Best Features Of A Restaurant POS System

What is a restaurant Point-of-Sale (POS) system? A restaurant POS system is the software and hardware, designed for the restaurant industry, that allows operators to track sales, process payments, manage inventory and bridge front-of-house and back-of-house communication.  A restaurant POS is a key piece of any hospitality operation from fast food, fine dining, quick service, to ghost kitchens, catering and everything in between. There are some purchasing considerations to think about before investing in a restaurant POS system. How much money are you willing to spend? How big is your restaurant? What hardware do you need?

POS Software Features: What To Look For

Speedy Interface: When you get busy on a Friday or Saturday, you can't afford to have a lagging system. Many of the systems on the market today are dependent on your internet speed. If you have slow internet, chances are you are going to have a slow POS. Make sure to find out if your system is internet based, local hardwire, or a hybrid.

Reporting:  Reporting and analytics tools ensure you always have detailed information on employee productivity, revenue, profit and loss, inventory, sales, credit card transactions, cost of goods sold, and more. This allows you to make informed decisions for your restaurant with accurate and real time data.

Table Management: Proper table management systems allow you to pace reservations, waitlists, and keep you updated in the moment you when tables are full or empty. What you want to look for is how easy and quick it is to do basic tasks such as placing orders, sending tickets to the kitchen, reordering drinks, quick check outs, etc.

Inventory Management: 34% of restaurants spend 2-3 hours a week managing stock. Stop wasting precious time and invest in a software that tracks stock, links recipes, and improves order efficiency. Some systems allow you to set minimum quantities so you can receive notifications when items meet this level, ensuring you never run out of ingredients. To ensure your restaurant's top dishes always have fresh ingredients, it is important to stay on top of your inventory!

Marketing: You can retain your restaurant’s customers and grow your customer base by leveraging gift cards, coupon redemptions, and new customer promotions. Look for a POS system that allows you to set up email marketing and automated campaigns to further promote your restaurant.

POS Hardware Options

You need the ideal hardware to go with your solution for your restaurant. Some hardware to consider:

Touchscreen monitor and tablet: You can manage and update menu items, find items, allocate seating, and send orders to the kitchen quickly.

Credit card readers: whether you get a PIN pad or card reader that customers can tap, swipe, or insert, is essential.

Cash drawers: ensure cash and change from a specific day, shift, or week, is stored in a secure cash drawer.

Receipt printers: ensure your customers have receipts with a handy receipt printer and changeable paper rolls.

Barcode scanners: barcode scanners or the restaurant industry would likely work for taking inventory of items or ingredients.

To learn about GoTab’s hardware here.

Implementing A New Restaurant POS System

Get the most value from your POS system by ensuring proper training on all functions and features for you and your staff before your launch.. Transitioning to a new POS system can feel daunting, but with intuitive, cloud based solutions you and your team can be quickly trained by your “go live” date.  Consider looking for other restaurant owners that have the same system you are looking at and see if they will let you see the system in action. With the rapid pace of technological advances and an atmosphere of constant change, it’s important to invest in a restaurant POS system that will “stand the test of time” to meet, and grow with, your restaurant’s needs.

GoTab's Restaurant POS System

To deliver the highest quality guest experience, restaurant operators need a POS system that helps them succeed.  From giving guests the freedom to choose how they want to order and pay to meeting constantly changing health and safety guidelines, savvy operators are searching for a way to turn a profit and keep their people safe and employed.

Now more than ever, restaurants need the flexibility to change on-the-fly, add and 86 items, and ensure you’re offering a menu that appeals to your guests. Communication between servers and kitchen staff is essential to optimizing a restaurant operation. Your restaurant POS should allow you to customize how your digital menu displays and support eCommerce capabilities. You should be able to add your own branding, photography, and even video, as well as: 

• Add and adjust categories, schedules, images and the order of the menu, merchandise, or grocery items. 
• Set up menu modifiers, standard tax, and default tip rates. 
• Enable, disable, or 86 items on demand. 
• Customize menu(s) by “zone” or on-premise location (i.e. patio, dining room, bar, takeout etc.)

Restaurants need a set of modern, low cost tools that help them acquire their own customers instead of relying on expensive third parties. The engine that fuels those tools is the first-party customer data, something  that legacy POS systems do not have. The best restaurant POS system supports access to first-party data for opted-in guests. You can use this valuable information to create a direct connection with your guests, which will save you time and money and improve your guests’ loyalty to your restaurant. 
To learn more about GoTab’s POS system, visit https://gotab.io/en/best-restaurant-pos-systems/