POS software for restaurants does more than just process transactions. These powerful solutions give you a bird’s-eye view into your restaurant—even when you aren’t on site—so you can forecast, schedule and order more efficiently.
On the front end, POS software for restaurants empowers employees to do their jobs better, faster, and more accurately. In the back office, the right system can save hours by automating scheduling, payroll, inventory, and more. If you aren’t convinced, here are five reasons why you should implement POS technology this year:
Simplify Inventory Control
Inventory—ingredients and beverages—top the list of the costliest budget items for a restaurant. Bad decisions can cost big bucks in lost income and waste, so it’s smart business to monitor inventory levels, expiration dates, and reorder at the appropriate time. Knowing what ingredients you have in stock dictates the daily inventory cost—how many meals and which ones you can serve.
Inventory control (also called ingredient tracking) is an important safeguard that helps you stock more effectively to reduce waste, avoid buying ingredients you don’t need, and plan specials to use perishables before they have to be discarded.
This technology also tells you what menu items are selling out, what’s sitting around in the kitchen about to expire, and how quickly menu items are being sold. Generating ingredient tracking reports will give insight into customers’ dining preferences, which can be used as a guideline for menu planning.
Optimize Labor
Many people work in the restaurant industry, so it shouldn’t surprise you that labor costs restaurant owners some serious coin. POS software for restaurants that includes a labor scheduling platform can help you manage your workflow.
Labor functions can guide your decision-making on how many employees to schedule per shift, assign which jobs they’ll be doing and calculate the total cost of labor by the shift, day, week or month. The POS system’s clock in/out function accurately tracks attendance, hours worked and paid/unpaid breaks by requiring employees to punch in and out with an ID card, fingerprint, or security code, so employees cannot clock in or out for each other.
Many restaurant POS management systems include an integrated payroll module, so managers can review and submit payroll directly to the processor at the end of a pay period.
Create More Detailed Reports
Robust reporting functions included in a restaurant point of sale system are the key to managing your business efficiently and profitably. Choose POS software for restaurants that can generate detailed reports in a variety of easy-to-read, flexible formats (day, week, month or season).
Having this information available in a few clicks means employers can leverage these analytics to make better business decisions. Comprehensive sales, inventory, and labor data by the shift, day, week, pay period, month, or year can help you identify growth opportunities, plan smarter marketing promotions, menu plan for the highest profit margins and minimize waste.
Generating these reports will also reveal high margin vs low margin items and which selections people aren’t ordering, so they can be dropped from the menu. Using actionable data and analytics, you can make tangible changes that will improve your business, maximize efficiency and give your restaurant an edge over the competition.
Personalize the Customer Experience
People spend thousands of dollars a year on restaurant meals at more than a million eateries in the US. Diners will keep coming back if they feel valued, so it’s important to make a personal connection with every customer and recognize them when they return.
POS software for restaurants tracks the preferences, allergies, birthdays, and frequency of visits for your patrons, so you can reward loyal customers with freebies or coupons. Quick-service and fast-causal restaurants can boost their profits using loyalty programs, because people will visit more often if they know they will receive points or rewards in exchange for their business.
Be sure to choose restaurant POS software that includes a gift card option. These are easy gifts to give and receive, and they pay off in spades. Patrons with a gift card feel like they aren’t “paying” for their meal, so they’ll spend up to 40% more per ticket.
Complete Transactions
One of the most essential functions of the POS is to process transactions. Although the components of the system may change depending on the type of restaurant you own, make sure you choose a system that is easy to use. Complicated technology that requires a lot of clicks between screens, multiple steps to complete a sale, or too many peripherals like a keyboard or mouse can slow things down, frustrate staff and invite mistakes.
The restaurant industry is rapidly evolving and mobile POS is expected to be standard by 2030, so be sure any POS software for restaurants that you choose includes a mobility function so orders can be taken on a tablet device. Not only does this give you flexibility for the future, but it also provides security against loss or theft. POS software for restaurants empowers everyone in your staff to do their jobs better, faster, and more accurately, so your restaurant operates efficiently and profitably.
Focus POS has been a leading provider of POS software for restaurants for decades. Focus POS is installed at more than 15,000 restaurants worldwide, including Cold Stone Creamery, Carrabba’s Italian Grill, Bossa Nova and more. The company specializes in POS software for single-location restaurants and multi-location chains. For more information about Focus POS and how you can request a demo, please contact us.
