For the longest time, most restaurant owners thought of their POS system as a fancy cash register. With technology moving forward at such a quick pace, most innovations have become a standard feature within the POS industry. Here are a few more:

1. Scheduling Your Staff. Many restaurant POS packages includes the feature “staff scheduling”. You can expect to increase efficiency and dramatically reduce overall labor costs by controlling time-ins and time-outs, utilizing forecasting tools and control staffing levels. Integrated features allow for accessing staff schedule with ease, as well as shifts and multiple job positions. You can tie in any number of security functions to all job position. Some packages has a feature that allows you to post schedules to a website and even sends out a copy of the schedule to each staff. Keep your labor costs in check and increase employee performance by efficiently and effectively managing your time & attendance information.

2. Software Upgrade Assurance or SUA. SUA is a software maintenance program that gives you a distinct advantage when purchasing for a POS system. It enables you to extend the usable life of your restaurant POS system and help stretch your investment. Those who purchase a POS system along with a SUA plan always has the latest software version. This basically keeps their POS system new. Every time you receive a software upgrade it is as though they just bought the latest and most current POS system in the market with the newest and most up-to-date features your restaurant can greatly benefit from. The most current features of a POS system set ensures that you have the best possible ROI by allowing you to take full advantage of the power its features can offer.

One other advantage of having a SUA is that no additional software purchase is required for upgrading or replacing a hardware. When hardware needs to be replaced there is a drastically reduced cost to upgrade.

Typically, these programs work on a yearly fee for you to acquire their benefits. Many customers agree that they receive huge benefits that helps your business reap the full return on your POS investment.

3. Handling Tips. Some point of sale software products have tip tracking built into their time in attendance module. Once you set one of your staff as a tipped employee, the POS system will require a tip declaration prior to clocking out. Any server who ring sales will get their total sales tracked. Tips collected through credit card sales are tracked and shown on the server closeout report. Prior to clock out, server/waiter will be shown their total sales for the day, the charge tips collected and then will be asked to declare their cash tips. This functionality will help you enforce tip regulations and manage the tracking declared tips, charge tips and hours worked for every tipped employee.

4. Frequent Diner & Customer Loyalty Programs. As the business owner you would like your point of sale system to provide accurate customer information on their buying habits, number of visits, frequency of visits, entice repeat visits and purchases through reward programs. You are able to do all this while managing the programs and preventing “sweet hearting” by employees.

Some of the restaurant POS packages come standard with a frequent diner or customer loyalty package that eases things within your business. By accurately tracking down your guests and their buying habits, you can prevent retail loss. Establish a database of guest’s information with an account number. You may use their phone numbers or any number system you desire. However, the most popular and secured method is by using magnetic cards with your logo on them. These cards can act as a simple reminder of your restaurant to your customers by having your business logo in their wallet or purse. The POS software will secure the reward programs you put in place and preventing the staff from giving away food. Typically, rewards are given to customers who frequently visits or purchases on the menu you highlighted. The establishment of reward programs takes your employees out of the game and puts you in charge.

As you can see, your business can be run more efficiently by using proper restaurant technology. There are many ways, methods you can use, to help you in better management of your business so you will never have to waste more of your valuable time and money.

Michael Cummings is Vice President of Customer Relations at POS-for-Restaurants.com. With over 20 years of restaurant experience, POS-for-Restaurants.com helps you use your technology to be more efficient and more profitable.

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