How to Choose the Right QSR POS System for Your Business?

“Quick Summary” Which is the best POS system for your Quick Service Restaurant (QSR)? If the answer to this question were that simple and crystal-clear, everyone would have been running a successful business.

The primary objective of a quick-service restaurant is to take orders fast and deliver them at lightning-fast speeds. Customers walking in through your establishment will have high expectations regarding service speed and consistency. How do you achieve high levels of service and consistency?

The answer lies in using a POS system designed explicitly for quick-service restaurants. In the present era, your business requires a POS that does more than payment processing and billing. 

With the ideal QSR POS system, you can improve service levels, boost sales, manage multiple outlets, minimize wastage and errors, integrate loyalty programs, and much more.

But how do you choose the best quick-service restaurant POS system for your business? Let’s find out.

6 Steps to Choose the Ideal QSR POS System

1. Swift order taking

The speed at which your business (POS) processes orders will determine the overall earnings. Take, for example - McDonald’s. Serving over 70 million customers, McDonald’s sells 80 hamburgers each minute (globally), 12 million pounds of fries daily (globally), and 200 coffees every 20 seconds. You would be amazed to know that they also sell a billion Big Macs every year.

Why are we talking about McDonald’s? It is to emphasize the simple fact that serving such massive quantities of food and serving millions of people is possible only if you have a specialized QSR POS system designed to operate at lightning-fast speeds.

Customers arriving at your QSR restaurant don’t have ages to wait for their orders. They may be rushing to work, trying to sneak in a quick lunch, or spending some quality time with their partners. A delay in order to arrive is the last thing anyone wants.

Bearing this in mind, you need to choose the appropriate quick service POS system with the right hardware and software options. Through the effective integration of touch-screen technology and cloud-based software, you can take orders fast and pass on the details to the kitchen staff. Say goodbye to manual order taking if you want to compete with the sharks in the quick-service industry.

2. Preparing orders

Apart from payment processing and billing, a quick-service restaurant POS system should convey the order details to the kitchen staff. When the order is registered quickly in the POS system and passed on to the kitchen staff, it allows ample time to prepare the food and get it out on time.

With an ideal quick service restaurant POS system, passing on information should not take more than a few seconds. Before you pay for your order, the preparations would have already begun. Moreover, a QSR POS system will also decide the ideal workflow to ensure that every preparation stage is completed as per schedule. How does the POS accomplish that? 

We all know that all orders are not the same. Some customers may be demanding or have customized requirements which may require extra preparation time. Anticipating the time delay, an intelligent QSR POS will prioritize regular orders in the queue. In this way, other customers won’t have to wait longer for their orders. Ultimately, it will save time and encourage repeat orders.

Related Blog: The Hidden Benefits of a POS System for Quick Service Restaurant

3. Online order integration

A cloud-based POS system will be the best choice if your quick service restaurant accepts online orders and deliveries. Successful and large quick-service restaurants earn a large chunk of their revenue from online orders. Hence, it is crucial to add this functionality to your QSR’s POS.

Furthermore, the right quick service POS system can also seamlessly integrate with food delivery apps, your restaurant’s website, or your app (if you have one). Also, a good restaurant POS system effectively communicates with other branches/outlets about the arrival of a particular order, giving them time to prepare for the same. 

Juggling the walk-in customers and online orders is an uphill task, but with the help of a quick-service restaurant POS system, you can achieve a fine balance between the two.

4. Simplicity

Having the desired functionalities in your quick service restaurant POS system is a dream come true. However, if your staff and management are unfamiliar with those, it’s of no use. The result would be incorrect details entered into the system, making life difficult for employees and customers.

A quick-service restaurant’s atmosphere is fast-paced and extremely busy. Tasks like altering the menu, splitting the bill, menu customization need to be quick and error-free while managing new orders.

Pay heed to the quick-service restaurant POS system’s functionality before choosing one. Before implementing the same, talk to your staff, impart training and give them time to get acquainted with it. Follow the same process even when you upgrade to a new POS system for your restaurant. Apart from the functionality, the design, central kitchen management, third-party integration, CRM integration, reporting, cloud telephony, and Bluetooth bill printing are some features you need to consider to excel in a fast-paced environment.

Related Blog: Restaurant POS Systems Cost in the USA

5. Inventory Management

Again, in a fast-paced quick-service restaurant environment, food items and beverages are sold non-stop. Be it ingredients or ready-to-eat items, if you run out of anything, it can cause customer dissatisfaction and loss of reputation. Getting real-time updates about stock availability is not possible through manual means.

You need cutting-edge technology to monitor stocks in a QSR. The solution lies in a quick service POS system that provides useful real-time data to help you make inventory decisions. Apart from these, a QSR POS also gives you the below insights.

• Depleted ingredients/items
• Stock estimations based on consumer behavior
• Functionality to maintain stock across multiple outlets

6. Scalability

A quick-service POS system can be deployed to work at a single location. Considering the unique structure of QSR restaurants, your POS system can scale with you if the first venture turns out to be profitable.

Starting a new branch/outlet is always a challenge. You need to make adjustments to the operations, working style as per the requirements of that particular locality. This process may also require adding new services, new technologies, and software, hardware, eliminating unnecessary procedures, and avoiding unnecessary integrations. 

The best POS system for quick-service restaurants (for you) simplifies the above tasks while allowing you to manage multiple outlets simultaneously, consolidate data from all sources and maintain them safely in a centralized cloud-based repository.

Final Thoughts

Finding the best quick service pos system for your business is not rocket science. Lack of information and understanding of technology/latest trends can make it look complicated, although it is not. At the same time, I don’t think a generic quick-service restaurant POS can suffice because you will end up losing more dollars than you save. (by settling for an ordinary POS system)

Whereas the right POS with tailormade features can take your business to the next level, help you expand, keep things organized while ensuring customer satisfaction. Lastly, your employees will enjoy working in a stress-free environment where they are not held responsible for the actions of a sub-standard POS or the lack of it. Follow the six steps above to find the right quick service restaurant pos system for your business.