Cents POS: Simplifying Your Laundromat's Management System

An Overview of Cents

Cents POS is a venture-backed solution catering to the needs of laundromats and dry cleaners through their all-in-one management system. Established with a clear focus, they have positioned themselves as a straightforward partner for businesses in this niche industry.

Founded in 2019, Cents POS has rapidly gained traction in the market, distinguishing themselves as a specialized provider of POS solutions for laundromats and dry cleaners of all sizes. However, currently, most users are small businesses. They understand the unique challenges such companies face, and have begun to carve out a name for themselves as a go-to option for such establishments. 

They have not received any notable industry credentials or awards, partially due to them being a relatively new company. They also are not accredited by the Better Business Bureau (BBB). That being said, the company's standing among their current users reflects their commitment to customer satisfaction. 

Cents Product Offerings

Their system comes equipped with essential hardware components. You'll find a versatile POS or tablet device at its core, serving as the central hub for customers and attendants, facilitating transactions, and managing orders. In addition, a card reader is included, enabling you to accept various forms of payment and earn more tips from satisfied customers. With this comprehensive suite of hardware, Cents POS ensures that your business is equipped to handle all aspects of operations with ease and efficiency.

They have two hardware solutions for streamlined payment processing and machine control: Penny and Pulse. 

Penny, the customer-facing card reader located directly on the machine, offers convenience with on-unit payment processing. It provides complete control over pricing, discounts, remote start, and more while accepting various payment methods, including credit/debit cards, stored value, and mobile payments. With its LCD touchscreen interface, customers can easily select cycles and adjust dry times while operators gain visibility into every machine turn and card swipe. 

On the other hand, Pulse, an in-machine device, enables mobile payments via QR code scanning. Pulse connects machines to a web-based business manager, providing operators with enhanced management capabilities for their laundry business.

Key software features

Cents offers a comprehensive suite of features designed to elevate your customer experience, streamline fleet management, and expand revenue streams

• Ordering options: Your customers have the freedom to place orders through various channels such as a custom order page, website, app, or Google. Preferences, notes, and details are stored for each customer, and automated notifications streamline the process from pickup to return delivery. Loyalty points are also rewarded with every order
• Market testing and expansion: They allow your business to receive orders directly from Google business listings and maps, facilitating visibility and accessibility. Moreover, you can experiment with new markets before expanding routes for strategic growth
• Remote operations: With the flexibility to manage laundromat operations remotely, businesses can customize services such as self-service, wash and fold, and pickup and delivery. Pricing can be adjusted based on store, delivery route, and product. Financial tasks are efficiently handled, including sending daily bank deposits and managing orders, customers, and transactions, including issuing credits, refunds, and editing active orders
• Reporting and analytics: They offer reporting capabilities, providing valuable insights for informed decision-making. Businesses can track revenue and expenses by location, utilize sales and inventory reports, and analyze customer preferences to optimize operations
• Fleet management technology: Cents offers solutions to power your fleet, including the Cents Driver App for your drivers or access to the Cents driver network for on-demand drivers. The Driver App facilitates route building, navigation, stop management, and customer communication via text or calls. With the optional driver network, businesses can launch pickup and delivery services without upfront costs, gain priority access to drivers, and explore new markets with flexible scheduling options
• Integration capabilities: You can find a small array of industry-leading partners collaborating with Cents to integrate these popular third-party solutions. Partnering with DoorDash, Uber, Roadie, and other trusted delivery couriers, they facilitated no-cost pickup and delivery services, ensuring convenience for your business. Additionally, you can benefit from online booking directly through Google, further expanding your reach and customer accessibility

Cents also offer optional add-ons to enhance your experience further: 

• Cents Accelerate: This provides a dedicated suite of marketing tools to help you reach and engage customers effectively 
• Custom mobile app: You can opt for a custom mobile app tailored to your business and designed to boost customer loyalty and encourage repeat business
• Delivery routing add-on: With this, you can optimize routes and efficiently dispatch orders to your drivers, ensuring timely delivery
• Hardware enhancements: These include a scale for order weighing and intake, a scanner for streamlined inventory management and order processing, a cash register for secure money handling and automatic counting, and a receipt and bag tag printer for printing custom bag tags and customer receipts, enhancing the overall customer experience

User interface

At the heart of the business operations is the Business Manager, which integrates various software and hardware products into a cohesive system. Self-service transactions are monitored via the card payment system and coin mechanisms. The point of sale manages wash and fold services, while a dedicated platform dispatches drivers for pickup and delivery operations. All these business units converge with the Business Manager, offering you visibility and control over your operations. These all branch out to aid in their self-service, full-service, pickup and delivery, and dry cleaning services.

It’s safe to say the Business Manager is their main appeal. It’s an online platform used wherever you are on whatever device you have on hand that uses the internet. It grants operational control, enabling you to concentrate on expansion by acquiring insights with access to monthly order summaries, sales data, and customer statistics, coupled with a repository of over 100 comprehensive reports. You can attain complete transparency into individual orders via detailed order histories while expanding across various locations, from stand-alone outlets to franchise chains. It allows you to keep a close watch on in-store activities with records of ongoing and completed orders, encompassing laundry services, dry cleaning, and point-of-sale transactions. 

Serving as the central operational hub, it equips you with tools to monitor machine utilization and compare revenue streams. With round-the-clock customer support and a dedicated Account Manager on standby, assistance is readily available at your fingertips. You can even navigate through essential sections such as Orders, Customers, Machines, Dashboards, and Reports, all conveniently accessible under “My Stores,” or configure business settings via the Admin section. This unified screen grants easy access to vital information, streamlining your workflow effectively. 

Cents Pricing & Plans 

Their pricing plans are scalable, adjusting to the size and scope of your operation, whether you manage a small network or a large chain. Each location receives individualized pricing while enabling unified management from a single dashboard. This streamlined approach simplifies administration, allowing you to oversee all locations under one account. Additionally, you'll receive a consolidated bill for all your sites, streamlining financial management.

Access to the full suite of Cents features is included in the pricing, ensuring adaptability to the unique requirements of each location. Whether it's diverse service offerings, varied customer demographics, or differing operational scales, Cents claims their platform is flexible enough to cater to every site's needs.

You can choose from three monthly subscription plans:

• Cents Connect: The first plan is designed to elevate your self-serve operations. Starting at just $49 monthly, this solution streamlines machine upgrades and optimizes in-store processes, ensuring proper functionality. Keep in mind that, with this option, hardware is not included
• Cents Dispatch: This plan is suited for businesses aiming to enhance their delivery services, and starts at $99 per month. With this platform, you can expand your reach and attract new customers without any additional overhead costs
• Cents Transact: This final option starts at $149 per month; you would choose this if you aim to efficiently manage wash and fold orders through a user-friendly point-of-sale system, all while overseeing your business operations

They acknowledge that each business has different priorities when selecting a plan, so they offer a bundle and save option where you can pick and choose what you need for a tailor-made bundle. 

Cents POS Pros & Cons

Advantages

• Opportunities to expand revenue streams: You can reach new customers through online ordering, as well as utilize their driver network for on-demand scheduling with no overhead costs
• Route planning: They provide route planning for fleet management via a mobile app built for drivers, allowing customized delivery windows, services, and modifiers. Route optimization features enable easy movement, editing, or rescheduling with dashboards and reports to enhance route efficiency
• Data-driven decision-making: Your business strategies are made easier with their reports so that you can understand customer behavior, evaluate the effectiveness of promotions and campaigns, segment customers, and implement different pricing tiers for service offerings
• Flexible payment options: Accepted payment methods include major credit and debit cards, mobile payments via QR code, and contactless payment with the Penny device. They still support coins, cash, and checks with Cents readers, which can count coins deposited into each machine, saving time and enhancing efficiency
• Commercial business expansion: Cents facilitates commercial business expansion by offering invoicing and account management features, ensuring sustainable growth and success

Disadvantages 

• Must have WiFi: Ensuring a dependable WiFi connection is vital for unlocking the full potential of the Cents platform in your laundromat. Without it, accessing Cents' comprehensive range of features and capabilities may prove difficult. This reliance on being online may present challenges for businesses operating in regions with inadequate or inconsistent internet connectivity
• Unreliable security: In today's digitally interconnected landscape, absolute data security remains elusive, and they cannot guarantee that their protocols and procedures will thwart breaches of personal information. Being reactive in these cases sometimes isn’t enough
• Lack of testimonials: There are not many reviews online, which makes it difficult to gauge their user experience fully

Cents User Reviews 

This company receives relatively little customer feedback online when compared to industry competitors. That said, most feedback is positive, with a 4.8 out of 5 rating on both Capterra and SourceForge. 

People claim Cents POS demonstrates their dedication to providing quality service and support to their users. They are generally content with their choices, turning to Cents as they feel the company is growing with them. The customer management and reporting features are helping smaller companies organize their workload, and they’re saying it is simplifying their processes to the point that the load feels less than it is in reality. 

Customers value Cents' intuitive user interface and appreciate the ongoing product development efforts. They also highly appreciate the accessibility and responsiveness of their customer service. That said, although their SMS feature can be a nice touch, some complain it can be an overbearing addition. As a new system, minor bugs and glitches are expected to pop up. When they do, many reviewers say they address the issues as they come. 

As a relatively new entrant in the laundry industry, Cents actively seeks feedback and continuously improves their offerings with each update, demonstrating a commitment to refining their services based on user input. Their continuous improvements as they learn the industry aren't going unnoticed. It is reflected well in their current customer base. Multiple people claim they go to their CEO directly for suggestions and see their proposed changes in real-time— showing the customers their ideas matter.

Customer Support at Cents 

For any issues, you can contact them via phone at (347) 428-2208, email at [email protected], or log in to their website for other options.

Upon purchase, you would be paired with an onboarding manager. Then, as you get the system up and running, a dedicated account manager will be assigned to you that should answer all your questions.

Their online support system includes a library of training videos, a help center dashboard, and around-the-clock assistance with bilingual representatives. Plus, you can access an exclusive community where you can engage with various operators. These are included for all subscriptions.

Conclusion

Cents emerges as a robust solution for laundromat businesses, offering a comprehensive suite of features tailored to streamline operations and enhance customer experiences. With every software subscription, businesses benefit from personalized support provided by a dedicated customer success manager and access to a specialized support team, ensuring tailored assistance for each site. 

While the reliance on WiFi may present challenges for businesses operating in areas with poor connectivity, Cents mitigates this issue by offering equipment solutions to ensure high-speed connections. This flexibility in pricing structure and proactive approach to addressing connectivity concerns make Cents a standout choice for laundromat owners seeking efficient POS solutions. That said, we recommend trying out Cents first, especially with their flexible packaging options, to minimize risks. It is comforting to know that they offer a 30-day free trial when booking a demo.

Whether you opt for Cents or other POS systems, your journey generally doesn't end here. If you’re eager to delve deeper into the realm of POS solutions, check out our review page to learn about other top options. If you want help narrowing down your list of potential partners, our comparison page can help you filter out your best bets and get to the heart of what matters to you in a POS system. Additionally, our blog page features many articles with a plethora of knowledge to help you understand everything to do with this category. We want to make your point-of-sale journey hassle-free and simplified by having everything you need in one place.

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