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For such a long time, most people thought of their point of sale system as a fancy cash register. Since technology has become more advance and slowly becoming a necessity in the retail systems, many innovations have become standard features within the Point of Sale industry. Below are more tips that can help you out:

1. Staff Scheduling. Some restaurant POS packages includes a “staff scheduling” feature. You can expect to increase efficiency and dramatically reduce overall labor costs by controlling clock-ins and clock-outs, utilizing forecasting tools and control staffing levels. This POS feature allows easy schedule access, shifts and multiple job positions for each employee. You can tie in any number of security functions to any job position. Some of the packages has a feature that allows you to post schedule on a website and sends an email of the schedule to your staff automatically. Keep your labor costs in check and increase employee performance by simply managing efficiently and effectively your time & attendance information.

2. Software Upgrade Assurance or SUA. SUA is a software maintenance program that gives you a distinct advantage when you purchase a POS system. You are able to help stretch your investment and extend the usable life of your restaurant point of sale system. Customers who are on an SUA plan will always have the most current software version. This basically keeps their POS system new. Whenever you receive an upgrade it’s just like buying the most current and advanced POS system available in the market with the newest and most up-to-date features for your restaurant. The most current feature set ensures that you have the best possible ROI by allowing you to take full advantage of the power the POS software offers.

One other very important feature of SUA programs is that no software purchase is required if you upgrade or replace a hardware. When hardware needs replacing there is a drastically reduced cost to upgrade.

Typically, these programs work on a yearly fee for you to acquire their benefits. Ma customers are satisfied receiving the huge benefits of this program that help reap the full return on their POS investment.

3. Proper Restaurant Tip Handling. Some of the point of sale software products includes a tip tracking feature. Once you set an employee as a tipped employee, the system will require tip declaration prior to clock out. All servers or waiters who ring sales will get their total sales tracked. Tips collected through credit card sales are tracked and shown on the server closeout report. Prior to clock out, server/waiter will be shown their total sales for the day, the charge tips collected and then will be asked to declare their cash tips. This functionality will help you enforce tip regulations and manage the tracking declared tips, charge tips and hours worked for every tipped employee.

4. Frequent Diner & Customer Loyalty Programs. As the restaurant owner you would like your point of sale system to provide accurate information on your customer’s number and frequency of visits, their buying habits, entice repeat visits and purchases through reward programs. You are able to do all this while managing the programs and preventing “sweet hearting” by employees. Prevent retail loss at all cost! Sweet hearting happens when an employee promises a deal to a customer in order to close a sale.

Some POS packages come standard with a frequent diner or customer loyalty package that does all these things and more. By expertly tracking down your guests and their buying habits, you can prevent retail loss. You establish a database of account numbers using your guests information.. You may use their phone numbers or any number system you want. In what ever approach you choose, the most popular and most secure method is through magnetic cards with a logo of your business. These cards may act as a constant reminder of your restaurant by having your business logo in their wallet or purse. The POS software will secure the reward programs you set in place and preventing the server/waiter from giving away food. Rewards are given only when earned through purchases, frequent visits or for items on your menu that you wish to highlight. By establishing a restaurant reward programs takes your staff out of the game and place you in charge of everything.

As you can see, there are so many ways to run your retail business more efficiently by using restaurant technology. Back to basics next month..

Michael Cummings is Vice President of Customer Relations for POS-for-Restaurants.com. With over 20 years of restaurant experience, POS-for-Restaurants.com helps you use your technology to be more efficient and more profitable.

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