Credit card transactions did not go well at first

Pros

I give this review after having tried many different software packages over the last 15 years. Some costing x10 the price of Windard, some costing x10 less.

What I'm left with over these years is perspective, and that perspective was hard earned.

You will not find a more complete point of sale, inventory control, accounting, crm, etc. for this price range.

With the ability to fine tune it to your exact business needs, it's easiest to configure, maintain and operate...especially compared to the "enterprise" software world where your eyes will water from pricing.

Its got lightning fastest Point of sale with the absolute best part find search tool I can recall using. The special order management is the best complete solution from any I've tried.

If your serious about your Business, you should consider Windard. I honestly think that in the long run it has improved our business, staff and bottom dollar.

Cons

There is no such thing as perfect software.

With that being said, there are issues...but then it's technology. You have to considering that it is a highly customizable product that able to serve an amazing range of business types with thousands of options.

What Windward has that sets it apart is a fantastic support team with Canadian staff and an out-of-country team that is admittingly fantastic...probably the best off-shore support that I have ever experienced in IT. Tech support is typically same day, commonly instant or within a few hours of placing a call. If you have an urgent problem, they will find someone for you RIGHT NOW.

If you have problems using Windward software...you will most probably have problems using another piece of software. The key with any software, especially if you are new to it, is to have patience and use every opportunity to learn.

Pros

fairly easy to use- good customer service -

Cons

not clover integrated- they can't figure out how to get my statements mailed out of the system to clients properly. I have figured out a another way, it's just more work.

Pros

Our old system was very outdated and Windward has made it so much simpler and quicker to get our monthly/quarterly reports. Integration between order taking and purchasing has helped speed up the ordering process & stop mistakes being made. Love the virtual warehouse option.

Cons

What i feel is missing is:
1. Freeform 1 & 2 can be data loaded in. Freeform 1 can be on a report, but Freeform 2 can not.
2. Sales/Upsell warnings can be on a report, but not data loaded.
3. Purchase warnings can be data loaded, but not put on a report.
(Invoice Warnings can be data loaded & put on a report)
4. There is no where to search "Non-Stock Special Orders" by number or supplier in history.
5. A report that can show me all items sold per book month with the following parameters.
sales clerk name, Invoice #, Date of sale, Customer name, Qty, Item #, Price ea., & Price total.
A report that will pull ALL items. (stock, Non-stock).
Currently i have to use 2 different reports, export to excel, and then combine them to create the report i need to send to suppliers for their sales incentives (spiffs). Granted this is alot better than the old computer system, but still takes longer than it should.

side note: i have seen and experienced so far that if someone requests an addition, that the programs will do ONLY what was asked for. Example: you were asked to increase item #'s and part #'s to 50 characters. That was done, but they didnt change non-stock special orders where you have to manually type in the characters. When i caught this problem and brought it up to tech and the programers, the response was " they didnt ask for that to be done" and "it is what it is". Same with items i listed. can data load, but not put on reports.

Pros

In comparison to previous software used, the finalization of the inventory process within Windward is rather straight-forward. The ability to print count sheets with only product in stock - no part numbers with a "zero" quantity, is great and saves paper. However, products often randomly shift into categories like 'financial' which causes the item to remain on the inventory count. I have had to request help from support on this multiple times.

Cons

I have used Windward software all day, every week day, for two years now and I consistently encounter issues in day to day operations. I have had problems with the cash out feature not allowing me to finalize the file and close the day; I am constantly getting error messages, or "unplanned shutdown" messages when an unplanned shutdown has not occurred; there are processing issues with rental invoices that cause the invoice totals to change, after the invoice has been finalized and submitted. This specifically has created MAJOR discrepancies on our invoices that has resulted in us to losing money, and having to issue apologies to many of our major accounts. One of these incidents has caused irreparable harm to our business relationship with our (previously) largest customer.

Pros

I like the ability to generate custom sales reports so I can see who my top dealer accounts are, and which accounts I need to incentivize. I need to quickly check stock of products in all four of our warehouse locations, and when a product is out of stock, I need to be able to quickly see what's been ordered and when we are expecting it to arrive at our warehouses. In a "just in time delivery" business world like ours, giving customers an accurate ETA can mean the difference between closing the sale and not closing it.

As a sales manager, I like to look at what the top selling products are by customer and by regions. I like to review our sales trends month by month and year by year, and see where we need to improve. I also need to see the full financial picture of sales, cost of goods sold and company expenses, to make sure we continue to run a streamlined operation and remain competitive in a constantly changing marketplace. Windward's reporting features are excellent in this regard.

Windward is an extremely powerful and feature packed program. It does everything we need to run our business, from accounting to sales; order processing to invoicing; warranty claims and product returns; and generating reports that all levels of management can use to efficiently run their department, or the whole company. In summary, Windward is an extremely comprehensive program that is well suited to our product-based business.

Cons

Like any feature packed program, intuitive menus are critical to accessing all the nuances of the software. Most of power software programs leave something to be desired in the area of intuitive interfaces. Windward is no exception to this. Thus, task specific training modules and quick customer support is of utmost importance to users being able to shorten the learning curve when expanding their knowledge of Windward.

Pros

Ease of use, Windows familiarity help to make a decent experience.

Cons

Too many times, brushing a hand over the keyboard has erased entire lines from the invoice.
An invoice locking tool would be great.

Pros

There are many features that could be incredibly useful. The reports have vast options which we utilize often.

Cons

It seems every update an equal amount fixed gets broken. We always seem to be chasing down issues and fixing bugs. There is not one week we do not have issues in our system, user or system error. Every feature seems to tap out in functionality. They all have an amazing idea, but when we try to use them there is always a reason it does not work for our system or with our data.

Pros

Inventory management, help centre, payroll is straight forward.

Cons

Sometimes it can be glitchy. Example, sending a paystub to the wrong employee, in clearing an item for years ago, just weird random error messages.

Pros

System is easy to use when you know what you are doing. There is much potential.

Cons

Proper training was not given at the beginning as to what would be beneficial most to our business. I had to use training videos to learn how to do things. Limited search module.

Pros

Customer service is very quick to get back with us and make sure that we are taken care of.

Cons

Having to buy hours for pricing updates and having them expire before all our vendors print their new pricing.

Pros

Excellent customer support 24/7. A product that is scalable to your business. One of the few softwares that have a stand-a-lone ability that allow sales and lookup when the main server is offline or unavailable. Inventory orders in cases or singles by multiple suppliers with multiple part numbers and UPC codes for a single item. Capable of printing price tags on the fly when receiving. Easy lookup of products at the POS terminal by description, barcodes, serial numbers, etc. (Think about a phone caller asking for an item that is not in your hand, no numbers available and you need to quote the price.) Easy Purchase ordering. Easy resorting of POs in a fashion that matches the packing list. Complete control of forms, receipts, printers, slip printers, faxes etc. Multiple price groups and quantity price levels allowing maximum flexibility to different retail environments. Matrix pricing, kit pricing (both dynamic and static) with prices broken out or just single line on receipts. This software is our forth in 30 years and in our use since 2003. Regular updates and revisions are available to keep it fresh and up to date with changes in the ever changing retail industry. This is a very robust software and does far more than given here.

Cons

Back office reporting is probably the weekest area. However, custom reports are available and creatable. If you are looking into any software you should have a list of what you need to know daily, weekly and monthly and have it demonstrated to you. Another area is handling price protection from manufacturers. It is not easy to drop cost on items that receive price protection. It can be done but is time consuming.

Pros

I like the ease of being able to run our day to day business. We use the software all day every day. The ease of checking our inventory is terrific. Setting up a new customer is very easy. The system is very easy to use.

Moving the data from our old system to Windward was very easy. We were able to import with very little mistakes.

Cons

I really don't have any cons with the software except that it is sometimes hard to set up new reports that we would like to download.

Some times the help feature is not very specific for the reports that I need

Pros

Inventory Control is very functional and easy to use.

Cons

Reports are difficult and you have to build most of your own reports so you need to be skilled with it. Also if a tax changes on a product you have to make a new product code and start over for that item.

Pros

sales reporting and inventory management. The accounting and payroll modules are great that they integrate with all other modules.

Cons

sometimes difficult to change and save settings on inventory reports. The payroll reports (designing) are difficult to understand

Pros

Ease of finding product, sales, general bookkeeping

Cons

When we integrated with online sales we found it very frustrating because it was not as easy as we were made to think it was.