Boost your fall sales: Benefits of a POS system in a restaurant

Fall is a season of change and can mean peak business for many restaurant owners. To cope with the demands for seasonal dishes and beverages and the increased traffic the cooler weather brings, a manager needs a point of sale (POS) system that is powerful and flexible.

The benefits of a POS system in a restaurant range from front-of-house table management features to instant kitchen menu modification and management decisions informed by real-time revenue data.

The fall months can be profitable for a restaurant with the right game plan, so a manager must be equipped with the right tools to take advantage of the opportunity. Here’s how some of the features of a modern POS system can improve your restaurant’s bottom line.

Take advantage of the shift in weather and attitude

Although fall isn’t the restaurant industry’s busiest time of the year—like April through August—a rise in profits is still possible. Holidays, cozy weather, and the lure of seasonal ingredients combine to make this time of the year popular in a restaurant’s annual cycle.

A restaurant POS system is designed to deliver hands-on control. The best examples of today’s digital solutions allow managers to fulfill their customer’s fall expectations by:

Streamlining serviceModifying menusResponding to customer behavior

These benefits are built on practical technology that mimics the way we communicate in our everyday lives.

Utilize discrete mobile connections

Around half of the adult population owns an iPad or other form of a digital tablet. These oversized smartphones have made accessing the internet, communicating with one another, and performing a wide range of professional tasks on a touchscreen simple.

The simplicity enjoyed by tablet users streaming a movie or checking the news can also be employed by managers to run their business. Modern POS systems found across the food service industry often use iPads as a central hub for managerial and service functions.

These mobile solutions can be paired with various payment options, cash drawers, printers, and other hardware to act as the frontline of customer service. At the same time, they can be connected to every waiter station, bar, and kitchen section to efficiently transfer customer orders. Finally, these same hubs can be linked by the internet to leading business management software so the senior team can perform all their behind-the-scenes functions.

Customizing such a user-friendly system to an individual restaurant allows management teams to capitalize on every fall trend.

Streamline fall service

Fall customers expect colorful cocktails and seasonal plates that offer something extra to the year-round fare. Providing a simple, effective, and responsive service lets them focus on the food and the crisp weather, and a future return visit.

A modern, mobile restaurant POS system can help establish the ambiance of a business by reducing human error and taking the stress out of service. Employing an iPad-powered solution means: 

Staff can communicate with customers and each other with digital accuracy. Orders can be taken with tap-n-go ease and can be sent to multiple locations at once.The final bill can be split, placed on a tab, or delivered by digital invoice, depending on the customer’s preference.

The leading POS solutions also offer table management features that present staff with a living birds-eye view of the restaurant. By incorporating online reservations with walk-in traffic and takeaway orders, the front-of-house team can ensure a steady flow of fall orders through a lunch or dinner service, making it easy to manage the busiest times by reducing the restaurant to a series of easily manipulated modular layouts.

Instantly modify menus

For a kitchen to turn seasonal ingredients like cinnamon or pumpkin spice into increased sales, it needs full control over the menu.

Full control means more than just the ability to publish a new list online whenever a supplier comes across a new delicacy. The real benefits of a POS system in a restaurant include the ability to match a menu to the underlying inventory and management software. Digital inventory can count everything from a unit of produce to an ounce of meat and keep every dish, as a whole, financially accountable. A chef’s imagination can draw in customers seeking seasonal extravagances, but it is only worthwhile in a business sense if the dish generates profit.

While many modern kitchens can readily update their menus online or in print, modern POS solutions can offer the added benefit of being more responsive to what the public wants.

Respond to customer behavior

Perhaps the biggest benefit a POS system can bring to a restaurant is data analysis. A digital system can track:

SalesPurchase ordersStaff performanceKitchen waste

The detailed business knowledge that was once the sole domain of companies big enough to afford outside assistance is now common among the best POS systems. A good system should allow a manager to track data that reveals the best-selling dishes, the profit in a glass of wine, and the financial benefit of buying well-timed ingredients.

This information can lead to actions that improve business performance, inform purchasing and menu decisions, and identify high-performing staff. It can also illuminate for you the impact of advertising and customer loyalty efforts.

A restaurant POS system can boost fall sales by maximizing the impact of every seasonal advantage.

Unlock the benefits of a POS system in a restaurant

The key to unlocking the benefits of a POS system in a restaurant is to find a provider that can map their service to a business. The best solutions will include practical support in making connections between teams, building internet potential, and identifying practices that need improvement.

The solutions created by talech are sensitive enough to accomplish this feat and more. With 24/7 support and access to the latest business management solutions, restaurant managers can take total control over service with technology as familiar as an iPad. Reach out for a free demo and start improving your fall sales.