BitMethod unveils Change, shaves boss’ launch beard

Change is now available for “anyone who wants to ditch their cash register and live a simpler life,” according to the app’s website. Created by Des Moines mobile app firm BitMethod, Change is a restaurant and retail management system with an iPad-based point of sale. A few months ago, we wrote about the app’s launch…

The newest version of Change allows users to add items, take orders, record payments and adjust settings.

Change is now available for “anyone who wants to ditch their cash register and live a simpler life,” according to the app’s website.

Created by Des Moines mobile app firm BitMethod, Change is a restaurant and retail management system with an iPad-based point of sale. A few months ago, we wrote about the app’s launch into private beta at a local coffee shop, the kind of client it aims to attract.

Today, however, the launch makes it available to the public, putting itself among the new wave of iPad point of sale systems, such as ShopKeep and Square.

BitMethod has been working on the app since March, when the company announced it would be shifting its focus to Change rather than client work.

“Our goal with this release is to get Change into the hands of as many people as possible. We want anyone and everyone trying it out and providing us feedback so we can make smart decisions of where to go from here,” CEO Dan Shipton said in an email interview today.

As for who the new users of Change will be, Shipton said “time will tell.”

The app, which is not yet found in the App Store but is available by contacting Change, will allow those new users to add items, take orders, record payments and adjust settings, Shipton said. The latest version also serves as a foundation for new features to come.

Dwolla integration is a perfect example of what we have planned,” he said.

The app is free for the first 30 days and $79.99 per month after that. The “Starter Package,” on sale for $1,259.99, includes one receipt printer, an iPad 3 with a stand and a 16-inch cash drawer. Without the iPad, it costs $659.99.

As for what today’s news means for BitMethod, Shipton said the launch is a huge accomplishment for the company, one it has been working toward for years.

“This is the moment we’ve been building up to for at least three years, even before we stopped taking on client work. We’ve been building our team, expanding our capabilities, and just trying to find that one product that fits best with what we do,” Shipton said.

To celebrate launch, CEO shaves beard

As BitMethod unveiled its new app, CEO Dan Shipton shaved his launch beard.

At the launch event the company threw today in its Des Moines office, Shipton celebrated by shaving his “launch beard,” which he had been growing in anticipation of Change being made available to the public. He sent a few photos our way of the shave in progress (above).

 

Credits: Screenshot from change.io. Photos of Dan Shipton courtesy of Shipton.

This story is part of the AIM Archive

This story is part of the AIM Institute Archive on Silicon Prairie News. AIM gifted SPN to the Nebraska Journalism Trust in January 2023. Learn more about SPN’s origin »

Get the latest news and events from Nebraska’s entrepreneurship and innovation community delivered straight to your inbox every Wednesday.