A point of sale (POS) system can do everything a cash register can, plus so much more that will help you run your business better.

If you operate a farm-to-table restaurant, you may have chosen to use a traditional cash register for your payment management system. Cash registers can be an appealing choice for small businesses because they’re fairly inexpensive and durable. However, a POS system, especially one that runs on a mobile device such as an iPad, can do everything a cash register can, plus so much more that will help you run your business better. Here are four advantages an iPad POS system can offer your restaurant.

1. Inventory Management

An iPad POS system can provide a great deal more information about all aspects of your business than a traditional cash register. One particularly vital aspect is inventory management. Your farm-to-table restaurant likely deals with smaller, independent suppliers, so finding the right balance for your orders is key. Order too little, and you risk turning away disappointed customers when you run out of a favorite dish. Order too much, and your unused fresh produce spoils on the shelves, creating costly waste. An iPad POS system can keep track of your inventory and tell you when and how much to reorder, based on sales and usage. It saves you the labor of manual inventory, eliminates ordering guesswork, and minimizes potential lost revenue.

2. Staff Management

Another managerial headache that an iPad POS system can alleviate is employee scheduling. Your POS can chart your busiest and off-peak times of the day, week, month, or season, helping to ensure that you aren’t understaffed (creating unfavorable customer experiences) or overstaffed (paying unnecessary labor costs). You can also evaluate each employee’s sales performance, so you can schedule your best workers where you need them most. And you can keep an eye out for employee theft, as the system tracks who is responsible for all transactions, including voids and refunds.

3. Customer Relationship Management

Your farm-to-table restaurant needs to gain and keep customers. An iPad POS system will maintain a wealth of information about your customers — including contact information and purchase histories — which you can use to create targeted marketing campaigns. You can also set up a loyalty rewards program to encourage return visits and increased spending. And you can offer gift cards and discount coupons, all managed with your POS.

4. Integration with Other Systems

Another way that an iPad POS system offers greater functionality than a cash register is in how it integrates with other business tools. Many POS systems can share sales data with programs such as QuickBooks or other accounting software, saving you time and labor. If you’ve already discovered the benefits of a kitchen display system, your POS can coordinate all incoming orders for the KDS, not just in-house but also online orders from your website or app, or to-go orders placed on a self-service kiosk. You can also accept a wider variety of payment methods, as the POS can be equipped with readers for EMV chip cards or mobile wallet payments such as Apple Pay or Google Pay. And if you’re buying (or selling) items in bulk, you’ll want a POS that can integrate with an NTEP Certified scale.
SalesVu offers a variety of free apps that can turn any iPad into a POS system. Your farm-to-table restaurant will gain not only payment processing functionality but also reservation and table management (OnTheList); loyalty programs, gift cards, and group discounts (Regulars and VIPz); staff scheduling (Shift); kitchen display system coordination (Incoming); and more. No cash register can do all that. Plus, with SalesVu you’ll have 24/7 customer support. Contact SalesVu to explore the benefits of upgrading your restaurant cash register to an iPad POS system.