How to Choose the Right Point of Sale System For Your Full-Service Restaurant

Your restaurant’s Point of Sale (POS) system is the backbone of your business. This technology records every sale, controlling your revenue and saving the data you need to calculate return on investment (ROI). It saves all the important data associated with these transactions, such as highlighting your busiest times of the day, which payment process brings in most revenue, and your most popular menu items.

Full-service restaurants, in particular, require robust and versatile software to help build better dining experiences. In our modern age, your restaurant’s tech is just as important as the food you serve. Regular updates and state-of-the-art features keep your guests satisfied and gives them a customer-centric experience with less time waiting. When you’re choosing the best POS system for your full-service restaurant, keep these features in mind.

Mobile Solutions

As restaurant owners think about smart business decisions, one of the ways they can improve their bottom line is by investing in mobile POS technology that can help provide faster, sleeker service. Equipping your servers with a mobile POS order pad allows them to take the order table side, which sends orders immediately to the kitchen and lowers the chance of human error to any special request. By using mobile POS technology, the server can also quickly close out each ticket at the table, allowing guests to review their check and quickly process payments.

Guest Management System

Your restaurant’s tech is just as important as the food you serve.

In order to get the most out of your POS system, integrate it with a guest management system that will help your restaurant seat more guests. By using a digital waitlist management system to predict accurate wait times and texts guests when their table is ready, your guests will have the freedom to wait where they want.

By integrating it with the POS system, you get a bird’s eye view of each table status – you’ll know if drinks were delivered, when they order, or if the table is ready to be cleaned. Another perk of a guest management system is having the ability to store information on each guest. This lets hosts know of any repeat customers, which gives them the opportunity to greet guests with a personal touch. It also allows any server, even if it’s their first day, know of any tables with certain restrictions and a look into their previous order history. Integrating the POS guest management will not only reduce walkaways and turn more tables, but will increase sales all while making each guest feel like a VIP.  

Inventory Tracking

Many of today’s POS systems can assist with inventory management, but not all solutions keep track of specific ingredients you use in each dish and how quickly you go through them. By identifying low inventory directly on your POS system, your servers can better prepare for the future and avoid disappointing customers. Most importantly, some POS systems can calculate the cost of each dish you serve so you can understand your true food cost. Find opportunities to include more consumable ingredients and reduce food loss.

Cloud Reporting

The best POS systems on the market offer cloud reporting. This feature empowers restaurant owners to review transaction data at any time, from any device, allowing you to stay connected to what’s happening in your restaurant, no matter where you are. Cloud-based reporting prepares you in case of any technological issues or power outages by saving your transaction data remotely.

Restaurant owners can make informed decisions about their business by analyzing the data provided by the cloud-based POS system to see the most popular menu items, if specials should become regular menu items, and identify any shifts that may need additional servers.

Guest satisfaction in restaurants is often directly correlated to the level of service guests receive. By choosing the right POS system, you can ensure your guests experience is consistently frictionless and keep your customers coming back, which increases bottom line sales.

Learn more from CAKE’s eBook, “The State of Restaurant Technology”, about how restaurants utilize technology as a competitive differentiator to improve their service on every level.