POS Systems | A guide on what to expect from a POS system for Restaurants

Basics about Point of Sale Systems for Restaurants.

Running a business requires a range of administrative, management, and marketing skills. To ensure a smoothly functioning company, we need a restaurant point of sale system that complements our requirements.

A point of sale or point of purchase system is where the customers pay for their goods or services. 

Considering the vast number of point of sale systems out in the market to choose from selecting a POS system can be overwhelming.

Introduction to POS

A point of sale system is considered a critical component of any retail or hospitality business. It records the financial transaction between the customer and the company and other information like sales reports, updating stock levels, and identifying their choices.

Having a restaurant POS system depends on the kind of business that you're running, as the requirements differ for each company. But before you start searching for a POS that suits you, you need to know about the two main kinds of POS systems that are widely available. 

1. On-Premise Point of Sale System
2. Cloud-Based Point of Sale System 

Types of POS

On-Premise POS:

This type of point of sale system is where you make a one-time purchase for the POS system and its license key. They are generally offline-based solutions that don't require the Internet for it to work. On-Premise restaurant POS systems are outdated since you don't get support anymore from the software provider. They also charge a lot up front, and it is very hard for you to switch services if you don't like what they offer. The other drawback about the On-Premise system is that they have no means of upgrading their software in the long run. The reports stored can only be accessed locally, and they offer very little in terms of decisions that the business owner can take based on them. 

Cloud-Based POS:

The advent of internet services has swiftly changed the landscape of the way Point of Sale Systems work. Cloud-Based POS systems are the norm in the current market, and they don't require software to be installed in the offline terminal. The other advantage of Cloud-Based POS is that the user can access it on any device. Opting for this service requires you to pay a monthly subscription fee to the service provider and not a considerable upfront cost like the other one. You also get lifetime updates and constant support from the service provider. Managing a Cloud-Based Point of Sale system is a seamless and straightforward task. You don't need a lot of workforces to handle it. 

Flexibility is a significant advantage for Cloud-Based POS systems as they offer generous support to the consumers. 

Components of a POS system

Several key elements go into running a seamless and fluidly working Retail Management System(RMS). Generally, they are divided into two categories.

1. Hardware Components
2. Software Components

Hardware Components of a POS 

The hardware Components of the Point of Sale system help facilitate the transaction between the customer and the business. They are the following:

Terminal/Tablet: The POS terminal or a tablet depending upon the requirements, is the primary hardware from which we can access the software. There are many kinds of hardware out there. Touch Screen terminals are on the uptrend these days as they allow for easy access and quick service to the customer. A tablet can also be used besides the primary POS terminal as the captain or waiter can carry it anywhere. 

Barcode Scanner: A Barcode Scanner can be helpful in scanning items and automating the checkout process. They come in handy when you are selling items like baked bread, cupcakes, etc., which are prepared ahead of time and packaged already. They also interact with the stock management system, and automatically the levels will fluctuate. 

Card Reader/ Payment Processing Machine: Having a payment processing system is vital to running a business. It provides the customer the choice to choose from the different types of methods available. A secure card reading machine that is EMV compliant is now the industry standard and pretty much there in all locations.

Receipt Printer: Printing the bill or KOT in restaurants is another essential component of the Point of Sale System. Even though we're moving towards E-receipts, we still have to produce a copy of the bill to the customer. 

Cash Drawer: In this ever-changing world where we're slowly moving towards a cashless economy, the majority of people still tend to use cash. Having a cash drawer cuts down on many problems, and when people tender with money, there are no associated card fees with it. 

Broadband:  Going with a Cloud-Based POS system requires us to have a stable broadband connection that provides the Internet for all the devices running the POS off their devices. To ensure that the kitchen receives the orders seamlessly, we need to have a printer connected to the main terminal through the ethernet through which the KOTs get printed.

Difference Between On-Premise and Cloud POS

Having an On-Premise or Cloud-Based Point of Sale system has both its advantages and disadvantages. We table it all out for you to see the differences. 

Key Features of a POS system

Some of the main features to look out for in a POS system that's supposed to make redundant tasks easier and allow for better reporting.

• Customer Management System
• Sales Reporting
• Inventory Management 
• Employee Management

Customer Management System

Knowing more about the customer will eventually help you have a better relationship with them. Having a robust Customer Relationship Management(CRM) system with details of the customer's details and their purchases is the bare minimum. Some of the additional features can be as follows.

• We are rewarding the customer for his repeated purchases by setting up a loyalty rewards program.
• Analytics of what the customer usually purchases and send specialized offers for them through email marketing.
• Sending particular messages to wish a customer on special occasions like birthday, anniversary, etc.,

Sales Reporting

A Restaurant Point of Sale System is not only used to record the customers' financial transactions and later view them in detail based on the parameters given by us. The ease of access to this data is paramount as these numbers tell a lot about the customer's behavior and how we can improve our margins.

• Generating sales reports based on time like day, week, month, year, etc., or between two different dates.
• Generating reports based on the product, employee, with tax, without tax, net profit, profit margin, etc.,
• Provide charts based on the data that is being collected and provide snapshots.

Inventory Management 

There are many moving parts when you're operating a business, and one of the critical things to not forget is inventory. Having a record of your stock and tracking it as it gets depleted is what every restaurant POS system should have. 

• Track the dishes as they are being consumed and automatically reduce available portion sizes based on the number of outstanding orders.
• Check the current inventory and plan for the future by creating purchase orders from suppliers for the raw materials you require.

Employee Management 

Managing a group of people sounds like a daunting task, but handling an efficient set of people can make or break the business. Having insights into the employees' performance like knowing who the star performer is, someone who is lacking, etc. By knowing this information, you can offer extra training to employees who are lacking and rewarding star performers. Some of the other features that users can find under this subsection are as follows:

• Creating a portal for employees' details to be entered and managed.
• Track employee's work hours based on their clock-in and clock-out timings.
• Sales Reports are based on employees to understand better how much each employee contributes to the sales funnel.

Cloud-Based POS System

Cloud-Based Point of Sale systems is now at the crux of modern restaurants that have evolved from offline-based systems. Cloud-Based systems allow business owners to have oversight over their business from anywhere. The pandemic has fuelled the need for cloud kitchens that are very different from typical restaurants. Cloud kitchens solely depend on orders coming from their online ordering platform and applications like Swiggy, Zomato, etc., Cloud-Based POS systems are scalable and are put to use for all kinds of hospitality businesses like Cafe, Restobar, Quick Service Restaurant, Fast Food Restaurant, Fine Dining, Food Truck, Bakery, etc.,

POS Innovation

With the dawn of cloud-based pos systems, the innovation that goes into the systems' constant up-gradation is genuinely unique. Every month Cloud-Based POS players are pushing out recent updates to make their system even more efficient. 

Payment Processing

The other sort of security that a restaurant can offer a customer is by providing an efficient and secure payment processing service. Processing customers' payments using a safe and trusted payment gateway gives customers a sense of confidence that their data is in safe hands. Choosing a trusted payment gateway that is PCI-compliant and a provider that charges lower processing fees, faster settlement time, etc., are some of the features to look out for when choosing one. 

Conclusion

In conclusion, choosing a POS is all based on what is necessary for your business to grow. A Cloud POS offers you much more concerning flexibility and functionality in the long run and, it's easy on the wallet since it charges a monthly fee. Scaling up is easier with a restaurant Cloud POS and, the support that comes with it in the form of regular updates is a bonus.

While you're here, you can check out some of our articles that shed a light on some other topics based on the restaurant industry. Feel free to contact us if you need more information.