TouchBistro has an in-depth support system to ensure its users get the best experience from the POS. Apart from the customer care staff that TouchBistro subscribers can access day and night, users have access to other forms of support.
TouchBistro breaks down its support materials in a secure yet comprehensive way. An adequately informed user will get the optimum benefits of the POS.
Getting Started
There are six steps to follow when you are ready to start using TouchBistro POS.
- Get your Mac Mini server ready and set it up. TouchBistro offers you a step by step guide on how to go about it. The guide will help you to set up the Mac Mini and also update the operating system. The Mac Mini will serve you as the server for your POS, and you will need to ensure the configuration is perfect.
- You will need to connect a mouse and a keyboard to the Mac Mini. You will also need a monitor for display purposes. Ensure you keep the gadgets where you can view them all the time. You will need the tools when updating your server. You will always need to have your server to date with the latest version. The gadgets will also come in handy when TouchBistro support needs to help you through an issue.
- You will need TeamViewer. Download and install it. TeamViewer is the app that will troubleshoot your POS issues remotely. It also helps to diagnose and solve your connectivity issues.
- Download and install TouchBistro for iPads. You will need to download it from the Apple store and only use an Apple ID that solely belongs to you. If you use an Apple ID that belongs to an employee, you might encounter cases of such staff leaving with the Apple ID plus the passwords.
- Create your Restaurant. The process involves several steps which you will carry out on your iPad.
- Start by opening TouchBistro on one iPad and selecting the option to set up a new restaurant.
- You will then create your restaurant profile by entering the name of the firm, the location, and your contact details, such as the email.
- TouchBistro gives you a name and a password that you will use to register the firm. Note that your default admin password is 1234.
- The next phase is to create your floor plan. To set up the screen, access the ADMIN SETTINGS, and set a floor plan. You do not need to set up the entire floor plan all at once. However, it is essential to start the process before your training starts. TouchBistro provides an administrator’s guide on how to set up the floor plans.
- Set up your menu. At this stage, you will customize your menu items to suit your business needs.
- Manage your staff by creating profiles and user passwords. While at it, create a manager’s profile for yourself and s create managers’ profiles for the team who are in the managerial capacity. The administrative profile will have more access authority than the rest of the profiles. TouchBistro advises that you do not use the managerial profile to run your day to day operations.
When you choose to register, use one word all in small letters as your ACCOUNT NAME. Note down the account name and the password you select so that you do not forget.
Think through your restaurant menu and set it up to suit your business needs. Ensure your internet connection is available and stable. You will need it before installing or starting your training.
Check what you will require for your wiring and make sure everything is in place. Consider the positioning of your printers, routers, and the modem.
The next phase is to plug in your printers to the Airport router. You will need the Cat5 Ethernet cabling to accomplish that connection. Check the distance between your kitchen printer and the router and get cables of the proper size. When accounting for your mounting, measure the physical distance between the router and the kitchen printer and add 12 feet extra.
TouchBistro User Guides
TouchBistro ensures you have enough guides depending on the roles you play in your firm. It classifies the guides into different categories as follows:
Guides For Administrators, Managers And Staff
- Self-Managed Networks
TouchBistro staff has the expertise and the qualification to support networks. The routers TouchBistro uses to give the support are Ubiquity AmpliFi or Apple Airport.
The devices TouchBistro approves for use are to ensure that TouchBistro users get the best experience.
However, some TouchBistro users opt for non-supported routers. In such instances, TouchBistro will ask the users to get help from their IT specialists of any issues related to the network. TouchBistro refers to those networks as Self-Managed Networks.
TouchBistro customers who are on the Self-Managed Networks will get software and hardware support from TouchBistro. The users will get all the help they require as long as it is not network related.
- Staff Break Feature
The tool enables you to schedule breaks for your staff while they are still on shift. The team will not need to log out of the job shift to take the break.
The feature gives a detailed outline of the start of shift time, the beginning of a break, when the break ends, and when the shift ends.
The tool also enables you to add other details concerning the breaks. For example, you can outline the nature of the break, say tea or lunch break. You can key in the duration it is supposed to take and whether the break is a paid break or not.
- Setting up Digital Menu
The TouchBistro digital board enhances you to set up your digital menu on television available in your venue.
The set up will require the Pro POS system and the 4K model of Apple TV. You will be using the Apple Siri Remote, which only works on the 4K model.
The setup guide will help you with the steps to follow to configure your menu. Select the appearance that best suits your venue.
TouchBistro allows you to access the digital menu using the app for the Apple TV Remote. You can download the app on your iPhone or iPad. You obtain the app cost-free.
TouchBistro allows you to see up to five categories of the menu at a time, with each group showing a maximum of ten items.
Whatever items you want to show on the screen are the ones you set on the Menu Categories on the POS Menu settings. If you’re going to change what is visible on the screen, you will change it from the Menu Categories.
The NEVER option on the setup settings will help you to keep the Apple TV from going to sleep mode in the middle of service.
- Security
There are several security checks you need to take when you are not in service. Take the measure before a business day starts or after the close of business.
The first thing you should check is the Apple ID. TouchBistro cautions users against using their Apple ID. An individual ID reveals the activities of that user to other IP users.
The security of your business is critical, and therefore it takes priority. Visit Apple so that you can apply for an ID to use exclusively for the company. Take note of the ID and keep it in a secure place.
- Account Reporting
It is possible to have some clients who will place orders with you but may not pay for the service right away. For example, if you have an office that needs your services during their late-night meetings, the client may not pay for the services the same night.
It is, therefore, essential to have a way of serving such clients on credit but keep a record of accounts that will give the proper bill for the customer.
You can agree to have the customer paying each end of the month or weekly, depending on what will work best.
The guide will show you how to get the accounts data from the cash registers.
- Limiting Cash Drawer Access
You can set your cash drawer to open automatically every time a payment is processed and printed from the same station. It is essential to be keen with the settings so that you do not have cash drawers opening in response to payment processing that takes place in a distance.
TouchBistro provides a guide to help you through the settings.
- Customizing Floor Plans
The floor plan editor will help you to basic layout details such as the walls, floor layouts, and tables.
You may also want to jazz up the flooring plan with items that are available in your restaurants, such as flowers, counters, grills, and couches. TouchBistro allows you to add customized images on the background to give you the image you desire for your business.
The floor plan editor gives you options you can use to add fixtures on the floor plans.
- Updating TouchBistro
Always remember to update TouchBistro first on your iPad before updating the Pro Server.
- Receiving and Closing Deposits
You may sometimes have clients asking you to cater to their pre-planned events such as weddings or parties. The clients can opt to have the service from your restaurant or their venue of choice.
Such events will take massive planning details from your end. You would also need to invest in considerable materials. The client will, therefore, require to place a deposit with you to help you plan efficiently and to make the event a success.
The POS system should account for that deposit at the end of that business day. However, it should not purchase the following day’s usual business.
Allow your POS to remember the details of the deposit so that it will update when the customer clears the bill.
Guides For TouchBistro Reservations
The requirement for each reservation is unique. You may have some events such as Valentine Day, which will bring in more couples than usual. Such activities will demand that you change your table layouts to have more tables for couples.
Other event bookings such as Christmas Day will demand that you set up table layouts to accommodate families to sit together.
TouchBistro supports you through such events by giving you a guide that helps you to create alternative table plans. It also helps you to avail more tables for reservations automatically.
How TouchBistro Supports You In Business Reporting
TouchBistro has an Accounting section that guides you on how to configure your accounting settings. The feature enables you to collect and process your data on sales, inventory, and taxes.
The Accounting sections enable you to access CSV files to help you import data to third-party platforms such as the bevlntel app.
Many of the data reports will require you to email them to yourself for you to view. You will use CSV files to email yourself.
Create an iPad email address which you will use to forward the data reports for your view.
TouchBistro has a Sales Report section that gives you access to data reports concerning sales, refunds, or returns, among others. The sales data generated is configured to calculate sales before applying taxes. Inclusive Tax affects the sales report, and TouchBistro has a guide to take you through those effects.
When you need to access the sales report, use the Manager Profile to access the data.
The other tool that helps you to get data reports is the Payment Reports Section. The data report gives you the total cash payments, payments to your venue done from credit cards, and refunds as well. You will also need an iPad email account to email the reports to yourself for viewing.
The Menu Reports sections give you a breakdown of the products sold under each menu item, the costs and voids, and the inventory report.
You can also view the labor reports from the Labor Reports section. The data will show you the costs, tips done via credit cards, and shift breakdown of each employee.
Is TouchBistro Expensive?
TouchBistro offers different price plans that suit various business needs. The subscription plans allow you to subscribe to hardware devices only or a combination of software and hardware plans.
TouchBistro pricing depends on the number of licenses you want. If you get one POS license, you will have that at $105 if you opt for hardware only, but if you wish to have both hardware devices and the software, it will cost you $69.
A subscription for two licenses, software only will cost $129 per month, but you will top up to $209 if the subscription includes hardware devices.
Five licenses subscription to software only will cost $249 monthly and $359 if it includes hardware devices.
If you want unlimited licenses, it will cost you $399 per month for software only, and the same will cost $539 if it comes with hardware devices.
TouchBistro Integration With Quickbooks
TouchBistro drives efficiency for its users and streamlines the back-of-the-house operations by integrating the POS with QuickBooks.
The integration helps restaurants to reduce accounting costs. It also cuts down on accounting hours because it eliminates double entry operations, which are time-consuming.
Integrating QuickBooks with your POS takes a brief period. The integration utilizes the Shogo cloud-based integration.
TouchBistro maps its revenue and cost categories to the QuickBooks platform. It ensures data accuracy between the data reporting and the accounting data reports.
Such precision in data collection helps the inefficient management of the business.
Should You Invest In TouchBistro?
TouchBistro helps you to streamline your business operations so that you can give better services to your clients.
When your clients are satisfied, your revenue is bound to improve.
TouchBistro enables you to automate your business operations, such as seating arrangements, inventory, calculating sales, and taxes as well. The value the POS adds to your firm is worth the investment.