8 Functionalities Every Restaurant POS System Should Have

Searching, assessing and shortlisting new POS restaurant software can be daunting and challenging for any restaurant owner or manager. With the point of sale software solutions in the market, you would be put into a dilemma of which is the best POS system for a restaurant.

It is understandable that you will not decide between buying POS software for restaurant overnight. We are sure you will give yourself ample amount of time to window shop of what’s available in the market and what are the functions as well as the features of every POS available in the market.

Moreover, you will want to check if the one you are going with has all the features which are compatible with your restaurant workflow and at the end, you will have to learn the software all by yourself, this entire process will not be less than 30 days before you start using it entirely.

Since all the POS restaurant software available in the market are not created equal, we have listed down eight functionalities you should consider while evaluating and shopping for point of sale software for your restaurant.

1. Faster Interface and Checkout:
   Speed is a crucial part of any restaurant POS system. Usually, weekends are busy days for restaurants, and you cannot afford to have a slow system. If you have a slower internet bandwidth, then it is obvious to have a slower POS. It is essential to go for a local or hybrid system which will prove more reliable especially for busy restaurants. Hence it is necessary to consider speedy software for operations. Also, it is a great feature to have once the customer completes dining the bill is automatedly generated.
2. Easily Manageable:
   Honestly, the technology has been so advanced that it is capable of delivering of what you think it should do for you. At the same time, you cannot deny the fact that the more you spend on a particular system, the more advanced features will be added to it, making it difficult for you to manage. More the features make the system more complicated and you will require a professional trainer to install and train you for the same. And if you are someone who likes to go for the DIY, then you will always go for a system which can be managed efficiently.
3. User-friendliness:
   As mentioned earlier, all the POS restaurant software are not a one size fits all type of system. So while you evaluate you should also consider the user-friendliness of the software features and installation. To understand the ease of use, you should go in for a demo of the product. A lot of POS vendors provide demo credentials for you’re to explore the system on your own and gauge the usability of the POS.
   

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4. Controlling Inventory:
   Managing inventory in a restaurant is a hell lot of tasks for restaurateurs. However, if you require proper inventory control you want to know the food consumption and balance of the ingredients in your kitchen as well as in calculating the profit margins. Hence, while evaluating POS restaurant software make sure the inventory management software has all the features you need or else gives the flexibility of integrating into a vendor system that undertakes these functions appropriately.
5. Easy Configuration of Menu:
   While you are evaluating the POS system for your restaurant, make sure you find out the ease of adding or changing an item from the menu. Certain POS demands a system restart to get specific changes reflected throughout the server and corresponding workstations. If the POS system takes over 5 minutes to make a minor difference and needs a system restart, we recommend you move to another software option.
6. Table Management and Reservation feature:
   An ideal and the best POS system for a restaurant will have inbuilt table management and reservation feature. Restaurants doing table seating obviously require this feature to know the status of the table and the order placed by them. This also gives you a comprehensive idea of how many tables are being serves, reserved, cleared up and available. To get a quick idea about this feature don’t forget to ask for a demo of how these requirements are taken care of by the system.
7. Reporting and Analysis:
   Monitoring and reporting are vital in running a restaurant business. Systematic reporting is not rocket science, but the type of reports you need to keep running the show is a big task. Almost all the restaurants require key Performance Indicators, e.g. reports for sales by items, employees, department and a lot more.
   
   
   Moreover, a specific reporting is always demanded by the accounts department for auditing purpose. In-depth reports of the entire sales department, list of bills generated, total customers in the restaurant and inventory reports all require being accessibly available for overall analysis. Hence, you should check for quality reporting which is pre-built, or any third party integration can serve your purpose.
8. Know the system thoroughly:
   To get the most out of your point of sale system, it is vital to understand comprehensive training on all the features and functionalities. All the vendors do not provide training whereas some of them give user manuals and some give training by charging a nominal fee.  Whatever it may be since you have spent on deploying a system it will be better if you learn the system thoroughly.

Key Takeaways

All these eight features and functionalities are a must have in ideal POS restaurant software, so better shortlist the best one. Did you find this blog constructive and helpful? If you still have some of the doubt in decision-making for the precise restaurant POS for your food or restaurant business, you can contact us and schedule a free consultation with us at your suitable time. We will analyze your restaurant requirements and will advise the best for your business.