Comparing back office and register
PDI and Gilbarco are often put side by side, but they usually sit in different layers of a site. This guide explains what each is generally used for, where they overlap, what to ask each vendor and what your books need either way. We give no verdict.
Works with your POS, back-office & accounting stack
Gilbarco makes fuel dispensers and the Passport register, which Gilbarco says works with dispensers of any brand. PDI is best known for back-office software that totals the day and reports it. They can run on the same site, so compare the same layer and ask each vendor what yours would replace.
By the FuelCFO team. Where this page describes a vendor's product, the details come from the vendor's own public descriptions and can change, so confirm them with the vendor. Figures in diagrams are illustrative.
Owners search for this comparison when they buy a site, replace equipment or get a quote that mentions both names. The comparison is easier once you split a site into layers, because the two vendors do not always compete. We do not sell either one, we are not affiliated with them and we do not rank them. The facts here come from each vendor's own descriptions, and products change, so confirm current details with the vendor.
A fuel site has dispensers at the pumps, a register at the counter, a back office that totals the day and reports it, and your books in QuickBooks Online. Gilbarco is best known for the first two. PDI is best known for the third. If you are asking which one to pick, first decide which layer you actually want to change.
Gilbarco Veeder-Root makes fuel dispensers and the Passport point-of-sale platform. Gilbarco says Passport works with dispensers of any brand. Ask what back-office reporting comes with your Passport plan, because that is the part that overlaps with what PDI does.
PDI Technologies sells back-office software that totals sales by department, tender and fuel grade, shows lottery and gives you the expected deposit. It also sells other products, so check which PDI modules you use today. We do not set up or change any of it.
A site can have Gilbarco dispensers and a Passport register while PDI handles the back office. It can also run the other way. What matters is that the parts are confirmed to work together before you sign, and that someone is named to support each one when a total does not agree.
The overlap is reporting. If your register vendor offers back-office reports and you also pay for PDI, you may be paying twice for the same job, or you may have two sets of daily totals that disagree. Ask both vendors which reports are the official ones for your books.
To see the layers side by side, go to the layer table. To see where a comparison or a change goes wrong, go to where it goes wrong. If you want a team to keep the books steady through a change, what we do covers it.
We look at reports from each system and tell you whether the totals map cleanly to your accounts.
If two systems report the same day, we help you settle which one the books follow.
If you change a layer, we agree a switch date and save the last reports from the old one.
We update how departments and tenders feed QuickBooks after a change.
We earn nothing from either vendor, so we only comment on the books.
Decide whether you are changing the pumps, the register, the back office or more than one.
Decide whether you are changing the pumps, the register, the back office or more than one.
The layer decides who you should ask.
Which PDI modules you pay for and which Gilbarco equipment you run.
Which PDI modules you pay for and which Gilbarco equipment you run.
Your representatives can each list this for you.
What it replaces, what it needs, who supports it and what it costs in total.
What it replaces, what it needs, who supports it and what it costs in total.
Ask for answers in writing.
The same day in each system's own reports, so you can compare like with like.
The same day in each system's own reports, so you can compare like with like.
Differences in totals show where reporting will change.
We check which ones map to your books cleanly.
We check which ones map to your books cleanly.
We tell you what each would change for reconciliation.
That part is yours to weigh, with the books answer in hand.
That part is yours to weigh, with the books answer in hand.
We do not sell or rank either.
Products and plans change. Confirm current details and compatibility with each vendor and your fuel supplier.
A register vendor is judged against a back-office vendor.
Both systems report the day and nobody decides which one the books follow.
Back-office reporting is bought from two vendors for the same job.
A demo shows lottery or fuel reports, but not in the form your books need.
Sales for the changeover day are posted twice or not at all.
Dispensers, registers and installation land in repairs.
You are checking what equipment and software come with it.
You have quotes that mention both names.
You want to know which system does what.
You want your options before agreeing.
Not sure what you have? Your PDI and Gilbarco representatives can each list it.
Start with a 30-minute call. Then we spend roughly 48 hours reviewing your books and tell you what we see, free.
We compare reports from the systems you are weighing.
If you change a layer, we run the books through it.
Fuel reports from either system matched to deliveries and margin.
5 services →Store, lottery and vendor figures that map the same way in either system.
9 services →Tax totals checked on a sample before you commit to a change.
4 services →Buying a site or upgrading one, with equipment costs recorded and the changeover handled.
3 services →FAQ
More guides on the same system, or send us a day or a month for a free review.
Monthly bookkeeping for stores that run PDI: daily reconciliation, month-end close and PDI totals posted into QuickBooks Online.
Read more →How we find the first bad day, fix the map and close the months.
Read more →What each is generally used for, how to choose, and what your books need either way.
Read more →Send us a day or a month and we'll show you where the three systems disagree.
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