The Australian hospitality industry is more competitive than ever, according to the landmark hospitality survey performed by Impos.

 

More restaurants and other hospitality businesses are opening up every day, and smaller, independent businesses are faced with a variety of challenges like lower profits, increased food waste and high regulatory penalties.

 

But there is hope! Today’s advanced hospitality POS systems are powerful tools – and by using the data collected from your modern POS systems, your hospitality business can enjoy a wide variety of benefits and address these difficult challenges!

 

Let’s take a look at 4 ways that POS data can be used to improve your business now!

1. More Information About Product Sales and Popularity

 

Reducing waste is a huge concern for cafes, restaurants, bars, and nightclubs. And it can be hard to address excessive food waste and eliminate menu items without understanding which products are popular and which ones are not.

 

Modern POS systems offer an easy way to understand which products of yours are selling and which ones are lagging behind. By analysing the deep data provided, you can figure out which menu items and products are the most – and least – popular.

 

With this data, you can work out solutions pre-emptively. For example, if you have a few unpopular items, put them on special for a reduced price to make sure they sell out. Or choose to eliminate low-performing items altogether.

 

Either way, staying informed about popular food and drink items will reduce waste and help you stay profitable!

2. Detailed Data About Transaction Times

 

Let’s face it, your customers don’t want to wait around for their payment to be processed, which is why all good POS systems allow you to take payments, fast. That way, the customer is happy and your staff have more times to get on with important tasks.

 

You should ensure that your POS system allows you to monitor the total transaction time of each customer. This can help you understand typical transaction times and take steps to reduce the time customers have to wait – whether because of a slow card payment processor, over-worked staff members or any other reason.

 

Reducing transaction times has a proven correlation to improved customer satisfaction so this is a powerful way to use the data that your hospitality POS system provides you with!

3. Better Inventory Control Tools

 

Advanced POS systems can plug directly into your inventory management and control software to keep track of which products are sold out, which ones must be reordered and which ones are nearing their best before date.

 

But POS systems let you do much more than merely take care of stock orders. You can also handle invoices, purchase orders and vendor information from your chosen POS terminal.

 

Having a better understanding of your inventory also reduces the risk of employee theft and helps you simplify accounting processes and ensure you’re not misreporting your inventory.

4. Comprehensive Information About Peak Traffic Hours

 

With contemporary POS systems, it’s never been easier to track your hospitality peaks and troughs, when you’re at your busiest and most profitable and when you’re not.

 

Many POS systems have integration capabilities with your rostering and time management system, meaning you can get a detailed look at staffing from your POS terminal.

 

You can generate rosters based on historical staffing information so you don’t have to spend time poring over sets of spreadsheets. You’ll have everything you need to maximise staff hours and run more efficiently, which is immensely helpful for your hospitality business.

 

Say you’re generally slow on Thursday afternoons. You can schedule fewer employees and instead get more employees working during your peak business hours on Friday nights.

 

In this way, your POS system can help you provide better service to customers, minimize wasted money on unnecessary shift work, and give you more insight into the performance of your business.

 

 

In the hyper-competitive world of the Australian hospitality industry, you need every edge you can get. And an easy way to gain that edge is to invest in an effective POS system.

 

So don’t wait. Utilise the power of a modern hospitality POS system and see how the advanced data can help your hospitality business succeed!