How Can a POS System Help My Business?
I’m sure you often think “Does my business needs a POS system?”. You may not mind relying on your cash register and sales ledger for your transactions because it’s affordable and reliable. But is it really the most efficient way to run your business?
While it’s true that POS requires an initial investment, it’s important to understand the vast benefits a POS can bring to your business. Regardless of what industry you are in, the goal is to gain more sales and generate more revenue. POS can help set the groundwork for achieving those goals – and many others. Here are some of what POS systems can do for your particular business:
Gives you more focus on your business – POS systems allow companies to concentrate on growing the business. Since POS systems can take of your transactions, scheduling and inventory, you can have more time working on new techniques, promotions, and other initiatives to improve your business.
Functionality – Your POS system is not just a cash register! It has the abilities to take reservations, process special orders and provides guest beeper systems to keep your business running smoothly.
Work Efficiently With Your Operations – With a POS system, there’s little room for error. Every detial is entered and recorded accurately so the lines of communication are always clearly outlined. It can speed up the ordering process with improved accuracy which in return improves your productivity and customer service level.
Proper Inventory Management – A particularly important in food service industries where you need enough supplies to serve all of your customers but don’t want them to go to waste if they’re not sold. With POS systems, you know what’s in stock, which stocks are running low, and what your best sellers are so you can plan ahead.
Reduce Shrinkage – With a POS system, you can keep your staffers honest all the time. By using only an old-fashioned cash register and paper receipts, the temptation will always be there to pocket a few dollars or give friends a free meal or two. With a POS, your business is in good hands by providing exact records which traces your merchandise (and money) and where they are going.
Reducing Errors – If you’re in the food service industry, you no longer need to decipher chicken scratch from busy wait staff! POS allows you to key in orders, including specifics, to decrease the chances that it will come out wrong. You keep customers happy and save money by serving them the right orders.
Track Costs – If you don’t have prices clearly entered in a database, you might as well let customers shop with their own pricing gun. You can use price stickers and label each item, but this doesn’t prevent witty thieves from swapping their price stickers. Using a POS, each item you sell is bar coded and tracked so you always know each item will sell for the right price. And if there are changes needed, your POS terminal can do all the changes at once!
Increasing Customers That Patronize Your Estanlishment – Get more customers coming in by quickly and accurately serving customers waiting in line. And when customers no longer waits for a staff to bring their checks, collect payment and clear their tables, your staff can servce more customers and increase your sales.
Get Accurate Reports – With POS, you can do more than what you could with multiple ledgers and spreadsheets. You can record, track, sort, and organize data in any format and make revisions whenever necessary. Reporting is a valuable component to a POS system. It allows you to track what is sold, see what products needs to be restocked and reordered, and help you plan ahead. You can use it as a reminder tool when supplies are running low.
Tracking Customers’ Data – You can also build customer loyalty with the help of POS systems. Consider this, every customer that enters your restaurant will be entered into your POS system when they order something. Keep tabs of meals they order and how often they visit your restaurant. Then use this data to compile information for targeted sales and advertising campaigns. This inforamtion is also helpful to limit the poor selling item you keep in stock and assign funds for more popular items.
There are several critical things in restauratn POS systems purchase in any industry. Just be sure to meet with at least 3-4 qualified vendors before making this important decision. In any case, you can always request for a free POS system quote, where vendors will be able to help you meet your your needs once you supply them enough info of your POS needs. Provide them with the details of the information you wish to track and the features that are important to you. Always be aware when the software appears to MAKE you do things differently. This is often the recommended set of procedures that allow the software to improve your business efficiency. With the proper restaurant POS solution at hand, makes your business more efficient, more profitable, more enjoyable, and keep your customers coming back!
For more information or an online resource:
Go to POS-For-Restaurants.com
The author of this article is the Vice-President of Customer Relations at POS-For-Restaurants with over 20 years of experience serving restaurants of all types throughout the U.S.