Choosing the right POS software and hardware for your business
This post will cover the main points to consider when choosing a POS system for your business
What's in it for me?
By reading this post you will find out exactly what kind of POS you will need for your business. Make sure to choose your POS based on your business needs.
What's in it for me?
By reading this post you will find out exactly what kind of POS you will need for your business. Make sure to choose your POS based on your business needs.
Introduction: POS Software and Hardware
Many others like you find choosing the right POS for their restaurant to be stressful. There are 3 things that you will learn from this post: POS trends, Newest POS features available, and common POS software and hardware setups. The goal is for you to find the best solution for your business.
Overview of POS Software and Hardware
Hardware
In choosing your POS system, it is important to first look at restaurant trends. By trends, I mean what technology are others like you choosing to have for their setup. The most common setup for a restaurant we have seen is 4 stationary terminals, 2 receipt printers and a kitchen printer. The terminal is the POS that remains plugged in at all times and takes an ethernet connection. There are two types of printers, thermal and impact. Thermal is best used in the front of the house because it prints silently and quick. An impact printer is best used in a kitchen because the checks will not be effected by the heat. Thermal printer paper changes color when exposed to heat. The most efficient spot to place a printer in the kitchen is near the window. The heat here will change the color of your receipt making it unreadable, causing a major disruption. Although the thermal printer is more modern, the impact printer works very well for the kitchen. Not only can it be placed in a hot area, it also makes loud noises notifying your kitchen staff that an order was just sent. This makes total sense when your kitchen staff is in the weeds.
Software
Have you decided what POS software you will use? Not all software is agnostic, meaning your software needs to be compatible with your hardware. Some software you may find will say that it is compatible only with an Apple Ipad. This is very limiting if you decide later on you want to add an Android tablet, or a mounted windows based terminal. Business can change rapidly and certain hardware may not be available immediately. After deciding on the POS software, you then need to ask yourself, is it cloud-based? If your POS system is not cloud-based, your data can be lost in a case of a power outage. This includes your transactions, and customer profile data. With a cloud-based system, all transactions and customer data is up in the cloud, taking away the stress of losing data in a power outage. If you are lucky enough to find a POS that offers a cloud base as well as a desktop base, you will have double security. In case of a power outage, data is backed up by the cloud; In case of a internet outage, data is backed up on the terminals. The best decision to make is to choose POS Software that is agnostic, meaning compatible with any hardware, and offers a cloud option.
Newest Trends and Features: POS Software and Hardware
Restaurant POS Trends
Restaurants have been forced into different adaptations in recent times. This led to an increased demand for online delivery, customer loyalty, and 3rd party integrations. During COVID-19 a majority of restaurants were nearly forced to offer online ordering to their customers to stay afloat. Customer loyalty is known to be a recent trend. Restaurant owners are making sure to buy POS systems that have integrations with marketing and gift card platforms, so that they are able to attract more customers easily.
Features
Many POS systems come with online ordering as a built-in feature, which allows any restaurant to offer online ordering as an option. Customer loyalty has grown popular through the use of applications. Points are given to guests based on their interactions with the restaurant. Gift cards are another feature offered with certain POS systems and they are very easy set up. Points are completely customizable and are explained in further detail on our customer loyalty page. These marketing and automation features are slowly becoming essential to the restaurant industry. To be up to date with the latest features offered with a POS system, check out our features page.
Conclusion
Now that you have read about POS software and hardware, you should know to look for a hybrid POS system that is agnostic and able to integrate with all platforms. Connect with us on our contact page and we can give you more information on the benefits of having advanced POS software and hardware.
Overview of POS Software and Hardware
Hardware
In choosing your POS system, it is important to first look at restaurant trends. By trends, I mean what technology are others like you choosing to have for their setup. The most common setup for a restaurant we have seen is 4 stationary terminals, 2 receipt printers and a kitchen printer. The terminal is the POS that remains plugged in at all times and takes an ethernet connection. There are two types of printers, thermal and impact. Thermal is best used in the front of the house because it prints silently and quick. An impact printer is best used in a kitchen because the checks will not be effected by the heat. Thermal printer paper changes color when exposed to heat. The most efficient spot to place a printer in the kitchen is near the window. The heat here will change the color of your receipt making it unreadable, causing a major disruption. Although the thermal printer is more modern, the impact printer works very well for the kitchen. Not only can it be placed in a hot area, it also makes loud noises notifying your kitchen staff that an order was just sent. This makes total sense when your kitchen staff is in the weeds.
Software
Have you decided what POS software you will use? Not all software is agnostic, meaning your software needs to be compatible with your hardware. Some software you may find will say that it is compatible only with an Apple Ipad. This is very limiting if you decide later on you want to add an Android tablet, or a mounted windows based terminal. Business can change rapidly and certain hardware may not be available immediately. After deciding on the POS software, you then need to ask yourself, is it cloud-based? If your POS system is not cloud-based, your data can be lost in a case of a power outage. This includes your transactions, and customer profile data. With a cloud-based system, all transactions and customer data is up in the cloud, taking away the stress of losing data in a power outage. If you are lucky enough to find a POS that offers a cloud base as well as a desktop base, you will have double security. In case of a power outage, data is backed up by the cloud; In case of a internet outage, data is backed up on the terminals. The best decision to make is to choose POS Software that is agnostic, meaning compatible with any hardware, and offers a cloud option.
Newest Trends and Features: POS Software and Hardware
Restaurant POS Trends
Restaurants have been forced into different adaptations in recent times. This led to an increased demand for online delivery, customer loyalty, and 3rd party integrations. During COVID-19 a majority of restaurants were nearly forced to offer online ordering to their customers to stay afloat. Customer loyalty is known to be a recent trend. Restaurant owners are making sure to buy POS systems that have integrations with marketing and gift card platforms, so that they are able to attract more customers easily.
Features
Many POS systems come with online ordering as a built-in feature, which allows any restaurant to offer online ordering as an option. Customer loyalty has grown popular through the use of applications. Points are given to guests based on their interactions with the restaurant. Gift cards are another feature offered with certain POS systems and they are very easy set up. Points are completely customizable and are explained in further detail on our customer loyalty page. These marketing and automation features are slowly becoming essential to the restaurant industry. To be up to date with the latest features offered with a POS system, check out our features page.
Conclusion
Now that you have read about POS software and hardware, you should know to look for a hybrid POS system that is agnostic and able to integrate with all platforms. Connect with us on our contact page and we can give you more information on the benefits of having advanced POS software and hardware.
Author: Ryan Taylor
Marketing Analyst at Ordyx POS
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