If you are in the midst of opening a new restaurant, or if you are looking to update the infrastructure of a current restaurant, then you may be looking at Point-Of-Sales, or POS systems, in order to better manage your customers, the order taking process, and your employees. POS systems for restaurants are slightly different than retail ones because they need to be able to handle things like table numbers. However, all in all, you could run into the same issues many people run into when purchasing a POS system. The five mistakes you need to avoid when choosing a restaurant POS system are as follows:

Basing Your Purchase on Price

Purchasing the cheapest POS systems for restaurants can often mean that you are going to be missing out on features that you could sorely miss. In the same vein, if you purchase the most expensive POS system, you may end up with features you just don’t need, or you could still end up missing features you wanted when you went searching. So, when you are looking through various potential POS systems, you should start by sitting down and writing out a list of features you find essential, and some nice-to-haves that would make life easier for your restaurant. Once you know what you are looking for, you can more easily narrow down your target system and find the one that is perfect for your restaurant.

Not Investigating for Hidden Costs

Not every POS system manufacturer is up-front about all the costs that come with purchasing a brand-new POS system. These aren’t actually necessary costs that they are charging, but instead include costs such as retraining your staff with a new system, maintaining the new system, and payment processing fees. If you don’t put in your homework, you may end up with a system that is more of a burden than your previous one. When purchasing POS systems for restaurants, consider the following: migration costs, hardware, software, maintenance, payment processing, setup fees, and additional registers/hardware.

Not Considering Customer Payment Options

In the modern world, there are a lot more payment options that in the past; gone are the days of just cash or charge. When choosing new POS systems for restaurants, you want to try to find one that is as compatible with digital purchasing options as possible. This means you should try to find ones that support mobile tap to pay (Apple Pay, Google Pay, etc.), various credit cards’ chips and tap systems, and, as always, cash.

Purchasing a Non-Specialized System

This mistake is particularly poignant with restaurants because general one-size-fits-all retail POS systems aren’t going to have the features that a restaurant needs. POS systems for restaurants have added features that include things like ½ and ½ pizza ordering and multiple delivery zone setup, etc. Search for a system that is specialized to what you need.

Skipping Out on System Support

The biggest mistake you can make is just to go out, purchase a POS system, and skip out on purchasing any extra support. If your system goes down, you are not very likely to be trained in how to fix it, and that means paying extra for support. Most sellers of POS systems for restaurants will have some form of system support option at purchase, possibly even a monthly or yearly fee that gives you priority support that includes much more affordable and rapid response than dealing with support on a case-by-case basis.

If you are looking for a POS system for restaurants, whether it is new or you are migrating from an older system, visit AdoraPOS today to check out their available selection.