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Five Reasons Retailers Are Switching from Lightspeed POS to Celerant
January 20, 2025 / 8 minute read / By Zoya Naeem

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The retail software you choose to manage your stores and online business can determine your success. For many retailers, their point-of-sale (POS) system is the heart, connecting sales, inventory, and customer data.
What happens when your retail system starts holding you back instead of moving you forward?
Many retailers who initially opted for the Lightspeed POS system are now reassessing its ability to scale with their operations. Challenges like over-reliance on third-party add-ons, limited customer support, and customization difficulties drive business owners to find a solution that better aligns with their long-term goals.
For retailers looking to overcome these challenges, transitioning to a more comprehensive all-in-one retail management system like Celerant’s Stratus Enterprise can help them bypass frustration and grow their business more effectively.
In this article, we’ll examine the typical limitations of Lightspeed POS and discuss how a comprehensive solution can better align with the needs of modern retailers. We’ll touch on the following five key reasons why retailers are seeing a lot of Lightspeed POS complaints and ready to upgrade to a more robust alternative like Celerant:
As your retail business evolves, so do the complexities of managing it. A critical factor in supporting that growth is having a POS system that can scale with your operations.
However, many systems rely on outdated, too simplistic or fragmented technology, often becoming a bottleneck for retailers striving to deliver a consistent omnichannel experience.
Take the Lightspeed POS system, for example. While it offers a range of features, its heavy dependence on third-party integrations for core functions can create challenges. Retailers often need help with compatibility issues, slower system performance, and added costs (challenges hindering day-to-day operations), especially as the business grows more complex.
On the contrary, a fully integrated retail platform like Celerant ensures that all your critical operations—whether in-store or online—work seamlessly together. Real-time data synchronization across sales channels, inventory, and customer management eliminates inefficiencies and allows your business to adapt quickly to market changes.
Real-time data synchronization across multiple stores and sales channels, inventory, and customer management eliminates inefficiencies and allows your business to adapt quickly to market changes.
Retailers today need their POS system to do more than process sales; it must act as the backbone of their operations.
Many POS systems, including Lightspeed, lean heavily on third-party add-ons to deliver essential functionality—such as advanced reporting, customer loyalty programs, or integrations with specific payment providers. While the modular approach offers flexibility, it can introduce unexpected challenges.
Third-party integrations can lead to fragmented workflows, inconsistent data across platforms, and increased downtime when updates or technical issues arise. For a growing business, the time spent troubleshooting these issues can be better spent focusing on customers. Moreover, managing multiple vendors often results in higher costs and a lack of accountability, leaving retailers caught in the middle when something goes wrong.
By contrast, systems like Celerant are built with an all-in-one approach—with integrated tools for everything from customer engagement to inventory management, there’s no need to rely on external solutions to fill the gaps. This not only simplifies your technology stack but also ensures a more reliable, cohesive system that grows alongside your business.
As businesses expand, they need a system that can scale with them. For companies using Lightspeed, the challenge comes when they reach a point where the retail system no longer meets their growing demands.
Lightspeed (designed with smaller businesses in mind) may require significant additional investment or even a complete platform switch as your business grows, which can lead to disruptions, lost productivity, and additional costs, especially when you need to adapt to new store locations, larger inventories, or more complex workflows.
Celerant integrates scalability into the system from the beginning, supporting retailers from 1 store to hundreds – and everything in between. Many of our retailers with 2 or stores, and continued growth plans, convert from Lightspeed to Stratus Enterprise for this exact reason.
Celerant offers two retail management systems, designed to support retail businesses of all sizes, allowing retailers to grow seamlessly without needing to implement a new retail system or a major infrastructure overhaul. Whether opening new stores, expanding product lines, or managing more significant quantities of data, Celerant’s robust architecture adapts to your evolving needs, giving you the flexibility and confidence to scale without limitations.
Retailers who start with Celerant’s Cumulus Retail system, can easily upgrade to Celerant’s more advanced retail system Stratus Enterprise when their business is ready.
A reliable POS system does more than process transactions; it provides the support businesses need to keep operations running smoothly. However, many retailers using Lightspeed POS have expressed concerns about delayed responses and unreliable customer service (these Lightspeed POS complaints, particularly during peak sales periods, can leave businesses vulnerable to downtime and inefficiency).
When support issues arise during peak times, like holidays or special sales events, waiting hours or even days for a resolution can result in lost revenue and frustrated customers. Retailers need more than just a software solution -they need a partner that prioritizes their success.
This is where support quality becomes a defining factor.
Celerant addresses these challenges with approachable customer support that you can call into anytime you need it, and provides timely, knowledgeable assistance. During the holiday season, when every moment counts, our team offers extended support hours to ensure that businesses receive the help they need without any delay. By providing both proactive communication and accessible resources, Celerant helps retailers maintain smooth operations and resolve issues on the go.
When choosing a POS provider, ask the right questions about support. Do they offer extended hours during critical sales periods, or even 24/7 support if that is what your business needs? How quickly do they respond to urgent requests? Ensuring your POS partner prioritizes timely support can save your business from costly disruptions during peak hours and revenue loss. A system that backs you up when it matters most will pay back beyond its initial cost.
When investing in a POS system, stability and long-term reliability are critical factors to consider. Recently, there has been word going around about Lightspeed exploring a potential sale, sparking questions about what this might mean for its users. Will product development continue as planned? How might pricing or support be affected under new ownership? These uncertainties can leave businesses feeling unprepared for the future.
Uncertainty is more than an inconvenience; it’s a risk for retailers.
A lack of clarity around the product roadmap or ongoing support can create challenges when trying to scale, adapt to market trends, or address operational needs. If you’re wondering whether it’s time to upgrade your business from Lightspeed, it’s worth considering alternatives that offer greater assurance.
At Celerant, stability has always been at the heart of our mission. As an independent, U.S.-based retail technology company, we’re dedicated to supporting our clients with consistent innovative and reliable products.
Our commitment to long-term partnerships means you can trust that the tools and services your business depends on today will continue to grow with you tomorrow.
Choosing the right POS system is essential for your business as a retailer.
Systems that rely heavily on third-party add-ons, lack consistent support, or have uncertain futures limit retailers. Celerant believes your business deserves more.
With a unified, scalable platform, Celerant offers technology that adapts to your growth, eliminating the need for patchwork solutions.
Our U.S. based customer support ensures you’re never left without help when you need it most. And as a stable, independent company, we’re here to provide the reliability and innovation you can count on for the long term.
If you’re ready to explore a POS system that aligns with your business needs and ambitions, now’s the perfect time to take a closer look at what Celerant can offer.
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