For any business, including restaurants, the technology it uses plays a crucial role in its growth. Simply handling customers, invoices, workers, and inventory using traditional methods can lead a restaurant downhill. In today’s times, it’s crucial for every restaurant owner to have a restaurant billing software to stay in sync with the current trends. An online restaurant billing software, also known as Point of Sales (PoS) software, helps automate various aspects of running a restaurant.
Modern restaurant billing software goes beyond the basics of billing and payment. A smart point-of-sale software can address the demands of consumers, owners, and employees simultaneously. However, before purchasing any software, there are several factors to consider. In this blog, we’ll explore those factors to help you make an informed decision.
Your Ultimate Guide For Choosing the Right Restaurant Billing Software
1. All-in-one billing screen: When handling payments at the counter, the billing staff has many tasks. The restaurant billing software should include essential features that enable the biller to perform actions such as creating multiple Kitchen Order Tickets, splitting bills, canceling orders, monitoring online deliveries, accepting table reservations, and providing special discounts to customers. To boost the restaurant’s brand throughout the billing process, the PoS should include features such as printing the company logo, quick response (QR) codes for purchases, customer/biller details, order information, and more in order to enhance the restaurant’s brand through the billing process. Despite having these features, the software should also be user-friendly for the front-of-house employees.
The PoS should support a multi-terminal billing feature which is crucial for franchises or restaurants with several ordering stations. It acts as an extension of the PoS, allowing staff at different counters to manage tables, orders, and patrons independently on their devices.
Considering the availability of a variety of operating systems, restaurants choose one that suits their needs. When selecting a restaurant billing software, it’s essential to ensure compatibility with all operating systems such as Windows, iOS, Android, etc.
2. Taxes and Discounts: To run a restaurant successfully there are a lot of things that one has to deal with. There are constant updates in technology, changes in tax laws, and other government regulations to keep track of. For restaurant owners and staff, staying updated on all these things can be challenging and confusing. This is where employing a Point of Sale system can save you from all the hassle. A good restaurant billing software should have features that help owners adjust and manage tax brackets according to the recent market policies. Not only that, but it should also allow them to customize tax margins based on their preferences or the restaurant’s setup.
In addition to handling taxes, the restaurant billing software should assist the employees and owners in determining discounts, creating or deactivating special offers, and even offering customizable bill layouts. Effectively managing these financial aspects of the business can relieve a significant burden from staff and owner, ultimately leading to increased profit margins.
3. Data management and Reports: It is such a task to manage a large restaurant with a high number of customers, various online and dine-in orders, a substantial raw material inventory, and coordination with several third-party collaborators to meet demand. Analyzing reports and data for such a busy restaurant manually can be overwhelming for both the owner and the employees. That’s why it becomes important to implement a Point of Sale system that can generate well-analyzed and thorough information on every single transaction, profit, customer, and employee.
These reports help the owner in handling expenses, understanding daily sales, managing employee schedules, and evaluating what is working well and what needs improvement in their business. Whether it’s a weekly evaluation, a monthly overview, or a yearly assessment, the restaurant billing software should make data available whenever and wherever it’s required.
4. Employee Management: The management of staff can become an additional challenge when you’re the owner of multiple outlets. Owners often have a lot to handle, and an efficient restaurant billing software should help in keeping track of the billing records for all workers. The software should provide information about the employees’ working hours, sales at the end of the day, the customers they served, and the bills they handled.
An online restaurant billing software gives the owner control over how much access is given to the employees. Whether it’s the captain printing Kitchen Order Tickets (KOTs) or the biller providing special discounts or canceling orders, the owner has authority over it all! While using the POS, the owner gets to assign roles and rights for the staff and monitor them from his end. This makes sure there is no incident of theft and fraud from the employee’s side.
5. Kitchen Order Tickets and Display: So far, we’ve focused on the staff outside the kitchen, but what chefs and the waiters who work inside? They carry the responsibility of deciding what to cook and how to cook it. Especially during busy hours, handling multiple orders can be quite challenging for them. That’s why it’s crucial for every online restaurant billing software to include a feature for producing and keeping track of Kitchen Order Tickets. These tickets contain the information about the customer’s order, table number, and any particular requests or upgrades specified by the customer. This makes it easier for the kitchen staff to identify which dish needs to be less spicy and which one should be served after the main course.
6. Managing Online Orders: The restaurant industry faced tough times due to the pandemic. However, there was a silver lining as businesses witnessed a surge in online ordering through platforms like Swiggy, Zomato, Ubereats, and others. With a smart online restaurant billing software, merely posting the restaurant menu online once gives the biller and owner control over which products to show and when. In challenging situations like the pandemic, it becomes imperative for the software to possess functionalities that integrate with third-party aggregators and handle online orders. Additionally, the software should facilitate accepting online payments, handling deliveries, and tracking orders. The online feature should also help in understanding and analyzing customer demands and order patterns for making informed business decisions.
7. Online Payment Integrations: Having this feature in your restaurant billing software is crucial. Given the multitude of available options, businesses risk losing customers if they do not integrate digital payment methods. The inclusion of these payment systems also acts as a means of providing diverse discounts and schemes to draw in more clients. Regardless of whether it is a debit/credit card transaction, Unified Payments Interface (UPI), digital wallet, or any other digital payment approach, your restaurant billing software should be able to aid the biller with any mode they come across.
The adoption of a reliable restaurant billing software has become paramount for the success and efficiency of modern restaurants. The technology not only automates various operational aspects but also addresses the challenges associated with tax management, discount customization, data analysis, and employee supervision. Moreover, the system’s ability to generate detailed reports aids owners in making informed decisions, managing expenses, and enhancing overall business performance.
For restaurant billing software to be truly effective, it must adapt to the evolving technologies, integrating with various operating systems, accommodating diverse payment methods, and supporting online orders through third-party platforms.
