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Restaurant Point Of Sale-Taking Cash And So Much More
William Kisse

For such a long time, most restaurant owners thought of their POS systems as a fancy cash register. Since technology has become more advance and slowly becoming an essential part in the retail systems, many innovations have become standard features within the POS industry.

1. Wireless Hand Held POS Devices. The newest generation of wireless restaurant hand held POS devices allow your servers greater freedom to take orders as well as collect payment without leaving the customer. Servers can present your daily specials to your customers on the spot, process credit cards while walking to the next table, send a bread request for table 37 to the kitchen, and add walk-ins to the waiting list - right from the handheld device. Your servers can spend more time interacting with more customers keeping them happy and keeping them coming back.

2. "Sticky" Paper Printers. One of the newest innovations is the "sticky" paper printers. These printers use paper similar to a Post-It that will allow you to reposition the receipt over and over again. The paper can be printed to whatever length is needed, then stuck to almost any surface where it will remain until you remove and/or plan to stick it elsewhere. With these printers, the paper can stay with the order through the entire order process. The new paper is also liner-free eliminating the need to manage non-recyclable waste and can be easily removed and restuck to a different surface - again and again. It can be used for all orders, exceptions, specials, as bag tags or any combination.

3. Digital Menu Board/Signage. Want to deliver media rich content, using video, audio and pictures to your customers using your POS system? Some of the POS packages have fully integrated and seamless digital menu board software that allow you to create content using the same database. Menu titles, pages, menu items, and prices can all be interlaced with high-quality multimedia to give your restaurant menu board a dramatic, interactive display without having to purchase an additional system.

With digital menu boards, content is sent to the displays from the store database in real-time, so the menu board continually updates throughout the day with menu changes, scheduled price changes, daily specials and so on.

4. Self-Service Kiosk. Also called interactive kiosk, a self-service device first used in photo machines. This great restaurant POS system can be a piece of self-service hardware device that works in combination with a self-service software where customers can perform their transactions with ease. For a restaruant POS system, a kiosk software may come in package and those that do not, allows adding a kiosk with no separate software required. Kiosk software can be used to cut down on labor costs and speed up the ordering process. It can even enhance customer's user experience enabling a whole new level of profitability!

5. Cell Phone Paging. Some restaurants are opting to take a more modern approach by paging customers' personal cell phones. The restaurant host or hostess simply takes the guest's cell phone number and enters it into the cell phone paging system keypad. When thier table is ready, the paging system sends a call to the cell phone with an automated voice message to notify the guest to report to the front of the restaurant to be seated. This can be a convenient way for guests who want to roam farther than conventional pagers will allow and there is no fear of the customer walking away with your pager.

Point Of Sale Systems-Vs. Registers 
Andrew Grygus

But I have cash registers and they work just fine. Why should I put in a more complex and expensive Point of Sale computer system?

Like it or not - information has become as important as, or even more important than products. Businesses that don't understand this are at a loss to explain why, when their prices are lower, their products just as good, and their advertising spending higher - their competitor is eating their lunch.

Don't believe us? Listen to someone with whom we almost never agree:

"If the 1980's were about quality, and the 1990's were about reengineering, then the 2000's will be about velocity. About how quickly the nature of business will change. About how quickly business itself will be transacted. About how information access will alter the lifestyle of consumers and their expectations of business. Quality improvements and business process improvements will occur far faster . . . A manufacturer or retailer that responds to changes in sales in hours instead of weeks is no longer at heart a product company, but a service company that has a product offering"
- Bill Gates, Business@the Speed of Thought - Warner Books, 2000.

For a retailer, a Point of Sale information system is critical to gathering and applying information effectively in today's ultra competitive markets. An electronic cash register, even the very sophisticated ones (that cost more than computer based systems) cannot gather or utilize information effectively enough and must now be considered "niche market" devices.

The Objectives: The reasons for deploying a Point of Sale information system are obvious:

-Reduce Costs
-Respond to trends faster
-Improve Customer Service
-Improve Marketing
-Control the money

How to Get There: Point of Sale systems offer a wide selection of features to improve control of your business and save time spent on inventory, purchasing and accounting.

-Customer Information: The system automatically records customer names, addresses, credit card information, what they bought and when. It can also record birthdays, anniversaries, and any other information that may be significant to your particular business. This information can be searched and selected to make targeted and timed mailings not only practical but easy.
-Customer Relations: Everything about the customer's purchases can be immediately called up from the system. This makes handling payments, returns and other transactions easy even if the customer has misplaces the paperwork. In multi-store environments it doesn't matter which store the customer goes to, all the information is available at all stores.
-Rentals can be handled by the same system, including combined rental / sales (rent sander, sell sandpaper, deduct unused sandpaper on return).
-Layaway: Items can be set aside and deposits tracked by the system.
-Multiple forms of payment: Any mix of credit card, checks, store credits or what have you can be applied to a purchase.
-Credit Card Clearing can be integrated with the POS system. No expensive clearing terminals to rent or buy, and magnetic scanners can be integrated with the keyboard. The credit card signature form is printed by the same printer that produces the register receipt.
-Logos on register receipts improve the image of your business.
-Full Size Invoices instead of register receipts can be printed for "big ticket" items - from the same screen.
-Inventory Control: The computer keeps the store's inventory, so the POS terminals attached to it automatically update inventory with every sale or return. In multi-store environments the person at the PoS station can check stock in other stores if this store is out of stock. The central office knows at all times how much stock each store has.
-Inventory Analysis: The system knows at what rate each item is selling at all times, making it easy to decide what quantity to reorder. Trends can be identified to reduce buying mistakes. In multi-store environments the central office can see the differences in item movement from store to store, making it easy to account for local or regional preferences.
-Reduce "Out of Stock": Low stock reports and purchase orders are produced automatically with enough lead time to receive goods.
-Size / Color Matrix: Because a size / color table can be attached to any SKU (Stock Keeping Unit), only one SKU is needed, yet sales tracking by size and color is enabled.
-Sales by Measure: For example, sales of 2x4 lumber need only have a single SKU, yet be sold in units of 4ft, 8ft, 16ft or other lengths.
-Price Tags / Shelf Tags can be printed on receiving stock to eliminate pricing and SKU identification errors.
-Price Tags / Shelf Tags can be printed on receiving stock to eliminate pricing and SKU identification errors.
-Order Entry: For a business that handles both Point of Sale and Order processing (mail order, wholesale, etc.) only one system is needed and both methods are perfectly integrated.
-Bar code Integration: Various bar code reading devices can be used in conjunction with shelf stocking, warehousing and at the sales terminal to speed entry and greatly reduce human error.
-Warranty Tracking: Time and date of purchase are automatically recorded and can be retrieved from the system within seconds. Warranty issues can be easily handled by stores other than the one where the purchase was made.
-Serial Number Tracking: for major items where tracking the individual unit is essential.
-Special Pricing: Sales and specials are easy to control. Begin and end dates can be assigned to products or product groups and the system will automatically handle them.
-Customer Groups: If you offer senior citizen discounts or discounts to club members or other groups, their discounts will be automatically applied. If they don't mention the discount until the transaction is nearly complete, it can still be back applied without voiding the order.
-Contract Pricing: A particular customer can be assigned special pricing, which will be automatically applied to sales to that customer without intervention by the person doing the sale.
-Progressive Discounts: Customers can be assigned progressive discount levels that depend on how much their total purchases over a period of months have been. The system automatically calculates and applies the discount.
-Discount Matrix: Special discount builds by quantity or other factors can be built and attached to individual products or families of products.
-Loyalty Programs and Coupons: Easily handled, including expiration and renewal.
Sales Commissions: Commissions are automatically calculated and reported by the system. Different product lines can carry different commissions and commissions can be automatically reduced if the salesperson discounts an item.
-Field Sales: At a show or remote location, sales people can query the home office system for up-to-date pricing and availability, and even complete sales from the remote location.
Hand Held Terminals often used in warehouses (for inventory) or by roving floor sales people can be integrated with the system.
-Profit Center / Product Line Control: It is very easy to set up both profit centers and product lines. This makes tracking performance of individual sales managers, and product line profitability easy. Know where the money is coming from!
-Price Adjustments: Want to bump the price 5% for all (or some of) the SKUs in a product line? Easy. Very easy.
-Accounting: Since the Point of Sale system is completely integrated with full function accounting (General Ledger, Accounts Receivable, Accounts Payable, Inventory) the books are always up-to-date. No hand entries by bookkeeping staff are required. In multi-store environments the central office always has the accounts for each individual store in real time, and can produce consolidated accounting reports as well.
-Data Export: Data files and reports can be exported from the POS system for use with other software.
-Data Import: Part number lists, customer lists, and other bulk information from outside sources can be imported into the POS system without resorting to hand entry.
e-Commerce integration: Your store system can be fully integrated with Internet Web (and kiosk) sales to the point a customer with a question can call the office and a sales person can pop up their transaction on the screen in real time and help complete the sale
Specialty Equipment: Pole displays, receipt printers, bar code scanners, cash drawers and other specialty hardware items can be added to the system with great flexibility in selection and positioning..
-Manager Control: The manager has complete access to his store, or chain of stores at any time of day or night, and can even do store transactions locally.
Security Levels: Employees are only allowed the access assigned to their password. Manger override can be required to allow price changes or discounts.
-Loss Prevention: Record keeping is so thorough and reporting so clear that employee theft of either inventory or received cash, even if cleverly disguised, is detectable and traceable.
-Support: Both accounting and technical support people can call into the system and inspect the records for themselves. This greatly reduces the level of skill needed at the store to resolve accounting problems.

Can your business afford to be without this sort of information and control? Not likely in today's ultra competitive markets.

Objections:

Training: "Won't it be harder to train sales clerks for the POS system than on a cash register?" Actually, it can be easier because the screen is much more visual than most cash registers.
End of Day Tape: "I depend on my end of day cash register report tape." The exact same tape is available from the POS system.
Purchase Cost: "Isn't a computerized system more expensive?" Well, you've got us there - that is if you're comparing to the electronic cash registers you'd buy down at Office Depot. High end cash registers that provide some features of a POS system can cost more.
Support Cost: "We don't need a 'computer guy' for a cash register." Yes, support costs are higher, because the functionality is orders of magnitude greater. There will be offsetting savings in accounting, inventory management, loss prevention and at other points, but the point is to increase sales.
Reliability: "Don't computers break down a lot?" If you buy quality equipment, it is amazingly reliable. If a component does fail, it is usually easier and less expensive to replace than a part for some proprietary cash register. Select Linux or DOS based software and it will be highly stable. If you select a Microsoft Windows based system, it will be prettier, but less stable. Your choice.
Accounting Packages: "We already use an accounting package and it has a POS module available, why not just use that?" It's kind of like using a paint sprayer attachment to a vacuum cleaner compared to a real compressor and paint sprayer. Yes, they both spray paint, but usability and results are not the same.

Extra Stock Slows Cash Flow-Advice On Preventing Excesses 
Jo Anne Chavez-Pagewise

One of the biggest mistakes many small businesses make is tying up capital in excess inventory. Plenty of major cash flows problems are the result of having too much inventory or simply the wrong type of inventory. Having too much of a regularly sold item on hand is typically the result of not accurately forecasting future demand. If your prediction for future demand is too high, you end up tying up much needed cash flow into unneeded inventory.

Sometimes, excess inventory may also be the result of underestimating forecasts. If you underestimate the sales volume of a product and consumer demand results in sellout, too many business owners panic and override their own reordering standards resulting in a larger than necessary supply. Avoiding excess inventory is especially important for businesses that offer seasonal products, which include home accessories, clothing and holiday or gift items. Since these types of products have a shorter shelf life, they are typically hard to sell once they are no longer seasonable or fashionable.

Ask yourself these questions: Do I have old inventory that needs to be disposed? Am I consistently checking delivery records against invoices to ensure that I'm only being charged for what I receive? Do I know exactly what the profit is on each item I sell? If you can't answer these questions with great confidence, then it's time to review how you're handling your inventory and take measures to ensure that you don't have hundreds, or even thousands, of dollars tucked away in storage or on the backs of shelves that is costing you money because it isn't being sold or dealt with.

Here are some important considerations in avoiding excess inventory:
1. Utilize consistent guidelines for reordering supplies and merchandise to prevent excess inventory. Keep all employees on the same page, so everyone knows when the time is right to reorder.

2. Verify profit margins on all of your business' products. If you're losing money or barely making a profit, reconsider these items in your inventory.

3. Consider excess inventory as any product over the quantity necessary to meet the demands of your customer's before being restocked. This applies to not just products that can be considered dead stock -- which hasn't sold in the last few months -- but also includes regularly sold items that you have larger than necessary quantities on hand.

4. Keep sales forecasts as accurate as possible. Review your sales figures closely each month, or even weekly if you have the time and staff. Compare forecasts with sales from the same month of the previous year, unless the item is new. If your business is relatively new, you will have to rely on your business plan to determine inventory, but be cautious to avoid excess.

5. When determining on-hand stock, also consider the lead time of an item, which is the time it takes from reordering to receiving the merchandise.

Excess inventory costs money and reduces your business' liquidity. If you have excess inventory, you're likely paying increased insurance for that merchandise, debt service for any loans used to obtain the inventory, additional personal property taxes on the unsold inventory not to mention overhead to deal with or simply store the merchandise. It has been estimated that it can cost a business anywhere from 20 to 30 percent of the original inventory investment simply to keep the product on hand and maintain it. It also takes up space that could be used for more profitable merchandise.

While you could reduce the price of excess inventory in order to sell it quickly, this would also reduce your return on your investment and your ability to price competitively. Some business owners may also try to rebalance stock by not reordering or by being overly cautious when reordering in the future. This is also a mistake as under ordering puts you at risk for an inventory shortage. If there's no inventory to sell, you're losing money.

Instead, try to establish a realistic safety margin. Know what you have on hand. Order what you know you can sell in a realistic time frame. The time it takes to prevent excess inventory is well worth it when it means you have more cash flow to make your business more profitable.