Electronic Point of Sale System: Benefits of a POS for your Restaurant

As international restaurant consultants, we travel all over the world and enjoy the different cultures and cuisines of different countries. Since we started our first Bavarian Beerhouse in London (see our book), quite a few developments regarding IT and electronics in the restaurant business have occurred. However, even back then, we were a bit taken aback to learn that many restaurant, pub, and bar owners did not seem too concerned about investing in an Electronic Payment System/Electronic Point of Sale System (POS).

What is an Electronic Payment System/Point of Sale System (POS)?

To best explain what a POS is, let's look at how a restaurant typically operates without one:

• Waitstaff who take the guest's orders with the help of a notepad

• Kitchen and bar staff who receive information on what to prepare via a piece of paper from the waitstaff

• Checks that are calculated on the basis of these notepad notes

• Risk of notes getting lost in the process

• Tedious inventory control based on manual counting with handwritten lists or perhaps an Excel sheet, as demonstrated in this conversation:

Us: "So, how do you do your inventory checks, and how often?"

Restaurant manager/owner: "Uhmmm… we don't really have a system for that."

Us: "But how can you keep a current overview of what you still have in stock, and how can you keep an eye on stuff that "disappears" from the stock due to staff members helping themselves?"

Restaurant: "Well… we don't really know that."

Operating like this can set your business up for various problems, which is something you obviously want to avoid. That is where the Electronic Point of Sale System (aka "Electronic Payment System") comes in!

How the Electronic Point of Sale System creates an organizational advantage

The following is an excerpt from our book:

Prost! The Bavarian Beerhouse Story

A BUSINESS BIOGRAPHY OF UK's FIRST OOMPAH-PAH RESTAURANT

One of the many reasons why an electronic POS (Point of Sale) system was and still is so important to us is the inventory system, which is part of the electronic setup. This inventory system allows for an easy way to control your inventory and take stock. It automates the whole ordering process as well.

Let's say the manager orders beer for the restaurant. In such a case, he enters his order into the system, e.g., 10 kegs of Paulaner or Krombacher beer. 1 keg contains 50 liters, which means we are talking about 500 liters (or "Maß") of beer. This order is easily done with a few clicks, directly forwarded to the supplier, and is now considered an "open order."

Once the kegs arrive, the manager confirms the receipt via the system. Of course, there are situations where the supplier might only be able to deliver eight kegs instead of 10. That then needs to be documented in the system as well. Whatever the confirmed amount, it is now automatically added to your existing inventory.

Image by Drazen Zigic on Freepik

Every time our waitress now goes to the tables and the guest orders "a Maß beer," she enters this order into the system via a handheld device that she uses instead of a writing pad. While she is still on her way to the bar to pick up the beer, the order itself has already been electronically submitted to the bartenders, which again reduces the waiting time for the guests. The same happens with the food orders, which go directly to the kitchen. Technically, the kitchen can now start preparing the food while the waitress is still on her way to the bar to get the drinks.

Each waitress had a special pick-up spot at the bar that was marked with her name sign. That meant the bartenders always knew where to place the filled glasses, and the waitress only needed to pick them up from her designated spot. Best-case scenario: The drinks were already waiting for her when she arrived at the bar.

At the same time, the Maß (i.e., liter) or whichever unit is automatically subtracted from the inventory, as are the ordered sausages, schnitzel, etc. That means you can always see in real-time how much beer, wine, cola, and food items are still in stock. It allows you to keep track of your entire inventory, and to order in time, so you don't run out of stock. In addition, it tells you which of your menu items are the most popular and which are not selling quite as well.

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In the meantime, the guest can use the waiting time to decide on their meals, and when the waitress comes back to serve the drinks, they order their food, and the order goes straight to the kitchen via the handheld.

A bit later, the waitress will get the food from the kitchen and serve it to the guests.

The guests are happy because they do not have to wait long, the waitress is less stressed because she has to run around less, and the management is happy because the waitress can use the time while waiting for the preparation of the food to serve the drinks to yet another couple of guests. Incidentally, this means she has a chance of getting more tips, which is an important source of additional income.

How is YOUR Restaurant doing?

If you are reading this and wondering about the organizational processes of your own restaurant, consider help from the experts and contact us for more information! We'd love to hear from you!