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In this customer spotlight, we speak with Mr. Abubakar Umar, the manager of a family-owned hospital in Nigeria, who found a powerful solution in Loyverse POS. What began as an effort to prevent inventory losses at a hospital pharmacy evolved into a multi-business success story - one that has not only improved business operations but also led to the creation of a consultancy helping others achieve similar results. Here is his inspiring journey. From Challenge to Transformation: A Business Story I am the manager of a hospital owned by my older brother. In 2019, he gave me the responsibility of overseeing its operations. Inside the hospital, we run a pharmacy, and at the time, employees were handling sales without any POS system in place. This lack of structure opened the door to serious issues - missing inventory, unexplained losses, and no way to track sales accurately. With a background in Information Technology, I decided to find a technological solution. Initially, I thought about developing custom software, but a friend recommended that I first look for existing systems online. That’s when I discovered Loyverse POS. After ordering a compatible Android terminal from China, we began testing the app. One feature immediately stood out: the Dashboard app. It gave me real-time insight into sales and inventory - something we had never had before. It was a game-changer. Once implemented, everything changed. Employee accountability improved, inventory losses stopped, and the entire operation became more transparent. Because of this success, I started recommending Loyverse to others. Key Features That Drive Daily Operations The Dashboard app remains my favorite feature. I currently live in Abuja, but my businesses are located in other cities. Despite the distance, I can monitor everything - from sales to inventory - in real time. Even when employees operate in offline mode, I can request they reconnect to the internet, and instantly I can see what’s happening. The ability to access data remotely has made Loyverse popular even among people I’ve introduced it to outside Nigeria. Whether they’re in Egypt or elsewhere, they appreciate being able to manage their businesses from anywhere. Insights from Loyverse Reports The Back Office reports are essential for making informed decisions. These reports help me deeply understand how the pharmacy and restaurant are performing, allowing me to act based on real data rather than assumptions. It’s a crucial tool for any business owner aiming to run a data-driven operation. Expanding Loyverse to Other Businesses Soon after, my brother opened a restaurant and asked if Loyverse could be implemented there too. The answer was yes - and it worked just as effectively. Now, we use Loyverse in three of the businesses I manage, plus a mini-restaurant of my own. Over time, word spread. People began recommending me to others as someone who could help fix their business operations. Loyverse became a key part of my consulting approach, especially for businesses struggling in Nigeria. My experience with the platform made it easy to implement and support across various business types. A Platform That Built Trust and Opportunity Before Loyverse, I had never managed businesses outside of my brother's. But the platform opened doors for me. People started coming to me with their own business challenges, and I helped solve them using Loyverse. This led me to start my own company called Vacon, short for “Value Consistently.” Loyverse didn’t just solve our initial problems - it transformed my professional path and allowed me to create solutions for others. Tried, Tested, and Preferred I did test a few other POS systems alongside Loyverse at the beginning, including a local Nigerian provider. But none of them matched Loyverse in reliability and features. I even declined a request from that local company to promote their product - because I only recommend what I truly trust. Kitchen Display System and Feature Wish List We haven’t implemented the Kitchen Display System yet, but I’ve downloaded the help articles and I’m learning how to use it properly. One improvement I would love to see is integration with a payment system - this would significantly enhance our operations, particularly in the restaurant setting. Advice for Aspiring Entrepreneurs Business is fundamentally about solving problems. If you’re thinking about starting a restaurant - or any business - look around you. Identify the issues people face and create solutions. That’s the best way to build a sustainable and profitable business. People are always willing to pay for real solutions. A Personal Business Philosophy My philosophy is centered on problem-solving. I strive to create a secure, trustworthy environment where business owners can make profits while maintaining respectful relationships with their employees. When the workplace is structured and fair, success follows. This story is a testament to how technology - when chosen wisely - can completely transform a business. What started with a family pharmacy's operational problems turned into a multi-venture success story, powered by Loyverse POS and guided by a clear commitment to solving real-world problems.

Barkono is everything grills, they serve you amazing freshly grilled Lamb Chops, Goat meat, Steak, Chicken, Shawarma, Burgers, Yams and Potatoes, and all your favorite grills. Based in Abuja, Nigeria, they share with us their 4-year experience in the food industry. Can you briefly describe your business? We operate in the food and beverage department in Abuja, the capital city of Nigeria. We are into restaurant and bar services. The restaurant opened 4 years ago. Barkono is a local name. Barkono means pepper, and we decided to name this restaurant Barkono because we use many pepper spices on our menu. And the owner has a passion for grilling, that’s why the business is called “Barkono grill”. We started the business to serve our local customers and grow step by step and why not offer our services outside the local environment as well. How does your business stand out from other competitors? We have a special brand that we promote in our business. As the name suggests, we offer grills, and our grills are very special and cannot be found anywhere even outside the local environment. Even if you go to our social media like Instagram, you will see comments about the good service. We do a lot of delivery too, which is something not most food and beverages businesses do. We cater events as well. When did you first learn about Loyverse? We started using Loyverse in 2019. Loyverse has been the change that we needed. It offers a good financial report for our business. What features of Loyverse have been more beneficial to your business? We use the POS to take orders in the restaurant and we have found the Back office very useful for checking the reports and keep track of our activities, profit, and losses. We are using Employee Management, and it is very good, especially the restriction of access rights which permits the owner to protect sensitive information. What message would you give to other entrepreneurs? It is always good to use a terminal like Loyverse to run your business because it will allow you to manage your business efficiently and get maximum output and results.

In this interview, we explore the journey of a passionate entrepreneur who turned a concept into a thriving restaurant and bar. Despite facing significant challenges and costs, the business has grown into a multifaceted establishment offering dining, fast food, desserts, and a bustling bar. Central to this success has been the use of Loyverse POS, a point-of-sale system that has streamlined operations, improved efficiency, and supported the business through its growth. Here, the owner shares insights on their business management philosophy, the benefits of Loyverse POS, and advice for aspiring entrepreneurs. Business Background When my partner and I embarked on this journey, we knew we were diving into something big. It all started with an idea that took two years to materialize. The journey from concept to reality was challenging and expensive—far more than we initially anticipated. What we originally budgeted at 50 million to 65 million CFA quickly escalated to around 400 million CFA. The scale of the business grew beyond our initial expectations. We opened our business on February 13, 2014, offering not just a restaurant but also an ice cream parlor and fast food outlet—all combined under one roof. Before this venture, I had dabbled in a few other businesses, but it wasn’t until 2016 that I discovered Loyverse POS. While researching better ways to manage operations, I came across Loyverse through a Google search and decided to implement it in our existing business. Since then, Loyverse has become an essential part of how we run things, and we’re planning to expand its use to our larger bar upstairs in the coming weeks. Business Management Philosophy Managing a business, especially one in the F&B sector requires a clear philosophy and a strong mindset. Before the restaurant, we had a bar that was doing exceptionally well. However, as more competitors entered the market, we had to think strategically. We were the largest bar in town, so naturally, new businesses aimed to draw customers away from us. When the bar market became saturated, we decided to diversify and enter the restaurant business. This decision was driven by the need to attract a different customer base and ensure the business stayed relevant. We didn’t just want to focus on one aspect; we wanted to cover all angles—restaurant, fast food, desserts, and a bar. It’s about not putting all your eggs in one basket but rather embracing a more comprehensive approach to customer engagement. This strategy has proven effective, allowing us to stay competitive and relevant. Choosing Loyverse POS The decision to use Loyverse POS was driven by the need for a reliable, user-friendly, and comprehensive point-of-sale system. I had previously used Loyverse in a different business venture and was impressed by its functionality. When we started this new business, it was a no-brainer to implement it again. Loyverse POS has been instrumental in operations. We use almost every feature it offers, and I particularly appreciate its ease of use. This system is straightforward enough that my staff, many of whom worked in different businesses before, adapted quickly. The kitchen printers, bar printers, and stock management tools are particularly effective, making day-to-day operations run smoothly. Overcoming Challenges with Loyverse POS Loyverse POS has made managing stock incredibly efficient, which is crucial in a restaurant where inventory is constantly moving. Whether we're tracking different cuts of meat or managing multiple outlets under one roof, Loyverse handles it all seamlessly. The ease with which my team can use the system is another major advantage. Despite having staff from various backgrounds, they adapted to Loyverse quickly and have found it easy to use daily. This has saved us a lot of time and reduced the potential for errors, which is invaluable in a busy restaurant setting. Advice for New Entrepreneurs For anyone looking to start a business, my number one piece of advice is to conduct thorough research. Often, the budget you set isn’t enough, and if you don’t have additional resources, you might find yourself unable to start or sustain the business. Starting is the most critical part, and it requires not just a good idea but solid financial planning. Make sure you have a budget that accounts for unexpected costs. Starting with tools like Loyverse POS, which offers many features for free and a trial period, can also be a huge advantage. It gives you the flexibility to manage your business without a hefty initial investment in software. Future Plans As we continue to grow, I look forward to seeing how Loyverse POS evolves. It can potentially adapt even more to the needs of businesses like ours. I’m excited to see what the future holds for the restaurant and bar and the tools that help us succeed. Instagram https://www.instagram.com/myway_restaurant?igsh=NTYwbTN3dHFoZXM5

Nature’s Bar Co is a company dedicated to crafting quality skin and hair care products using high-performance ingredients that nourish your skin while being earth friendly. They ensure, to the best of their ability, that the ingredients are naturally sourced, sustainably produced, cruelty-free, and ethically traded. A product is only as good as the ingredients used to make it. To this end, Nature’s Bar uses the best ingredients to make the best safe and effective skincare products available. Follow along to learn how this company started with a single thought of the founder, Mrs. Vivan. Can you briefly describe your business? The name of our business is Nature’s Bar and it is all about natural skincare. We started by making hand-made cold processed soaps, but until now we have grown to include facial toner, face and body oil, facial serums, body butter, body scrubs, and facial masks in our range of products. When did you decide to become an entrepreneur and why did you choose this type of business? Prior to getting started, I had no idea that I could have or run a business even though I have an accounting background and a master's degree in international business, but my mindset was that I could not really start a business. This is due to the business types that I was exposed to where you see people owing to one another, so I just didn’t have that belief. But, when my mentor, Myles Munroe, passed on I started reading his books while mourning him and listening to his podcasts, and I remember one of his podcasts when he talked about time and all that you could do with your time even though you have a 9 to 5. After listening to him for a period of time, my mind actually started changing, and I started thinking that even if I don’t have my own business, I could do a franchise to be part of the business chain. Fast forward to a few months later, in December, I was in Dubai for a holiday. My friend was shopping for toiletries and another friend, and I just followed her. There I saw this really beautiful bar of hand-made soap. It was nicely wrapped with a ladybird on it. Normally, the first thing to do is to smell it, and it smelled so good. The first thing that came to my mind was to ask for the franchise of this product since this type of business was not so familiar back in Nigeria. When I went back home that evening, I was so excited. The company that produced the soap was located in Spain, so I had to do a little research on Instagram to get their contact information where I would send my message. In the process of searching for them, you open videos and a lot of articles which basically informed me that I could make soaps by myself. I still sent the message to the company that I was interested in franchising their products in Nigeria. Right after sending that message, I was back on Google reading all the articles and viewing the videos on how to make my own soaps. In the morning, I shared with my family that I will open a business, and I was now aware that I could make soaps. I had been in that phase when I was detoxing from using toxic products and using only natural products for my skincare, and I was using a really nice skincare brand at that time. Skincare was already on my mind, but for personal reasons. When I saw all the processes about it, like cold processing soap making, how you could do it on your own and how you can ensure that your soaps are clean and healthy, I was fascinated. And exactly that night, I got the idea about the company that I would open and the name would be “Nature’s Bar”, where you can come in and have a cater of options when it comes to skincare. The next morning I went out with 200 dollars and I bought my first set of ingredients for this dream. The rest is history. I went back home from the holiday, I kept on studying, downloading recipes, and buying the equipment that I needed. And in about 3 months' time, I made my first batch after studying carefully how to create a harmless product. Later I went to London to study in Little Soap School. This is how the business started. The first two bars of soap I bought in Dubai in 2014, I used them very carefully. I opened the second one very recently. How many employees do you have? Actually, I have been making soaps myself from 2015 until 2021. Then I hired a production manager. Prior to that, I had other staff that handled the packaging, marketing, and sales. But in terms of production, I was doing all the production. Starting from last year, I had to train and get staff for the production of the soaps to handle the demand from our customers. Do you have a physical store or operate online? Our first store was the Instagram page. We open an Instagram account and start posting pictures of our products and processes. After hearing really good feedback from family and friends, since they were our first customers, I started to understand I was doing a good job. There was a particular friend who claimed that my bar was better than most companies in Nigeria and she ordered a full batch of products as a bridal gift. That’s how we officially started selling. We used Instagram as our sales channel for over a year until we got our first office space in 2017. Since then, we had an office space, but the model of the business is that we engage with customers online through social media, Instagram, Facebook, etc, and we have a website as well. Customers can reach to us via all these means, and then we deliver to them since we are partners with a delivery company as well. We are shipping to every state in Nigeria and our products have gone as far as London, Malaysia and Texas. We have a physical store only in Abuja and partner with another store in Lagos to deliver our products, but our customers can easily shop online. This business model actually was a blessing during Covid when te customers could not come to physical stores, but they can easily shop online for their favorite products. What is the best advice you have received from your mentor about business? I have had several mentors while running my business because the thing I have come to realize in the business is that before you come pushing to the next level, you would usually have to have a change in the way you think, in your goals in your mindset. My first mentor said something that stuck with me and made me start the business because I realized that I had more to offer. He gave a story about the graveyard being in the chest since they are people who die with their dreams and visions that they never brought to reality. It made so much sense because all through my life, if you were to ask me, I was never a person that was going to start a business, and I had no clue about making skincare. My inclination would have been toward fashion more than skincare. This was a totally different sector for me, but actually, that challenge has made me and developed me. Another of my mentors that I have come across is Jim Rohn. There is something he kept saying: When you change, everything around you changes. I applied that to my life personally and also to my business. When we have a meeting with my staff, and we have a challenge, and we are trying to decide what to do. Instead of looking out for excuses or whom to blame, we have the mind that if we change, meaning that if we change the way we offer our services, our pricing or the quality, it all starts with us, so when we change, everything around us changes. Sometimes the change can be the target of the month, and we usually will either meet that target or come really close to it. But before that, if we hadn’t had that mindset shifts that everything is possible, we would usually be comfortable with the previous sales that we have been having. These are the two things that have stuck with me and helped me personally, in my career and in my business. To keep this mindset, I expose myself to new things, go to training, buy every new book on soap making. With more information I change, our products change, improve and adapt. When did you first learn about Loyverse, and how did it influence your business? I started the business in 2015. One day I listened to the phrase: “Accounting is the language of business” and “What is not measured does not grow”. At that point, we were using invoices for our customers. We didn’t have a system that at any time I could check my numbers and see how the business is going.That allows us to see who sold what, have customer data. Also, for some reason I was looking to offer my customers some kind of reward for the purchases in my store through points and all. I had checked through the market and was not really getting what I wanted or what I found cost a lot of money. I remember that at the beginning of 2019, it was the first week of the year, very early in the morning on Saturday. I woke up, and I was like “God, I need something. There must be a software out there for me to help me record sales, capture customers’ data (their emails, their names) and also be able to reward them with points”. I went to Google after praying, I googled the keywords about customer points, and Loyverse came up. I checked and saw that for $5USD/month I could do all the things I needed. I didn’t think twice. That very day I signed up and it has been a beautiful journey since then. Why? Because it gave me all the things that I wanted. Loyverse has also been one of the reasons the business started growing immediately. I would attribute it to Loyverse because immediately I was able to measure, I was able to see the growth, to have customer data, we were able to start rewarding customers with points and sending their invoices. The important thing was that the staff had their own login and I had my separate login, we could track what each person was doing. Since I am an accountant, I loved that I could indicate the cost and prices for each product to see the gross and net sales. By doing this, when you run the report at the end of every day, week or month, you see what your profit is. Many businesses have money coming in an out but they aren’t really aware if they are making a profit or a loss. With Loyverse, you can see this data and have everything under control. Loyverse helps us keep track of products that aren’t really selling using the Sales by Item report and we take informed decision on how to push or improve a certain product so that its sales will grow. We have a policy to reward the best customers at the end of the year. Loyverse helps us identity easily the customers who have made most sales during the year and we contact them to reward them. It is very easy to track the performance of your employees, how many receipts they issues or how many customers they signed up, and reward them appropriately. Do you track stock of your items? Yes, of course. And we have activated Low stock Notifications so that we are always aware when the items are low in stock. Loyverse has helped us in the inventory management as well. We produce a certain amount of stock and we are aware of these numbers and can track all the movement. At random times, I would do a check to reconcile the physical stock with the stock that the system was showing. What advice would you give to young entrepreneurs? My first advice is if you can think about it, you can achieve it. The greatest battle is in your mind. Having only one stream of income is risky, it is almost a death sentence in this economy. I would suggest to anybody that is thinking to start a business to actually start, start small, start with anything you have, but most importantly: Start. Secondly is to keep improving yourself and make use of resources out there that can help you. One of these resources is Loyverse. It is customer friendly and economically friendly for a company that is just starting.

Follow along to learn the success story of a local restaurant in Nigeria. If delicious meals are what you want, Commint Buka is the right place for you with its array of well tasty local cuisines. Commint Buka offers it all: a serene and welcoming environment, great service, and tasty meals. To learn how it all started, we invite you to read the following interview with the IT of the business. Please briefly describe your business. We are a restaurant located in Nigeria. The restaurant is called Commint Buka. Buka in our native language means a place where you can eat. We started some years ago. I developed a Windows application for the company, which was used in day-to-day transactions. While trying to improve this application to its best version, I did a test run on the Loyverse application and we decided to use Loyverse instead since it fulfills our needs. I have been friends with the owner of the business for 19 years. We were trading. Nigeria is a peculiar country, the government policy can be very funny sometimes. When we understood that the government policy is not favoring us in making money, we thought, what else are we good at, and what other business can we dive into? One of us mentioned that one thing that we love to do is cook because we had one cook that cooked for all of us in the company and a dedicated kitchen where were prepared specific dishes for each of the staff members. So we thought, why not open a restaurant? We gave it a shot, and today we are not regretting our actions. What challenges did you face during your journey as a business owner? It can be really stressful, especially the government policy. But we are handling it. Our priority is customer satisfaction. We wanted something that would help us turn time around and handle the customers. We also manage customers phoning in and placing their orders. We tested your system on how we could adapt it so that it can work with customers placing orders via phone. We were able to manage this, and we see that we can use your app. What is your philosophy in business? Our philosophy is “Customer satisfaction is the most important thing.” If a customer comes and says, “I didn’t like the food that you served us yesterday”, we don’t ask questions. We send them a new order. We apologize for it whether the customer is right or wrong. First and foremost, we send a new order because that keeps the customer. When we would do that, we would take the batch of food that we have prepared, if we still have it, and test it in-house, or we call other customers for feedback. Sometimes we found that the customer was wrong. For example, the customer was ill, and the taste buds had changed. We have been able to communicate with some customers and share with them that we have returned the food, but please do some checks. Some of the customers thanked us for this feedback because they got tested and found that they were growing in temperature and falling ill. This is us, customer relationships are our priority. So, every app or system that we decide to use must be able to take us to the next level. We have an in-house app already, a local cash register that famous Fastfood chains use but we wanted to go way beyond like managing the staff and taking the customer order using a mobile. We want to have 10-15 counter staff taking orders from the customers. To put it shortly, we are aiming to use systems that would improve our servering and turn around time. That’s why we have been very slow to adapt the Loyverse app, but we have found it to be very good. Do you offer other cuisines in addition to the Nigerian one? The Buka name comes from local cuisine, which means local food. We don’t do continentals foods. Is the chef in the restaurant the same chef that cooked for your company staff before opening the restaurant? Now we have over twenty chefs and we have a recipe so there is always consistency. How did you first learn about Loyverse? I am an IT person and used Loyverse for my own personal business. I render my services to other people. I used the Loyverse in another business before with one of my clients, and when the Commint Buka owner said he was searching for a point-of-sale application, I remembered that I had to use your application before and we started testing Loyverse in the new restaurant. What features of Loyverse do you think have been most useful in your business so far? Basically, Nigerian love reports and Loyverse offer very useful reports that give insight into the business and most importantly these reports are exportable offering the possibility to elaborate them further. In addition to this, the option to create accounts for employees seamselessly is extremely important for us since there are some unskilled employees who can be unloyal. The skilled ones are the most stable but the unskilled ones are not. Having this in mind we want to create something that is not tied to the employees but we have ownership of it. We want to be able to create an employee profile without having to go through the email of an employee. Loyverse interface is very easy and intuitive to use. It did not take me more than 10 minutes to train my employees on how to use the application. We do also do delivery and Loyverse offers the possibility to print the customer’s address in the receipt which is a very useful to us. We have also used workarounds in case a customer does not want to receive the order in the address he has registered in the system. I have created an item called “Delivery location” with 0 price. When I prepare the ticket, I add this item and add as a comment to it the address of the customer. The possibility to assign a dining option to each ticket is also a very convenient feature that we use. What makes the Commint Buka stand out from other restaurants? Taste and service. What advice would you give to young entrepreneurs? Dedication and service. There are three Cs: 1- Content - something to deliver, something good that would make the customer want to come back 2- Container - how you present what you have to offer 3- Consistency - doing in the same way over and over again There is one addition: your market should be your macro set. Once you have a market, the sky is the only limit, you have volume.