There is no shortage of restaurant management software available. The problem is knowing how to choose what’s going to best suit your needs.
Spend time digging into what your actual needs are. Finding a system that meets those needs will have a lot of benefits, not the least of which is improving productivity by streamlining some of the work that has to be accomplished.
It can be a formidable task considering all the variables that come into play. Daunting, perhaps, but not impossible. All you need is a little help!
Considerations for your software
These are some of the areas which need some thought when it’s time to look into software for your restaurant:
- How much can you spend? This should be the first question you answer. There’s no sense in falling in love with a system that has all the bells and whistles if it’s way out of your price range! Also, don’t forget about costs like fees for monthly support, licensing, and additional hardware you may need. Get a handle on the budget before you start shopping!
- Where do you want your data stored? In other words, would you feel more comfortable with your updates and data stored on a computer that is physically at the restaurant or are you fine with everything being stored in a cloud-based server?
- What features do you need? There are differences in the features that are offered by many POS systems. Which of these are necessary for your system to have? This is a sampling of the kinds of needs you may have:
- Will you be integrating Quickbooks?
- Do you require the capability to take online orders and/or reservations?
- Will you need to process credit cards?
- Do you need mobile payments to be a possibility?
- Will your system be used for managing employee time cards?
Software choices
All restaurant POS systems aren’t created equally! Let’s take a look at the ones that are generally accepted as the best of the best.
- Toast POS. The pros of the system are the ease of use and simplicity of the setup. A reported downside is the difficulty reaching customer support in a timely manner.
- TouchBistro Restaurant POS. This is an iPad based system. The pros include ease of use and set-up, especially for someone who is already familiar with Apple products. It is compatible with iPhones, which is a handy feature for Apple users. Similar to Toast, the biggest drawback appears to be the timeliness with which customer service responds.
- ShopKeep POS. ShopKeep is also an iPad system. The customer service with this system is quite responsive. Other pros include the ease of use and sales tracking. The cons are a lack of compatibility with chipped cards and iPhones.
- Torqus POS. As opposed to some of the other systems on our list, this one is Android based. The support users receive is excellent without much of a wait time involved. The solutions Torqus provides are comprehensive and can boost productivity. A con is the system’s incompatibility with Apple iOS.
You won’t be sorry for spending an adequate amount of time researching the different products available. Researching gives you the best opportunity to assess what your needs are and the restaurant management system that fits those needs best.