Restaurant POS system questions? We can help you decide

Sept. 8, 2009 - PRLog -- Frustrated with unreadable grease-stained paper slips? Would you like to know for sure how much of each specific food item to to order tomorrow or next week - instead of just going by a best guess? Then you're ready to invest in a restaurant POS system.

A point of sale (POS) system can give you a new level of control over your business operations, which greatly helps you increase efficiency, increase profits, and improve inventory management. Switching from a simple cash register and paper orders to a restaurant POS system can be hard, but the return on investment without a doubt is worth your time and effort.

Restaurant POS - Buying Tips
•Prepare for the most critical failure. As with ALL computer system, backups are critical to avoid lost time and productivity. Be updated, ask your POS vendor about automated backup schedules.
•Clean up now. Preventative maintenance is important to ensure that you will get maximum usefulness of your equipment.
•If you dislike heat... When deciding on printers, be aware of heat in the kitchen than can be high enough to ruin thermal paper. Impact (dot matrix) printers are a the most popular.
•Use the Internet to locate sites that specialize in POS and offer to send your requests to multiple dealers We recommend POS-For-Restaurants.com. Each restaurant have specific POS needs. POS-For-Restaurants is here to help you find an the BEST and most qualified point of sale supplier serving your geographical area and knowledgeable with your specific type of restaurant.

What is a restaurant POS system?

If you wish to have an in-depth review on service offering from multiple restaurant POS providers, you may use BuyerZone's free vendor comparison tool.

In the most basic sense, a POS system is a glorified cash register. Typically, a restaurant POS station includes a computer and cash drawer, a printer for receipts, and a touch-screen monitor. Most restaurants have multiple stations like this, with additional component parts that are determined by the type of restaurant.

For retail-style restaurants like a sandwich shop, their POS systems often include printers in the food preparation area, eliminating the errors that can happen when a hastily or carelessly written orders are passed to the kitchen. As for quick-service restaurants, POS systems are practically a requirement for living up to their name: orders taken on terminals in the front are displayed on monitors in the kitchen, to fasten the food preparation and delivery to the customer.

POS systems are NOT all the same, subtle but important differences exist depending on the type of restaurant. These systems need to be designed alongside your menu and seating plan so enable them to communicate orders to the kitchen and bar, track reservations and seating, and handle transactions.

Fine dining POS systems typically include more stations: multiple server stations, a bar station, a host/hostess station, and appropriate printers for the kitchen than most basic POS systems. They also have more flexibility - including creating and storing open checks, let servers send priority orders to the kitchen to start the next course, as well as track which server is serving which customers.

Restaurant POS options

With a POS system your server can lessen the time he spends in the kitchen which in return fastens the order process. The efficiency gains can offer a payback within 12 months. If your restaurant has 20 tables and an average check of $45 can increase turnover by one party per table, which is an extra $900 on a busy night. Just consider the additional savings that come from an even smaller shrinkage:employees can't provide food at no or reduced charge to friends.

What's more, on the direct cost savings, a restaurant POS system can offer detailed reports that can can really help when it comes to business decisions. A sales report help you better predict staff volume and their schedules more appropriately. Inventory reports that you can quickly understand help you order the proper ingredients at the proper time, reducing waste. And comprehensive reports let you immeditately identify which items are sellers, the items that generate the greatest profit margin, and which items you should eliminate

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The author of this article is the VP of Customer Relations at POS-For-Restaurants.com with over 20 years experience helping restaurants nationwide increase their efficiency and bottom-line profits using restaurant POS systems.

You may visit POS-For-Restaurants.com for more information on how our national network of restaurant point of sale experts can help your business achieve greater success in these difficult economic times.

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