Frequently Asked Questions
Have a question about Acadia POS? We have answered commonly asked questions about various subjects below.
General
Acadia POS has been serving merchants since 2016.
Acadia POS develops solutions for retail, quick-service and full-service restaurants. On the retail side, we do everything from liquor stores, mini marts, country stores to specialty retail. We can accommodate restaurants and bars who previously had very traditional software (like Aloha and its many clones).
Acadia POS is also a great fit for restaurants that want to incorporate mobile devices and order/pay-at-the table. Our solution is also great for hybrid businesses, like wineries, that have a restaurant and a retail component and don’t want two separate systems.
For retailers, quick-service restaurants, and full-service restaurants, Acadia is designed to keep operations moving even when the internet goes down. Each station has its own dedicated database, and the Acadia Router provides local synchronization between stations without depending on the cloud. That means the POS system can continue operating locally, even during an internet outage.
Most businesses do not have unreliable internet every day. In many cases, the internet only goes down once in a while, and often only for a few minutes at a time. But for a busy retailer or restaurant, those few minutes can feel like chaos. Lines build up, customers get frustrated, and staff are forced to figure out what can and cannot be processed.
The biggest issue during an outage is credit card processing. Credit card authorizations require internet access, and we do not recommend holding card transactions until the internet comes back. In many cases, once service is restored, the funds may no longer be available, the card may decline, or something else may prevent the transaction from being completed. That is where the Acadia Router becomes so important. The Acadia Router is not just a standard router. It provides local synchronization for the POS system and can also provide cellular failover specifically to keep credit card transactions online when the primary internet connection drops.
For most businesses, this is not about preparing for several days without internet. It is about protecting the store during those short, painful outages where every minute matters. The Acadia Router gives merchants another layer of reliability by keeping the POS system communicating locally and helping ensure card transactions can continue when the main internet connection fails.
Freedom POS is ideal for merchants who don’t value all the benefits the cloud services have to offer. Freedom POS isn’t cloud, however, it does have many of the same features of our full cloud POS.
Freedom POS merchants tend to be ones who don’t want to manage inventory remotely, like the local aspect of a cash register but want all the things a cash register can’t do, or are just getting started and want to keep their costs low.
We are integrated with Xero and QuickBooks online. We support passing sales, COGS and asset information.
Fees
We often speak with merchants who tell us that their biggest consideration is not the monthly POS fee, but the cost of credit card processing. That makes sense. For many businesses, processing represents a much larger ongoing expense than the software itself.
At Acadia, we work with merchants every day to help them understand the complete financial picture. Monthly fees are based on several factors, including business type, number of stations, and, in some cases, overall processing volume.
If your current credit card processor is collecting processing fees without providing meaningful value in return, it may be worth reevaluating that relationship. Acadia Partners are able to provide real value, stronger alignment, and in many cases lower monthly fees when merchants utilize their processing services.
To learn more, visit our Pricing page. The suggested prices shown are before any discounts are applied.
Acadia POS and our partners have never raised monthly software fees on existing customers. We believe in rewarding customers for their loyalty and longevity, not penalizing them after they have already trusted us with their business.
We have customers who have been with us for many years. At a certain point, the POS becomes part of their daily rhythm. It is not just software they use occasionally. It becomes something their staff knows instinctively, almost like an extension of the business itself.
We also try to be realistic about how support works. The longer a customer uses the system, the more comfortable they become with it, and the less support they usually need. That long-term relationship is part of what makes our model different and one of the reasons we have been able to avoid raising monthly software fees on existing customers.
No! There are no extra charges for features and Acadia consistently releases new features without increasing costs for our existing customers.
We do charge extra monthly fees for additional products such as our Acadia eCommerce Platform and Acadia Voice platforms.
Payment Processing
Acadia is different from POS companies that simply let merchants plug in any processor and figure out the rest on their own. While that may sound flexible, it often creates a more complicated experience for the merchant.
We take a more thoughtful approach. Acadia supports multiple processing options, but each option is properly vetted and designed to work within the Acadia ecosystem. The goal is to keep the experience simple, supported, and easy to manage.
Merchants want things to be easy. They want their POS, payments, reporting, reconciliation, and support to work together through a single portal, without having to chase down answers from multiple companies.
That is why alignment matters. With Acadia, processing options are available, but they are selected with the merchant experience in mind. The right partner should make the system easier to use, easier to support, and easier to manage.
For businesses with over $50 million in annual sales, this may be possible. For most merchants, however, the goal is not really to “bring your own processor.” They are looking for the best total value: a POS system, payment processing, reporting, reconciliation, support, and someone who takes responsibility when they need help.
The challenge with fully agnostic systems is that the experience often becomes divided. The POS company handles the software, the processor handles the payments, and the merchant is left managing the gap between them. When there is an issue, merchants often experience the “blame game,” where the processor points to the POS company and the POS company points back to the processor.
At Acadia, we support properly vetted processing options that are designed to work within the Acadia ecosystem. This gives merchants choice without creating confusion. The goal is simple: your POS, payments, reporting, reconciliation, and support should work together through one aligned experience.
Yes, Acadia POS supports EBT and all PIN-based transactions.
Yes, Acadia POS supports surcharging and cash discounting.
Hardware and Launch
Android, iOS, Windows, and Mac. We also offer Acadia for chrome which is our full-featured browser-based solution.
Yes, as long as it is compatible with our solutions. You can view & purchase hardware options via shop.acadiapos.com.
The moment you sign up with Acadia POS, you’ll get a welcome email and you’ll be able to start logging into your system right away. Many customers are do-it-yourselfers and many setups are very straightforward.
Setups that are complicated (multiple stations, users with very little time for self-implementation, data import needs, or other steps related to a migration) might benefit from working with a partner or our own internal team. If you found out about us through a partner please revert to them. If you need help finding a partner, please fill out this form.
Yes of course we can. We have experience migrating customers from Clover, Square, Lightspeed, Revel, Talech and even legacy systems like PC America, Aloha, Micros, Restaurant Manager, Future POS and others. If there is a way to get the data out of your system we can help to get it into ours but we can also help you evaluate if it makes sense to start fresh. Many systems have bad data structures and many merchants use a new POS system as an opportunity to properly structure their database.
Yes, we can assist with menu builds within the POS solution. However, even if you provide us with a menu, there is no way for our team to know every single substitution, add-on or removable ingredient, or unlisted menu item. Your engagement in the process ensures that operations run smoothly when you launch.
Can't find the answer to your question?