Advantages of a touch-screen POS in our restaurant

For different businesses nowadays, having a tool such as the one offered by the POS is essential for their normal productive development. This offers a whole new way of managing sales, which is here to stay for some years now; and not only has it stayed, it has also evolved throughout this time, to improve and make it possible to simplify the sales process by means of automation and customisation at the same time.

Part of the evolution of the POS, led to the development of a hospitality touch POS, which is a specialised tool, whose functions make it perfect for use in hospitality businesses. What I'll talk about next is the benefits you can expect to gain from purchasing a hospitality touch POS.

What is a hospitality touch POS?

POS stands for "Point of Sale Terminal", which gives you a better idea of what a hospitality touch POS is all about. In general, it is defined as a device that allows you to manage the tasks that correspond to retail sales, as well as being able to include other tools that facilitate the day-to-day running of your hospitality business.

For any type of business, this is attractive, especially for management and process control activities. On the other hand, it also manages to influence the improvement of the work of the workers, each in their particular area; all working as part of a well-managed system that is fundamental to the productivity of the company.

Hospitality touch POS terminals are the product of the evolution and development of the technology behind POS hardware and software. If you read on, I'll tell you a little bit about how it works and what exactly a touch POS system entails.

How does a hospitality touch POS work?

While it is true that, at first, a touch POS in hospitality tends to be somewhat complicated for many, the reality is that the operation of these devices and systems is really simple, that's what it was designed for. It should be remembered that they were created to simplify sales processes and make them more efficient, with the aim of making our hospitality business as profitable as possible.

To continue the explanation of how a hospitality touch POS works in more detail, it is important to establish that there are two types of POS, compact and modular; I will talk about their characteristics now.

Compact POS

In this type of POS all the tools are integrated in a single device from which it is possible to print tickets and have access to the screen, use the keyboard and use the cash register functions. Therefore, it is able to offer the beneficial advantage of needing fewer separate accessories and will therefore result in space saving.

Modular POS

This is the opposite version of the compact POS. In its modular version, a POS terminal is composed of several separate accessories that work together to perform and access the tasks and tools that can be found in a POS.

In this type of device, the devices are connected separately, which creates the opportunity to include extra accessories, such as a touch POS, which can be operated via a tablet or Apple iPad. These touch devices only need to be connected to the terminal via Bluetooth or Wifi.

As you can see, the most suitable type of POS terminal to use the touch POS is the modular one. If you connect a touch device to the terminal, you will be able to access the program interface that functions as the POS software, so you can control and make use of the functions normally available, with the conveniences that the touch feature offers.

On the device you have access to all the tools, which would mean that a modular POS would become compact but without losing the connective versatility feature it possesses.

Importance of having a hospitality touch POS system

In order to keep your business attractive to customers, there are many elements that you need to pay constant attention to, and one of them is the technological resources that your staff has to fulfil their tasks.

Together with a trained staff, a hospitality touch POS is a tool that will make the service you offer in your business, whether it is a bar, restaurant, hotel, among others, significantly more eye-catching for customers, both younger and not so young generations. All of this is due to the eye-catching technological power that a place can project and, above all, the development of a much more personalised and efficient customer service, which has a beneficial impact on the finances of any business or company.

A hospitality touch POS is perfect for use in taking customer orders, both indoors and outdoors, increasing the fluidity and speed of this important task for the hospitality sector and its sales.

Advantages of owning a touch POS for the hospitality industry

Now that you know a little better what a hospitality touch POS system is and how important it is for businesses in this large and complex sector, it is time to mention some of the advantages that you can get from this system for you and your hospitality company's finances.

Simplify the accounting process

A POS has many advantages related to its connectivity and the versatility that this gives it. As part of those advantages I mention, there is the simplification of the process involved in keeping the accounts of the business.

The possibility of connecting the POS system to other programmes and applications, such as those used to compile and process accounting information, is a great relief for those in charge of controlling this important process for the company.

In addition, this direct data transfer significantly reduces the possibility of making mistakes when transferring the information from the cash register to the accounting programme, which could be a great inconvenience for other tasks, such as tax declarations and even for applying for financing for the remodelling and expansion of our business. A mistake could indicate that you don't have enough capital, when in fact you don't; and if it were the other way around, it would also be detrimental, as you would be estimating to be able to pay for financing and other necessary things when your finances are not the best to make such a decision.

Easy for employees to manage

Basically, you only need to know how to operate a touch device to adapt to the intuitive operation of the hospitality touch POS. This turns out to be very important, both because it speeds up the work of employees, and because it reduces training time, which turns out to be crucial as the hospitality business is often subject to high employee turnover.

Reduced service time

With regard mainly to orders, touch POS terminals are an important tool in reducing the amount of time needed to attend to orders. As I mentioned, it is much more convenient for employees to use a tablet or similar device, rather than having to resort to error-prone pen and paper.

This has to do with the user-friendliness of POS software interfaces and, of course, the current population's habit of using touchscreen devices.

A good example of the facilities offered by a hospitality POS touchscreen is the fact that to take orders, the waiter can take orders by simply pressing the images of the products, without having to resort to a boring and not very didactic list of products and their prices, which is normally navigated with a mouse and keyboard.

Improved revenue control

Thanks to the touch POS system that records each sale with the most important corresponding details, such as the quantity of products sold, the revenue this generated and the time the customer stayed in the establishment, this information is very useful for any supervisor who wishes to optimise customer service by developing strategies and plans based on the data obtained and comparing it to what is expected.

Improve customer experience

To fully understand the effect of these benefits, you need to put yourself in the customer's shoes and think about how much you would enjoy ordering in any hospitality establishment, with the ability to review the menu as many times as you want, without having to deal with the pressure some might feel to ask an employee in charge for what they need.

This has a great effect on business revenue, as it has been shown on many occasions that when people are free to review the menu, product features and opinions based on previous experiences, the value of each purchase increases, with customers often consuming more than they originally intended to.

Improves the image of the business

Seeing touch devices come and go in the hands of restaurant workers, in hotel rooms or at the bar counter adds a bit of professionalism and sense of progress to any business.

Depending on the device you select to be your hospitality touch POS, you could customise it as much as you like aesthetically to match the overall image of the establishment and brand.

Environmentally friendly

Although this is an advantage that doesn't directly impact on increasing the level of revenue, it can still bring financial benefits. The first environmental benefit is the great reduction in paper usage. You will practically only need paper to print tickets or receipts, and if the customer needs them, if not, they can be generated electronically and sent by e-mail.

In addition, this can also benefit your need to reduce costs by considerably reducing the amount of paper, cardboard and pencils, year after year.

Manage stock

A touch POS is a tool that goes beyond managing sales and recording sales-related details. Precisely, the management team can have access to information, from the terminal, about sales details, including the evolution of the stock.

As soon as a product is sold, stock is updated and its variation is recorded. With just a glance at the information on the device, it is possible to know the status of the inventory, the projections that can be made of it according to its capacity to last, and alerts about those products that are about to run out; in order to establish the development of a plan to make periodic purchases that allows to replenish the inventory without having too many points of shortage or excess inventory, as both scenarios cause loss of money and income opportunities.

Statistics

This is related to the above. Among the most important functions of a hospitality touch POS, is the recording of information on labour management, sales and inventory to develop statistical data that function, as much as possible, as indicators of the reality that the business lives, and this allows managers in charge to generate sales or advertising strategies that further promote customer visits.

The facilities of a hospitality touch POS are undeniably wonderful for a hospitality business that usually has one of the most complex sales processes, but which can be simplified with the right use of technology.

If you like the advantages that a touch POS software can offer you, you can visit this website to find out more about Bliscop. In the following video you can see some of its many advantages.