Economic factors are prompting multi-unit and growth-aspiring brands to consider a broader range of restaurant POS features as part of their purchase decision.
by PAR Technology
Unsurprisingly, restaurant owners and managers favor restaurant POS systems that offer ease of use, affordability, and reliability. Macroeconomic conditions and a variety of other factors have lifted new features to the forefront of considerations for restaurateurs. Specifically, reporting features and third-party integrations are restaurant POS features that have risen in importance according to industry research. A system that takes orders and payments is no longer enough. Restaurateurs want a solution that will help them more efficiently manage more aspects of their operation.
Restaurant operators looking to modernize their restaurant point of sale are looking for features and capabilities that will help them solve staffing shortages, improve efficiency of managers and crew, and address rising costs. These features stand to help any operator, but they compound exponentially the more units under management.
Let’s look at four POS capabilities powering growth for large, multi-unit restaurant chains and growth-aspiring brands.
- SaaS pricing frees up capital for growth & innovation. Most POS solutions now offer a Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) acquisition model that can fit a business owner’s budget today and power growth tomorrow. In a SaaS arrangement, operators avoid much of the up-front capital outlay for purchasing hardware, spreading out affordable payments over time. Of course, this frees up capital – precisely what a restaurateur needs to invest in growth or innovation, whether that means opening a new location, expanding seating onto a patio or adding digital ordering and guest marketing.
- Enterprise-level reporting improves operational efficiency. POS solutions that offer above-store visibility and reporting help leaders all the way up and down the management chain keep tabs on increasingly critical KPIs such as food and labor costs. Improving shift staffing efficiencies or avoiding theft or waste – even in small increments – will add up over time, and multiply exponentially across large restaurant chains.
- Rich partner ecosystem built on API integrations improves insights and competitive advantage. Too few technology systems play nicely together and the result is siloed data. And while these solutions may be highly useful and serve their purpose, increasingly, competitive success depends on the ability to act on the information contained in these systems and on both deep and broad visibility into key performance indicators. Systems that share data avoid the need to create labor-intensive workarounds to create insights and understanding. Restaurant chains that get more of their technology from a single provider, or who work with providers that provide native integrations or the ability to create integrations, are better positioned to find efficiencies and gain the advantages that come from data insights.
- Natively built for and in the cloud. Technologies that are natively built in and for the cloud simplify every aspect of the hospitality tech lifecycle, from deployment to maintenance and management. Requiring less hardware and specialized skills to manage and maintain, they are also more cost-effective. Let’s take a look at a quick comparison of traditional and modern POS as just one example:
| Traditional Client-Server POS | Modern Cloud POS |
| Requires a server at every restaurant. Higher hardware cost. | Uses inexpensive ordering and payment devices, no servers required in the restaurant. Lower hardware cost. |
| Requires a visit to each device to apply software and security updates, or to replace a damaged device. | Updates can be pushed out and applied remotely. Often, a crew member can download the POS application and configurations to a replacement device and get it running in minutes. |
| Often uses large, expensive hardware | Typically uses less expensive devices such as Tablets |
| Typically not written in a code base that is easy to integrate with third party software. Limited lifespan. | Cloud-native code base that often includes native integrations or APIs for easier integration. Future-ready. |
These benefits compound the more cloud-based solutions a restaurant system uses. Cloud solutions aren’t limited to POS. More parts of the restaurant technology stack are available in the cloud than ever before. Back office, loyalty/marketing, and many more tech solutions are among the cloud technology systems that can free up capital that restaurateurs can repurpose for innovation and growth.
It doesn’t appear that the economic challenges facing restaurant operators will go away anytime soon. By considering these four restaurant POS capabilities as part of their technology evaluation process, restaurateurs set a high bar for a POS that is more broadly equipped to power innovation, growth, and future-readiness.
Want to learn more about our best-in-class POS system that will future-proof your techstack? Contact us at www.partech.com to schedule your 1:1 demo.
