For such a long time, most retail business owners thought of their point of sale system as a fancy cash register. With technology becoming more advanced, most innovations have become a standard feature within the Point of Sale 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 feature allows easy accessing staff schedules, unlimited shifts and multiple job positions for each staff. You can also tie in any number of security functions to a job position. Some of the packages has a feature that allows you to post schedule on a website and sends an email of the schedule to your staff automatically. Focus more on lowering labor cost while increasing your employee performance by efficiently and effectively managing your time & attendance information.
2. Software Upgrade Assurance (SUA). SUA gives you a distinct advantage when purchasing for a POS system. You are able to help stretch your investment and prolong the life of your restaurant point of sale system. Customers who are on an SUA plan will always have the most current software version. This basically keeps their POS system new. Every time you receive a software upgrade it’s just like buying the most current and advanced POS system available in the market with the newest and most up-to-date features for your restaurant. The most current feature set ensures that you have the best possible ROI by allowing you to take full advantage of the power the POS software offers.
Another advantage of having a SUA is that no additional software purchase is required for upgrading or replacing a hardware. If you need to replace hardware there’s a drastically lesser cost for upgrading it.
These programs typically works on a yearly small fee for their benefits. Ma customers are satisfied receiving the huge benefits of this program that helps your business reap the full return on their POS investment.
3. Proper Tip Handling. Some point of sale software products have tip tracking built into their time in attendance module. Once you set one of your staff as a tipped employee, the POS system will require a tip declaration before clock out. All servers or waiters who ring sales will have their total sales tracked. Tips collected through credit card sales are also tracked and shown on the server closeout report. Prior to clock out, the servers or waiters will be shown their total sales, collected charge tips collected and then asked to declare their cash tips. By this, you will be able to track and manage all declared tips, charge tips and hours worked for every tipped staff.
4. Frequent Diner & Customer Loyalty Programs. As the restaurant owner you would like your restaurant POS system to provide accurate information on your customer’s number and frequency of visits, buying habits, entice repeat visits and purchases through reward programs like a loyalty card, reward card or points card. You are able to do all this while managing the programs and preventing “sweet hearting” by employees. Sweet hearting happens when an employee promises a deal to a customer in order to make a sale.
Some of the restaurant POS packages come standard with a frequent diner or customer loyalty package that eases things within your business. 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. In what ever strategy you choose, the most popular and secure method is through magnetic cards with a logo of your restaurant. 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 software will secure the reward programs you set in place and preventing the server/waiter from giving away food. Rewards are given only when earned through purchases, frequent visits or for items on your menu that you wish to highlight. Establishing reward programs takes your employees out of the game and place you in total control of everything.
As you can see, your business can be run more efficiently by using proper restaurant technology. There are many ways, methods you can use, to aid you in better management of your business so you will never have to waste more of your valuable time and money.
Michael Cummings is Vice President of Customer Relations at 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.
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