Everything you need to know about POS systems for restaurants
- February 2022
- Last Update 8 August 2023
The ultimate guide to restaurant POS systems
It’s 2021 and if you haven’t digitized your restaurant yet, you’re seriously missing out.
Some of you might be avid tech enthusiasts, others might not know the first thing about new technologies: either way, as restaurant owners, you need to get a hang of certain tech tools in order to boost the performance of your business.
Only a few years ago, some of these very tools might have seemed superfluous. Since then, the health crisis has accelerated the digitization process: delivery platforms such as GrubHub or UberEats have quickly become essential to the survival of restaurants.
As restaurants reopened their doors, they have turned to digital solutions to speed up their business, from QR codes to online payments. You need to stay on top of these innovations, the performance of your establishment may depend on it. But where do you start?
Well, start by modernizing your POS system!
But here’s the thing: it’s easy to get lost between all the options that are available to you. So what do you do? Should you stick to your good old cash register? Not really, no. sunday is here to guide you through it.
What’s a POS (or Point of Sale System)
The jargon seems more intimidating than it actually is: POS is an acronym for “Point Of Sale”. A Point Of Sale is any brick-and-mortar store where transactions take place (your restaurant, for instance).
But it’s usual to use the expression POS to talk about the system that allows you to accept payments and record your transactions.
It is a computerized system that requires hardware and software to operate. These two components can vary widely from one POS to the other: that’s why you need to understand what they are exactly.
The software
It’s the program you use to manage your transactions. Many POS software programs are available on the market, some free, some premium. We strongly advise you to choose one that is specifically designed for restaurants: your establishment doesn’t run in the same way as a bakery or a mall.
Some software will be installed locally on the hardware you own (they’re called on-premise software, Micros is one of them), some don’t need to be installed locally and run on the cloud (like Ikentoo).
The hardware
The central piece of hardware in your POS system allows you to access and operate your POS software: it’s called a POS terminal. It can be a computerized cash register, a computer, a mobile device, or a tablet.
Secondary pieces of equipment can complement the main terminal: receipt printers, digital cash drawers, kitchen terminals, payment terminals (credit card readers).
The goal of a POS system? To connect all these elements together so that they work in synch and efficiently way to save you time and make your restaurant more efficient.
You might be wondering what more digital POS systems have than an Electronic Cash Register?
From electronic cash registers to modern POS systems
Meet the ancestor of the digital POS system: the Electronic Cash Register (or ECR), with its analog pad and cash drawer that you can open with a key. ECRs can also print receipts.
Modern POS systems are to cash registers what smartphones are to landline phones. The main purpose of a smartphone is to make calls. But over time, phones have become more mobile, and landlines have become unnecessary.
New functionalities have been introduced: phones can be used to take pictures or surf the web. The same thing happened in the world of cash registers.
The main goal of cloud-based or connected POS systems is to help you manage your payments, but it will also possess other features that can oil the wheels of managing your restaurant.
Once you’ve tried them, it’s hard to do without them… Just like it would be hard for you to use a phone with no internet connection.
PCI compliance
When moving to a new POS, you need to make sure you’re still compliant with PCI SSC standards. You can head here to figure out what PCI compliance level applies to your business and what it means for your POS system.
What features to look for in a modern POS?
We’ve said it before: electronic POS systems can be a great help in managing your restaurant. These systems can do way more than help you accept payments. A well-suited POS system is an essential ally, from booking tables to tracking your performances.
On busy nights, when your dining room is full and your staff is barely able to keep up, you’ll be happy to rely on a smart system. Here is a quick overview of the features you’ll find the most valuable.
Easy check-out
That’s the main point of a POS: it helps you make transactions. A modern POS will integrate to your payment terminal and help you keep track of every order you take.
Real-time payment tracking
The aim of a cash register is to register your payments and to keep a record of your transactions in order to assist you with your accounting.
A modern POS system will do way more: it allows you to keep an eye on your sales performances in real time. This feature can be particularly useful if you manage multiple restaurants.
Floor plan and table management
Did table 42 order the Fettuccine Alfredo? Can you sit an extra table outdoors? Who’s waiting on table 9? The best POS systems will give you easy access to this information by allowing you to automatically update your floor plan.
Easy reservations
Managing your floor plan means you’ll be able to book tables faster: you’ll immediately see which ones are free and when.
Tableside ordering
If you choose a mobile POS, your waiters will no longer need to write down their orders manually (or worse, remember them!) Orders will be taken digitally. No more mistakes or misunderstandings between the kitchen and the front of house staff…
Connect the kitchen and front of house
That’s right, if you choose an efficient POS system, your waiters will no longer need to go back and forth to the kitchen: once the order is taken, it is displayed on a terminal in the kitchen, or it is printed on heat-resistant kitchen tickets (impact printers).
Inventory management
There’s no quicker way to frustrate a diner than telling them you’re out of daily specials 10 minutes after they’ve ordered them. If they have access to a mobile POS system, your waiters will know right away what is still available in the kitchen… and will manage your guests’ expectations!
Staff management
It can be a real headache to synchronize your staff’s timetable. You don’t need to handle your schedule manually: a POS system will tell you who’s working when and who’s available last minute to fill in for someone.
Precise data and statistic
Your crispy chicken is all the rage? Your dining room is always full on Thursday nights? Happy hour makes your average check size skyrocket? Food orders plummet whenever the game is on?
That’s the kind of information you need. You’ll be able to adapt your menu and adjust the way your restaurant is run to better meet the demand. But these important trends might go unnoticed if you don’t have access to a clear and centralized dashboard. And that’s a feature the best POS systems possess.
You can easily integrate to other systems
POS systems have made many aspects of restaurant owners’ daily lives easier. But the digital revolution does not stop there: new innovations that allow restaurateurs to automate their most painstaking tasks are constantly emerging.
They help restaurant owners and their staff focus on what they do best: serve their diners. That’s what we hoped to achieve by creating sunday, our very own payment solution.
It allows your clients to pay by scanning a QR code, without waiting for the bill to be brought to the table and without having to get their credit cards out.
But we’re not the only ones trying to change the way restaurants do business: delivery platforms, too, are allowing restaurant owners to reach a new customer base. If you choose a modern POS system, you’ll be able to integrate these solutions to your software.
