A full shop system, billing through purchases, inventory, GST returns and reports, is a Windows habit in India. The desktop packages most shops know publish Windows-only system requirements, and what they offer a Mac owner is a workaround: a Windows machine rented in the cloud, or a compatibility layer to imitate one on your own hardware.
If you run your shop from a Mac you know what those cost. A rented cloud PC is a monthly bill that never ends, and your books live on someone else's machine at the other end of an internet connection; the day the connection is down is the day you cannot bill. A compatibility layer means maintaining two operating systems on one computer, and explaining to every new staff member why the billing screen lives inside a pretend Windows box.
Layerdots ERP installs onto macOS directly. It is not a web page, not a wrapper and not a remote desktop. It is the same shop system we ship for Windows, built for the Mac.
What native means here
- Built for your chip. There are two separate builds, one for Apple silicon Macs (M1 and newer) and one for Intel Macs. Each runs on its own architecture directly, with no translation layer in between.
- Notarised by Apple. Both builds are signed and notarised, so macOS opens them without security warnings. Installing is the usual Mac routine: open the downloaded file, drag the app into Applications, done.
- Mac keys. On Windows the fast keys are F2, F3 and F10. On a Mac those keys change the brightness and open Mission Control, so on macOS the app uses ⌘F, ⌘N and ⌘S instead, and ⌘← goes back. Small things, but they are the difference between an app that was ported and one that was finished.
- Updates itself. When a new version ships, the app downloads it in the background and installs it on the next restart, the same auto-update Windows customers get.
The database stays on the Mac
Layerdots is local-first on every platform. The shop's database is in a folder inside Documents on your own computer: bills, stock, customers, all of it readable and backupable by you. Billing, inventory, reports and backups work with no internet at all. Cloud sync exists, but it is optional and off until you switch it on; until then nothing leaves the machine.
The same shop on Windows and Mac
The Mac app is the same application as the Windows one, using the same database format. A shop backed up on a Windows PC restores on a Mac, and the other way round. If the shop runs a Windows till today and you want the accounts on the MacBook at home, that is a backup and a restore, not a migration.
There is no separate Mac edition and no second price. A Layerdots plan is the same plan on Windows and on macOS. One thing to know before you move a shop between machines: a licence key can be issued for one particular computer, and a key like that is tied to it, so tell us before the move rather than after.
The phone app pairs with the Mac exactly as it does with a Windows PC: the same QR code on the screen, the same shop WiFi. Bills from the counter, stock lookups from the aisle, and a photograph of a supplier's invoice that turns into items on the Mac.
Which build to download
Open the Apple menu and choose About This Mac. If it names an M-series chip (M1 or newer), take the Apple silicon build. If it says Intel, take the Intel build. Both are on the download page, and the 7-day trial is the same as on Windows, with no online account and no card.