If you don’t already have a POS system in your restaurant, you’ve probably at least thought about installing one. If you still haven’t come to a decision, consider this: In today’s tough business climate, a POS system is no longer just a want – it’s a need. Here’s why:
1. A POS system streamlines communication between the front (wait staff) and the back (the kitchen) of a restaurant. Transmitting orders to the kitchen through the POS system – rather than doing it manually – saves a significant amount of time. The faster orders are received, the faster they can be filled, thereby increasing table turnover at restaurants and minimizing waits in line at quick-service establishments.
Additionally, kitchen staffs make far fewer food preparation errors when orders are sent to kitchen personnel via a POS system rather than in the manual fashion. It might not be notable at first, but a fewer number of errors will equal less wasted food/ingredients.
2. A POS system reduces theft, shrinkage, and waste. With a POS system in place, restaurant operators can track ingredients as well as the sale of food and beverages. This minimizes theft and shrinkage by dissuading employees from consuming food without paying for it, taking ingredients home for their personal use, or offering unauthorized discounts to their friends and family.
In addition, utilizing a POS system to keep tabs on ingredients puts a lid on waste. The system can be set to generate orders based only on pre-defined parameters, preventing over-purchasing.
3. A POS system simplifies labor-related tasks. Many POS systems feature labor management modules that facilitate employee scheduling to meet a resta
Your restaurant POS system will also let you monitor labor costs and percentages, as well as to easily determine how tips should be allocated—meaning fewer headaches for you. Additionally, because the software tracks how and when labor resources are used, you can ensure that you’re not wasting money by scheduling too many employees for any given shift, or compromising the quality of customer service by scheduling too few. By viewing historical sales data and forecasting future sales, you’ll be able to create an optimal schedule for each shift and pay period.urant owner’s requirements and other requests (for example, a server’s request for a certain night off). These modules also turn the POS system into a time clock, allowing for the use of passwords and, sometimes, biometric recognition to ensure that employees do not clock in for each other.
What’s more, most POS systems interface with commonly used accounting programs. This eliminates the need to transfer data from one system to another, saving time and increasing accuracy.
4. A POS system offers additional layers of security. Today’s POS software must be compliant with the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS). The standard contains measures for protecting sensitive payment and related data against data breaches, which are becoming increasingly common.
More security for data is provided by features like biometric readers (for instance, fingerprint readers) and hardware that reads individual employee identification cards. These features control access to the POS system and, in certain cases, track who is using it, when it is being used, and for what purpose. Restaurant operators can even program the software to allow different levels of access to the system for themselves, for managers, and for employees.
There’s no denying that a POS system represents a major investment for restaurant operators. But given the capabilities described above, it’s an investment well worth making.
