Gone are the days when restaurants conducted all operations by hand. Today, the industry relies on technologies like POS for quick service restaurants and reducing time-consuming staff responsibilities. Read on for seven essential tech tools you should invest in to run a successful restaurant:
A point of sale (POS) system is the heart of your business’s sales transactions. The POS for quick service restaurants enables managers to input orders, keep track of the company’s inventories, process payments, and view sales reports. It also helps you accept credit card payments and ensures security around credit or debit card transactions. There are various POS systems in the market, so ensure that you opt for a cloud-based POS software designed for the restaurant industry. It should also be able to connect with the rest of your restaurant’s technology.
The kitchen display system features color codes that help improve efficiency by determining which orders are yet to be fulfilled. You can also watch food preparation through the platform to ascertain that dishes are cooked on time and correctly. Examples of KDS include Toast, Lightspeed, and TouchBistro.
The best table management software, such as CAKE and Eat, use algorithms to test different seating combinations to ensure that you assign guests to a table that helps maximize profits across the floor plan. This is because they can integrate with other tools such as CRM, POS, reservation, and marketing tools, enabling them to leverage a large amount of data at its disposal. With the table management tool, you can adjust your floorplan to include new dining spaces, update seating combinations for occasions such as Mother’s day or valentine’s day or rearrange tables to maintain social distancing.
The contactless order and pays systems also help save time as your staff does not have to go back and forth between tables or access the POS constantly to settle checks. Be sure to invest in mobile payment and ordering solutions that sync automatically to your company’s guest profiles and CRM to help you provide personalized services.
1. Point of sale system
A point of sale (POS) system is the heart of your business’s sales transactions. The POS for quick service restaurants enables managers to input orders, keep track of the company’s inventories, process payments, and view sales reports. It also helps you accept credit card payments and ensures security around credit or debit card transactions. There are various POS systems in the market, so ensure that you opt for a cloud-based POS software designed for the restaurant industry. It should also be able to connect with the rest of your restaurant’s technology.2. Kitchen display system
The kitchen display system is a digital ticket system version that helps streamline communication between the kitchen and front-of-the-house (FOH). When customers place orders via POS, they appear on a screen in the back-of-house (BOH). The Kitchen Display System (KDS) lets your chefs see how long a ticket has been open to help manage their time and process orders. It also allows you to track how long your employees take to serve customers.The kitchen display system features color codes that help improve efficiency by determining which orders are yet to be fulfilled. You can also watch food preparation through the platform to ascertain that dishes are cooked on time and correctly. Examples of KDS include Toast, Lightspeed, and TouchBistro.
3. Restaurant Customer Relationship Management (CRM) tool
The CRM is a centralized hub which all your company’s technology plugs into. It is a system that helps you track client data, including dietary preferences, contact information, visit frequency, order and reservation history, and birthdays, to mention a few. It then uses this information to create customer profiles that dictate your marketing and service efforts, allowing you to provide personalized experiences which trigger customer loyalty. CRM also boosts customer engagement by offering automated anniversary or birthday reminders, email marketing, and loyalty programs. Salesforce and HubSpot are some CRM solutions you could invest in your restaurant.4. Table management systems
The table management software enables you to determine an ideal table for every customer who walks into the restaurant or makes a reservation. It gives you a complete view of your hotel’s floor plan, allowing your employees to determine which guests are seated where, which tables are unoccupied, and which clients are paying and getting ready to leave.The best table management software, such as CAKE and Eat, use algorithms to test different seating combinations to ensure that you assign guests to a table that helps maximize profits across the floor plan. This is because they can integrate with other tools such as CRM, POS, reservation, and marketing tools, enabling them to leverage a large amount of data at its disposal. With the table management tool, you can adjust your floorplan to include new dining spaces, update seating combinations for occasions such as Mother’s day or valentine’s day or rearrange tables to maintain social distancing.
5. Contactless pay and order systems
Contactless payment and order have become the norm for most restaurants, thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic, so you should consider investing in online payment and order solutions. This system helps you create an online ordering experience for your clients, including online menus that allow them to place and pay for orders.The contactless order and pays systems also help save time as your staff does not have to go back and forth between tables or access the POS constantly to settle checks. Be sure to invest in mobile payment and ordering solutions that sync automatically to your company’s guest profiles and CRM to help you provide personalized services.
