When running a restaurant, there is a lot to consider; from sourcing fresh produce to table management. One thing you need to think about carefully is what POS system you are going to use.
A Point Of Sale (POS) system is used by companies for managing their sales transactions. In the past, a restaurant would have required a large cash register and a ledger to record sales. However, times have changed considerably since then.
POS systems today make sure that everything runs efficiently at your restaurant so that you do not have anything to worry about. Let’s take a look at the different elements of a POS system for restaurants so you can get a better understanding of how they work.
Table of Contents
Making a sale
When someone places an order, the POS system will track the entire sale.
The waiting staff will enter the ordered items by touching the screen or by writing down the order and then manually entering it into the computer.
The computer will determine the bill, including tax. When you take the receipt to the customer and they indicate that they are ready to pay, you simply need to enter the receipt number into the device and the amount to pay.
The POS will then charge the debit card or credit card. If the customer pays with cash, simply enter the cash amount and the machine will determine how much change to provide.
Preparing food and drinks
When you use an automated system that has been designed for restaurants, the order will appear on the computer screen, which will be situated in the food preparation area.
The chef will prepare the dish, and when it is finished, they will key this in so that the waiting staff know to collect it.
If you were to go for one of the less sophisticated systems, a ticket would be generated by the POS system, and this ticket is then physically given to the chef.
The same approach happens when it comes to drinks preparation. The bartender will be notified of the drinks that have been requested, and then they will notify the waiting staff once they are ready.
Manage your inventory
A POS system will also help you to manage the inventory at your restaurant.
As you will complete the orders via the POS, the inventory system will be able to automatically calculate the ingredients that have been used to make the dish. These ingredients are then subtracted from the available produce, putting the items on the purchasing system.
Generate reports
Aside from the functionality that we have discussed so far, your POS system will be able to produce insightful and beneficial reports.
Not only will you be able to track inventory, cash, and sales, but you can also track things like:
- How quickly orders are served from the time of input
- What menu items are the most popular
- Average sales per employee
- Employee productivity
- The number of times the tables turn
- The number of customers served per hour / per day
This is just a handful of some of the different metrics that you will be able to track using your restaurant’s POS system.
You can use these reports to extract important information that can help you to make intelligent decisions that will move your business forward. You can figure out where you are going wrong and what you are getting right!
Final words on POS systems for restaurants
So there you have it: an insight into POS systems for restaurants and how they work. We hope that this has helped you to get a better understanding of the efficiency and organisation these systems bring to restaurants.