Your Brewery POS Checklist: Everything You Need From Your Taproom Point Of Sale

Sure, the core purpose of your brewery point of sale (POS) system is to accept payments and track sales. But these days, taprooms require the most robust POS systems to support their growing brewing businesses.

The best brewery POS systems make:

• Business faster
• Service easier
• Guests happier

Below is the ultimate brewery POS checklist so you make sure your taproom has everything it needs to thrive.

Brewery POS System Tools That Streamline Operations To Make Business Faster

Speed is key to a successful brewery. Delivering beer quickly while it’s still ice cold from the tap is sure to delight your guests and their taste buds, and inspire repeat visits. The following taproom POS tools streamline operations to help your team do just that:

✅ Cloud-based, all-in-one system

You’re likely familiar with the “cloud”—data clouds collect and process information from multiple sources and store it all in one place. With a cloud-based POS system, all sales data is stored in one place, whether you’re selling from:

• Multiple locations, like the taproom floor and the local farmer’s market
• Multiple devices, like a stationary POS terminal at the bar and a mobile device on the patio
• Multiple ordering streams, like an online store and contactless ordering tools

Having centralized reporting regardless of where or how you make a sale streamlines data collection and helps you identify inefficiencies quickly. For example, if the release weekend of your new Apple Pie Sour outperforms your projections, your Brewers know what they need to make more of for the following weekend. 

An all-in-one system refers to additional features that also sync to and talk with your centralized system. This includes POS Integrations, unlimited Customer Support, or even special add-ons like a Donation Feature. 

✅ Mobile POS devices

Your taproom is your guests’ playground, if you will, and it’s important to give them the freedom to explore it. Of course, you want to make sure getting their next beer is fast regardless of where they settle down. 

Mobile POS allows your staff to roam your taproom, patio, and anywhere in between with a handheld POS device right in their back pockets. This speeds up:

• Drink delivery: Thanks to cloud-based technology, the bar receives orders instantly from roaming devices. They can start pouring and a runner gets the beer out ASAP!
• Guest ordering: Guests can kick up their feet and don’t need to lift a finger for the next round.
• Administrative tasks: There’s no need for staff to fight over a single stationary terminal to input orders or close anyone out. This reduces staff traffic behind the bar and makes your servers’ jobs easier. 

Mobile POS devices facilitate instant communication between everyone on your staff, streamlining multiple tasks at once for your brewing business. 

✅ Flight tools

Flights are statistically great for your bottom line, but taproom teams often struggle to input and assemble them quickly without the right tools. That’s why a must on your brewery POS checklist is dedicated flight tools.

Here are key elements to the best POS flight tools:

• Intuitive tab functionalities: With a dedicated Flights button on your POS interface, adding any number of beers to a flight is quick and easy. 
• Customization: The best brewery POS lets you customize flights anywhere from two to eight pours.

Below is the Arryved POS interface when ordering a flight. As you can see, once the Flights button is selected, a window pops up with every beverage option that can be added. Simply click each one as a guest rattles them off to you! 

You can customize exactly which beverages can be added to a flight. This is handy if you have a seltzer or a cider on tap!

Easy-to-use tools like this make flight orders fast for servers and mean no added wait for thirsty guests.

Brewery POS System Tools That Simplify Ordering To Make Service Easier

Making the ordering process easier delights both your team and your guests, and it inherently boosts tab sizes! These brewery POS tools are an absolute must when it comes to simplifying service.

✅ Card on file

Card on file lets you securely store a guest’s card information after just one swipe. That means you can hand payment cards right back to guests and keep tabs open without the headache of storing physical cards behind the bar.

The benefits are obvious here: Staff save time swiping for additional rounds and guests easily get their next beer! Card on file reduces staff workloads and inspires higher tabs.

✅ Offline mode

Part of making service easier is instilling safeguards to ensure it never stops! Offline mode lets brewing businesses continue transacting regardless of internet connection. That means whether a storm knocks out a power line by your taproom, or you’re at an offsite event sans WiFi, your business can continue making money.

✅ Online storefront

Take advantage of your cloud-based system by diversifying your ordering streams! Providing different ways for guests to purchase your goods helps you meet both on and off premise demand and boost profitability.

An online store is key to off-site sales success. Whether guests want to order to-go or delivery, your brewery POS system should support that capability with fully integrated online ordering. 

Some taproom POS systems go above and beyond by offering advanced web solutions!

Brewery POS System Tools That Enhance Experiences To Make Guests Happier

Your brewery POS checklist wouldn’t be complete without tools that help you enhance guest experiences. After all, if you don’t have happy guests, you won’t have a growing business!

✅ Loyalty program

One of the most effective ways to get guests to spend more time in your taproom and more money on your products is to reward them for doing so! POS-supported loyalty programs are great because guests earn points for spending money. That’s a win-win: Members accrue points while you accrue revenue! Points can then be redeemed for specialty goods, which solidifies a guest’s loyalty to your brand. 

Loyalty programs engage your most dedicated guests. The exclusivity and community of loyalty programs join like-minded fans of your brewery and give members yet another reason to come to your taproom: to visit with their new friends!

✅ QR code menus, ordering, and payments

It’s true that QR codes could be grouped in the Making-Service-Faster category, but they’re absolutely considered a guest delighter as well. Here’s how QR code menus, ordering, and payments further enhance experiences:

• Ordering & delivery are faster: The freedom to input orders independent of a server means guests get their food and drinks quicker. After all, their personal devices sync to your cloud-based system, too!
• Enhanced staff-guest interactions: Instead of limiting staff-guest interactions, QR codes actually facilitate better conversations. Servers don’t need to waste words about ordering logistics, so they have time to chat about upcoming releases or events!
• Flexibility is family-friendly: Kids are certainly not your target demographic, but the more comfortable you can make them, the longer their parents will hang around! The flexibility QR codes offer supports hybrid service models, meaning guests can order from their own device or from a staff member. Guests love options, especially with little ones onboard!

If you’re on the fence about QR codes in your taproom, check out these 4 Myths About QR Code Ordering Debunked.

✅ Easy-to-read reporting 

Cloud-based brewery POS systems ensure all of the data you see on your reporting dashboard is collected in real-time. But if you can’t gather insights from the reports, what’s the point?

The last checklist item for your taproom POS is easy-to-read reports. While data points also help make business faster and service easier, reports are essential in identifying your most effective guest engagement tactics. Comprehensive POS reports can show you:

• Beer styles and other products guests purchase the most of
• Programming with the highest attendance rates
• Ordering streams that are the most popular

Once you have that information, you can optimize each to the advantage of both your business and your guests! Brew more styles they love, host similar events, and add more capabilities to your varying ordering streams.

Now that you’ve got your brewery POS checklist, here are some other resources you might like:

General Manager’s Guide To POS: Whether you’ve used every POS out there or you’re completely new to the technology, this guide is for you. 

10 Metrics Key To Your Brewery’s Profitability: See the top 10 data points you should be tracking.

2023 Craft Experiments Quiz: Looking to try something new in your taproom? Get a custom suggestion for your brewery in just 5 minutes.