Limitations of SPOT POS API

Point of sale is one of the sales handling systems that is perfect for the modern world. It is designed to make marketing and business life easier. There are lots of point of sale systems in the market but we chose to write about SPOT POS since one of our clients is a long-standing user of SPOT POS and they asked us to explore the integration possibilities of SPOT POS. 

They needed the additional features that a CRM offers, but did not want to completely move from SPOT. So, when our developers at Wiseve were trying to figure out a way to integrate SPOT POS with other CRM software, they found out some major limitations. Let’s take a look at them. Before that, let’s have a quick overview of SPOT POS. 

Overview of SPOT POS

SPOT Business Systems is a powerful POS tool that will help you to manage your daily operational problems of dry cleaning. With SPOT POS you can scan your process quickly and efficiently. The valet and route trace feature will allow you to upgrade your delivery options and reporting to the next level. With password access security, you can also control what your managers/clerks see and do. 

Key features of SPOT POS

• Simplifies the customer correspondence process
• Automated notifications and reminders for route customers
• Customers can access their account information via SPOT integrated app
• Reduces customer service calls
• Integrated payment options are available
• Detailed dashboard to access the company’s heartbeat
• Notifies if there is a problem in production

Integration Limitations of SPOT POS With Other CRM Software

SPOT POS is specifically built for the dry cleaning business. Even though it has multiple features, we think that SPOT POS is way behind.

According to our client’s requirement, whenever a new customer is added to SPOT POS, the details must be added to HubSpot CRM as well. Below are some of the limitations we found during the integration process. 

No webhook functionality

Webhook is an API function that delivers data immediately. For example, a Webhook can be configured to send an immediate notification whenever a new customer is added/deleted in the database.

Unfortunately, SPOT POS doesn’t have a webhook option. This is a major drawback, which leads to cronjobs dependency in order to get this feature.

Customer list

As there is no webhook available, the entire customer list has to be derived via API and stored in the local database. 

In SPOT POS there is no option to get the list of customers using API. With SPOT POS API, the operations can be performed or queried on a single user at a time. They cannot be used to perform operations on multiple customers.

If you want to view the details of a customer using the API, you need that customer’s specific email and password which is practically not possible and is fairly useless.

Creating a Customer in SPOT POS From HubSpot and Web Form Submissions

Since our client wanted to maintain two CRMs (SPOT POS & HubSpot), it is necessary to store the contact details in SPOT POS when a new customer is added to HubSpot. For this, the SPOT POS API provides an API call to store customer details.

To create a new customer in SPOT POS, the following API calls must be used.

GetToken API call is used to retrieve “SessionID” by providing “AccountKey” and “SecurityID” as inputs.

StoreList API call is used to retrieve “AccountNodeId” by “AccountKey” and “SessionID” as inputs.

SaveCustomer API call is used to store the customer details in SPOT POS with various fields as input.

You can also store the form submission from the website into SPOT POS using the above API calls. Likewise, if you can get the data from your CRM software using their API, it can be stored into SPOT POS using the above SPOT POS API calls.

Winding Up

A POS system comes with lots of applications and features that can meet the needs of the user in a better way. Once the basic setup is ready, you can make use of a point of sale (POS) system that suits your own requirements. 

Make sure to understand the limitations of any POS before you make a choice. This will help you to resolve most of the issues in advance and move forward with a smooth integration process.

Have you ever faced any difficulties while using SPOT POS? Do share it in the comments section below.