Restaurant POS System: The Best POS Systems for Your Restaurant

For any business, a point-of-sale system is a crucial part of the infrastructure. POS systems are used to process transactions, but they are about so much more than this. Choosing the right POS system for a restaurant can be a tricky process. Different types of restaurants will benefit from different features, which only makes the search for the right system more complicated.

To try and make the process easier for you, we have put together this guide to how to find the best POS system for your restaurant. We have also included some suggestions at the end.

Why Your POS System Matters So Much

Having the right point of sale system in place is essential for any restaurant. A POS system does a lot more than just processing your transactions. For one thing, having the right POS system in place for your restaurant will improve the efficiency of your entire operation. Both your front of house and kitchen staff can benefit from the more streamlined approach that you will be able to achieve.

A good POS system that is well-designed and intuitive will also ensure that your front of house staff has no issues in processing customer payments or taking their orders. When they do take customer orders, they will find it much easier to do so accurately and error rates will fall across the board. More accurate order processing also enables more accurate inventory management. You can use your POS system to automatically update your inventory according to what customers order. An up to date inventory record is something that some restaurants dream of.

Your customers will obviously benefit from you being able to provide them with a higher quality service. But these aren’t the only ways that they benefit from you investing in the right POS system. For example, you can provide them with more detailed receipts that contain a breakdown of exactly what they ordered and how much each item cost. Itemized receipts are important in restaurants that offer a lot of customization. The right POS for pizza restaurants enables you to easily customize orders and provides a simple breakdown of each option for both your kitchen staff and your customers.

What You Need To Consider

There are two key considerations that will determine which POS systems you should consider. The first is the type of restaurant that you are operating, the other is your budget. There is no sense in chasing after POS systems that are geared towards a different type of restaurant to yours, nor should you chase after a POS system that is beyond your means. Overspending is never a good thing for any business.

Many POS systems today are cloud-based and are available on a subscription model. The costs of most of these systems should be easily affordable for any restaurant (assuming you aren’t already in financial trouble, of course). In addition to the ongoing subscription costs, many systems also have an associated equipment cost. If so, you can expect this to be around $1,000. If you require multiple terminals, you might be looking at an even higher cost.

What Features Should You Look For?

As we mentioned above, your POS system can enable you to manage your inventory much more easily, so you want something that integrates with your inventory management system. If your restaurant supports online ordering or offers deliveries, you’ll need a POS system that can handle these tasks as well.

What Are The Best Options?

There are plenty of POS options out there for restaurants, but there are some choices that stand out as being particularly strong.

ShopKeep

ShopKeep is a great choice for small businesses thanks to its simple interface. ShopKeep is also available at a range of price points, depending on the needs of your restaurant, and comes with some excellent back-office features. This is an iPad-based service, so you will need to use iPads in place of traditional terminals.

Revel

If you are the kind of manager who loves reports and data then Revel is the service for you. In addition to deep customization options, Revel also offers impressive real-time tracking capabilities that make it easy to stay on top of your inventory management.

Lightspeed

Lightspeed is another option that comes at a range of different price points. No matter whether you choose the cheapest $99/mong package, or the $299/month full-price version, you will be getting a robust and easy-to-use POS system. Lightspeed also has a number of advanced e-commerce features that will appeal to restaurants that offer online ordering.

Having the right POS system in place will improve your entire operation and ensure that your staff and customers have the best experience possible. This isn’t a decision that you want to rush into. Take your time and make sure you choose the right option for your restaurant.