Which POS for Import/Export from Filemaker or SQL?

[pourtal]

Hi,

I am trying to decide between Aloha, Micros and Digital Dining based on which one would give me more flexibility down the road to be able to import/export certain fields from a custom database. Any thoughts? They say Micros is SQL based and Digital Dining will support XML.

Thanks,

 

[markddpos]

Been using Tigerpaw for about seven years. Is it perfect, no, but we could not do without it.

 

[markddpos]

Sorry wrong thread.

 

[pasupport]

Yes Micros is SQL based. Depending on the version of the system you get you might get SQL 2005 (for the 9700 series) or SQLite for the 3700.

Aloha Enterprise allows for SQL replication with their enterprise product. If you have more than on site I think you might like this because a lot of the report and data reporting is already in place. also you don't have to worry about an update breaking your reporting.

Maybe you could provide more info on your final objective and I could give more direction.




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[pourtal]

Thanks. I want to take certain inventory items from my database into the POS specific to wine: bottle count for inventory, name of producer, vintage, varietal, and possibly price.

 

[SwampGas]

We use Aloha and export data and once it is uploaded to our import servers via FTP, we import the data into SQL on a daily basis. The thought that you need a SQL based POS system to do this is ridiculous.

Importing and exporting any data from most POS systems is going to be fairly the same work. Creating export works great because your export file will contain only the data you really need. Also, since we use exports for a multitude of functions (Tax rate updating via the tax department), inventory, labor, etc. The database type of the POS system doesn't really mean anything. If your IT shop is decent, then this is an easy task.

 

[pourtal]

Thanks for the response. I am much more concerned with importing data, field by field, without overriding an existing database. How often do you actually import fields without having to retype in information?

 

[SwampGas]

Not sure on your question. We don't retype any information.

 

[pourtal]

thank you,
Stephen

 

[pmegan]

I'm strictly a Micros person so can't comment on Aloha or Digital Dining. I'm sure they each have a way to dump data. My personal preference is SQL, but that's just what I'm comfortable with. There's no "best way" to export and like MegabyteCafe said, as long as the data is there your IT team should be able to get it worked out.


Pasupport was partly right about the Micros stuff. The 9700 does use SQL Server, but as far as I know Micros still doesn't support accessing it directly. You're supposed to use some old 8700 functions that dump entire tables and then parse through the resulting files with scripts. Adding new objects to the database is a no-no.
There are also 2 versions of the 9700 you can buy. One has a watered-down SQL license which doesn't allow you to do much. The other, more expensive of course, version has a full SQL Server license. They still frown on accessing the Micros database directly, but you can add a database to hold and process totals.

The 3700 system uses Sybase Adaptive Server. Micros was pretty open minded about database access with this product, so you can write a query to get pretty much any info you want and dump it to a text file. You can also add tables, stored procedures, etc to the database if the need arises. Reporting in the 3700 uses Crystal Reports templates too, so modifying existing reports or makaing your own is pretty easy. This is my system of choice.