Your restaurant point of sale (POS) system is supposed to be a tool that helps you handle both front of house (FoH) and back of house (BoH) tasks in an automated and streamlined manner. If you’re like many other restaurants, you also use it to maintain and integrate your other technology systems such as the customer loyalty program, inventory control, food delivery and more.

2019: The Year for a New POS

Here are some questions to keep in mind if you are reviewing new POS systems in 2019:

• Does it work with your budget?

Maybe you purchased a custom-built POS but then your restaurant’s growth took a different direction. Or perhaps you have a tablet-based POS, but the add-ons offered don’t give you the control you need. A POS that starts with solid basic functionality, varied pricing tiers to accommodate a range of restaurants and the ability to add and remove features as you learn what works best for your needs offers you the best of both worlds.

• Will a new POS bring new customers and revenue?

Some new POS features or add-ons are great for increasing revenues. Online ordering integration can bring more receipts and convenience. Customer loyalty programs tracked via your POS can lead to improved repeat business and customer advocates. Call center integration or wait list features can provide more options to engagement customers, and the better experience they get before dining, the more likely they are to return and tell others.

• Are you in control?

It’s an unfortunate reality of the restaurant business: employees steal. Whether its accounting theft, theft at the POS itself or the theft of food and/or supplies, carefully choosing the right POS offers you the ability to customize your employees’ user experience. Allowing only certain employees access to tasks such as deleting items off a customer’s order or completing inventory enables you to track their activity and protect your bottom line. You can also see which items are being deleted, as well as the frequency, so you can follow up to learn the real story behind the act.

• Is flexibility a part of your POS?

Different restaurants focus on different areas of specialty and it’s these differences that really become important when choosing a POS. Being able to add in new functionalities as you need them and smoothly integrate into the POS means that the system works better, harder and smarter for you.

• Will the POS make life easier and better?

The whole purpose of a POS is to make it easier for you and your staff to get your jobs done effectively. Being able to determine data such as your peak hours, inventory based on customer desires and more helps you save money while also ensuring that your restaurant stays fresh and relevant. Applying this data to your long-term plans can help you plan customer appreciation programs, lunch specials and more.
The start of a brand-new year is here, and it’s a good time to re-evaluate your restaurant systems. Look at one of its most important — your POS — and determine if 2019 is the year that you change over to a better, responsive and flexible POS.