The restaurant industry has been evolving since its existence and forcing the owners to remain responsive towards those changes. With the outdated features and management operations eventually causes high frustrations in the restaurant. And usually, these frustrations can only be controlled with the software updates. This means that whether you are using software for free or have already spent dollars in its customizations, you still need to keep on looking for the new upgrades and features available in the market. These constant upgrades have made cloud base POS the best options for the restaurant owners. However, what is the best way to find out whether your POS is up to date or outdated? Even the POS systems based on cloud computing has different versions. The below discussed 6 reasons will help you in analyzing whether it’s time for your POS to change or not!
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Making Any Change in Restaurant Difficult
What is ideal POS software for restaurants or any other business? It should not only streamlining the existing operations instead it should be flexible enough to adjust according to any operational change. If you deploy software that is not supporting changes in your restaurant and restricting you from adopting updated operations, then it is time for you to either upgrade it or change it. Considering this issue as one of the biggest because it can cost the sustainability of the business, Online POS solutions tailored for managing the restaurant operations have become the better option. This is because they are usually based on the SaaS model that firstly makes them way too cheap than traditional systems. And secondly, they are made with the flexibility of getting customized according to the new operational preferences and accept those changes. You need to neither invest from scratch in your cloud-based POS systems nor spend extra efforts for making the developer understand the recent changes. In most of the cases, the systems communicate recent changes to the restaurant manager.
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Not User-Friendly
You just cannot skip this feature! One of the major lacking in the outdated POS is the difficulty in using and managing them. Some of them were literally very lengthy to operate as they involve irrelevant steps of data entry making operations not any better but complicated. If you are using any software that is not user-friendly but you still find it a perfect fit because it is giving you all the required outputs, then it a sign for you to change it ASAP. It will be getting frustrating for you anytime soon because the updated technology has focused on this particular aspect. The new cloud-based POS solutions are offering high user-friendliness with the aim of spoiling the industry by making systems understandable and helpful for them. Even if you as the restaurant owner do not find the need for this convenience still you will be forced for this change. Do you know why? It’s because you will start losing your market because of the inefficiency and non-competitiveness of your operations.
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Using Disparate Systems
In the recent past when desktop POS systems were introduced, using different systems for managing different operations of the restaurant was considered a good approach. This is because this approach was encouraging the restaurants to use modern accountancy methods even when they had limited budgets. Although, this approach does not provide efficient results but it helped in changing the mindset of restaurant owners and gave them the opportunity of developing a comfort level with using technology. However, using disparate systems for the long term can cost the sustainability and market share of the restaurant. And the inefficiency of the operations is not the only issue a restaurant will be facing from this approach, but they will not be able to make well-informed decisions. Because the software can help in tracking the real-time sales but will not be functioned to manage CRM with this data. The new updated cloud-based POS has understood this concern of the restaurant owners therefore, not only they are the one-stop solution but also provide the convenience of the free trial. If you are still using different systems in your restaurant, you should start searching for the best online POS solution.
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Incomplete Reporting
Reporting is the most important feature of any POS system that cannot be ignored by the businesses. There is the number of restaurant owners that believe that only financial reporting is important, rest can be ignored. But in the past few years, the sustainability of restaurants has become dependent on the customers that have made the reporting of CRM with real-time customer specific sales statistics highly important. Not only reporting, the technology of the online restaurant POS has been reached to the level that on the basis of these statistics, they also provide relevant options. If you own one of these restaurants where reporting is not given such importance just because your existing system does not support it then you should consider changing it. If not done at the right time, the relationship with the customer will be negatively affected. And changing the developed perception customers is one of the most difficult things especially in the restaurant industry.
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Does not offer Data Security
Data hacking through POS software is one of the most common threat existed and threatened many businesses in the past. This issue has also made it difficult for many restaurant owners to switch their accounting methods. Security is the priority feature of POS because it not only holds the order details of the customers but credit payments and other personal information are also recorded in these systems. If your POS system that does not have PCI compliant and enabled EMV for securing the information of the cardholder along with antivirus, then you should change it without having the second thought. Online POS solutions are high on this threat but also have advanced and improved security plans.
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Irresponsive Support Service
Any issue in the POS solution stops the whole restaurant! Let me explain you with an example! In this era, the majority of the customers prefer card payments whether debit or cash. If the system got an issue in accepting cards, the customers won’t wait for your systems to get fixed but they’ll go to the other restaurant. In order to handle these types of situations, you’ll require a responsive support service from your POS provider. Considering the fact that the majority of the restaurants are offering their services without any time restriction making it compulsory for them to choose the POS providers that give 24/7 support services.
Conclusion: The article has highlighted some of the general reasons for restaurants that warn them to upgrade their existing POS solutions because they are affecting their operations and overall efficiency negatively. Whether using the desktop of cloud-based POS, restaurants are suggested to either upgrade or change their POS software if they bear any of the above-listed issues. In this era of digitalization when almost every business is finding its way to shifting on the cloud, the restaurants with outdated technology will eventually lose their market completely. Therefore, having cloud POS software has become a necessity for restaurants. Plus, they are also suggested to keep that technology updated and upgraded.