Choose Lightspeed Retail if
you run an established, single-currency retail chain that already uses Xero, QuickBooks, Sage or Exact, want a large integration marketplace, and are comfortable getting a custom quote for extra locations.
Comparison: Simplebks vs Lightspeed Retail
Lightspeed till, but who keeps your books?
For Nigerian retailers comparing Lightspeed Retail with one app built for Nigeria.
Till, stock, purchasing, production and books in one app, with one price and one login.
10,000+ businesses run on Simplebks. 14-day trial, no card. Competitor details checked on 28 September 2026.
Simplebks vs Lightspeed Retail: the comparison
Lightspeed Retail (formerly Vend, now sold as Lightspeed Retail (X-Series)) is a mature global retail POS with a large marketplace of integrations. It doesn't keep its own books.
Simplebks puts the till, the stock, the purchasing, production, the books and hospitality in one app, one price, one login, built for Nigerian businesses.
Simplebks and Lightspeed Retail: does it offer it?
| Does it offer it? | Simplebks | Lightspeed Retail |
|---|---|---|
| How it's delivered | One app: till, stock, suppliers, production and books | A till; accounting comes from Xero, QuickBooks, Sage or Exact |
| Point-of-sale till | ✓ Built in | ✓ Lightspeed Retail |
| Offline selling | ✓ Offline till up to 24 hours | Partly: cash sales work offline; gift cards, loyalty and live stock do not |
| Restaurant tables, kitchen screens, QR menu | ✓ Tables, kitchen screens and QR menu | Separate product, Lightspeed Restaurant |
| Multi-branch stock and transfers | ✓ Branch stock with approved transfers | ✓ Share stock between stores |
| Customer credit limits | ✓ Limit per customer, with owner override | ✓ Account limits by customer |
| Scale-label (weighed) items | ✓ Weighing-scale labels scan into the cart | Not found |
| Stock counts | ✓ Counters, blind counts, reviewer approval | ✓ Stock counts listed on Lightspeed's site |
| Recipes, bills of materials, batch costing | ✓ Recipes, bills of materials, batch costs | Not part of Lightspeed Retail |
| VAT and WHT reports | ✓ VAT and WHT reports from your transactions | Not found |
| Request for quote to suppliers | ✓ One request, several suppliers, compare quotes | Its Quotes feature is for customers, not a supplier request |
| Full accounting (ledger, P&L, balance sheet) | ✓ Ledger, P&L, balance sheet, reconciliation | Needs Xero, QuickBooks, Sage or Exact via Lightspeed Accounting |
Simplebks features can depend on your plan; offline selling is on Enterprise. See pricing.
Not found means we did not find it on their public pages when we checked (28 September and 25 October 2026): Lightspeed Retail · Xero.
Who each is right for
Lightspeed Retail is a mature, widely used retail platform with deep, well-documented integrations: Xero, QuickBooks, Sage and Exact for accounting, Shopify, BigCommerce and WooCommerce for ecommerce, and its own NuORDER wholesale catalogue and marketplace selling on Amazon, eBay and Google.
Choose Simplebks if
you want till, stock, suppliers, production, books and hospitality in one simply priced app, with Nigerian card terminals and bank reconciliation, set up for your industry, supported by a Nigerian team.
Moving from Lightspeed to Simplebks
Export your products and suppliers from Lightspeed and import them from Excel or CSV. Match the columns, preview and confirm. Past transactions import as reference history, without rebuilding your old ledger.
Moving from Lightspeed? We help you move
Products and prices, stock by outlet, customers and suppliers usually move. We help clean the export, bring it in and check the totals before go-live.
FAQ
Does a Lightspeed setup need more than one app?
Yes, for a two-location business that needs real accounting. Lightspeed Retail has no books of its own, so you add Xero or another accounting app. Simplebks covers POS, full accounting, purchasing and production across two businesses in one app.
Does Lightspeed Retail keep its own books?
No. Lightspeed Retail has no general ledger, profit and loss or balance sheet of its own. Lightspeed Accounting posts your sales totals into Xero, QuickBooks, Sage or Exact, where the bookkeeping and bank reconciliation actually happen. Simplebks keeps full double-entry books in the same app as its till.
Can I run a restaurant on Lightspeed Retail?
Not on Lightspeed Retail itself. Lightspeed sells hospitality as a separate product, Lightspeed Restaurant. Simplebks includes tables and a floor plan, kitchen screens, tabs, split bills and a QR menu in the same app as its retail POS and accounting.
Does Simplebks work with Nigerian card terminals?
Yes. Moniepoint and OPay card-terminal payments are recorded at checkout and marked verified once they show up in your bank reconciliation. Lightspeed's own payments and integration pages don't name a Nigerian processor or terminal.
Can I sell in more than one currency on Lightspeed Retail?
Not on one account. Lightspeed Retail's own help centre says one currency applies across all outlets on an account, and a second currency needs a separate account entirely. Simplebks records sales, purchases and expenses in a foreign currency alongside naira in the same organisation. You enter the exchange rate by hand, and Simplebks posts the exchange gain or loss when the payment is settled.
Can I bring my Lightspeed data into Simplebks?
Yes. Export products and suppliers from Lightspeed and use the Simplebks Excel or CSV import, which lets you match columns and preview before saving.
One app for the till, the stock, the suppliers and the books.