Organic Vegetables, Fair-Trade Coffee and Other Sustainable Food Service Products

What to Include in a Point of Sale System in Your Food Service Business

19 August 2016 by Nino Caron

A point of sale system is vitally important for any retail environment, but it may need to change when it comes to the features it offers for each type of business. This is especially true for the food service business, where each customer's order may be unique and tailored to them and where proper inventory levels are vital. Note a few things to look for when it comes to point of sale equipment in your food service business so you know you get the right system and it's working properly for you.

Each optional ingredient in food

Your point of sale system should record each optional ingredient in or on food, so you can easily track your inventory. As an example, if you have hamburgers on the menu and customers can opt for lettuce, tomato, and pickles on the hamburger, you want these details recorded in your point of sale system and not just by the wait staff. This can ensure you know how many of these items you go through every day without having to take a manual inventory at the end of each day or week. In a coffee shop, each shot of espresso, added shot of cream, and other such details can also mean better inventory management; include this in your point of sale system no matter the type of restaurant you manage.

Time to service

In a restaurant, time of service is key; you don't want customers to wait for their food for too long, as they may never return to your restaurant because of this poor service. This can also mean cold food that they refuse to pay for, so tracking time of service can be important. Your wait staff can enter the order and then also note when the order is delivered to a table so you can compare that time gap and note where improvements need to be made, either for certain dishes, certain rush times, or with certain wait staff.

Smartphone access

Why should you need to log into your restaurant's actual computers to access your daily sales and other such figures? A good point of sale service should allow you to access the system with your smartphone so you can easily check on daily sales, inventory levels, payroll and the time clock of your staff, and other such details, either when you're on the road, at home, or on the restaurant floor.

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