When you plan to start a restaurant or some cafe, you often think of investing in interiors, decor, marketing, and advertising. There is no doubt in the fact that the appearance of a premise matters but the owner must not forget that good management is the key to have a successful business. Every restaurant in the world, be like small , medium or a big one, needs to update themselves from manual restaurant management techniques to automatic software-based management systems.
A restaurant management system is more than a POS software. It is primarily designed to function, operate and manage the operations of a restaurant. It makes the management process much easier than ever thought of. It helps to record transactions and manage inventory with utmost accuracy and efficiency. The setup includes both software and hardware like barcode scanner, bills printing device and cash registration device. It is a unique restaurant technology that empowers the restaurant owners to do what they love without facing much havocs.
POS software is the heart of a restaurant. There is so much software available in the market that a restaurant owner can choose according to his needs and requirements. Avero, BevSpot, BlueCart, Bonously, Chowly are few among many software that a restaurant owner can use. This software help in scheduling time, effectively manage labor cost and create a communication chain among the workforce. This software is available for Android, iOS as well as for the web.
This software is equipped with tremendous features that help to increase the productivity of a restaurant. Here is a list of unique features that a restaurant management software provides:
- Setting of Menu
The complexity of a menu depends on the vision of the owner. The POS device helps you to set the menu as per the needs of the customer. The menu settings should allow walking through every modifier the customer could probably look for.
For example, if you are offering burgers, then you will be able to take customization requests from the customer. They will get to make a burger of their own choice. They can have their choice of bun among the variety, the sauce, toppings, no capsicum or more olives, mozzarella cheese or cheddar cheese, the choice is there.
Therefore, the menu has to be set up according to the ingredients involved. You will not need a calculator for summing up the changes but an effective Restaurant Management Software will definitely do the job.
- Sales tracking
Every business undergoes with cash and credit transactions on a daily basis. The restaurant management software helps you to keep a track of all the items that are sold. It makes the life of the restaurant finance manager easier by tracking all the sales data of the business. It helps to determine the nature of sales in the business. For example, by analysing the record the owner will get to know the busiest selling time, best and worst dish on the menu and determine the best seller among all.
- Order management
Order management is one of the best features of Restaurant management software. The staff of the restaurant will be able to pass the request quickly, change tables, change the quantity of the items, make repetition in the menu and keep track on the reservations. When a group of friends arrives at the restaurant, they usually split the bill. The software allows splitting the bills and debiting equal value from each one of them. Also, there will be control over refunds, voids, comps and keeping a track on order status.
- Table management
The software keeps a record on empty, occupied and reserved tables. The software helps to settle down the visitors. It provides a grid view of the situation. It also helps in receiving online reservation request and assign the table accordingly. The software also provide a live demo of how the management is gonna look like.
- Offering loyalty points and gift cards
Some restaurants do not consider offering gift cards or providing loyalty points as a good idea. They never see the potential in gift cards in increasing sales. But the actual fact is that a customer will choose your restaurant over others to redeem the gift card offer. The more a customer will visit, the more will be the increment in sales. It is probably the biggest advantage of generating revenue before the sale. It helps in improving the flow of cash in the market. The software helps in generating loyalty points and gift cards. It is considered to be way more effective than running an advertisement campaign or generating coupon codes.
- Inventory control
Inventory control is a must-have feature to own for any business enterprise. Most of the restaurant POS software has the feature to deduct the item from inventory according to the sale. It is important to know the quantity of food you have in your stock so that you know when to make a call for filling the inventory. It is important to understand your profit margin on the total sale. All the software has an inbuilt inventory control feature but some of them need third party integration.
To run a business in a modern world where everything needs to be quick, it is important for businesses to keep apace with the market. Therefore a Restaurant Management software is essential.
Author Bio:
Ritu Kasana, currently working as a Media Coordinator with Techjockey.com. With more than three years of experience in SEO content and the latest optimization practices, I like to write on trending software and technology. I am a tech lover and always look for the latest industry trends to keep the readers updated.