The technological heart of your business, Point of Sale systems are essential. From food trucks to big-time breweries, a POS system is a must-have to accept credit and debit payments and offer more than just basic cash transactions. POS systems come in as many different flavors as there are businesses. They act like computers and can efficiently record all your transactions, print checks, track inventory, text and email receipts, analyze customer and sales data, do invoicing and inventory, and help manage employees and many other functions
Some POS systems are extremely versatile; others are hyper-focused on providing excellent but specific types of service. In a market full of point-of-sale providers, it can be hard to decide which option is best suited to grow your business.
So, what does your POS say about your business?
How Employees Use POS Systems
Keep in mind that each system works differently and that user processes will differ depending on restaurant type and service style. In a quick-service restaurant, the employee will read the total charge on the POS display and immediately collect payment from the customer.
In a full-service business, the server will bring a check, wait for payment, then enter it into the POS when the customers are finished. A POS system that requires extensive training may not be worth the time. Not only will it frustrate employees, but it will slow down the speed of service for customers. Be sure the orders are easy to read and understand. In a busy kitchen, there is no time for mistakes.
Where You Set Up Your POS
A standard touchscreen display monitor is needed at any POS. From traditional computer displays to mobile devices such as smartphones and tablets, the display is the beginning. Still, your POS may consist of multiple stations, credit card terminals, receipt printers, and hostess stations and server stations as well. Having a POS system in place can add convenience, accuracy, and save time in complicated situations.
Where your position, your POS is another vital part of making your system work for you. Depending on your business’s layout and service style, your screens can be located in many different places around the restaurant. For quick-service or fast-casual restaurants, the POS systems are usually located in a visible place, often close to the front doors of the restaurant.
In a full-service restaurant, the POS is usually located in a discreet location so as not to interfere with the ambiance or the dining experience. With the advent of touchscreens, mobile and tablet payment systems, and NFC (near-field communication) technology (which enables contactless payments through mobile wallets such as Apple Pay), consider which user-friendly options work best for your business.
How You Customize Your POS
Your POS should work for your specific location out-of-the-box, especially if your operation has any special requirements. However, if it doesn’t, your POS provider can typically configure the software. New and established businesses may wish to incorporate POS capacities and record phone numbers, email addresses, or order information, such as check average per table or party size.
Do you plan to take your hospitality to the next level? Your POS can also build a database of customer information. Later, in your direct marketing campaigns, you can use this information to personalize your promotions and tailor them to specific types of customers.
To POS Or Not
The type of POS system that works best for your establishment depends entirely on whatever your business needs to run like a well-oiled machine. Fine dining and traditional restaurants may opt for a system that increases functionality to overall improve the time that staff engages with the customer, or use a POS with marketing and database information to improve and track patrons.
Casual restaurants, bars, and breweries may look to systems that split-checks and handle parties of various sizes, sell merchandise, and aid with employee management and scheduling. Food trucks, take-out spots, and catering outfits may choose customer-facing displays that offer quick payment options and email receipts to keep on-the-go transactions timely and conserve paper.
Well, here are three reasons to:
Decrease in Employee Theft
Employee theft in restaurants is a real deal, with records showing that employees commit approximately 75% to 85% of all restaurant theft, it doesn’t take long before the numbers begin to stack up. N the average, research shows that restaurant theft wrongly accounts for up to 4% of restaurant sales. Shrinkage – liquor lost due to spill or waste – can account for about 25% of alcohol sales.
Restaurant POS is the surest to combat employee theft – this simple yet effective system, when implemented into the operations of any restaurant business, leads to an increase in actual sales, in different ways.
First, a POS system will ensure that all ordered items have a track record. For example, for something as basic as getting a BLT with extra bacon from the kitchen, it has to be recorded by the barista it into the POS.
Add astute record-keeping with security settings that restrict staff member access to a certain level in a system based on their position or task at hand, and you have a restaurant business that’s less likely to fail.
Lastly, a restaurant POS can keep a track on restaurant inventories, ensuring sales report matches your inventory report. Your POS can also have integrations like LAVU that provide a wide array of options and customizations to track various items in the restaurant, drinks, and liquor inclusive, thus helping you cut down on shrinkage costs.
Boost Customer Retention
With an inhouse POS system, you can create loyalty programs that reward regular customers; this encourages them to keep coming back and to remember to bring their friends!
While loyalty programs are not specific to POS systems only, as there are a ton of platforms, both old and new, that run such some of which include physical punch card, whit POS, however, it’s a lot more efficient and different. The loyalty program is integrated right into the POS system; this system holds the record of every customer that patronizes your restaurant; hence, it makes it easy to track customers’ records and effectively pick the most deserving customers to be rewarded.
POS systems like the one created distributed by LAVU POS have built-in mobile payments, so customers can preload dollars on their account, these dollars are programmed for sales only your venue and work as instant payments when your customers visit
Create Targeted Marketing Campaigns
You can generate targeted marketing campaigns using the info from the database collected by your POS system; these target campaigns can be tailor to meet your customers’ individual preferences.
For any business restaurant, inclusive, customized marketing campaigns are a great tool to have and implement. Customers always love to be recognized, and having tailored offers that meet specific needs is one way to go about it.
Finally, many POS systems such as Lavu are designed to respond to the correlating environment with customizable options, including languages. With options that keep you ahead of the curve, there’s no end to what your POS system can say for you.