Do you know the secret behind a thriving restaurant? Quality food and a diverse menu are one thing. However, you cannot serve a sumptuous meal on time without an efficient workflow. And this is where restaurant management comes in. This article will tell you all about the primary restaurant management system features you should be looking for.
What is a Restaurant Management System?
A restaurant management system (RMS) has various functions needed for a restaurant to operate. It is an umbrella term for different restaurant management software and processes that ensure excellent customer service.
Your RMS can include the following:
- Point-of-sale System: Used to input orders and record payments.
- Payment Processing: This allows you to accept various payment options like credit or debit cards and mobile payments.
- Restaurant Inventory Management: Used to monitor current stock, the cost of the items, and more.
- Employee Scheduling: Used to check employee attendance, shifts, and time off. Learn more about restaurant employee scheduling here.
- Payroll and Accounting Service: Used to manage employee payroll and monitor the restaurant’s cash flow.
Mind you; these are just a few of the many software that you can include in your RMS. That’s why you should look for a tool that can help streamline how you manage and operate your restaurant.
Read more: 12 Restaurant Management Tips for Happy Employees & a Successful Business
8 Must-Have Restaurant Management System Features
There are many moving parts to managing a restaurant. Hence, you will need to build a system that helps you monitor everything in one place.
To help with that, we have researched eight restaurant management system features you should look for.
1. All-in-One Solution
Here’s the thing: No RMS is perfect. Still, you should look for a system that allows you to track as many components as possible.
For instance, you should consider using a POS system for small businesses that allows you to accept orders, manage restaurant inventory, and process payments. Doing so enables you to track three things in one dashboard.
It also helps you establish a streamlined process in running your restaurant. For example, you would know whether you have enough ingredients for a particular recipe.
The last thing you want to do is accept an order, only to realize you don’t have the ingredients to make it and have to come back and say that it is no longer available. It would be even better if you could integrate the POS system with your payroll and accounting service.
2. Hardware Compatibility
Sure, having a POS system is standard among restaurants and most coffee shops use a cafe POS system nowadays. But what if your preferred software is not compatible with the device you have?
That said, you should also consider whether a tool or an app is compatible with your existing software. Otherwise, you will just be wasting money and compromise your customer service.
Imagine spending ages to compute a customer’s bill because you have to do it manually!
Look for a restaurant management system provider that can offer you suitable devices and training on using the system.
3. User-friendliness
So, you have an RMS tool that you can install on your devices and that allows you to monitor almost everything in one place. The next restaurant management system feature you should look for is ease of use.
User-friendliness is essential and something you should not overlook. When a software or app is easy to use, you do not have to spend ages learning about it.
In addition, you do not have to spend time and money training your staff on how to use the new tool.
You might also like: 10 Restaurant Staffing Issues and How to Address Them
4. Intuitive Menu Configuration
One of the best restaurant management system features you should consider is intuitive menu configuration. This means that you can update menu items and prices without the hassle.
Configuring your menu should be something that you can do instead of calling your service provider’s client support.
Moreover, you would not want the headache of having to restart the entire system just to update your menu. Instead, look for a system that allows you to implement your changes immediately.
If you are unsure whether your preferred RMS has that feature, do not hesitate to ask your service provider.
5. Quick Loyalty and Reward Implementation
Here’s the thing: to stay competitive in the food and hospitality industry, you must foster customer loyalty. This is where loyalty and reward programs come in handy.
Read more: [Infographic] Restaurant Loyalty Marketing: How to Ace Customer Success
Thus, besides having an intuitive menu configuration, you should look for an RMS that makes it easy to implement these programs.
Implementing a reward program can be as simple as adding a free menu item to the customer’s bill. However, it should also let you implement something more complex, like allowing customers to pay their bills using their accumulated loyalty points.
6. Cloud-based or Online Management
If you run multiple restaurant branches, you would want an RMS that allows you to manage your data efficiently.
What do we mean by “manage your data efficiently?”
First, it means that you track data from multiple branches in one dashboard. Second, you should be able to consolidate this data quickly. That way, you would know how much your restaurant is earning and which branches are bringing in more money.
Lastly, your RMS should allow you to manage restaurant data even while on the go. Hence, look for a system that syncs data in the cloud and lets you access it online.
7. Reporting Capabilities
Any successful entrepreneur would tell you that you cannot fix what you cannot measure. In the case of a restaurateur, that would mean knowing which of your menu items are not bringing in money.
Say you have a salmon dish on your menu. This can be an expensive item since the main ingredient can cost significantly. But thanks to your RMS, you can track whether people are ordering this salmon dish or not.
This also gives you insight into whether it makes sense to keep the item on the menu or not. Thus, reporting capabilities are one of those restaurant management system features you should not miss.
Read more: How to Successfully Use Restaurant Analytics to Increase Revenue
8. Excellent Technical Support
You may be tech-savvy, but that does not mean you know everything about your RMS. Fixing your system requires professional help, and this is where excellent technical support comes in.
That said, look for a service provider that offers 24/7 chat support or hotline assistance. Mind you; weekends can be one of the busiest days of the week for a restaurant.
Thus, you will need an RMS service provider that offers technical support even on the weekend. Doing so ensures that you do not have to compute and write customer bills manually for days.
Run Your Restaurant Like a Well-oiled Machine
An easy-to-use restaurant management system allows you to run your establishment like a well-oiled machine. It will enable you to track your cash flow, monitor your inventory, and manage your employees.
Simply put, an RMS can help you develop a robust and streamlined workflow for your restaurant. Hence, you can serve your customers better while protecting your business’s bottom line.
Remember, for that to happen, you should look for the following restaurant management system features:
- All-in-one solution
- Hardware compatibility
- User-friendliness
- Intuitive menu configuration
- Quick loyalty and reward implementation
- Cloud-based or online management
- Reporting capabilities
- Excellent technical support
When you consider these features, it will be easy for you to choose a system that will suit your restaurant’s needs.
This article is a guest post.
