6 reasons why your restaurant needs a smart POS system

What makes a restaurant successful? In a post-COVID-19 world, this question is asked by entrepreneurs who have seen the sector’s development. Before the pandemic, 50% of restaurants didn’t live to see their 5th anniversary. With this panorama, it is no longer enough to have good quality food, an optimal service, or an innovative proposal; those who want to survive must bet on innovation.

Opting for a smart POS is a good starting point for restaurants willing to jump to digitalization. Think of it this way: you need a point of sale, so why not go with a solution that can do much more than a simple cash register? Here are the top reasons why your restaurant needs a smart POS system.

1. Flexibility of payments

Flexibility is vital when serving customers, so you must ensure they can choose how they want to pay. A smart POS will allow you to accept all payment types, split the bill, gift specific items, and more. With the Tiller POS, for example, you can split the bill per person dish or manually enter the amount indicated by each client in a few clicks.

2. Custom features

A restaurant is not just any business; therefore, it should not have a generic management system. If you go for a restaurant POS, you can enjoy personalized features such as a floor plan, bookings, and multiple menu management directly from your cash register. You should be able to replicate your restaurant setup, make automatic menu changes, set special prices at certain times (happy hour!), and more to make the POS yours.

3. Easy app integration

Due to the arrival of digitalization, restaurants now rely on more services like booking platforms, delivery, and management. It is not uncommon to find a variety of screens on the counter of any establishment. If you work with an open system, you can integrate these solutions into a single device to better manage your business.

According to Tiller’s cofounder Dimitri Farber, “In an increasingly complex ecosystem, Tiller seeks to be the digital ally of the merchant by centralizing all the tools they need in one place.” Tiller has its own AppMarket, a digital marketplace where you can find all available integrations, from management tools to delivery solutions like Deliverect.

4. Software updates

As a restaurant owner, one thing you should avoid at all costs is becoming obsolete. The hospitality sector is accelerating, and you must be prepared to adapt to new trends. Don’t go for a POS that doesn’t offer updates. Some POS providers have a team of developers constantly working on enhancing the system. This also means that any bug can be easily corrected and that customer feedback translates into improvements for the app.

5. Real-time data

Knowledge is power, and the POS is the perfect tool to collect it. In addition to acting as a point of sale, choosing a POS that serves as a management system is necessary. Tiller, for example, has a back office that will allow you to control all your metrics at a glance. You can monitor sales, compare different periods, identify the best and worst products, and send your accounting reports in real-time.

A key point, without a doubt, is the possibility of controlling your restaurant remotely, so you don’t have to be there to know what’s happening. This feature allows you to remotely analyze business performance anytime, anywhere, from mobile to computer.

6. Direct support

Touchscreens are so intuitive that anyone can learn to use them. Thanks to the popularity of smartphones, everyone is used to sensitive screens, so they will learn to navigate the system instantly, saving you hours of training for new employees. However, it would be best if you still went for a system with customer service available for any question. With Tiller, in addition to initial training, the support team is with you via chat directly at the POS, which is ideal for your employees to solve any doubt during service.

While opting for a traditional cash register can help you cut costs, acquiring a point of sale is an essential step toward digitalization that should not be taken lightly. With the current panorama, the conclusion is simple: innovating is risky, but failing to do so is even more so.