7 Reasons a Mobile POS System for Small Business is Best for Business Growth

Small business owners have a lot to juggle when it comes to making decisions for their staff, guests, and bottom line. In the spirit of making your point of sale (POS) decision easy, let’s not beat around the bush: 

A mobile POS system for small businesses is the best POS option when you’re focussing on business growth. Read on to hear just why!

Mobile POS vs Standard POS

What exactly does it mean to have a mobile POS? Standard POS systems usually have a terminal, cash drawer, and receipt printer. All of this hardware has a fixed location in a restaurant or bar, and all transactions must be completed here. 

Mobile POS system refers to all of the hardware and software components of a mobile, cloud-based point of sale system. Mobile POS systems use smartphones and tablets as the payment terminals. That means you can not only accept payments on foot anywhere in your business, but you can accept a wider variety of payment forms!

As you know, people are shifting far away from using cash and checks. Mobile POS systems accept:

• Credit and debit cards
• Contactless payments (RFID cards that you can “tap” on terminals to pay)
• Digital wallets (Apple Pay, Google Pay, Samsung Pay)
• Self-service payments via QR codes

Beyond mobilizing and differentiating payment methods, there are 7 key reasons a mobile POS system for small business is best for your business’s future growth.

1. Lighter, Easy-to-Use Hardware

The first advantage of a mobile POS system for small businesses is that the hardware is portable! A smartphone or tablet is not only much lighter than a cash register, but the smaller sizes means servers can carry them in their pockets or aprons. 

Mobile devices are easier to store, too. Say goodbye to dedicating counter space to a hefty register at the front of your small business. Smartphones and tablets stack neatly in the back of your business, and can be picked up by staff as they trickle in for their shifts.  

Another plus about mobile POS systems is that the interfaces on smartphones and tablets are intuitive and easy to use. Because most adults are familiar with using smartphones in their everyday lives, training staff on a mobile POS system is a smaller lift. 

2. Increased Staff Efficiency = A Better Customer Experience

Less time training your staff on how to use your mobile POS system means more time to train them on other necessary processes in your small business! Besides the ease of training staff on how to use the mobile devices, a mobile POS system also increases efficiency for your staff on how they ring up orders and close guests out. 

• Reduce ordering friction. Paper order pads are a thing of the past for mobile POS. Servers take orders right on their mobile device in front of the guests. This eliminates ordering errors, because orders are easy to edit right then and there for an indecisive customer. It also speeds up how quickly your kitchen and bar receive orders—orders are sent in an instant digitally, and there’s no confusion with paper tickets and what order came in first. 
• Separate bills made easy. Splitting checks with a standard POS is typically a server’s worst nightmare. With mobile POS systems, it’s a simple process thanks to an easy-to-use interface. Checking out one guest while the rest of the party stays to imbibe is also simple on a mobile POS, and servers don’t have to keep track of a bundle of messy paper tickets. 
• No more toe tapping for a receipt. Quicker checkout is another way your staff saves time for guests itching to go. Many mobile POS systems for small businesses offer paperless options, so your staff doesn’t have to run back to a receipt printer. A quick click of a button and that receipt can be texted or emailed to the guest ASAP. According to Robert Byrne, Director of Consumer and Industry Insights for Technomic, “The biggest pain point for diners is waiting for the server to come around and present the check.”
• Servers can focus on serving. Due to the time saved from doing tedious administrative tasks like printing receipts, your staff is able to instead spend more time with your guests having genuine conversations and making thoughtful recommendations. This is good for staff morale and guest satisfaction, but it also helps your bottom line—guests actually spend 10.3% more when staff offer recommendations.

All’s to say, a mobile POS system for small business equips your staff with the necessary tools to get their job done faster. Staff efficiency leads to happy, satisfied customers, and those guests are more likely to thank staff with generous tips and frequent visits to your restaurant or bar!

3. Mobility Increases Revenue Stream Potential

The mobility part of a mobile POS system is an important point to emphasize. This literally mobilizes your business, meaning all you need to sell is product, a smartphone, some amazing brand ambassadors (aka your staff), and you can take an order from anywhere!

The opportunity to hold tents at farmers markets, music festivals, etc. diversifies your revenue streams and gets your fantastic products in front of people that may not meet you otherwise. Heck, you could take an order in the parking lot! The logistics of checking out a paying customer is easy when there isn’t just one stationary terminal for checkouts. 

Most mobile POS systems are also cloud-based, meaning all of your sales information is in one place. You could be slinging cans at a local rodeo and your beloved staff could be hosting bingo back at your taproom—all sales from the day will be automatically uploaded to your database and stored online, without requiring any type of local networking. 

4. Inventory Management Made Easy

As a small business, you know how important it is to keep your goods organized with inventory management. Mobile POS systems for small businesses that sync with your inventory systems will save you time and money!

With a now-mobile POS device and diversified revenue streams, you need real-time inventory depletion. Since you can now sell at multiple locations at once, your inventory data needs to instantly reflect what’s being sold so that you don’t suddenly try to sell something that you no longer have in stock. 

Because all of the data flows through your systems digitally, it’s easy to track changing inventory counts and accurately forecast for the coming months. This sets your small business up for success!

But how do you set up inventory management systems with your mobile POS? Ask and ye shall receive…

5. Integrations with Tools You’re Already Using

Another useful thing about a mobile POS system for small businesses is that it integrates with tools you’re already familiar with or using! That means business management software, inventory management software, and accounting software. Here are a few examples that Arryved Mobile POS integrates with:

• Ekos Business Management: Ekos reduces manual bookkeeping of POS and ecommerce transactions with your accounting system, so you can run your business smoothly. Syncing your mobile POS with Ekos eliminates manual processes and duplicate entries so you can focus on growing your small business and gain complete visibility to the metrics that matter the most. 
• Yellow Dog Inventory Management: Inventory management for food and beverage is easy with a robust integration between Yellow Dog and your mobile POS system. 
• Quickbooks Accounting Software: Daily sales get imported into Quickbooks, so you can then cross-reference your POS reporting with your bank deposits. 

The purpose of a mobile POS system for small businesses is to make your life easier by using the latest technology available. Integrations like these do just that!

6. Advanced Reporting

With a cloud-based mobile POS system, it’s a given that the reporting abilities are above and beyond that of standard POS systems. Not only are reports more robust, but you can access them from anywhere! This easy access to insights allow you to save money and make proactive decisions on staffing, menus, events, and overall business operations.

Here’s a taste of some reports you can glean from a mobile POS system that values advanced reporting:

• Hourly sales by product: This report shows the exact time a product was ordered and sent to the kitchen or bar. If you know the time each product is ordered, you can curate timed menus with the most popular menu items. That means you’re making informed menu decisions and keeping food fresh and costs down!
• Hourly total sales: This report totals orders by hour of the day. Over time, you can see when your small business is the busiest, and plan staffing accordingly. Plus, this gives you the ability to push marketing efforts and plan events around your slower times to keep traffic steady. 

No more banging your head against an excel spreadsheet! Digital, auto-generated reports like these are customizable, and you can go as narrow or broad as your data-loving heart desires with the right mobile POS system. 

7. Additional Features

A cash drawer doubles as a paper weight, but a mobile POS system offers a whole suite of handy features that help grow your small business. 

Offline mode is crucial to your success, especially when you’re taking your mobile POS system on the road! Popular outdoor events rarely have accessible Wifi and eating up cellular data isn’t a long term solution.

The best mobile POS systems offer offline mode for instances like this. Once you return to Wifi connectivity, all of the sales collected for the day will sync and your reports will reflect the data accurately. 

QR code menus, ordering, and payments is a pandemic-induced craze that is here. to. stay. This is in part because COVID and social distancing practices are far from over, but also because restaurants and bars are seeing the self-serve ordering model greatly benefit their bottom lines! In fact, food and beverage businesses have found the following: 

• 24% higher tabs when guests open tabs and order on their own devices, due to ease of ordering
• 24% higher tips when guests open tabs and order on their own devices, due to speed of service 
• Up to a 50% reduction in labor costs, which is especially appealing when we’re all feeling the weight of the labor shortage

Advanced mobile POS systems for small businesses keep up with popular trends like QR codes, and offer different solutions depending on your preferred service model. If you’re salivating over that 24% higher tab stat, you can learn more about how QR codes make and save you money, and easy steps for implementation in The Ultimate Guide to QR Codes for Bars. 

Customer support is an undeniably useful feature of mobile POS systems. When something goes wrong, or you can’t find the exact report you want, it’s hugely beneficial to be able to get a real human on the phone and work out a solution. 

Loyalty programs are also a good tool to utilize from your mobile POS system. Implementing loyalty programs with your most dedicated fans drives traffic, builds your brand name and credibility, and engages guests!

As expected, your community of loyalists will be integrated with the rest of your systems with a good mobile POS system. That means members can be recognized by their name, credit card, and eventually, face! VIPs can earn points by spending money, cash those points in for merch or other goodies, and you build a fanbase of supporters. Win, win, win.

Other features mobile POS systems for small businesses offer include online storefront capabilities, shipping solutions, and checkout add-ons like a donation feature. 

Hopefully it’s now clear why mobile POS systems grow small businesses. By enhancing the guest experience, increasing staff efficiency, casting a larger net of customers through it’s mobility, robust reporting, and offering integrations and additional features, your mobile POS system is your obvious sidekick to building the business you’ve always dreamed of owning. 

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Arryved Mobile POS could be the missing puzzle piece your small business has been looking for. With every benefit listed above and more, plus an undeniably helpful team just a phone call away, Arryved is a committed partner to your business’s success from the get-go. Chat with a specialist today about the problems we can solve for you!