A Point of Sale solution varies depending on the business type. In instances where you need to choose the right one for your business, you have to arm yourself with information to avoid playing a gamble with your money. It is advisable to speak to a professional who understands the workings of the industry and you can rely on to know these POS differences. So, we prepared an article that breaks down how a retail POS differs from a restaurant POS system.
Retail: Retail POS systems focus essentially on transactions itself and are by barcoded items, product codes, and barcode scanners to work. The checkout point usually consists of the touchscreen system or keyboard to facilitate manual data search or entry for items without barcodes. Handheld scanners, for warehouse and back of store operations, for transactions such as checking inventory level and locating stocks. When a transaction is complete, customers’ receipts and invoices are generated automatically and sent to the pos printer or directly to customers’ mail.
Restaurant: Restaurant POS system gives you the flexibility to make allowance for additions to orders. Some of these additions include drinks, appetizers or desserts, etc. Dine-in restaurants often utilize input devices like IPad or tableside touchscreen. Orders get sent via WIFI or LAN to both the kitchen and the central cash point pos. Scanners are a lot more utilized for back of house operation since restaurants deal more with ingredients as opposed to the buy and sell process of the typical retailer. Orders are sent to the kitchen without prices as tickets or dockets that the chef or kitchen staff uses as a control mechanism for meals to be served; an invoice printed and a receipt issued to the customer after payment. Restaurant touchscreen usually has a very interactive interface that shows the floor plan, sitting arrangement, menu option, etc. Some of the restaurant hardware solutions include self-service kiosks, tableside ordering, and kitchen automation using a kitchen screen or printer.
Retail: As the retail point of sales software captures a larger number of items at a time, the use of barcodes, product name/codes is necessary. When a customer purchases an item, the price and quantity pop up on the screen, followed by an immediate closure of the transaction either by debit/credit card or cash. Each transaction remains stored on the server. Other output that can be processed by a retail POS include; stock and warehouse operation, purchase and vendor management, demand forecasting, sales reporting, and analytics. Low stock alerts, shipment status, delivery updates, replenished stock orders, and so much more are part of the retail operations that the retail pos helps manage.
Restaurant: Restaurant POS, on the other hand, has a very interactive interface, with orders customized typically for each restaurant. Restaurant terminals can be in multiple forms. They can come as mobile tablets or pos touchscreen terminal and display menus by an interactive image of the food to simplify input. When an order gets made, it is transferred directly to the kitchen. The preparation line up is displayed either on a kitchen screen or printed via a printer. At the cashpoint, information about each customer, including the meal served, the price, etc., is recalled when it is time for payment by the customer. All of this information remains backed up, and reports pulled up for any period wanted – daily, weekly, monthly, and even yearly reports. The data from these reports help to understand customers’ preferences. The setup of restaurants depends on the type of restaurant, whether Quick Service Restaurant (QSR) or a la carte type. It can be customized to include customers’ preferences or menu allergens.
While the retail POS is a complete system that handles business processes and customer transactions like sales, loyalty, and price check in front of the house, it can successfully carry out back end functions like inventory, warehousing, and reporting.
On the other hand, restaurants are designed to handle waiter assignment, customizable transactions, tickets processing, table/bill splitting, and tie the front of the house operations with the kitchen, servers, and prep area effortlessly.
Now you know what you need for your business, but you are not sure where to start, contact us. We are a team of trained professionals ready to help. Send an email to pos@posshop-ng.com.