Like most – if not all – hospitality industry players, nightclub owners must invest in a variety of technologies if they are to prevent operating problems, grow their business and set their establishments apart from others in their area. Let’s take a look at four essential nightclub POS technologies you cannot afford to do without:
1. Age verification solution. Underage drinking is an increasingly common activity among minors—an activity that authorities have begun to address by conducting undercover stings designed to determine whether establishments are complying with state and federal liquor laws. Those found to be violating these laws and serving alcoholic beverages to underage patrons may face citations, fines, or loss of liquor license—all penalties that could adversely affect the proceeds of, or possibly close, even the most popular nightclub.
Such problems can be prevented by adding an age verification solution to your nightclub POS system. With such a solution in place, it’s easier to comply with liquor laws (and tobacco sales laws, for that matter) and minimize or eliminate the chance of allowing minors to consume liquor on your nightclub’s premises. Determining whether a customer is of legal liquor consumption age is simple: Servers need only swipe or scan the bar code on an individual’s license to determine whether or not he or she can legally be served any beverage that contains alcohol. Employees can also manually enter identifying information into the age verification component of the nightclub POS system to ensure that the patron in question is over 21 and is therefore of legal alcohol consumption age.
2. Integrated security cameras and digital video recorders (DVRs). When security cameras and DVRs are integrated with the nightclub POS system, it’s possible to record wait staff in the act of serving food and beverages to patrons and have the actual text of each order “superimposed” onto the recording. Should a transaction come under suspicion, it can be investigated further by rewinding the recorded footage on the DVR to the time the order was taken, then viewing the captured images and corresponding text.
3. Robust marketing technology. A comprehensive marketing program is a “must” for every nightclub because it’s a particularly valuable tool for reaching out to customers during slow periods. To maximize your marketing muscle, ensure that your nightclub POS solution has a component that allows you to communicate news about special events, VIP programs, and the like using email, texts, newsletters, and other social marketing vehicles.
4. Third-party liquor inventory control solution. A liquor inventory control solution can be integrated to easily track both the sale of alcohol sold in cans and bottles and ingredients for mixed drinks. The solution’s database can be used to store recipes for all cocktails, along with entered input from employees as to which specific brand and what quantity of liquor they use to prepare each drink. This yields bottle-level inventory information and, consequently, a tighter rein over your entire liquor stock.
Adding an inventory-tracking solution to your nightclub POS system also yields a measure of control to your operation via reports and individual server log-ins. Reviewing these reports and log-in records permits you to quickly identify which employees are over-pouring or serving drinks at no charge. Some inventory-tracking modules offer the option of setting minimum liquor inventory levels and automatically generating re-orders when these levels are insufficient.
Nightclubs can be very lucrative businesses, but they require nurturing and attention to detail. Operators must remain cognizant of whether patrons are truly old enough to consume alcohol and if employees are conducting themselves with honesty, as well as consistently engaging customers and keeping close tabs on inventory. A nightclub POS solution with the above four components gets the job done.
