Scaling Smarter: Pool Assist’s Path to a Connected, Cloud-First Operation

Running a multi-site retail and service operation means every part of the business needs to stay in sync and Pool Assist needed a system flexible enough for retail, powerful enough for inventory and cloud-based—to work anywhere his service team needs it.

Lightspeed became a central hub.

We sat down with Stuart to talk about how Lightspeed brings his entire operation into a single, cloud-based location.

“The great thing about Lightspeed is that it's scalable.”

Before choosing Lightspeed, Stuart searched extensively for a POS that would work across stores, warehouses and service vans without physical constraints.

“I did look very comprehensively at the time on point of sales that I could have in multiple locations. I needed that ability so I couldn't be tied to a server. I just couldn't be. That was really the genesis of why I chose Lightspeed.”

With everything running in the cloud, Pool Assist can process sales, manage stock and access reports from anywhere—and scale without infrastructure headaches.

“I want to be able to do my work from the beach. (That's a joke.)”

Stuart’s team works everywhere—from poolside service calls to the warehouse floor—and they need technology that keeps up.

“Our business requires mobility—the business demands mobility—and we want to be able to have our business be accessible wherever we go.”

By running entirely in the cloud, Lightspeed enables the business to stay connected and operational across sites, vehicles and devices.

“I'm trying to get that mindset where as long as I've got an internet connection, we should be able to function.”

“The good thing about Lightspeed is it's plugged into our job scheduling software.”

By connecting their POS and inventory directly with their job scheduling system (Pooltrackr), Pool Assist has a single source of truth, eliminating manual work, improving accuracy and ensuring techs in the field and staff in-store always see the same data.

“In Pooltrackr, all these products are coming through…they're all synced from Lightspeed. We very much use Lightspeed in a parent/child sort of relationship. So, Lightspeed is the parent, it sets the pricing of everything, and the goods and services that we sell.”

This gives Pool Assist a single source of truth for every item,

“The integration to Xero is really, really important.”

By linking their integrations through Lightspeed, Pool Assist has removed the gaps between service work, sales and financial reporting.

“We give our technicians the ability to invoice directly out of Pool Trackr. And what that does is automatically creates an account transaction in Lightspeed and then sends that invoice through to Xero.”

This three-way connection ensures every job is billed, logged and accounted for without the extra admin.

No matter how experienced the team member is, Lightspeed stays simple to use, even during busy weekends with rotating casuals.

“For example, on the weekends, I've got a couple of 16 year olds, a couple of 19 year olds, a couple of 21 year olds, casuals, and they find it very easy—exceptionally easy.”

At the same time, Stuart gets the depth and oversight he needs to keep the whole operation running smoothly.

“It's all the power and all the visibility that we get in terms of control. Not just controlling stock, but also in terms of what the guys and girls are doing out in the field—what products are being sold.”