POS features help to serve up success
A POS system is a computer based technology, which is used for recording financial data and entering orders. It can be used in place of traditional money tills in restaurants. The restaurant cashiers can benefit and avail from POS system in order to keep the system organized and to record data.
A POS system consists of many stations like credit card terminals, display screens, server stations, and receipt printers. All these can be linked by a single software and it is more efficient, accurate and convenient in rush hours. It has many capabilities and functions.
It can keep a record of the items sold
It can calculate the cash for each separate order
It can generate payroll data automatically
It can differentiate between separate methods of payments
It can create hourly or daily sales report and based on the preference it can be adjusted
It can keep a track of the cash in the register
It helps restaurants to keep a track of loyal and regular customers
It also allows the employees to check in and out. It can help to keep a track of them
Restaurants come in many varieties and each of them has its different needs. It can make the actual purchase decision and researching for a system even harder. There are many things that a restaurateur should look for like quick service, fine dining while choosing the restaurant POS software. Five POS features that every restaurateur owner needs to do.
Marketing
Now marketing is based on the internet presence for restaurants, particularly social media. For this, you need a well-done website which will offer relevant information to all the visitors like menus, hours, links, contact info to associated social media sites. Social sites are like the heart and soul of an effective marketing campaign. One more way is to gather customer information like email addresses in order to reach out through a direct marketing campaign. The restaurant POS should have some features which will allow the restaurateurs to market the customers' whole database in real time. It is a good idea to make an immediate impact on the restaurant business.
Speed/Ease of use
One of the most important things in a restaurant business is speed. It includes hands, feet and decision making. It is very annoying if you have a slow system. The idea of speed in restaurant POS helps to extend to an intuitive layout, ease of use and also fast hardware. Few seconds here and there can make an impact on the service, the drinks, the food and the profitability of an establishment.
Technical support
A good support from the restaurant POS provider cannot be overstated. If you have ever worked in a restaurant environment, then you know the panic that ensues if the system has gone down. A web-based system has a big advantage as a support team member can immediately dial into the system and start the triage. You should have good support staff for the non-panic times. Software upgrades, ongoing training, credit card help and initial setup are some few of them that support helps the restaurateurs with. Often it is overlooked, but responsive and reliable support from the POS provider is the key to restaurant’s success and also its sanity.
Inventory
Though inventory is not the most important or glamorous side of the business, but it is a necessity if the restaurateurs are in a head to head competitive space. It is easy to control and input through a system is invaluable to keep an eye on these usually thin margins. So you should have a restaurant POS system with inventory management system which will allow you to keep a track of the ingredients and items that are sold. It goes a long way and ensures long-term success and profitability.
Reporting
Having a system where the manager or owner has numeric insight into its business is important. The sales by item, department hour, etc., labor costs, food costs and how many new customers have come are some few KPIs (Key performance Indicators) a good restaurant POS should provide. One more thing that you should consider is the web-based system. It has an advantage in reporting KPIs. It can offer real-time reporting and analytics features no matter where are you in the world.