Building a successful brand does not hinge on offering just one great product or service.
You do need smooth, effective operations that are consistent from place to place.
For example, the most popular restaurant chains attract customers anywhere because the quality of food and service is consistent. People know what they will get and there is comfort in knowing this.
Therefore, it is vital to the overall success of your business that you find the right franchise management tools tailored to your needs.
It will streamline daily operations, and keep everything running like a new high-powered engine; operating tasks from distribution to accounting.
What are Restaurant POS Systems?
Restaurant POS Systems (Restaurant Point Of Sale) are the base of any Restaurant Franchise Management Software and typically where a customer makes a payment in return for products or services.
To allow the transactions, equipment such as payment terminals, touch screens, and a number of other POS hardware and POS software options are required.
Today, however, the Restaurant POS Systems are often referred to as ‘the point of service’ of the restaurant; given that restaurant POS is no longer just about sales processing.
Modern restaurant POS systems provide a platform that lies at the heart of any large or small food and beverage operation, helping to improve customer experience and streamline business operations.
Restaurant POS systems allow food and beverage operators to use cash management and collaboration with payment service providers to process orders and maintain their business’ financial control.
But as margins in the food and beverage industry are getting smaller, productive operators need a restaurant POS to do a lot more.
Why Choose a Restaurant POS System?
The high amount of cash and credit cards going through a restaurant every day makes Restaurant POS Systems a necessity.
A POS system not only monitors every penny of your sales but also several Restaurant POS Systems operate as credit card processors.
This makes it more convenient for both the consumer and the company to swipe credit cards.
Servers are responsible for all their transactions, and checks on the machine cannot be changed unless you provide the password.
This helps to reduce workplace theft.
Benefits of POS Systems
Now that we are familiar with restaurant POS systems and how they are a necessary part of your restaurant franchise management software, let’s take a look at the benefits of POS systems:
1. Extraordinary Guest Experiences
Guests have expectations of the service you are going to provide — and they will not return if they are not met.
The right restaurant POS helps to boost operations and offer excellent experiences to keep visitors coming back.
Combining mobile tablets with an intuitive POS interface in quick-service and fast-casual business is just one way to improve service speed – and keep customers satisfied.
2. Centralized Menus and Promotions Control
In order to constantly offer outstanding guest experiences across various locations (and to keep costs low), you need centralized control over menus, pricing, and promotions.
A cloud-based restaurant POS does this through an effective system to make changes in menus and prices.
It can set up menu items or almost immediately adjust rates, and uniformly apply them – or retain localized preferences.
3. Data to Assist in Money Making and Saving
POS of restaurant franchise management software includes information for every transaction.
But what benefit does that offer if you are unable to gather information from them to boost operations?
A monitoring and analytics approach offers access to information for the right people (such as food waste, staffing rates, and fraud) opening the door to eradicate challenges and identify opportunities.
4. Loyalty to Boost Profits
According to the 2020 Criteo Shopper Story, 52% of customers say that loyalty programs are one key reason they choose specific retailers or brands.
Verify that restaurant POS systems capitalize on that statistic.
It should provide a solution for gift and loyalty that helps with creating relationships with customers to generate more business, offering rewards, running targeted marketing promotions, customizing the guest experience, and collecting guest preferences and behavior data.
5. Mobility
Mobile-enabled restaurant POS systems provide key benefits including improved order accuracy and accelerate service.
Staff can take mobile orders directly from customers on iPads, reducing errors in order entry, and managers can access POS Reporting from their smartphones to access data from anywhere at any time.
Choosing the Best Restaurant POS System
The best restaurant POS systems are working constantly to extend their capacities and develop their products.
Aside from such advances, there are a number of non-negotiable features that make a top-notch restaurant POS software. Here is a quick look into these key features:
1. Inventory Management
All the top-rated restaurant POS systems take away the burden from this phase by monitoring your inventory.
But the most advanced tools on the market can keep track of any sale and prompt you to reorder at the correct time.
It is also best if your POS system reminds you of the latest prices you have paid for the item you need to reorder.
2. Tab and Order Management
Another advantage of top-tier restaurant franchise management software features is that it is easy to split the bill and accept payments.
Being able to break up the bill and accept various payment methods through various party members makes the process of payment for split checks fast, safe, and effective.
3. Recording Customer Data
Advanced restaurant POS systems understand the importance of customer data; they are fitted with guest profiles to help you access what a customer has ordered and how much they have spent.
Servers equipped with this data, such as suggesting a specific dish or cocktail, will create a much more personalized customer experience that makes the guests feel like a valued VIP.
4. Third-Party Unification
You are probably already using various softwares to handle your taxes, payroll, food, and schedules.
Those tools are essential for the daily operations of your restaurant.
That is why we recommend choosing restaurant POS systems that fit with certain tools you are already using.
This will decrease the operational instability of your restaurant, and ensure that your POS leverages past data to make more educated decisions for the future.
Top 10 Restaurant POS Systems
Nobody likes to wait when they are hungry and restaurant franchises need a POS that streamlines day-to-day operations, making it quick and easy for customers to order food and for restaurant staff to take and complete those orders.
Such restaurant POS systems not only make the food-ordering process fast but also straightforwardly enjoyable.
Read on to learn about the top 10 restaurant POS systems for restaurant franchise management software and franchise owners.
1. TouchBistro POS
TouchBistro’s focus on the industry has secured the top spot as the number one POS system for restaurants.
More than 12,000 locations worldwide operate using the TouchBistro app, with payments collected to date amounting to over $6 billion.
A flexible interface and powerful inventory/staff management solutions make this a feature-rich restaurant POS.
The company claims there are more than 200 features available in this system, which includes practically all that most restaurants would ever need.
Some of the Key Features include: Floor layout, Splitting the bill, Tableside Ordering, Loyalty Schemes, Menu Management, Free Trial, Suitable for all restaurant sizes.
2. Square POS
Square is a popular name in quick-service restaurants, with dedicated table service options, counter service, bars & lounges, coffee shops, bakeries, and food trucks.
The basic restaurant software package includes menu, inventory, and layout management, add-ons are also available.
Some of the main key features include: Menu Customization, Layout Management, Strong Analytics, Customer Feedback, and Per-Item Sales Tracking.
3. Lightspeed Restaurant POS
A broad integration library makes Lightspeed stand out as one of the more versatile services in restaurant POS systems.
Third-party applications can be easily plugged into Lightspeed, enabling customers to incorporate features such as loyalty schemes and employee scheduling; or even the ability to customize the POS to even more unique industries like hotels and e-commerce.
Of course, it is not all third party integrations.
Inside the software interface itself products can be monitored individually via the inventory control feature.
There is a floor plan display that helps direct servers to the table they are needed at; Moreover, there is a menu feature that supports images of each meal with included definitions.
4. Upserve POS
Upserve is a feature-rich POS that provides features that other restaurant POS systems do not often offer.
In addition to sales and inventory monitoring, Upserve includes training mode, offline support, bill splitting options, online order management, and tableside order.
Would you like to dig deeper and better understand your business?
Upserve provides deep analytics and simple dashboards in order to help you find trends in how your restaurant works.
5. Toast POS
For those Android lovers who are sick of seeing the word “iPad” on this page, toast POS supports Android tablets and phones.
Better yet, it encloses all the necessary features into an easy-to-understand interface: it includes sales, billing, inventory, layout management, analytics reports, and loyalty programs.
Toast is a popular company with thousands of happy clients, matching with the industry-leading TouchBistro with its high-quality customer support team and intuitive design.
They support a wide variety of venues: bars, bakeries, casual, fast-casual, fine dining – even delivery services and online shopping, which makes this POS a perfect choice for expanding operations.
6. Revel POS
The Revel POS is designed to be a complete POS system for restaurants, that manages finance and accounting in addition to sales, inventory, and personnel.
In contrast to some softwares, Revel supports loyalty programs and enables delivery services to manage their routes with features including scheduling, dispatch, driver monitoring, and automated estimates of delivery times.
The company also provides dedicated restaurant, brewery, winery, and nightclub solutions.
7. Lavu POS
Lavu offers great onboarding and training management options for new employees, streamlining a tough but essential aspect of running a business.
Notable features include centralized menu, layout and inventory management, employee scheduling, and bill-splitting.
Lavu’s software is powering thousands of operations across over 90 nations. Its GUI is simple to use, meaning a fast learning curve when onboarding workers, and it is easy to incorporate integrations from third parties.
8. Clover POS
Restaurants with a healthy online customer base need restaurant POS systems such as Clover that can handle online orders and even manage delivery.
Clover also provides useful online integrations such as Mailchimp newsletter service and Shopify. Their customer service function suite includes contact lists with promos, incentives, and private feedback options.
Clover’s interface is designed for quick learning and operates on laptops, tablets, and mobile devices.
Custom floor plans can be tailored to suit your specific location, helping servers keep track of which tables are open and which tables need serving.
9. ShopKeep Restaurant POS
Shopkeep offers iPad-only services for fast-serving and full restaurant systems, both of which have nicely designed, intuitive mobile application options.
With this service, multi-location managers can monitor anything from their devices.
Features covered by both systems include: Sales, inventory control of ingredients, staff management, analysis reports, and menu customization.
Businesses may create email marketing lists using the email receipt feature of the service, allowing them to develop marketing strategies around promotional deals or events to come.
10. Cake POS
Cake POS system allows online order management via a Guest Manager iOS app.
This way, those with reservations will receive text updates when their table is ready; or otherwise possibly encourages them to hang out next door at a coffee shop while they are waiting. This eliminates lost service because of no-shows or walkaways.
In addition to online and classic reservations, gift cards can also be conveniently scanned and redeemed via the Cake POS.
Last Words
If you are looking to grow your business into a long-term successful franchise, it is time to find a POS or Restaurant Franchise Management Software that allows you to manage multiple stores and streamline all of your sales operations.
For multi-location businesses and franchises, restaurant POS systems are a must, as they offer the necessary functionality without a heavy price tag.
Furthermore, its online capabilities allow you to synchronize business data across your entire network.
