A POS or Point-of-Sale system is a system that facilitates transactions between a customer and a merchant. It accepts payments from customers, generates receipts, and records sales. Simply put, a POS system serves as a central hub for a business, where purchases, inventory, and accounting can be made and done.
Because of its flexibility and multifunctionality, a POS system can greatly improve the efficiency of any restaurant’s daily operations. If you’re planning to put up your own restaurant soon, you may want to consider upgrading your accounting system with POS hardware. Benefits of a POS system include:
Efficient inventory management
A POS system provides a complete and accurate inventory of the available products in your restaurant. It can also record details such as individual prices, number of items available, and number of items sold. In your POS, just scan your product, enter the quantity, and your POS will automatically record it into your inventory. Your POS can also make an inventory analysis which summarizes your sales data and helps you manage your inventory more efficiently.
Accurate sales monitoring
Restaurants receive high volumes of cashflow every day. As the business owner, you would want every single cent accounted for at the end of each workday. A POS lets you accurately track all your sales and expenses as they are made, so your cashflow record is always up-to-date.
Highly detailed accounting reports
Using a POS, you can generate daily, monthly, or even yearly accounting reports for your business. You can monitor sales, profits, losses, and even identify the most popular dish on your menu or the busiest timeslots for your restaurant. Your POS analyzes all of the information and helps you come up with better decisions to improve your business plans.
Real-time reporting
A POS system can generate detailed sales reports in real-time. Real-time accounting is a crucial part of business management because it allows owners and accountants to calculate revenues and losses for a particular auditing period, without lag time. Being able to identify the sources of losses also enables owners to modify their business strategies to prevent further losses and boost sales.
Easy invoice management
There are several invoice categories that you have to manage in your restaurant – sales, consignments, salaries, just to name a few – and you have to be able to distinguish them and manage them efficiently. POS systems allow you to record these invoices and group them accordingly. You can also use your POS to issue invoices for expenses such as repairs and rentals, and your POS will automatically record them into your system.
Reduced waiting time
A POS system makes transactions fast and hassle-free. All it takes is a few clicks in your POS and your customer’s orders are automatically put in and calculated in the system. With the help of a receipt printer, it can also generate receipts and invoices in just a matter of seconds. This significantly cuts down waiting time for billing out, which in turn increases customer turnover and creates more sales.
Tighter security
Your restaurant’s accounting data is a very important piece of information. You need to ensure that only authorized users are allowed access to these reports, and for that you will be needing a POS system. Most POS systems provide two-factor authentication to prevent privacy breaches. If you’re a system administrator, you can also choose who you would allow access to your data.
Time-efficient accounting
POS systems work electronically, thereby reducing manual operations you need to manage your restaurant. As previously mentioned, POS systems can do inventory management, accounting reports, and invoice management. Most POS systems also have the capacity to summarize and analyze data that otherwise you would have to do by yourself. These functionalities altogether help reduce workload and save time and consequently improve your team’s efficiency.
Multi-store functionality
If you own several establishments or branches, having a POS system will work to your advantage. Some POS systems even manage multiple storefronts at the same time, which will enable you to monitor and consolidate data from a parent company account. For example, you can create changes in pricing, make promotional offers, or edit your menu from your parent account, and this will automatically reflect in all the other systems included in your network.
In conclusion, having a POS system in your restaurant will help boost your team’s productivity and reduce manual workload, which in turn will result in better company management and better customer service. The setup may seem intimidating and tedious at first, but in the long run, getting a POS system will probably be the best decision you will make for your restaurant.