Guide on How to Find the Right POS for Your Restaurant

There are things that you need to know and steps that you must follow when looking for the right point-of-sale (POS) software and systems for your restaurant business. The right POS package can guarantee that the way you operate your restaurant is going to be easier than before. Of course, an upswing in revenue and the growth of your restaurant is also guaranteed in this scenario.

There are hundreds of POS software and systems for restaurants available in the market, making it a daunting task to look for the best one. The number just keeps on growing as technology develops, widening the range of POS solutions that you could choose from. Also, the evolution of high-tech mobile devices modernized a lot of traditional and modern types of restaurant business operations.

Given the number of solutions to choose from, how can you determine the specific package that will achieve the maximum potential of your restaurant? In order to answer that question, here are the important factors that you need to consider when looking for the best restaurant POS package:

Essential Features of POS

The cornerstone of a restaurant’s success depends on the excellence of the food they serve and the efficient delivery of customer service. However, these can easily be overlooked if an established business infrastructure that includes a point of sales system is not adopted. Beyond its method of taking orders and ringing up sales, POS systems provide overall control on every single operational aspect of your business. Click here for more information on how a POS system benefits small businesses.

The following are some of its benefits that need to be considered when deciding on picking the right POS system.

1. Sales Monitoring. POS systems are capable of monitoring volumes of sales even to the last money. This makes reconciling the register every end of a business day quicker and error-free. This software also gives you the opportunity to view menu items that are best selling and menus that need to be taken away from the list.

2. Processing of Credit and Debit Card. When using a POS system, it takes away the need for another system that will cater to credit/debit processing. As a result, transactions become more secured and easy. It is, likewise, important that these systems are EMV-compliant card readers since the EMV payment standard is already implemented since October 2015.Non-compliant business owners may face possible huge losses on account of fraud liability.

3. Point-of-Sales Security. POS security is the capability of the system to prevent unauthorized access of third parties that attempts to get a certain customer’s information. For instance, their credit card information, thus considered data theft. With the use of a restaurant POS system, the restaurant staff will be accountable for all the sales they bring up using their personal ID.

4. Staff and Payroll Management. With a restaurant POS system business owners and managers will be able to monitor their servers and staff. It allows you to check the time-in and out based on their assigned schedules. This way, it is easier to track your staff as well as their hours and to make their payroll.

5. Inventory Management. Using a restaurant POS system gives you the capacity to make inventory management even easier and error free. It is a real-time tracking feature that ensures monitoring food usage possible. It also lowers the potential shortages and minimizes situations of over ordering.

6. Remote Access and Monitoring. A lot of the popular POS system products give business owners and managers the capacity to remotely log in using the internet. It lets them monitor sales, usage of inventories and the kind of attitude and customer relations their team provides. This feature is crucial in determining and evaluating any type of issues that may negatively affect your business.

7. Financial Statements: Finally, this is probably the most critical out of all the features that a POS system offers as it monitors your business’ sales and expenditures. In turn, it makes it easy for you to prepare and review periodic profit and loss statements.

Different Types of POS System According to Food Establishment Category

One of the restaurant’s software needs are different from another.This is why it is important that you consider the kind of food service you are managing. Then match it up with the kind of software that will best contribute to the growth of your business. There are two (2) basic categories of food service establishments: Quick Service Restaurant (QSR) and Full-Service Restaurant.Below are some of the types of POS system that caters to each of the categories:

Quick Service Restaurants

1. POS System for Bakeries

This system should feature a highly customizable feature that is aimed in effectively advertising the bakery’s identity and menu selection. With this, bakeries will also be able to achieve a paperless environment making it easier to monitor special orders and delivery schedules. It also monitors sales and costs as well as modernizes the business’ accounting methods.

2. POS System for Coffee Shops

With this kind of POS system, baristas and coffee shop cashiers will find it easier tocheck customer’s orders. Since the system streamlines this method through on screen prompts and verifications. It also features options for multiple payments that include cash, credit and debit card while effectively improving staff management and payroll procedures.

3. POS for Fast Food Restaurants

As the name of this category suggests, everything must be quickly done. In order to do this, a POS system that is solely intended for this should be able to ensure that customer orders areaccurately processed.

Full-Service Restaurants (FSR)

1. POS System for Pubs and Bars

Using this specific POS system, the exact amount of the customer’s order is automatically deducted from the establishment’s inventory. This effectively eliminates situations where bartenders get confused over how much stock is still on hand.

2. POS System for Chinese and Japanese Restaurants

With the various food selections that a Chinese restaurant has, this system is effectively customized so that each menu variation is assigned a specific key. It makes processing of customer orders swift and precise. Also, some of the best restaurant POS systems provide a multi-language interface that makes staff process orders in English or Chinese and Japanese languages.

How to Choose POS Package

With all of the above mentioned features and types of POS system, making a decision would seem like a rather tedious job, especially so that involves the success of your business. However, there are really no secrets in making a decision, what is there are steps that you need to take. And listed below are some of the things you need to know before you make that first move:

1. Conduct a Research. This is the most important factor in your decision-making process that could highly guarantee you that you could find that right POS package for your restaurant. Conducting research results in having a factual basis for your decision as it increases your knowledge when it comes to identifying areas that are in need of improvements and what you need to do to get it all sorted out.

2. Determine What your Restaurant Needs. Assessing the general status of your business will get you to the point. Meaning, you can ultimately determine what it is that you need to further grow your restaurant and research about the solutions that you could possibly utilize to help you reach your goal.

3. Review your Options. Conducting a research that determines what you need minimizes all the risk involved in making a decision. It also narrows the list of option down to what is relevant and to what you needand from there you could start making reviews of all the options that’s left until you find that best restaurant POS system.

4. Make A Decision. Now, you have gathered all the facts that are essential in moving your business forward. You are now equipped with a strong basis and can be clear about making that wise decision. It will also give you the confidence that the POS system you are going to utilize will create a significant impact on your entire operation.

Gone are the days when restaurants use receipt pads and cash registers. Currently, some of the most successful businesses already depend on of the efficiency and effectiveness of a POS system. It enables them to boost their profits and monitor their accounting processes. With the implementation of theright POS system in your business, you can rest assured that your food business will be taken to the next level.

For the best restaurant point-of-sale systems based on client reviews, check out Crowdreviews.com to further give you more insight on what works and what did not work for their businesses.