The Importance of Having Proper Restaurant POS Equipment – Part II

For such a long time, most people thought of their POS system as a fancy cash register. With technology becoming more advanced, several innovations have become standard features within the POS industry. Here are a few more:

1. Employee Scheduling. Some restaurant POS packages includes a “staff scheduling” feature. You can expect to increase efficiency and dramatically reduce overall labor costs by controlling clock-ins and clock-outs, utilizing forecasting tools and control staffing levels. This smooth feature allows easy schedule access, unlimited shifts and multiple job positions for each employee. You are also able to tie in any number of security functions to any job position. Some of the packages even allows you to post schedule on a website and sends an email of the schedule to your staff automatically. Keep your labor costs in check and increase employee performance by managing time and attendance efficiently and effectively.

2. Software Upgrade Assurance or SUA. SUA is a software maintenance program that gives you a distinct advantage when purchasing a POS system. You are able to help stretch your investment and extend the usable life of your Restaurant POS system. Customers who are on an SUA plan will always have the most current software version. This basically keeps their POS system new. Whenever you receive a software upgrade it’s just like you’ve bought the latest POS system available with the newest, most up to date features your restaurant can greatly benefit from. The most current features of POS systems set ensures that you have the best possible ROI by allowing you to have a full advantage of the power the POS software offers.

Another very important feature of SUA programs is that no software purchase is required if you upgrade or replace a hardware. When hardware needs to be replaced there’s a drastically lesser cost for upgrading it.

These programs typically works on a yearly small fee to acquire their benefits. Ma customers are satisfied receiving the huge benefits of this program which helps your business reap the full return on your POS investment.

3. Restaurant Tip Handling. Some of the point of sale software products includes a tip tracking feature. Once a staff is set as a tipped employee, your POS system will require a tip declation before clock out. Servers and waiters who ring sales will have their total sales tracked. Tips collected through credit card sales are tracked and shown on the server closeout report. Before signing off, servers or waiters will be shown their total sales for the day, tips collected and then will be asked to declare their cash tips. This functionality will help you enforce tip regulations and manage the tracking declared tips, charge tips and hours worked for every tipped employee.

4. Customer Loyalty Programs! As the business owner you would like your restaurant POS system to provide accurate information on your customer’s number of visits, frequency of visits, their buying habits, entice repeat visits and purchases through reward programs. You are able to do all this while managing the programs and preventing “sweet hearting” by employees.

Some POS packages come standard with a frequent diner or customer loyalty package that does all these things and more. They utilize secure methods of tracking your guests and their buying habits. Establish a database of guest’s information with an account number. This number can be their phone number or any number system you want. However, the most popular and secured method is through magnetic cards with your restaurant logo on them. These cards can act as a simple reminder of your restaurant to your customers by having your business logo in their wallet or purse. The POS software will secure the reward programs you put in place and prevent your server or waiter from giving free food. Rewards are given only when earned through purchases, frequent visits or for items on your menu that you wish to highlight. The establishment of reward programs takes your employees out of the game and puts you in total control.

If you pay enough attention to your business needs, you will find that there are so many ways you can do to help run your restaurant more efficiently. So stop wasting more time and money relying on POS system that doesn’t work for you, instead focus more on what restaurant technology best suit your business needs.

Michael Cummings is Vice President of Customer Relations for POS-for-Restaurants.com. With over 20 years of restaurant experience, POS-for-Restaurants.com helps you use your technology to be more efficient and more profitable.