What is a Restaurant POS?
It's the cash register and credit card machine right?
While this isn't wrong, and the cash register system and payment processing machine are vital parts of a Restaurant POS System, a modern POS system can bring so much more to your business. A Restaurant POS System is composed not only of hardware but also software, both specially designed to handle the transactions as well as the workflow of your restaurant.
Whether you are operating a fine-dining restaurant, the family diner on the corner, a fast food joint or a pizza delivery service, a POS system is an essential investment.
Would your time better be served sitting in the back room counting inventory, or coming up with the greatest recipe for clam chowder in the world?
Does pouring over sales figures trying to get an idea if things have been " getting better" over the last few months sound like an efficient use of your time? Wouldn't you rather review automatically generated reports clearly showing sales and costs trends, so that you can concentrate on planning for the future?
What does a restaurant POS do?
A modern restaurant POS system becomes the hub of your business, connecting sales, inventory, customer data and supplier data onto one software platform, providing you with the necessary tools to make informed decisions.
Having the right Restaurant Point of Sale System in place has consistently been proven to:
- Improve efficiency and accuracy
- Reduce costs
- Increase customer satisfaction
- Improve sales
Happy customers come back
Unless you're the only restaurant in town, customers don't generally return to restaurants that leave a bad taste in their mouth (and I'm not talking about the food). Long lines, order mess-ups, and a disorganized uninformed staff can send your most valuable resource – your customers – to the restaurant across the street.
How does a POS System speed up orders, reduce errors and create a more competent staff?
A POS system is the link between the front staff and the kitchen staff. The employee taking orders at a fast food restaurant taps the order into the POS system, and it shows up on the Kitchen Display System (KDS). This speeds up order communication to the kitchen, reduces errors (the customer is getting what they paid for) and even tracks how long each order takes to prepare.
The same benefits can apply to a fine-dining restaurant. In addition, the handheld POS system can include information customers frequently request, such as the ingredients of the dishes and suggested wine-pairings. The POS system can be set up with notifications of what is sold out, and suggested products to up-sell with each item ordered, current promotions and more. Information all at your fingertips makes for an efficient customer experience.
The right Restaurant POS System can also track employee hours, time slots and performance so that weak areas may be improved. Peak hours are easily identified with the data collected so scheduling the right people at the right times becomes much easier.
But Wait, It Can Do More
Optimize Menu Prices and Run Promos
Your restaurant is famous for its Greek Salad but the cost of feta cheese is sky-rocketing. What do you do? With the right Restaurant POS software you can easily see your actual margins on your separate menu items. You can also see what items on your menu are the most profitable (these aren't always the best-selling items). So, you can either adjust the price of the Greek Salad which might upset your regulars, or run a promotion on a more profitable item. You realize that the Hawaiian pizza is the most profitable! So you use your POS System to run a promotion on the Hawaiian Pizza (pretty much setting the discount, time frame, and pressing go). The promotion is a great success at shifting attention to a menu item that makes you more money. Even your regular customers are ordering the pizza now (even if it is a sin to put pineapple on a pizza).
Employee management
As mentioned above, the POS system can track workers hours (functioning as a time clock) as well as help with scheduling. It can also assist in security as the POS system can be set up so that transactions can be tied back to specific employee. And access to certain POS features can be granted to only certain employees, such as the ability to alter or void transactions, give rebates or freebies.
Accurate Inventory Tracking
Inventory barcode labels are recorded with a barcode scanner upon receipt and the Restaurant POS software tracks the inventory, from order sent to the kitchen, and then through final invoicing. Even an extra order of bread would need to be requested through the POS system to the kitchen printer and KDS. While most of the time, " missing a few dinner roles" may be simply good customer service, a good POS system assists in reducing the chance of items missing for less innocent reasons. Over 75% of restaurants claim significant loss attributed to employee theft, often at a rate of over 3% of sales. With the data in your hands, the problem can be identified and corrected quickly.
And that really isn't all it can do
- Create Loyalty Programs
- Collect customer data to create targeted marketing programs that actually work
- Measure marketing campaign results
- Send receipts direct to customer emails
- Create floor plans in real-time (are the customers at table 7 actually spending any money?)
- Run detailed reports
- Streamline integration of online ordering (Uber, Door Dash, Grub Hub, etc.) and mobile payments
- Seamless integration with accounting software
Should you buy a Restaurant POS system?
We understand that a restaurant POS system does not require the same elements as a retail point of sale system, that even selecting the right barcode label printer, cash drawer or restaurant menu software can have a big impact on your business. POS Systems are not a one-size-fits-all solution, just like your business is not like everyone else's.
PointOfSalePOS.com guides you in selecting the right POS System and elements for your unique business. Committed to providing the hardware, software and guidance to ensure a seamless integration, PointOfSalePOS.com has the expertise and experience to help you grow your business.
We take care of your POS, so you can take care of your customers.