Imagine what a local merchant needs to operate a business: a traditional point-of-sale (POS) system, whether computer, laptop or a professional POS system; a phone; a credit card POS machine; and a CRM system. But now a small business owner can use iBoss to run their business. The creator of iBoss, Bravou has built many apps (iPOS, iCoupon, iCard, iFans, iShop, App Store and iManager) and a platform to host all the apps a local merchant would need, aiming to build an ecosystem for all their O2O needs.
iCard can handle all forms of payment, from UnionPay, Visa, MasterCard, Alipay and WeChat Pay to IC cards, magnetic stripe cards, and 2D barcodes. Handling digital coupons, card design, issuing and verifying cash, gifts, discounts and loyalty programs can be managed through iCoupon and iCard. iFan manages a business owner’s followers from their WeChat, Alipay and Baidu official accounts, while iManager helps organize staff work records and to assign schedules. iBoss has its own App Store with hundreds of merchants apps for better business management. iBoss has exclusively developed iShop, which links to Baidu Maps to enable a panoramic view of the store.
“Competitors often only have a single function app such as payment app. However, iBoss differentiates itself as an all-in-one app for payment, coupons, payment cards, followers, map and store management. Bravou’s competitive edge is more on applications and system integration. A merchant can stay off the grid while their customers are equipped with the state of art apps,” company CEO Stanley Wu said. The name iBoss indicates that the service is especially designed for shop owners and operators, giving them control so they feel they are the boss.
The company generates revenues by collecting 0.06% commission on every iPOS transactions and charging RMB0.5 for every digital coupon and card issued and verified. Also, users pay monthly for use of any third party developers’ apps. “In the second half of this year, the iBoss HR platform will be up and running to solve merchants’ hiring needs, followed by features such as supplier marketplaces for restaurants. Starting in 2016, iFans and iShop will charge a monthly maintenance fee,” Wu said. The company currently has 35 employees, of whom 75% are Java developers, and boasts over 50 distributors and over 1000 salespeople in China. iBoss can be downloaded on any iOS or Android device for free and can also be purchased with an all-in-one iBoss Me or Plus smart POS device from Bravou’s website.