Demos are designed to impress. A salesperson will show you the best screens, and every system looks easy when someone else is driving. The way to protect your business is to arrive with the right questions. This list helps owners of small and medium businesses evaluate any business software vendor, whether you are looking at POS, inventory or a full business management system.
If you are still working out what you need, start with our guide to business management software for SMEs in Laos. Use this page when you are ready to talk to vendors.
Questions about fit
- "Can you show me a sale, a purchase and a return using products like mine?" Ask for your real scenarios, such as variants, items sold by weight or cartons sold as pieces, not the vendor's demo data.
- "What happens to stock when I sell, buy, return or transfer?" Every movement should update stock automatically. See what inventory management involves.
- "How do you handle customers who buy on credit?" Look for partial payments, customer balances and a report of amounts owed.
- "Can I use Lao kip as my main currency, with baht and dollars at my own rates?"
Questions about payments and tax
- "Which payment methods can I record, and do you integrate directly with any bank or QR scheme?" Ask for specific names and test any integration yourself.
- "What exactly do you mean by 'tax compliant'?" In Laos, official tax filing may require approved accounting software or an accountant, and electronic tax invoicing is being introduced. A vague answer is a warning sign. Check with your accountant.
Questions about people
- "Can each staff member have their own login, and can I limit what they see?" Cashiers rarely need cost prices or profit reports.
- "Can my cashier try the POS now, without help?" If they struggle in the demo, they will struggle on a busy day.
- "What languages is the interface available in?"
Questions about data
- "Is my data kept separate from other businesses, and who can access it?"
- "How do I export my products, customers and sales if I leave?" You should never be locked in.
- "Can I import my existing product list from Excel?" This saves days of typing. See our Excel checklist.
Questions about cost
- "What is the total yearly cost for my business?" Include add-ons, limits on products, users, invoices and locations, setup and hardware.
- "Which features in this demo are not included in the plan you are quoting?"
- "Can I try it with my own products before paying?"
Questions about support and growth
- "How do I get help, during which hours, and in which language?"
- "What happens when I open a second location or warehouse?" Check stock per location and transfers.
- "How often is the software updated, and will updates change how my team works?"
Red flags
- Broad compliance or government-approval claims without documentation
- No way to export your data
- Prices that only appear after a long sales process, with many add-ons
- Refusal to let you test with your own products
- Answers that keep changing from "yes" to "with an add-on"
How to use these answers
Score each vendor against your must-have list. Our POS selection guide includes a checklist you can reuse. Then run a short trial with the best option before committing.
Asking these questions about KyeFlow
We welcome them. KyeFlow is built in Laos and runs in the browser. Kip can be your main currency, each business has its own database, staff get individual logins and roles, products can be imported from CSV, and plans and their features are published on our pricing section. KyeFlow does not currently integrate directly with bank QR systems and is not a tax filing system. The Basic plan includes a 7-day free trial for testing with your own products.
Key takeaways
- Ask vendors to demonstrate your real scenarios, not their demo data.
- Get precise answers about payment integrations and any tax-compliance claims.
- Confirm data separation and export before you commit.
- Compare total yearly cost, including add-ons and limits, and test with your own products.
Frequently asked questions
What should I ask in a software demo?
Ask the vendor to process a sale, purchase, return and transfer with products like yours, show the reports you will use, and explain which features are included in the plan being quoted.
How do I know if a software vendor's tax claims are true?
Ask exactly what the claim covers and for documentation, then confirm with your accountant what your business needs for official tax filing.
