Esplanda vs BottleCapps
BottleCapps alternatives for independent liquor stores
A free POS and an online shop on one stock count, with no setup fee, no contract and no percentage of sales.
Esplanda POS and your website are free to start, with no card needed. Add paid tools only when you want them.
See Esplanda pricing.
Illustrative example
Side by side
Two systems or one, side by side
The choice: add an app vendor on top of your register, or run the counter and the online shop as one.
| What you're comparing | Separate app-and-website vendor | Esplanda |
|---|---|---|
| Systems to run | Two: your register, plus an app and a website on top of it | One: Esplanda POS and your own online shop together |
| The register | A separate POS, bought and billed on its own | Esplanda POS, free on desktop, iOS and Android, with the migration, on the computer, tablet or phone you already have |
| Stock count | Copied from the register into a second system | One stock count for the counter and the shop: no inventory drift, no nightly reconciliation, no matching queue |
| Online orders | Taken in the vendor's app and website, apart from the counter | Pickup, curbside and local delivery, from the same stock count as the register |
| What customers use | An app to install and open again, plus a website | Your store's own online shop, with no percentage of your online sales: free hosting, then 99¢ an order, capped at $299 a month |
| Age checks | One check online and another at the counter, in two systems | Age-gated checkout and an ID check at handoff online; ID scans at the counter |
| Counter jobs | Left to whatever your register does | Bottle and container deposits, case breaks and mix-and-match deals built in, and the register keeps selling offline |
| Monthly bill | One for the register, another for the app vendor | Esplanda POS $0; online orders 99¢ each, capped at $299 a month; and only the paid tools you add |
| Term | Set by the vendor's agreement | Month to month, no annual contract, no setup fee |
| Your data | Split between the register and the app vendor | Export all of your data, any time |
Your options
The main alternatives to BottleCapps
Four routes. Each one answers a different question about how your store sells online.
Another app vendor on your register
A website and an app from a second vendor, fed from a register you buy and pay for separately. Two systems, two bills, and stock copied from one to the other.
A general online store builder
A web store you build and run yourself. Age checks, delivery zones and the stock from your register are yours to connect.
Delivery apps only
Orders through DoorDash, Uber Eats, Instacart and Grubhub, with each app's commission taken on every order.
One system for the counter and the shop
Esplanda POS and your own online shop on one stock count, with no percentage of your online sales. See our POS with online ordering.
The app question
Do you need your own app?
For most single-location stores, a fast mobile website is enough, because the hard part of an app is getting people to install it and open it again.
Esplanda gives your store its own online shop for pickup, curbside and local delivery, run from the same stock count as your register, and Esplanda takes no percentage of your online sales.
One system
One register, one shop, one stock count
A separate app vendor sits on top of a register you buy somewhere else. Esplanda is the register, and your online shop sells from the same stock.
- The register is free. Esplanda POS runs on desktop, iOS and Android, on the computer, tablet or phone you already have, and the move from your old register comes free with it. See the POS system with inventory management.
- One stock count. Your online shop for pickup, curbside and local delivery sells from the same stock as the counter. No inventory drift, no nightly reconciliation, no matching queue.
- Liquor jobs built in. ID scans, bottle and container deposits, case breaks and mix-and-match deals ring at the counter, and the register keeps selling offline and syncs when the connection returns. More on the liquor store POS system.
- Age checks online too. An age-gated checkout and an ID check at handoff for pickup and delivery.
Illustrative example
The rest of the store
Run-out warnings, purchase orders drafted from what sold and invoices checked by photo come free with Esplanda POS. Competitor prices, marketing and reviews are paid tools you add only when you want them.
Loyalty and gift cards, free
Loyalty and gift cards come free with Esplanda POS, built from your register sales and kept in the same customer records as the rest of the store.
You stay in charge
Nothing changes a price, sends or spends without your OK unless you set limits for it, and you can switch to approve-everything mode at any time. See why Esplanda is safe to trust.
Cost
Register and shop, together
The register is free, and the online shop costs 99¢ an order, capped at $299 a month, with no percentage of your online sales. Set that beside everything you pay today.
Esplanda
- Esplanda POS$0
- Website hosting$0
- Per online order99¢
- Order fees, monthly cap$299
- Migration free
- Runs on the computer, tablet or phone you have
- Email and chat support free
- Month to month, no setup fee
- Unlimited users
- No percentage of your online sales
- No card needed to start
Paid tools are each priced on their own, per location per month. See every one on Esplanda pricing.
Your total today
- Register software
- Every month
- App and website vendor
- Every month
- Card processing fees
- Every sale
- Counter hardware
- When you buy it
- Time left on your agreement
- In months
Add these up from your last statement, then set the total beside Esplanda: the register free, online orders 99¢ each up to $299 a month.
The register is free. Esplanda POS runs on the computer, tablet or phone you already have, and the migration comes free with it.
Payments are optional. Every Esplanda price is the same on the processor you already have. See credit card processing for small business.
Switching
Moving from BottleCapps to Esplanda
Three steps to line up before you move your store.
Check your agreement
Note the end date and the notice period in your current app vendor's agreement.
Download your customer list
Ask your current vendor for your customers and order history before you switch.
See what moves, and how
Our POS data migration page sets out what comes across to Esplanda and how the move runs. Also looking at City Hive? See City Hive alternatives.
Your data stays yours on Esplanda. You can export all of your data, any time — products, customers, sales, purchase orders, suppliers. If you leave, you take everything.
Try it on your own store first: Esplanda POS and your website are free to start, with no card needed.
BottleCapps is a trademark of its owner. Esplanda is an independent company and is not affiliated with BottleCapps.
Questions
BottleCapps alternatives: questions owners ask
What are the alternatives to BottleCapps?
There are four routes: another app-and-website vendor on top of your register, a general online store builder, delivery apps such as DoorDash, Uber Eats, Instacart and Grubhub, or one system for the counter and the online shop. Esplanda is that last route: Esplanda POS and your own online shop run on one stock count, month to month, with no setup fee.
How much does BottleCapps cost compared with Esplanda?
Esplanda POS is free, with the migration, and runs on the computer, tablet or phone you already have. Online orders are 99¢ each, capped at $299 a month, never a percentage, and Esplanda is month to month, with no setup fee and no charge per user. To compare, add up what you pay today: your register, your app and website vendor, your card processing fees and your hardware. See Esplanda pricing.
Does Esplanda include a POS system?
Yes. Esplanda POS is free and runs on desktop, iOS and Android, on the computer, tablet or phone you already have, and the migration comes free with it. Your online shop sells from the same stock count as the register.
How do liquor stores build a website and mobile app?
You can add a separate app-and-website vendor on top of your register, or use an online shop that comes with the register. Esplanda is the second: your store's own online shop for pickup, curbside and local delivery runs from the same stock count as Esplanda POS, with an age-gated checkout and an ID check at handoff.
Does a single liquor store need its own app?
For most single-location stores, a fast mobile website is enough, because the hard part of an app is getting people to install it and open it again. Esplanda gives your store its own online shop for pickup, curbside and local delivery, run from the same stock count as your register.
Is there a contract with Esplanda?
No. Esplanda is month to month, with no annual contract, no setup fee and no charge per user. Esplanda POS and your website are free to start, with no card needed.
Do I have to change my card processor?
No. Payments are optional: every Esplanda price is the same on the processor you already have. Esplanda also processes card payments as a reseller for First American Payment Systems, a Deluxe company, which approves, funds and owns your merchant account. Rates start at 2.79% + $0.10 in person and 2.89% + $0.30 online, and your rate is set when First American approves your account, from your current statement. See credit card processing for small business.
How do I switch from BottleCapps to Esplanda?
Start with your current agreement and a download of your customer list. Then read our POS data migration page for what comes across to Esplanda and how the move runs.
One system for the counter and the online shop
Start free today, or book a demo and we'll walk through the register and the online shop on a store like yours.
Esplanda POS and your website are free to start, with no card needed. Add paid tools only when you want them.
