When choosing a POS system for your restaurant, the biggest mistake you can make is to choose a POS system that is not intended for your business. Many restaurant owners make the mistake of choosing a retail POS system for their business and will over time find that their choice has a limiting effect on their business growth, performance, and scalability.
In a world where there are many products to choose from, it has become a lot easier for restaurant owners to make this mistake and that is why restaurant owners need to know the meaning of POS and how choosing the right POS system affects their business.
Unlike other businesses where retail POS systems are manageable, restaurants and foodservice businesses have specific problems that are associated with their business and industry. This means that, as a food business owner, certain problems like menu updates, changes in prices, split billing, and others are unique to your industry and will become a problem should you choose a POS system that isn’t designed to handle such functions.
To help you to better understand a POS system, why it is essential for your restaurant and food business, and why you need to choose one that has been designed specifically for restaurants, below are some of the information that you need to be aware of.
What is a POS System?
Many restaurant owners are yet to adopt POS systems as part of their operation. This lack of compliance and adoption may be largely because they aren’t aware of the advantages associated with using this technology.
A POS system, also known as Point of Sale system is a system that has been designed to seamlessly handle product and service transactions. Being one of the most important technologies for businesses in the modern-day setting, your POS system can effectively and efficiently handle all of the end-to-end sales transactions and workflow required in the daily running of your business.
Having understood what a POS system is and what it promises in terms of advantages to the daily running of your business, you need to also understand why you shouldn’t make the mistake of choosing a retail POS system for your restaurant business.
What Sets Retail and Restaurant POS Systems Apart
While both the retail businesses and the restaurant businesses rely on POS systems for easier operation and functionality, there is a need to understand that both businesses run differently, and as such, the requirements of their POS systems become unique to each business.
The major differences between the retail and restaurant POS systems are evident in;
Software differences
Restaurants require a wide range of functions that are designed based on consumer preferences and decisions. On the other hand, retail businesses have a different set of challenges to face. Each POS software for each business has been designed to address the specific problem that affects the industry and business and so causes inefficiency on the part of a restaurant owner who has chosen a retail POS for his or her business.
For food businesses, all processes are tied to the menu and price, on the other hand, retail businesses rely on barcode scanning for product pricing. It is easy to understand the primary problem that will be faced by a restaurant if a retail POS is selected.
Hardware differences
Usually, a retail and food business have different ordering and checkout processes. For a retail business, once items needed are purchased, the buyer comes forward for those items to be scanned and processed out.
However, a food business on the other hand does not have the advantage of scanning products. Consumers often sit to eat their food and this calls for a different approach to checkout and order management, one which has been catered to by the hardware component of the restaurant POS system.
In essence, the restaurant POS system has been designed so that it accommodates the dynamics of the business and in turn allows charging and pricing easier on both the operator and the customer.
The Benefits Of A Restaurant POS For Your Food Business
Choosing a system that has been specially designed for your business holds many advantages. Below are some of the advantages you stand to gain from choosing a restaurant POS system for your restaurant.
– Built for your restaurant business – you can rest assured that the POS system has been built to address the challenges that are particular to your business.
– Industry-specific features – your business stands a chance to enjoy some industry-specific features like inventory management, payment processing, staff management, menu management, tableside ordering, as well as floor plan management.
– Specialized reporting – this allows you to stay on top of the latest data and consumer behavior
