Restaurants have to juggle between a lot of tasks including order collection, processing of orders, payment collection, service, inventory management, and housekeeping.
To ensure that everything goes smoothly on the floor and in the kitchen, restaurants have to streamline their information flow to perfection.
To achieve efficiency in the flow of information, a good restaurant POS software goes a long way. A POS software is fit to be used at restaurants if it meets certain requirements related to usage flexibility, comprehensiveness and automation.
A point of sale software can be used to undertake the following best practices that are widely followed among the best in the F&B industry:
Customer Database Creation
A POS software can be used to create a database of customer information. Contact details of customers should be added to the system at the time orders are placed or payments are made.
Customizable Menu
Your POS system should be flexible enough to enable you to customize your menu items, so that it truly reflects your brand.
Customization of POS is essential, especially if customers are given access to POS to place orders using on-table tablets.
Floor Plan and Order Mapping
You can often integrate your POS or use its comprehensive features to map orders to tables at restaurants and to customers.
This helps service staff to deliver right orders to right customers and improves efficiency in seating groups of guests eating together.
Data Analysis
Data collected about customer preference, walk-in, table occupancy rate at different times, inventory usage, staff efficiency, order delivery time, etc. can be gathered and analyzed with the help of your point of sale software for restaurants. This helps managers optimize staff, activities, prices and products to maximize output and revenue.
Hardware Independence
Most of the top restaurants are reducing their dependence on expensive and bulky hardware and going mobile with the help of POS software which can operate on mobile devices, too.
This hardware independence enables table-side order collection on tablets by staff or order placement by customers using on-table tablets. Customer apps can also be used to order food in restaurant or at home, while all order data is compiled in one restaurant POS software.
Inventory Management
Inventory usage, wastage and requirement can be assessed and managed using your POS. You can add details of inventory required to serve each menu item in the POS system, so that when orders are placed you are aware of the availability of inventory required to fulfil those orders.
This helps purchase staff to place orders of the right things at the right time. Future expected orders can also be estimated using data from the past, to place inventory orders.
Loyalty Program Management
You can offer rewards to your loyal guests on every purchase they make. You can issue loyalty points or extend discounts to customers who visit your restaurant again and again, to retain them for a long time and to encourage them to promote your restaurant among others.
Integration with Kitchen and Service Software
Orders placed at the POS should immediately be forwarded to kitchen and service software panels, so that all the departments who are fulfilling orders are on the same page. This improves efficiency and reduces wastage of resources.
With such comprehensive usage of your Restaurant POS Software, you can ensure that you are able to optimize use of your resources, improve customer retention, and maximize revenue.