How Bar and Restaurant POS Systems Grow Your Business

 

1. Bar and Restaurant POS Systems Increase Guest Satisfaction

We can all agree that ensuring guests are satisfied when they close out at your bar or restaurant is a top priority. Not only does that foster repeat business, it also means they’ll likely tell their friends about your place, or even bring them next time. Making a good first (or 20th!) impression on every guest is supported by the best bar and restaurant POS systems. These are the 2 main ways POS systems accomplish that:

Reduce Service Friction 

Guests go to your bar or restaurant to imbibe and enjoy your offerings! So the speed at which those items get to their table and into their mouths is critical to satisfying customers. 

Bar and restaurant POS systems increase staff efficiency which greatly reduces the amount of time guests twiddle their thumbs. Modern POS systems rid the necessity of paper tickets, meaning servers take all orders digitally and tableside. Orders are sent instantly to the kitchen or bar, so instead of a server running back and forth, the next guest can be immediately helped. This system also eliminates ordering errors, since digitally inputting orders causes less errors than a scribbled paper ticket does. 

The mobility of bar and restaurant POS systems also reduces guests’ wait time because any server can help any guest. Checkout is a breeze as well since servers can do it tableside without going to a receipt printer. 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.” Nothing can sour a dining experience more than waiting around just to sign a check. 

Reducing service friction also entails reducing payment friction, which bar and restaurant POS systems accomplish by offering a wider range of payment options. 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

Speaking of QR codes, bar and restaurant POS systems allow for QR code menus, ordering, and payments, which are continuing to grow in popularity in the food and beverage world. These barcodes were used as a measure to maintain social distancing between staff and customers during the peak of the pandemic, but are still being utilized today due to the positive impact they’ve had on expediting service for guests. 

Ordering power is put right in the hands of your guests with QR codes. They can view the digital menu, add food or drinks as they please, and close out right from their own smartphone. With the ease of ordering, guests are likely to order more than they typically would, too!

QR code ordering also enhances the interactions between staff and customers. Because QR codes reduce the amount of table running servers must do, they instead have time to engage with guests about the food they’re enjoying, or tell them about the Bingo Night you’re hosting next week. Your staff is of course your greatest asset in satisfying guests, so it’s critical to use technology to enhance those exchanges. 

ICYMI, download The Ultimate Guide to QR Codes for Bars and Restaurants for free so you can learn easy steps for implementation!

Loyalty Programs

What better way to reward your biggest advocates and retain them as customers than with a loyalty program? Bar and restaurant POS systems typically offer a built-in program or integrate with softwares that allow you to offer rewards programs. Besides the business benefits, guests also seek out establishments that offer these kinds of programs. 

In fact, 1 in 3 customers says restaurant loyalty programs influence their choice of where to eat out, likely because of the points they earn and can redeem. Loyalty programs are commonly identified as drivers to improving guest satisfaction and encouraging repeat business. Plus, if your bar or restaurant has a great program in place, it will attract new customers which inherently grows your business!

2. Bar and Restaurant POS Systems Support and Retain Staff 

Let’s talk about the other group of people that are a top priority: your beloved staff. In order to grow a healthy business, you need to make sure that your staff’s needs are met. This is especially important these days when we all know the labor shortage is reducing the workforce available to you. Luckily, bar and restaurant POS systems also help you in supporting and retaining your awesome staff.

While increased guest satisfaction via POS systems is fresh in your mind, it’s worth mentioning that happier guests = bigger tips, and bigger tips = happier staff. Enough said. 

Besides bigger tips, the primary reason bar and restaurant POS systems retain staff members is through ease of use. That way, servers can focus on serving, cooks can focus on cooking, and bartenders can focus on bartending. Modern POS systems are digitally intuitive, taking the guesswork out of service and minimizing technical frustrations. Three of the biggest staff pain points are resolved by the best bar and restaurant POS systems:

Card On File

For as much as guests hate the feeling of handing over their credit card with the promise to have it returned to them once they close their tab, you can bet that servers hate the responsibility of holding on to it even more. POS systems that open tabs and keep them open without having to keep the physical card reduce the chance of this anxiety-inducing practice ten-fold. 

Offline Mode

Just as you can’t control the weather, you sure can’t control a power outage. They always seem to happen at the most inconvenient times, like a packed Saturday night. Thankfully, some bar and restaurant POS systems offer offline mode, so your staff can continue transacting and starting/closing tabs. Once your power is back, all of that data syncs up with your systems so no number crunching, or sales, are lost due to the outage. 

Dynamic Tab Functionalities

Splitting or merging tabs can be a server’s worst nightmare when they have a picnic table full of guests awaiting their every move. The best bar and restaurant POS systems make these functions a quick couple taps of the finger, expediting the process for your hustling staff. 

3. Bar and Restaurant POS Systems Diversify Revenue Streams

Another way bar and restaurant POS systems help grow your business is by diversifying the ways you bring in revenue. By getting your products in front of more people outside of your typical homebase location, you’re attracting new customers and making more money. 

There are 2 obvious revenue streams that POS systems open your business towards:

E-Commerce

Building and maintaining an online storefront where guests can view and purchase your products is key to growing your business, especially in this day and age. Alcohol e-commerce is a billion dollar industry and growing. By 2024, 7% of all alcohol sales are projected to come from e-commerce! Food delivery is also spiking in popularity, as consumers that reported they order delivery at least once a week was up to 61% in 2021, compared to 18% in 2019. 

These numbers mean there is huge potential (and demand) for your business to make a lot of money by offering products for online purchase. Plus, e-commerce completely removes the limitations that are inherent to having a singular location: the capacity your establishment can hold, the geographic location you’re in, and the hours you’re open. Getting product in front of more people is a no brainer when you’re strategizing how your business can grow! Luckily offering an online storefront and delivery options is all supported by bar and restaurant POS systems.

Events

The opportunity to hold tents at events like farmers markets, outdoor concerts, etc. is another way mobile POS systems diversify your revenue streams. Again, selling at these events is all about gaining visibility in front of people that you wouldn’t normally, and making an extra dime—all while your staff continues to run the show at your main location!

4. Bar and Restaurant POS Systems Provide Insightful Data

The amount of data you can glean thanks to bar and restaurant POS systems is a huge reason they’re fantastic tools for business growth. The reporting capabilities are double-faceted:

Comprehensive Data

Because bar and restaurant POS systems touch so many parts of your business (inventory, sales, accounting) they hold a lot of data pertinent to your growth. With all of this robust data available to you, it makes it easier as an owner to:

• Track sales trends
• Identify worthwhile opportunities
• Make informed business decisions

The full transparency into these important numbers help you to strategize for the future!

Cloud-Based

The fact that mobile bar and restaurant POS systems are also typically cloud-based is another aspect that makes POS systems so helpful. Cloud-based means that you can access your sales dashboard, and any other stats you need, from anywhere in the world. It also means that your inventory depletions and sales data update in real-time, which comes in handy when you’re juggling online sales and offsite event sales! Real-time updates are extremely important when you need to make educated forecasting decisions, especially in a time crunch. 

5. Bar and Restaurant POS Systems Integrate With Other Smart Softwares

The final way bar and restaurant POS systems facilitate business growth is with their software integration capabilities. By working with other softwares that specialize in certain areas of business, you’re extending the functionality of your POS system. This makes your overall POS more capable, efficient, and data-savvy, and therefore also makes you more money!

Here are some helpful integrations available to bar and restaurant POS systems:

• Business management: Eliminates manual processes and duplicate entries, reduces physical bookkeeping, helps gain complete visibility to key metrics
• Inventory management: Tracks ingredients that are running low, ensures that nothing is being sold to a customer that is no longer in stock
• Accounting software: Daily sales are imported, so you can cross-reference your POS reporting with bank deposits

All of the information from your POS system and your integrations sync up, so you can automate the flow of data. This keeps your numbers error-free, your staff organized, and your business growing!

---

You should be working with a POS system that’s just as devoted to your business growth as you are. Get a free, personalized demo of Arryved POS today to learn about how our suite of tools sets you up for success.