The restaurant industry is adopting more automated solutions to improve the customer experience and management process. Self-ordering restaurant POS systems, in particular, have risen in popularity.
The only problem? Finding the right restaurant POS software. Tech innovators recognize the potential of self-ordering kiosks, and as a result, the restaurant automation space has become increasingly crowded.
We’re here to help you find the best point of sale (POS) system for your restaurant by detailing eight essential features of any such software.
POS Systems for Restaurants: 8 Must-Have Features
While each restaurant is unique, several POS systems’ features can meet the needs of nearly any type of eatery. Here are a few of those features.
1. Ability to Integrate
Many POS systems for restaurants work on in-store kiosks, on the web, via mobile, or any combination thereof. These self-ordering options should integrate seamlessly into a restaurant’s existing POS platform.
The problem is, not all POS companies providing restaurant kiosks or online ordering allow this. Instead, they make you use their proprietary software and hardware, essentially rebuilding your entire operation from the ground up.
If you have to use a company’s exclusive POS system for your restaurant, things can get complicated. First, you must remove your current POS software (perhaps breaking a contract to do so). Then, you need to train your employees on both the new POS platform and the new tech that it runs on, such as a website, app, or restaurant kiosk.
In short, it would be in your best interest to find POS software that can integrate with the hardware and system you already have in place.
2. Potential to Expand
From quick-service restaurants to local mom and pop diners, a business is meant to grow. The ideal self-service POS system for restaurants can help with this.
When searching for the right POS software, restaurant owners should ask themselves about the future:
What other customer-facing innovations do we offer? Can this POS system help our restaurant improve them?
Can we easily integrate this POS system into new restaurant locations?
Can this work with our existing infrastructure to increase efficiency? What if we want to add new tech later?
Can this restaurant POS system streamline backend operations as well as frontend?
A multifaceted restaurant POS software system helps ensure restaurants can continuously improve and scale their operations.
3. Customizability
Each restaurant is unique, and any point of sale platform should reflect its specific aesthetic. Therefore, you should be able to personalize the POS interface so its visuals align with branded colors, fonts, and logos.
Brand reinforcement is a crucial component of building brand loyalty. So, a self-ordering restaurant kiosk’s POS system should act as an organic extension of a restaurant’s existing infrastructure.
4. Cloud-Based Analytics
Your restaurant’s POS software should go farther than simply taking customer orders and payments. A cloud-based POS platform can also perform reporting and provide future insights using the data it has stored on the cloud.
Using the cloud, you can review customer data, determine inventory needs, monitor sales and expenses, and more. Some systems, like GRUBBRR’s, even send reminders about things like when it’s time to do safe drops.
5. Contactless Ordering
Contactless ordering is one of the most popular aspects of AI-based POS systems. This method allows managers to free up workers to perform other tasks while customers spend less time standing in line. Plus, since customers and employees rarely interact, passing germs is less likely.
Labor shortages coupled with the demand for faster and safer service make the best type of restaurant POS system one that allows customers to place orders without having to interact with an employee.
6. Seamless Kitchen Display System Integration
When given the proper restaurant POS software, customers can enter and review their orders, which are then sent directly to the kitchen using a seamless kitchen display integration.
When this is available, customers can rarely say they didn’t get what they ordered, as they entered and confirmed the order independently. As this integration saves money, time, and conflict, this function is an essential part of any restaurant POS system.
7. Built-in CRM
The best POS systems integrate customer relationship management (CRM). With customer permission, your platform can recognize them via a digital membership card or similar.
An effective restaurant POS system’s CRM can do more than give customers points or rebates. It can greet them personally, provide relevant coupons, give birthday wishes, and increase the average ticket using upsells based on previous purchases or popular items.
Thanks to the cloud setup and ability to integrate with other features, this CRM can also communicate with customers via email, text, or other options you have set up.
8. Multiple Payment Options
Suppose a customer wants to split an order between several people, use cash instead of a card, or tap their phone to pay. A quality restaurant POS software system allows customers to pay how they want if working in tandem with the correct hardware, such as cash recyclers.
Having multiple payment options allows for shorter lines, more accessible online ordering, and less need for patrons to work directly with employees to make payments.
(Don’t worry—staff can still receive tips!)
What is the Best Restaurant POS System?
Call us biased, but we think GRUBBRR has the best POS system for restaurants on the market today. Not only do we offer the eight must-have restaurant POS features, but we have so much more.
Our fully customizable, omnichannel POS system allows patrons to order from kiosks, tablets on tables, or online, freeing up employees for other tasks and lowering the need for new hires overall. In addition, you can get daily reports directly from our system, including those from multiple locations.
GRUBBRR’s full list of products includes menu self-service kiosks, boards, kitchen display systems, food lockers, cash recyclers, and just about anything else your 21st-century restaurant may need. And, it can all integrate with your current POS platform.
By helping restaurants and other companies optimize their businesses from all angles with a robust suite of automation innovations, the best POS system for restaurants seems clear.
