Cloud point-of-sale (POS) systems have been gaining a lot of traction over the past few years in the restaurant industry. With their various technological and software integrations, cloud POS systems make restaurant management easier for business owners.
POS hardware and software integrations can automate and speed up restaurant operations in different facets of the business: inventory, ordering, invoicing, delivery, and accounting.
Different companies implement Cloud POS systems for their restaurants differently. Although they all function similarly, not all systems have the same integrations, hardware support, or availability. Factor in differing price points, integration with your current restaurant POS system, and other considerations, and picking a cloud restaurant POS system can become a headache.
With many options out in the market, it’s important to know what you need for in a cloud POS system, and that the system you choose meets these requirements. When looking for a cloud POS system for your restaurant business, it’s best to know what features you should expect and why it’s worth investing in one.
What is a Cloud POS System?
A cloud-based POS is an online-based software designed to help owners manage every aspect of their business. It operates through either a browser or a mobile application, making them highly accessible, as it usually does not require any proprietary hardware.
Cloud POS systems are easy to set up and cost far less to both maintain and run than traditional POS systems, making them a popular option for starting restaurants. Given their online nature, these systems can be managed from anywhere as long as you have a proper internet connection.
Cloud POS Essentials
Not all systems are made the same: some are more capable than others, while similar features on different systems can be implemented differently. Some restaurant POS systems could require proprietary hardware to access functions, while others don’t offer these functions at all.
When deciding on which POS to invest in, it’s important to always consider how the system will fit in your workflow. Picking the system with the most features isn’t the best choice if its interface is hard to use and cluttered.
When picking a cloud POS system for your restaurant, you have to look out for these features and characteristics to make the most out of your business.
1. Robust Inventory Management Systems
Through reliable inventory management systems, owners can keep their restaurants properly stocked and ready to serve their customers.
While manual inventory management can help you more or less assess the status of your inventory, it’s error-prone and time-consuming.
Leading Cloud POS systems have real-time inventory updates, making it easier for managers to see which items sell out faster than others and adjust their purchases accordingly.
Some systems also allow for automated purchase orders and notifications when certain item quantities reach a preset threshold or PAR (periodic automatic replacement) level.
For example, if your stock of bottled water becomes too low, the POS can automatically send an SMS notification to your phone to let you know that you should restock. You can also set your POS to generate a purchase order to your supplier so you’re ready to order whenever you need to.
When deciding on a system, assess its flexibility to your needs. You want a system that is accurate and automated but has the right amount of room for manual adjustments.
2. Hardware/Software Compatibility and Features
As mentioned before, cloud POS systems often work on a variety of devices. However, some systems still require proprietary hardware to run certain functions of the system. These hardware costs can add to your capital and depreciation expenses.
When looking at a cloud POS system, it’s important to research all the hardware and software needed to run the system’s different features. For example, two POS systems may both have delivery management systems integrated into their software. However, one system might require an expensive proprietary tablet to run, while the other can run on any tablet device.
Always check the supported hardware and restaurant software of your cloud POS system. Always weigh out the cost and reliability of each system. Oftentimes, it’s worth paying a little more for better support and service.
Take your time to research, view product demonstrations, and list all the features you need, such as inventory management, recipe catalogs, and sales reporting.
Make sure to check out the modularity of your POS system as well. Some systems offer features like label printing, SMS notifications, or third-party delivery management as add-ons rather than standards to help lower their prices.
3. Usability and Performance
Working with right restaurant POS system can spell the difference between speedy everyday transactions and slow, frustrating ones. So it’s important to actually try and evaluate the actual POS interface for ease of use before adopting it as your overall system.
To assess this, check for:
- Intuitiveness: Do you find it easy to locate the section of the interface you are looking for?
- Speed and Responsiveness: Is the interface quick to load, responsive to taps and inputting data?
- Online-offline functionality: Does the system work well even if you accidentally go offline, and sync your data properly once you go back online?
- On-the-go access: Does anyone still need to visit any of their outlets to check on their restaurant performance? You should be able to access the POS interface at any time and in any location.
- Dark mode-Light mode options: Does the restaurant POS system give you the option to switch to dark mode, which can you switch on in the evening, or when you want to save on battery power?
You also have to evaluate the system for software updates and improvements. A lot of POS software setups don’t nearly get enough software updates to keep up with the times. Check the restaurant POS solution provider’s website and app store and find out how often they update and what features they roll out.
Don’t tie your restaurant performance down to slow, outdated restaurant software. Switch before it happens.
4. Real-time Sales Performance & Metrics
Leading cloud POS software also offers real-time automated sales reporting to help restaurant business owners keep track of their performance. Useful metrics such as average order preparation time and bestsellers for the day can help restaurant owners address any bottlenecks in staff service or supply management.
Some restaurant POS systems take it a step further and integrate sales data with other essential functions, such accounting software integration and automated GTO sales reporting.
This is especially useful for mall tenants who regularly prepare end-of-day sales reports to meet mall management reporting requirements.
4. Simplified Contactless Ordering
Following the 2020 coronavirus pandemic, people have become more conscious of the places and people they come into contact with. People want to minimize close contact with restaurant staff and physical items like printed menus, bills, and coins for sanitary purposes.
Cloud POS systems have implemented contactless ordering solutions as an alternative to traditional ordering to cater to these growing audiences.
Simplified QR code-based, contactless ordering systems are now accessible via smartphone, for example, enabling customers to view and order from digital restaurant menus, and pay with minimal contact from restaurant staff.
Normally, walk-in orders will go through a cashier or a waiter before they reach the kitchen. With contactless ordering, customer orders can go directly to the kitchen either via a kitchen display system (KDS) or an automatically printed kitchen slip. Chefs can prepare meals the moment the order is placed, making the whole process faster, safer, and easier.
Be sure to check out if your system offers contactless ordering. It’s still a relatively new feature, but one that will be essential in the future.
5. Proper Third-party Delivery Integration
In this day and age, listing your restaurant with major third-party food aggregators such as Deliveroo, Foodpanda, and GrabFood is crucial to keep up with the competition.
While making your restaurant available across multiple channels is the best solution, managing incoming orders can become challenging as you expand your partnerships.
Many delivery partner oftentimes require a dedicated terminal or device to handle orders from their platform, and manage your menu item, pricing, and formatting changes from there. This may also mean implement these changes across your other channels.
Leading cloud POS systems aim to remedy this by helping you manage multiple channels on just one system.
An integrated restaurant POS management system lets users sync their menu across all ordering channels and save time from manually fixing every digital menu. An integrated platform also consolidates and processes orders from the different third-party delivery partners.
Not all POS systems offer this function, which is why you have to invest in one that does.
6. Advanced Food Label Printing
Along with online ordering, takeout and delivery are significant sources of revenue for restaurant owners. By 2025, experts believe that online food delivery will account for 21% of the total restaurant market. That means a significant amount of customers want to bring their dining experience home and will continue to do so for the foreseeable future.
Fast and accurate order fulfillment is key to a profitable restaurant. The same goes for dispatch orders. To ensure that each order is sorted and prepared properly, restaurants are starting to use food labels to help speed up the process. These labels display the item name, customer name, and add-ons, to make it easier for kitchen staff and delivery drivers to prepare the right order for the right customer.
While food labeling is not something new, leading POS systems take label printing a step further with two key label printing innovations: cloud label printing and linerless label printing.
Cloud label printing allows compatible label printers to interact with the POS remotely through the Internet. This allows on-site and remote staff to input orders and send them directly for label printing. Cloud technology also makes it possible for any device, regardless of its operating system, to use the label printer.
The second advanced label printing technology is linerless label printing. Compatible linerless label printers can print sticker labels of varying sizes with no sticker liner – the kind that’s ready to stick right after printing.
Linerless labels are more durable and eco-friendly than traditional thermal labels. They produce far less waste and print up to 60% more sticker labels compared to lined label sticker rolls of the same length.
Retail industries are already adapting to linerless label printing technology for online delivery. It’s only a matter of time before it becomes standard in the restaurant industry, given its low costs, convenience, and eco-friendliness.
7. Regular and Timely Updates
The restaurant industry is a continuously evolving market, with heavy emphasis now placed on speed, reliability, and accessibility. Likewise, POS systems have come a long way from paper receipts and tills.
While traditional POS systems were scrambling to implement online ordering systems for bulky proprietary hardware, software-based POS systems rolled out significant updates through downloadable, easy-to-install content.
Constant and timely updates are essential to keeping your POS and restaurant relevant. Leading cloud-based POS systems often release wonderful features even before they become an industry standard.
For example, early POS systems only focused on recording transactions. Once more advanced POS systems included Recipe Catalogs, Table Management, and Inventory Tracking, competitors were forced to roll out similar features to stay competitive. Now, almost every relevant restaurant POS system in the market has these features.
Investing in a cloud POS system with a track record of constant, timely, and innovative updates is a great way to future-proof your restaurant business.
Your POS, Your Future
One of the greatest benefits of using a cloud-based POS system is its online, adaptable nature. Since cloud POS systems for restaurants are software-based, changes, improvements, fixes, and refinements can be easily be accessed on any device.
While many different systems can get the same job done, it’s best to invest in a system that you and your customers enjoy experiencing.
Pick a system that can grow with you. Look for the POS that will enable you to manage your business effectively. Take your time to research, apply for free trials, and select a POS system that provides exactly what you need.