Vend (software)

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Vend Limited
Company typePrivate
IndustryPoint of sale
Founded2010; 14 years ago (2010)
FounderVaughan Rowsell
Headquarters
Auckland
,
New Zealand
Area served
United States, United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, New Zealand
Key people
Ana Wight (CEO)
Services
  • Point-of-sale
  • Ecommerce
  • Retail training
OwnerLightspeed Commerce, Inc.
Number of employees
459 (2019)
Websitevendhq.com
Previous logo

Vend is cloud-based point-of-sale and retail management software company, based in Auckland, New Zealand. The company was founded in 2010 by Vaughan Rowsell. It was acquired by the Australian software company Kounta.

History[edit]

Vend was launched in August 2010[1] by software developer Vaughan Rowsell.[2]

In 2013, Vend raised NZ $8 million of funding from investors in Australia and New Zealand.[3] Further capital has also been raised from existing investors including Point Nine Capital in Berlin.

The following year, Vend closed US $20 million (NZ $25 million) in Series B funding. The funding round was co-led by Peter Thiel and Square Peg Capital in Australia.[4] Later in 2014, the company also opened offices in Toronto and London. In August 2015, Vend announced that it had raised NZ $12 million, mainly from existing investors along with new entrant Punakaiki Fund.

In 2015, Vend launched Vend Ecommerce.[5] It also announced a partnership with UK payments provider iZettle,[6] and North American payments provider Mercury (now Vantiv).

In 2016, the company partnered with Square to enable retailers who use Vend's software to process payments with Square.[7]

In 2016 Vend also launched an app for inventory management named Counter.[8]

At the end of 2016, Vend raised a further US $9 million (NZ $13 million) led by existing investors, and with significant new investment from fund manager Movac. In 2016 Vend grew its UK staff to 20 and opened a new office in East London.[9]

In 2017, Vend renamed its inventory app Counter to Scanner by Vend.[10]

On 12 March 2021, Vend was sold to Lightspeed POS Inc. for US $350 million (NZ $455 million).[11] The company had approximately 150 staff at this time.[12]

Features[edit]

Vend's services include web-based POS software, inventory management, E-commerce, customer loyalty, and reporting analytics. Vend integrates with other business and payments applications including Shopify, Square, Xero and PayPal.[13]

Vend's software allows merchants to generate reports on sales, inventory, and customer behavior. Vend Ecommerce and integrations with partners like Shopify and WooCommerce enable retailers to sell online.[14]

Technology[edit]

Vend uses HTML5 features in Google Chrome and Safari to implement offline processing capabilities.[2]

  • A webSQL database built into the browser provides local inventory storage so sales can be processed offline and all stock levels updated.
  • HTML5’s offline manifest tells the browser to take copies of certain files and pages for offline use.
  • WebSocket (another element of HTML5) allows Vend to talk to other devices on a local network, interfacing with hardware such as an EFTPOS unit or other payment devices.

Vend works with mobile browsers as well as their iOS app called Vend Register.[15]

Awards and recognition[edit]

  • 2011 NZ Innovators Awards – ICT category and Supreme Award[16]
  • 2014 NZ Hi-Tech Awards – IBM Hi-Tech Exporter of the Year (under $5 million revenue) and Cisco Hi-Tech Emerging Company of the Year categories[17]
  • 2014 Gold Stevie Award for Vend's homepage video (American Business Awards)[18]
  • 2014 Monocle Magazines's Top 25 in Retail[19]
  • 2015 Gold Stevie Award for Customer Service (American Business Awards)[20]
  • 2015 Silver Stevie Award for Vend's video with TopShelf Style (American Business Awards)[21]
  • 2015 Deloitte NZ Fast50 – 7th fastest growing company in NZ[22]
  • 2015 Industry Specific App of the Year – Xero UK[23]
  • 2016 Deloitte NZ Fast50 – 38th fastest growing company in NZ[24]
  • 2016 TIN100 Hot Emerging Companies New Zealand (2nd)[25]
  • 2017 Vend named as the best all-in-one POS system for small businesses by Business News Daily[26]
  • 2019 Newsweek Best Business Tools – POS[27]

References[edit]

  1. ^ "Innovators Awards: Supreme/IT winner, Vend". idealog.co.nz. 21 October 2011. Retrieved 7 January 2018.
  2. ^ a b "Cloud-based cash registers slash POS costs – Storage". boxfreeit.com. Retrieved 7 January 2018.
  3. ^ "Vend gets $8m in new money". The New Zealand Herald. 15 May 2013. Retrieved 16 March 2017.
  4. ^ "Vend Closes $20M in Series B". www.vcnewsdaily.com. Retrieved 16 March 2017.
  5. ^ Kepes, Ben. "Vend Adds E-commerce To Its Point Of Sale Offering". Forbes. Retrieved 16 March 2017.
  6. ^ "Vend & iZettle Get Together in Perfect Match | Payment Week". Payment Week. 29 January 2015. Retrieved 16 March 2017.
  7. ^ Etherington, Darrell. "Square brings payment and capital offerings to TouchBistro and Vend customers". TechCrunch. Retrieved 16 March 2017.
  8. ^ "Vend introduces barcode scanner app". Retail World Magazine. Retrieved 16 March 2017.
  9. ^ "Vend completes $13m capital raise". The National Business Review. 22 December 2016. Retrieved 16 March 2017.
  10. ^ "Scanner | Inventory Barcode Scanner for Retail on the App Store". App Store. Retrieved 18 September 2017.
  11. ^ "NZ retail software company Vend sold for $455m". NZ Herald. Retrieved 12 March 2021.
  12. ^ Foxcroft, Debrin. "Stuff". www.stuff.co.nz. Retrieved 8 May 2024.
  13. ^ "Vend Review 2017 | Reviews, Ratings, Complaints, Comparisons". Merchant Maverick. Retrieved 16 March 2017.
  14. ^ "Click & Collect in Vend Ecommerce". How can we help?. Retrieved 16 March 2017.
  15. ^ "Vend Register App". www.vendhq.com. Retrieved 19 November 2015.
  16. ^ Administrator. "NZIA – Winners 2011". www.innovators.org.nz. Retrieved 16 March 2017.
  17. ^ "2014 NZ Hi-Tech Award Winners Announced — NZ Hi-Tech Awards". www.hitech.org.nz. Retrieved 16 March 2017.
  18. ^ "Video Awards | Stevie Awards". stevieawards.com. Retrieved 16 March 2017.
  19. ^ "Vend named as one of Monocle Magazine's Top 25 in Retail Award winners – Vend Retail Blog". Vend Retail Blog. 24 March 2014. Retrieved 16 March 2017.
  20. ^ "Customer Service Awards | Stevie Awards". stevieawards.com. Retrieved 16 March 2017.
  21. ^ "Video Awards Winners | Stevie Awards". stevieawards.com. Retrieved 16 March 2017.
  22. ^ Digital, Born. "Results". www.deloitteprivate.co.nz. Retrieved 16 March 2017.
  23. ^ "Celebrating our partners: Xero Awards London 2015 |Xero Blog". Xero Blog. 11 February 2015. Retrieved 16 March 2017.
  24. ^ Deloitte. "Deloitte Fast 50 2016 | results". www.deloitteprivate.co.nz. Retrieved 16 March 2017.
  25. ^ "Technology Investment Network | NZ Technology Companies | TIN". www.tin100.com. Archived from the original on 17 March 2017.
  26. ^ "Vend Review: Best All-In-One POS System for Small Business". Business News Daily. Retrieved 16 March 2017.
  27. ^ "Payment & eCommerce Software". Newsweek. 14 June 2019.
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