orderbird MINI
Free as a bird: how we created a standalone mobile version of orderbird’s successful POS product from scratch.
- Client / year:
- orderbird GmbH
- 2018
- Scope of project:
- Concept Design
- UI /UX Design
- Smart POS development
- Pax A920
A quick word on orderbird
Claiming a brand-new slice of the POS market
orderbird’s highly intuitive iPad-based POS system has proven a hit among restaurant owners. Cafes, clubs or restaurants all appreciate the system’s modern interface, easy learning curve and attractive pricing.
Yet there was room for an even smaller, all-in-one solution (POS, card reader and printer) at a super-competitive price point. To tap into a new market, orderbird decided to create a tiny spin-off designed to give small business owners – from roving food truck to boutique hairdresser – a minimalist, mobile version at a fraction of the cost. The result: orderbird MINI.
The challenge
Minimal form factor, maximum utility
To keep orderbird’s in-house engineering team fully focused on the continual development and maintenance of the existing iPad POS orderbird PRO, the company asked YND to create the system’s smaller smart sibling entirely from scratch – from porting orderbird’s successful UX to a far smaller form factor to bespoke software development and a fully functional product.
At the same time, we had to expand the existing feature set by out-of-the-box card payment acceptance, receipt printing and fiscalisation.
The process
Out-of-the-box thinking
Hardware, software, functionality, payment processes and design in one small, sleek package? Repackaging orderbird’s key functionalities in a portable device built for function and versatility (with a generous dash of style) took our team one year from start to finish.
In close collaboration with orderbird’s own Chief Strategy Officer & Co-Founder Jakob Schreyer, Smart POS hardware manufacturer PAX, Payments SDK specialists payworks and credit card acquirer bambora, we brainstormed and designed the orderbird MINI concept and UX, created a working mock-up and finally put the resulting app and device through several phases of intense testing.
The solution
Not too little, not too much, but juuuust right
Small businesses appreciate a sleek Smart POS solution that is small, easy-to-use and – most of all – affordable for businesses with fluctuating turnover. Both software and hardware are streamlined for simplicity and no-fuss payment. Added bonus for orderbird - the new UX patterns are not hospitality-specific and allow the company to attract a broad range of new clients.
Additional, thoughtful nice-to-haves for any customer-facing business: smart POS features like customer-facing tipping screen during check-out or a reporting feature for a quick review of the day’s earnings.
Good to know
Build-your-own backend
Since orderbird prides itself on stability, security and reliability, testing orderbird MINI on the system’s backend was a big fat no. To this end, YND recreated the entire orderbird environment (databases and backend) by building a clone for standalone testing and development. As the orderbird engineering team embraced container technology via docker, this process proved quick and painless.
Outcome
“The most impressive thing about them is how they share our vision and are so invested in our work. They poured their hearts and minds into designing a good setup and taking the right measures. They didn’t do this for us – we did it together!”
Features
1, 2, 3, done.
From initial idea to hardware demo in just 3 months? To create a buzz among investors, potential partners and to keep all stakeholders in the loop, we focused on the fast development of a “Sales Demo” that could be used for demonstrating the concept in a convincing way. It could even handle card payments with specially prepared test cards.
Make that sale: no frills, all function
Would you like to upgrade? Are you sure you want to delete this? Apps designed for consumers tend to require confirmation for every step and decision. But what works reasonably well in the consumer realm makes little sense for merchants who just want to ring up a sale. Tailored to the retail market and designed for ultimate efficiency, orderbird MINI streamlines selling by cutting out all unnecessary steps of the sales process.
Extremely self-explanatory
orderbird has ambitious sales targets for its new line extension. To preempt a surge of support enquiries for the newly launched device, we designed the UX to be extremely self-explanatory. New users will be able to solve basic issues on their own without any need for additional help.
Fully compliant
Need a receipt? orderbird MINI is fully fiscally compliant (powered by cloud-based fiscalisation provider fiscaly). This also makes it an attractive offer for businesses looking to replace outdated POS systems.
The YND Magic
Trust us to get things done
Based on our reputation and several previous cooperations, orderbird knew they could rely on us – and let us off the leash. After kick-off, our team required minimal management and oversight, only requesting input or feedback at key stages of the project before returning with a fully-featured, functional product. Our extensive experience with MVP development, mPOS systems, Android mobile development as well as PCI and EMV compliant payment acceptance and security certainly didn’t hurt.