Most operators evaluating a new tool want to know what the setup actually involves before they click the button. What access do you need? Who do you need to involve? What does the setup feel like? What do you get at the end?
This is a straightforward account of the setup — step by step, what happens at each stage, and what you'll see when the first daily briefing appears. No surprises.
Before you start: what you'll need
The setup requires read-only access to two systems: your POS (for sales and transaction data) and your accounting or ERP (for cost of goods and supplier invoices). You don't need to change anything in either system, and marql never writes back to them.
For most POS systems — iiko, Poster, R-Keeper, Lightspeed, Shopify POS — read-only API access means generating an API key from the admin panel. This takes a few minutes and typically doesn't require your POS vendor's involvement. For accounting systems like SmartBill, Oblio, QuickBooks, or Xero, the same applies: a read-only API credential generated from the account settings.
If your system doesn't have a native API or isn't yet in the integrations list, a scheduled CSV export is a supported first connection path. Many operators start with an export and switch to a live API connection in a second step.
Who you'll need to loop in: typically your IT contact or accountant for five to ten minutes to generate credentials. That's usually the only external involvement the setup requires.
The setup step by step
Step 1: Create your account (2 minutes)
Register at platform.marql.one. You'll set up your organisation name, time zone, and default currency. No credit card required at this stage.
Step 2: Connect your first data source (15–30 minutes)
The guided setup walks you through connecting your first integration. You'll select your POS or accounting system from the supported list, enter the read-only API credentials, and trigger the first connection test. The setup confirms the connection is working and shows a preview of the data structure before the full sync begins.
For multi-location chains, all locations are detected automatically from a single POS connection — you don't configure each store separately.
Step 3: Add remaining integrations (same day or next day)
Once your first source is connected, add the second. If you connected your POS first, add accounting now (or vice versa). Each additional integration follows the same guided flow. You can do this in the same session or return the next day — partial data is available immediately from the first connected source.
Gross margin calculation requires both POS and accounting to be connected. Revenue, transaction data, and average receipt are visible from the POS alone.
Step 4: First sync completes
Once connected, marql runs the first historical sync — typically 90 days back, depending on your plan. For most POS systems this takes a few hours. For larger data volumes (many locations, longer history) it may take up to 24 hours. The sync happens in the background; you don't need to wait.
Step 5: First daily briefing appears
Once the first sync completes, your morning briefing appears. From that point, it updates every morning with the previous day's data across all connected locations.
The sequence in practice
Here's what the timeline typically looks like for a 5-location chain connecting iiko (POS) and SmartBill (accounting):
The longest step is usually collecting the accounting credentials, not the sync itself. How long the whole sequence takes depends on how many locations you run and how many systems are connected.
What you'll see in the first briefing
The first daily briefing contains:
- Revenue per location. Yesterday's total and a comparison to the same day last week — for each store separately, not just the chain total.
- Gross margin per location. Available once both POS and accounting are connected. Calculated automatically from sales vs cost data — you don't configure the formula.
- Average transaction value. Per location, with week-over-week context.
- Anomaly flags. Locations that underperformed their usual pattern, product categories that dropped out of sales, or average transaction shifts — flagged automatically, not manually configured.
The AI Copilot is available from day one of the briefing — it is included at every price point. You can ask "Which store had the best margin yesterday?" or "Are we on track for the month?" and get answers from your actual data.
For a full view of what the daily interface looks like, the dashboards overview shows every section. For the complete data flow from POS to briefing, the data flow page traces exactly how your data moves through the system.
Starting the setup
The self-serve setup is available at platform.marql.one. Pricing starts at €200/month per location, then a graduated per-location rate as the network grows — every price point includes the full platform. No setup fee, no long-term commitment at the start.
If you'd prefer to confirm your integration path before starting, or you have a non-standard POS or accounting system, the getting-started page covers what access you'll need in detail, and you can book a 20-minute walkthrough to connect your first source together.