A Little Technology Helps Restaurants in Big Ways

From different marketing strategies to point-of-sale equipment, technology surrounds the restaurant industry. Utilizing the right technology can greatly increase the profits made, reduce inventory and other problems and help a restaurant manager stay organized, on schedule and in touch with key players involved in his business.

Jan 19, 2012 - 15:49
Financial Software

Financial software can hold great advantages for a restaurant such as organizing data and creating reports for expenditures, purchases, inventory, payroll and employee information and actual usage. Some financial software programs can also be linked to the restaurant's point of sale system to determine which items on their menu sell the best, sell the least and which dishes bring in the greatest profits.

Most restaurants run some kind of financial software through their back of house computer, but with today's emerging technology, there is much more being offered than the standard accounting software. Software packages can cost anywhere from a $100 all the way up to several thousand dollars, so it is advisable to do research on financial software programs in your price range.

Point of Sale Systems

Point of sale systems, or POS as they are commonly called, are much more than an electronic cash register. Modern POS can be very costly, but a good one can practically run a restaurant. They include all the software and hardware needed to record labor costs, inventory, enter an order and send it back to the kitchen, tabulate the diner's bill and process payments.

Some of the common technology used with point of sale systems includes a handheld inventory device. This device can be synced with the main POS, so rather than trying to keep track of inventory manually with a clipboard and a pen, you can enter all information into the handheld device and have it delivered, monitored and organized within your POS system.

Credit Card Readers

Today, you would be hard pressed to find a restaurant that did not accept credit cards. However, with the advent of m-commerce, newer POS systems are incorporating a device that can read the diner's mobile device, so that your restaurant can accept their mobile money payment. It works by reading the information transmitted to the computer through an application installed on the customer's smart phone. New technology also allows the business owner and several employees to accept credit cards right on their mobile device while they are at the table with their customer. Anybody that has waited an intolerably long time for their card to be read at a restaurant would appreciate this feature.

Order-Entry Touch Screens

Order-entry touch screen systems are linked directly to the POS system and can accept the order, transmit it to the kitchen, tabulate the bill and then send it to the cashier's station with just a touch of a few buttons. Touch screen systems can be customized to the restaurant's exact specifications.

There is no denying that ever revolving technology has streamlined and improved the system and running of a restaurant. A restaurant owner would do well to research the various technologies available and see which ones could prove a benefit.

Jacob Thompson is a writer for Merchant Seek, a company that provides merchant account reviews to small businesses. His writing has appeared on several small business Web sites.