How to Spot a Bad POS at Your Restaurant

Reliable restaurant technology enables task automation so that time and effort are directed towards the more profitable aspects of your business.

In fact, 88% of restaurants say that technology has improved the efficiency of their business.

If you’re not noticing the same trend, you might be stuck with outdated restaurant technology, especially your POS system.

Whether you are a QSR, fine dining or a cloud kitchen – your POS system should unify your front of the house, back office, and kitchen operations. Having bad POS can have serious negative implications for your business.

So it’s time to leave the “If it’s not broken, don’t fix it” thought. If you identify with most of the below-mentioned signs, say goodbye to your old POS system.

1. Technologically incompatible

New features have come up to power the restaurant businesses. Technologies such as tablet billing, online ordering, table reservation, and online payment have improved restaurant operations. A technologically compatible system will come with all these features in-built or offer third-party integrations.

If your POS is not offering these updates, it’s time to look for more options like a POS that acts as a central unit of your business.

2. Weak or expensive integrations

Integrations connect your restaurant billing software with the rest of the operations and marketing functions. These are a few important restaurant integrations:

• Third-party platforms
• Delivery partners
• Payment gateways
• Customer relationship management (CRM)

They should work in sync with your POS system. Discuss these features with your software provider.

3. Your POS requires extensive training

With new staff members or even POS features being added every now and then, spending too much time in training can hamper your restaurant’s work. A clean, easy to operate and quick to learn interface should be provided to save your staff’s time.

In addition to that, quick video modules can be given by your software provider to refer to whenever needed.

4. Your POS system’s functionality doesn’t align with your requirements

There’s much more to POS today than just the basic billing functions. Businesses are continually changing. This means your POS system should be flexible to accommodate these changes. Be it cloud features or loyalty and feedback integrations – a modern-day POS should be able to offer all these functions.

If your business vision and needs don’t align with the features your POS offers, you need to pause and think.

5. Peak hours breakdown

Orders tend to spike up during weekends and on special occasions like cricket matches, festivals, etc. Your POS should be stress-tested to handle this spike. If you’ve been noticing a constant loss of business due to any POS problems, have a chat with your provider.

6. Lack of real-time mobile reporting

Data gives a clear picture of your business and increases efficiency. If your POS system cannot provide real-time reporting features, it’s an indication that you deserve better.

Look for a POS system that will give you access to valuable data. From sales and marketing to HR and reservations, you should be able to access all these reports through your system. Many systems now offer access to your data remotely, giving an anytime-anywhere look at your business.

7. Someone misses their order

As a restaurant owner, you need to spare your customers this bad experience. Besides the human error, if your POS is not showing customer orders at the right time for delivery, you could be using a bad system. Find a POS that relays orders within seconds and with no space for errors.

8.  Recurring thefts

If you cannot explain low profits then pilferage and thefts are frequently occurring at your restaurant. While a theft-free business might seem a distant dream, a functional POS system can help you check this. Real-time reports, tight control on the inventory and permissions to perform tasks can help you control thefts in a restaurant.

9. Your POS is keeping your servers away from guests

This means if your workers spend a lot of time clicking many dialogue boxes or guessing which button to press then it’s probably time you consider investing in a good restaurant billing software and POS system. This will result in keeping your customers as the first priority and also make your staff time cost-effective.

10. Your POS decides how your restaurant works

Your POS system should be quick to adapt to your requirements and not the other way round. Whether it’s a menu update or a feature request if you feel too stuck to work on your restaurant expansion plans due to lack of technology, consider shifting to a complete restaurant management system.

The right POS system, that works as one team with you can provide lots of positive results like:  

• Improved experience for your customers both – online and offline.
• Better management of your restaurant’s resources.
• Complete tracking of all activities and staff of your restaurant.
• Insights for the planning of your restaurant’s business goals.

Get a feature-rich restaurant POS

There is no denying that a functional POS system is an important factor for your success.

Imagine your restaurant like this:

The servers are efficient, tables are turned over faster, there is no lag between order and order submission, and fewer errors.

This is how your POS system should help your restaurant. If the case is different at your restaurant currently, don’t hesitate from making the switch. Research about different POS software and read about modern restaurant billing systems in the market, take demos as well as think about your needs. Then take a final call for a feature-rich POS. We wish your restaurant business all the luck.

from Feedster https://www.feedster.com/business/how-to-spot-a-bad-pos-at-your-restaurant/