Purchasing new restaurant POS systems can be very challenging since there are so many POS systems available in the market today. It can be very confusing as to knowing which one of these point of sales systems in the market you are going to choose. One thing you want to avoid is delaying till the last minute when your customer are not being able to be provided the option of POS. Also, considering that this restaurant POS systems you want to set can take weeks for it to be installed and few days for you to learn how it operate, it is best you start processing it early.
But before you consider jumping on one of the numerous restaurant POS systems available in the market, you want to first take the time and consider which one best fits your restaurant business. Take for example, if your intention is to have a large restaurant catering for all kind of food delicacies, it doesn’t sound right that you would choose to go for a POS dedicated for a small drink store. Not all POS are the same and serve the same purpose. So, bearing this in mind, find below a complete guide to purchase restaurant POS systems.
HAVE A BUDGET IN MIND
Like I mentioned earlier, you have to know how much you can afford before purchasing restaurant POS systems. Doing this helps narrow down your options baring in mind costs like: monthly fee, hardware bundle cost, licensing fee etc. There are two types of systems, the locally installed and the web based system. Knowing that restaurant POS systems that are installed locally has a license fee that between the range of $1000-$2500 and a monthly fee between $25-$100 while POS systems that are web based usually do not charge for license fee but with a monthly fee of $50-$200. Also, take note that the hardware for the locally installed POS system ranges between $2000-$4000 while that of the web based POS falls between the range $450-$1500. One smart move you should take note of is avoiding long term contracts and cancelation fees. This way you are keeping your options open.
DO YOUR RESEARCH
There are lots of people using different POS system, so before you purchase or decide on which to purchase from the lots of restaurants POS systems available in the market, you can ask those who already have about their experience using it. Find out if there are any issue, what are the challenges and you can even go online and check for reviews from real people concerning how they actually feel concerning the one you have in mind. From the pool of responses you get from all these sources, you can then determine which one fits you best.
REQUEST FOR A DEMO
Now you know your budget, and you have decided to go for a particular company among other companies that offer restaurant POS system. Before going ahead to make that commitment by purchasing their system, it is important that you request for a demo to test how the system work, in terms of how fast it completes a transaction. If the system is easy to use, then it’s a great option but a system that is complex and not user-friendly implies there will be lots of mistakes that will be made by either you or your staff as time goes on.
CHECK IF THEY OFFER TRAINING
After you are satisfied with the demo you requested and you have gone ahead to install the system, it is imperative you make out time to train your staffs. This is just to confirm everyone know how the system works and they are comfortable working with it. If the company also offer training, it is also always better to sign up for this training so you and your staff can learn all that the system offers. All these should be on your checklist and marked completed before you can decide on going live with the system.
DETERMINE THE QUALITY OF SUPPORT THEY OFFER
Quality services or support can either make or Mar a business. There are also some that can even go as far as frustrating you. So to avoid companies that offer whack services avoid this nightmare. What you can do is while doing your research on what POS system you want to go for, ensure to call the support number first and ask them some questions, with this you will know their response time that is, how fast they respond to calls and also how they guide you in getting a particular solution solved. Only after you have done this, then you can now go ahead to decide if you are satisfied by calling the sales line. This is so as to avoid stories that touch the heart.
CHECK OUT FEATURES THAT CAN PROMOTE YOUR BUSINESS
When looking through various restaurant POS systems, one of the thing you should look out for is a feature that advertises your business. Getting the word out there is very important to people to know you are existing. Thus having the tools and resources you need will help promote your business for it to translate to sales. Hence, you should get a POS that has a feature that can promote your business, grow your revenue, make customers come back and even get new customers. Features like this include: gift cards. Loyalty programs, discount codes, customer reward programs, messaging tools, automated marketing based on customers interest as well as special offer during periods when sales are low. You should be aware that not all restaurant POS systems will have these features, but they should be able to integrate with 3rd party application services that can have these features to boost your business. So it is very important you have this in mind when doing your research on what restaurant POS systems have features like this that will be suitable for your business and if these features are not available, then how seamlessly they integrate with 3rd party.
CONCLUSION
In summary, whatever option you choose to settle on at the end of the day will have a huge impact in your business. Whether your business will set off on the right path and thrive well will depend on the choice you make. This is why it is advisable to plan well and have a goal on what you want from a particular POS system.