January 2017 - inresto

Dos and Don’ts of choosing the right Restaurant POS software.

Posted on 30/01/201717/03/2021 by inresto

A restaurant Point of Sale (POS) software has become inevitable in modern day restaurant management. In these challenging times, when COVID-19 has forced us to adopt to the new normal, digital is the way going forward. When compared to the legacy systems, the modern day digital restaurant POS softwares offers the flexibility of operating from anywhere.

As per the research conducted by Oracle, more than three quarters (78%) of restaurant operators cite the benefits of POS mobility as the top reason to upgrade their technology capabilities. However, there are certain dos and don’ts that need to be followed while choosing the right POS platform for your restaurant.

1.Do: Define your business requirements, Don’t : Leave your needs to the imagination of the software provider

The needs and requirements of each restaurant vary according to the segment in which you are operating. For eg. the requirements of a fine dining restaurant will be entirely different from that of a Quick Service Restaurant (QSR).

Hence the first and the foremost factor is to understand and document the needs and requirements specific to your restaurant. Detailing of the key areas that are necessary for your establishment such as billing and accounting, loyalty schemes, feedback system etc. will make the job of the software firms much easy. With digital, cloud based POS platforms such as inresto POS , you can manage multiple functions such as billing, tracking order queues, customising offers and assessing reports in a single platform.

2. Do: Research on the software vendors, Don’t : Rely on a single vendor

Approach a couple of software companies providing POS software and try to get the contact details of some clients. Collecting feedback from those clients will help you know more about various aspects such as the quality of the software, demonstration and training offered, after sales service and many other factors.

Never make the mistake of relying on a single vendor, as there are chances that they may charge exorbitant rates and provide poor after sales service. Hence make a comparison between different vendors in terms of multiple parameters and choose the one that fits your restaurant’s needs.

3. Do : User friendly interface, Don’t: Focus on your convenience

While developing the user interface of your POS system, always make it a point to make it as user friendly as possible for the customers. In these pandemic times, customers prefer to book their seats in advance to avoid the rush at restaurants.

If the software interface is not user-friendly, there are chances that the customers might look for a better option. Another area is that of loyalty programs as diners check their points and redemption options in the application. Keep the program as simple as possible that even a layman can easily understand the program. Hence always think from the viewpoint of customers while designing the software interface.

4.Do: Be cost effective, Don’t : Settle for low-cost options

Spending money on your restaurant’s POS system is a long-term investment that brings enormous benefits. Never go for a low priced, legacy software platform providing features that are outdated.

Within a couple of months of installing the software, you might have to spend additional money for upgrading the features. Hence invest in a POS system that offers all the sophisticated features, real-time processing and simple-to-use interface. As per BFSI.com, post the outbreak of Covid-19, digital payments have grown by 106% and the highest adoption of digital payments was seen in the Food and Beverage sector (25%).

Imagine installing an outdated restaurant software that doesn’t accept digital payments. It can badly affect your business and profits in the long run. Hence choose a state-of-the-art POS platform that offers all the latest features and gives you a clear edge over competitors.

Parting Words

A modern day digital POS system is the need of the hour, as customers have become more demanding than ever. Due to the challenges posed by COVID-19, social distancing has become the norm and you can afford to make the customers wait in long queues at the billing counter.

The above 4 factors discussed above will be of great help while choosing the right POS platform for your restaurant.

kick start your dream restaurant with simplified automative restaurant management systems.

Posted on 29/01/201717/09/2021 by inresto

Are you an entrepreneur who is nursing an ambition to start a dream restaurant of your own? The idea sounds amazing. However, you need to invest your time and conduct proper research before starting a restaurant in the current times. As per the study by National Restaurant Association, 17% or about 1,10,000 of US restaurants have permanently shut down. Thus, cost cutting and efficient processes has become an imperative in today’ scenario.

Let’s explore how you can leverage the benefits of automation and implement a restaurant management system at your restaurant.

What is a restaurant management system?

A restaurant management system is a software that helps you streamline the restaurant operations. A major advantage of the platform is that you can manage multiple functions such as billing, inventory management, managing sales data, loyalty programs and much more.

Key advantages of restaurant management software

Go contactless and increase your footfalls

A recent study by Simon-Kucher & Partners on restaurants reveals that consumers will spend twice as much per month at restaurants that meet cleanliness standards than those that don’t meet cleanliness standards. The modern day, cloud based restaurant management platforms such as inresto offers the enormous advantages of contactless dining.

With the platform, customers can reserve tables at your restaurant using the mobile app. On reaching the restaurant, they can hand over the vehicle through a digital wallet system, make use of contactless seating and order food using a digital menu. They can make payments using digital wallets as well. A totally safe, contactless system will no doubt attract more customers to your restaurant.

Achieve significant time savings

The legacy billing machines used to consume a lot of time for performing the billing function. Customers had to stand in long queues waiting for their turn. Now it’s a thing of the past as the platform completes the billing process in no time. You neither have to deal with customer arguments nor software crashes.

In the past, waiters at restaurants used to note down the orders in a slip of paper and walk to the kitchen for communicating the order details. With the software, the waiters takes the order in a tablet. Immediately the order details will be displayed on the monitor in the kitchen (Kitchen Display System). This helps the chef and kitchen staff to understand the order details. Servers no longer have to walk to the kitchen, and thus the platform helps in drastic reduction of table turnaround time.

Cuts down wastage of inventory and theft

Excessive stocking of inventory can lead to dead investments. The software platform aids you in ordering the right quantity. Whenever it’s time to place fresh orders, you will be alerted with timely notifications. It also ensures that you never run out of inventory. One more advantage is that you can track the inventory status live from anywhere, anytime.

Theft by staff is another nagging problem faced by restaurant. With the software, your raw materials and supplies are absolutely secure.

Get valuable insights

At restaurants there are some dishes that are fast-moving and others are slow-moving. With the help of the information provided by restaurant management platform, you can focus more on the fast-moving items and shed the non performing items from your menu.

The insights such as dishes ordered by a particular customer, preferred timings etc. also comes in handy while devising a loyalty program.

Employee evaluation

This is another area that you really benefit from. The time taken for an employee to serve the order, his overall performance for a period etc. can be easily inferred from the platform. Based on these insights, you can conduct staff training sessions and provide tips to work on their shortcomings.

Parting Words

In the post-pandemic world, restaurant customers have become more demanding than before. If you are not able to meet their requirements there are chances that they might switch to your competitors Thus, while starting a venture of your own, customer delight is of prime importance. The other aspects that need to be focussed upon are cost cutting and reduction of manual labour. With the help of a digital, restaurant management platform you can easily achieve all this and more.

Why has SCM become an integral part of your Restaurant business?

Posted on 24/01/2017 by inresto

scm

2016 witnessed the movement of demonetization, where more and more people have now become tech friendly. Similarly the complex logistics of your restaurant business can be simplified with a reliable backend SCM software. Imagine a solution where you can manage your entire operations network at a single or multiple central kitchen level, warehouse or store, just a click away. Supply Chain Management for Restaurant helps to organize and co-ordinate diverse business functions such as administration, security control, accounting, profit-loss analysis and procurement. Thus with the changing trends in customer behavior and progressive advancement in technology, installing an SCM software will sooner or later become an integral part of your restaurant business in the following ways:

Admin access – A restaurant business typically requires a set of staff that includes stewards, managers to co-owners. Every personnel carries a responsibility and authority with whom the owner wishes to share information or confidential data according to their designation. With an SCM software at your disposal you get to control which personnel requires to know selected information and when to deny access to certain data.

Automated ordering – A Supply Chain Management system is a smart software that automates your daily business requirements in terms of goods, raw materials, ingredients and periodically calculates the amount of goods required for the next day. Thus your backend activities are taken care by your SCM with the help of a certain presets and data that are fed in the software, coordinating these processes simultaneously at every outlet/franchise.

Reports and analysis – One of the main advantages of installing an SCM software is that it eliminates the need of human interference while calculating and determining the performance of your restaurant in terms of sales, rush hours, festive occasions, growth home delivery etc. It draws comparison between your chain of outlets to understand how well your business is fairing in competition to other restaurants.

Inventory and logistics – Maintaining an inventory with its diverse components is as complicated as it gets. SCM helps you to organize the details of your goods, makes reports of the stock yet to be received by a vendor, wastage as well as keep a tab about the stock required at other outlets.

Production management – One of the challenges that a restaurant chain faces is to maintain a perfect balance of the same taste at every outlet/franchise. This can be overcome with a feature of the multi-level recipe management in the SCM software that maintains a record of the proportion of each ingredient for every recipe, without the leakage of information. This proves that SCM has revolutionized and will continue to bring dynamic changes in the way a restaurant business can be managed by hassle-free solutions.

Timely updates – As an authoritative restaurateur, you wish to know every forward and backward activity that goes on in your restaurant in your absence. SCM makes it easy for you by giving you every update regarding sales, accounts, stocks as well as the number of customers who visited in a day along with any feedback given by them. With demonetization being in the moment, customers prefer to check availability of tables on apps to avoid waiting in large queues during rush hours or weekends. This can be in your advantage as you get to manage your tables smoothly whereas your customer need not be disappointed with the unavailability of a table.

SCM is a boon for restaurateurs and hoteliers who wish to digitize their business and use the advantages and its valuable features to its full potential to maximize business at minimum cost.

How has demonetization brought a paradigm shift in the business for restaurants and how to cope with the movement?

Posted on 04/01/2017 by inresto

Demonetization has plunged the market in a significant downtrend, ranging from Real estate, Gold-trading and Banks to Tourism, Restaurants and other industries. In the wake of the festive season and holidays, the restaurant and hospitality business, big or small, have suffered a noteworthy loss as compared to any other industry. In a country where approximately 68% of the transactions are done in cash, the demonetization movement has proved to be a bolt from the blue where a much easily accepted hard cash now floats over while making payments in comparison to e-wallets and card payments.

Looking at the situation, restaurateurs and hotels have already adopted alternative ways of coping with the dramatic movement. So how is it that you master the steps to increase the footfalls at your restaurant and make up for the slump in your business? Let’s find out!

Studies say by the time the new tender flourishes in the market with 24hr availability of all ATMs, the tense situation of cash crunch may still continue for another 3-4 months. But with a few simple precautionary measures, restaurant owners can meet the needs of the customer by adopted the following measures:-

1) Restaurant Point of Sale (POS) – With the termination of the old ₹500 and ₹1000 notes, more and more customers have been paying their bills through e-wallets, plastic money and online orders. This sudden change in the customer’s payment patterns directly or indirectly imposes a load on the restaurant’s POS software. Thus to ensure a smooth functioning of the software system, restaurateurs are investing in robust Restaurant POS software systems which not only simplifies customer payments but also provides you with analytics, reports and real time figures of how well is your business doing.

2) Mobile Payment – With a population of more than 1 million people subscribing to an approximately equal number of mobile phones by the end of April 2016, surprisingly does not raise any brows when we come to say that India is progressing towards a digital future. A handy mobile phone at service helps your customer to instantly surf food ordering websites to place his order while your POS debits your account.

3) Loyalty Apps and Programs – Running a successful restaurant business is not just about the food but also about retaining your customers. With a technology so advance you can now create an app for your restaurant, promote special offers through the app and run special promo code campaigns, as well as integrate your app with your POS software. The Restaurant Review app also enables your customers to leave their feedbacks, ratings and reviews, which gives you a better understanding of how well your business has been fairing so far.

4) Online Orders – Your multi-feature Restaurant POS software also helps you to set up a customized online restaurant ordering system that not only integrates with your call centre to accept home deliveries but also saves customer data to reduce manual work, so that you can float special offers or discounts for select target customers.

Just like the demonetization movement, the Indian government is likely to introduce many such changes to revolutionize the Indian economy. Thus to stay at par with the changing tides, a digital automation of your daily business tasks will surely be helpful in the long run.

Employee theft in Restaurants | Restaurant theft prevention

Posted on 02/01/2017 by inresto

One of the biggest problems that haunts restaurant businesses is that of employee theft. Restaurants lose lacs of rupees when the staff steals valuables – money, food, alcohol, supplies, equipment and retail items. It is estimated that 95% of restaurant businesses run a risk of theft by staff, especially during busy hours. Although completely eradicating theft is close to impossible, restaurants must prioritise the identification and prevention of theft as part of their business plan.

One of the most crucial steps that can be easily implemented to prevent stealing by employees is limiting access to the POS system with unique Access Control features. With most of the details of the business on one system, it can be vulnerable to messing with numbers or data leaks. A software that restricts use to only those accountable while having absolute values of items can work wonders in taming the situation. Keeping a close eye on the POS reports can also be extremely helpful.

Regular audits, daily inspection of numbers, tallying orders, etc. have proven to be effective measures. Make cash handling procedures stringent and train the staff well who accept cash, take down orders, make payments to suppliers, deposit or withdraw money, etc. and warn the employees about the consequences when caught stealing. Management must also keep a tab on inventory and be able to spot the slightest of abnormal spikes. Installation of security cameras make the staff conscious and less likely to steal.

Most importantly, businesses should maintain and enforce a positive work environment at restaurants in order to deter employee fraud and theft. Transparency in approach, appreciation, constructive feedback, decent wages, and rewards for reporting theft strengthen the relationship between employees and management. To ensure longevity of your restaurant business, such steps must be undertaken proactively to prevent internal theft and threat, while at the same time ensuring you don’t have trust issues with your staff, since happy staff means happy customers, and happy customers means lucrative business.