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Windward System Five Logo

Run your business from one platform — not a stack of apps.

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Windward System Five - 2026 Pricing, Features, Reviews & Alternatives

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Last updated: June 2026

Windward System Five overview

What is Windward System Five?

Windward System Five is a complete business management platform built for independent retailers, wholesalers, service businesses, equipment rental operations, and specialty stores. It brings point of sale, inventory control, purchasing, CRM, and accounting into one connected system — replacing the patchwork of disconnected tools with a single source of truth.

Most independents are running on a stack of disconnected apps: a basic POS, a separate accounting package, spreadsheets for inventory, another system for customer data. The result is duplicate entry, reconciliation headaches, and reporting that's always weeks behind reality. Windward System Five consolidates these into one integrated platform where the front counter, back office, and books share the same data in real time.

Point of Sale Ring sales quickly with a configurable POS built for real retail. Accept multiple payment types, process returns and exchanges, and manage layaways, gift cards, loyalty programs, special orders, and quotes. Multi-location stores get real-time inventory, customer history, and pricing across every store. Built-in support for serialized items, matrix products (size/color/style), kits, and assemblies handles complex catalogs without workarounds.

Inventory Control Track inventory by SKU, serial, lot, or matrix across single or multiple locations. Manage purchase orders, receiving, supplier price lists, transfers, reorder points, and physical counts. Inventory updates in real time as sales, returns, and adjustments happen — and connects directly to accounting, eliminating the reconciliation work that comes with siloed systems.

Equipment Rental For rental and mixed rental/retail operations, System Five manages rental contracts, reservations, returns, deposits, late fees, and damage charges alongside parts and service. Track every unit by serial number, location, and rental status, with support for short- and long-term contracts and recurring billing.

Liquor & Specialty Retail Liquor, wine, and beverage retailers get purpose-built tools: case breaks, mix-and-match cases, multi-pack pricing, bottle deposits, and inventory by vintage or supplier — single store or multi-location.

Accounting Run general ledger, accounts receivable, accounts payable, and bank reconciliation directly from operational activity. Every transaction posts to the books automatically — eliminating month-end cleanup and giving owners real-time visibility into profitability and cash position.

CRM & Customer Management Build repeat business with complete customer history at the counter — past purchases, preferences, special orders, account balances, and contact details. Drive loyalty programs and targeted promotions from the same data running your sales and accounting.

Windward Intelligence The built-in KPI dashboard puts the metrics that matter in front of owners and managers in real time: sales by store, staff, item, and customer; margins by category; inventory turn; dead stock; rental utilization; and customer trends. Stop waiting for end-of-month reports to find out what's happening — act on data the same day.

Configurable to Fit Your Business Independent businesses run differently from chains, and from each other. Windward System Five is highly configurable — adjust the chart of accounts, customize POS screens, set pricing rules, define user permissions, and tailor reporting to match how your business actually operates.

Personalized Onboarding, Training, and Support Every customer gets hands-on onboarding, training, and ongoing live support from a team that knows the software inside out. No ticket queues, no offshore call centers — real people who help you get the most out of the platform.

Independent retailers, wholesalers, service businesses, equipment rental operations, and specialty stores choose Windward System Five to run their operations from one trusted platform. Discover what an integrated business management system can do for yours.

Starting price

135per user /
per month
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Pros & Cons

Reporting

Training and Learning Curve

Sales Reporting

Customer Support

Barcode and Labeling

Frequent software errors and glitches

Windward System Five’s user interface

Ease of use rating:

Windward System Five review summaries overview

To determine these pros and cons insights, we analyzed responses from 

Overall rating

Reviews sentiment

 
 
 
1-2(34)
3-4(84)
5(71)

What do users say about Windward System Five?

Users report that Windward System Five offers robust inventory management, detailed reporting, and integrated accounting, which help streamline daily operations for retail and product-based businesses. They appreciate the customizable interface, extensive sales features, and the ability to track inventory across multiple locations, though some find setup and customization time-consuming. They value the flexibility in generating reports and the comprehensive order processing capabilities.

Reviewers feel that frequent bugs, system glitches, and slow or inconsistent customer support can be frustrating, especially when critical issues arise. They mention that updates sometimes introduce new problems, and that reporting and accounting features can be complex or require manual workarounds.

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Who uses Windward System Five?

Based on 189 verified user reviews.

Company size

Small Businesses

Midsize Businesses

Enterprises

Top industries

Retail
Consumer Goods
Automotive
Furniture
Others

Use cases

Retail POS System
Retail Management Systems

Windward System Five's key features

Most critical features, based on insights from Windward System Five users:

Inventory management
Pricing management
Sales reports
Barcode/Ticket scanning

All Windward System Five features

Features rating:

Access controls/permissions
Accounting
Accounting integration
Accounts payable
Accounts receivable
Activity dashboard
Age verification
Alerts/Notifications
API
Asset lifecycle management
Asset tracking
Availability indicator
Availability management
Bank reconciliation
Barcode recognition
Barcode/Ticket scanning
Barcoding/RFID
Billing & invoicing
Budgeting/Forecasting
Calendar management
Cash flow management
Cash management
Chart of accounts
Check-in/Check-out
Commission management
Contract/License management
Cost tracking
Credit card processing
CRM
Currency conversion
Customer accounts
Customer database
Customer history
Customer management
Customizable fields
Customizable reports
Data import/export
Data synchronization
Discount management
Document management
Document storage
eCommerce management
Electronic signature
Email marketing
Employee management
Expense tracking
Financial management
Financial reporting
Fixed asset management
Fleet management
Forecasting
For liquor stores
For retail
General ledger
Gift card management
Income & balance sheet
Inspection management
Inventory management
Inventory optimization
Inventory replenishment
Inventory tracking
Invoice management
Item management
Layaway management
Loyalty program
Maintenance management
Maintenance scheduling
Merchandise management
Multi-Channel management
Multi-Currency
Multi-Location
Ordering automation
Order management
Order processing
Order tracking
Payment processing
Point of sale (pos)
Price/Margin management
Pricing management
Product catalog
Product identification
Project management
Promotions management
Purchase order management
Purchasing & receiving
Quotes/Estimates
Real-Time analytics
Real-Time data
Real-Time monitoring
Real-Time reporting
Real-Time updates
Receipt management
Reorder management
Reporting/Analytics
Reporting & statistics
Reservations management
Retail inventory management
Retail management
Retail pos
Returns management
Returns tracking
Sales order management
Sales reports
Sales tax management
Sales trend analysis
Scheduling
Search/Filter
Serial number tracking
Shipping management
SKU/UPC codes
Stock management
Supplier management
Tax management
Third-Party integrations
Touch screen
Transaction history
Utilization reporting
Warehouse management
Work order management

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135

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Per month

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Windward System Five pricing

Value for money rating:

Pricing plans

Pricing details:

Free plan
Free trial
Subscription

System Five on Cloud with Partner Processing

135

/user

Per month

Features included:

  • 24/7 Live Customer Support
  • 2-Factor Authentication
  • Secure Cloud Backup
  • Updates Included
  • Windward Intelligence
  • Partner Credit Card Processing

System Five on Cloud Standard

149

/user

Per month

Features included:

  • 24/7 Live Customer Support
  • 2-Factor Authentication
  • Secure Cloud Backup
  • Updates Included
  • Windward Intelligence

System Five on Cloud Monthly

179

/user

Per month

Features included:

  • 24/7 Live Customer Support
  • 2-Factor Authentication
  • Secure Cloud Backup
  • Updates Included
  • Windward Intelligence

User opinions about Windward System Five price and value

Value for money rating:

To see what individual users think of Windward System Five's price and value, check out the review snippets below.

“Capable with inventory tracking, private customer data management, and invoicing.”
MB

Mason B.

Sales Associate

“The interface is good, we host on premises so performance is generally OK (after 20+ years our dataset is getting big and some reports are slow.)”
GH

Greg H.

Owner

Windward System Five integrations (7)

Integrations rated by users

We looked at 189 user reviews to identify which products are mentioned as Windward System Five integrations and how users feel about them.

Integration rating: 4.0 (2)

Payment Processor for credit card payments.

SW

Sal W.

Director Of Operations

WooCommerce logo
WooCommerce

Integration rating: 1.0 (1)

Integration rating: 5.0 (1)

Windward System Five customer support

What do users say about Windward System Five customer support?

Customer support rating:

We analyzed verified user reviews to identify positive and negative aspects of Windward System Five customer support.

A number of users highlight Windward's 24/7 support, quick response times, and knowledgeable, friendly staff.

Multiple users appreciate that support is accessible, offers effective solutions, and is dedicated to helping their business succeed.

A fair number of users report inconsistent support quality, with some techs lacking expertise or providing only temporary fixes.

Multiple users mention long wait times, expensive support fees, and challenges reaching the right person for urgent issues.

Support options

24/7 (live rep)
Knowledge base
Email/help desk
Phone support
Faqs/forum

Training options

Live online
Videos
Documentation
In person
Webinars

To see what individual users say about Windward System Five's customer support, check out the review snippets below.

“From finding customer to products ,it has a report for everything.”

BA

Bob A.

CFO

“fairly easy to use- good customer service -”

TM

Trina M.

Owner

“It then seemed the support workers did not know windward very well and I was brushed off or it would take a long time to resolve the issue. ”

HA

Heather A.

owner

“Development is out of control - one developer in one area will fix something but that will break 4 other things in other areas.”

GH

Greg H.

Owner

Windward System Five FAQs

Q. Who are the typical users of Windward System Five?

Windward System Five has the following typical customers:
Small Business, Freelancers

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Q. What level of support does Windward System Five offer?

Windward System Five offers the following support options:
24/7 (Live rep), Knowledge Base, Email/Help Desk, Phone Support, FAQs/Forum

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