The Benefits of Using a Portable Restaurant POS System

Restaurants, bars, and other types of food service businesses operate in a highly competitive industry and need to look for any advantage they can get. Adding a mobile point-of-sale system to your restaurant will provide benefits across many different aspects of your business.

When looking for a place to dine out, Canadians are faced with a plethora of choices covering virtually any type of cuisine you could imagine. It’s definitely a great thing for people to have so many options and food styles to enjoy and discover, however from the perspective of a restaurant owner, this means that competition for customers is fierce.

There are many factors that customers use when choosing where to dine at any given time, so it’s critical for restaurants, bars, pubs, and other types of food service businesses to entice customers with an effective combination of great food and great service in the right location at the right time. One way to enhance the customer experience in your restaurant is with a wireless credit card machine.

Portable POS terminals offer many advantages for food service businesses that can increase customer satisfaction, boost efficiencies, and raise profitability. In fact, adding a mobile POS to your business is one of the most effective ways to address some of the most common bottlenecks and challenges that restaurant business of all types face on a regular basis. Let’s explore the positive effects of these flexible and portable point of sale system for restaurants in more detail, and discover what they can bring to your business.

Easy Installation & Setup Process

Unlike traditional restaurant point of sale systems Canada mostly utilizes, with multiple different components and extensive installation processes that can disrupt your operations,  mobile POS systems consist of just a few compact elements that are quick and easy to get up and running. In essence, the only additional infrastructure you need in your locations to accommodate a mobile POS system is a power source for charging devices and a WiFi internet connection.

In some cases,  virtual terminal apps can simply be installed on the devices you already have in operation at your restaurant. These include a desktop, iPads or other connected tablets, smartphones, or other mobile app-enabled devices. This helps keep overhead costs low, as there’s little need to invest in multiple pieces of additional hardware to get the system functioning.

Importing your restaurant data, such as menu information, table arrangements, scheduling, and other details of operations is fast and easy, and can be updated quickly on-the-fly as things change. Whether it’s seasonal menu items, new staff additions, or adding more capacity, portable point of sale system used in restaurants are flexible enough to quickly and easily adapt to any new aspects of operation.

User-Friendly Interface & Faster On-Boarding

Operating a restaurant POS system that is portable is extremely simple thanks to an intuitive user-friendly interface. Servers, hosts, bartenders, and kitchen staff spend less time hunting for information in the POS and more time on what really drives results in your restaurant, like turning tables with greater efficiency and delivering exceptional customer service from start to finish.

Functions are clearly labeled and logically organized to make navigating through the POS easy, even for new staff who are just starting the process of on-boarding. This has significant benefits for restaurants as the training process becomes faster and more effective, as staff can get up to speed on the functionality of a mobile POS in less time than with traditional systems.

Better Overall Customer Service Experience

From the viewpoint of the customer, operating with a mobile point of sale system for restaurants is a major advantage in the overall dining experience. Orders can be taken quickly, and with an assurance of accuracy as the details of each order are only entered into the system once and automatically transmitted back to the kitchen. Adding items to orders, preparation requests, and other types of special customization details are communicated precisely every step of the way. This means fewer errors when orders hit the table, increased customer satisfaction, and a reduction in food returns.

Customers can ask questions about menu items, such as those related to allergy concerns or nutritional information, and receive the answer immediately as all this information can be contained directly in the system and accessed easily through the portable POS interface. Servers no longer need to spend extra time running back to ‘check with the kitchen’ when faced with unique requests or questions from customers.

Managing groups is made simpler thanks to the capabilities of a mobile POS system. Bill splitting or individual billing is far easier thanks to the functionality built in to a portable point-of-sale system, avoiding a common frustration of customers dining in groups who may be arriving or departing at different times. Each customer can conveniently settle up their bill whenever they want with complete accuracy, keeping their dining experience simple.

Speaking of billing, mobile POS systems make the entire process faster and more efficient than ever. With complete payment processing capability built into the portable units, customers can instantly complete their transactions from anywhere in the restaurant and use virtually any payment method. Mobile POS systems can process credit cards, debit cards, and mobile wallet payment methods with ease and speed. Customers will appreciate the flexibility of a mobile POS to pay where they want, how they want, and be on their way with just a tap.

Greater Efficiencies in Front-of-House and Back-of-House

Providing a better overall customer experience is reason enough for many businesses to adopt a mobile POS system, but the benefits don’t end there. Restaurants can achieve greater efficiencies across many other aspects of their operations to help improve profitability and employee satisfaction, too. For example, turning tables faster is a common goal of restaurant owners, but it’s not always the easiest to accomplish. Mobile POS terminals help reduce the time needed to complete certain tasks such as the order entry, billing, and communicating between staff members. Each second saved means that customers are kept waiting less and tables can be ready for the next seating much faster.

In addition, the reduction in food returns that come from increased order accuracy equates to less wasted food and greater kitchen efficiency, both of which directly improves your bottom line. Making the most of the resources in your kitchen, from food supplies to staff hours, is simply good business, and a portable POS can have a big impact on the profitability of your restaurant.

Efficiencies can also be realized in the managing of reservations, accommodating group bookings, and coordinating server assignments. All of these functions can be performed with speed and immediacy from anywhere in your restaurant, saving even more time each day in dealing with the coordination of these various aspects of operations.

Make the Switch to a Mobile Point-of-Sale Solution from MONEXgroup

MONEXgroup also offers virtual terminal solution which can operate as an iPad restaurant POS, or on any other smartphone or connected tablet, making it easy to accept mobile payments on hardware and devices that you may already have as part of your business. Virtual terminals are web-based payment portals accessed from a web browser and can be used to quickly process credit and debit card transactions from any location that has internet connectivity.

Bring the Benefits of a Mobile POS System to Your Restaurant Today

With all the impacts the restaurant industry has been and continues to face thanks to the pandemic, now is the time to leverage all the benefits of a mobile POS system in your restaurant and start providing the enhanced service experience that will boost customer satisfaction and drive business results forward. With a mobile point-of-sale solution, your business will be equipped with the tools and capabilities needed to gain an advantage in the highly competitive restaurant industry.

Contact MONEXgroup today for a  free cost savings analysis & learn more about what a portable POS can do for your business!