What is the Advantage and disadvantage of an EPOS System for Your Business ?

Customer experience is everything. Knowing that your customers are satisfied and engaged with your business proposition makes everything worthwhile. This is why knowing the advantages of using latest EPOS technology is so important.

With new technology and trends emerging every month, it’s important to understand how to apply these to your restaurant, casual dining or QSR dining business. One of the best long-term solutions to help you optimise the customer service is investment into a reliable and feature-rich EPOS system. Let’s take a look at the key benefits.

 

What is an EPOS system?

EPOS stands for Electronic Point of Sale, comprising of specialised computer hardware and peripherals specifically designed for hospitality and retail environments. But it goes much further than a conventional cash drawer till, eliminating majority of the manual work and ridding you of those hand-written orders and receipts!

There are many EPOS systems on the market, from cloud-based tablet solutions to powerful all-in-one POS terminals that can handle complex operations and scale with your hospitality business. EPOS software is built to manage and streamline sales processes, give you reporting tools and improve customer service. There are two main elements to look out for – the front-end sales interface and the back-of-house management modules.

What are the key advantages of EPOS?

A speedy, user-friendly and reliable EPOS system is a complete toolkit for running your business. Imagine doing almost every business task or process through one single system. Read on to find out essential EPOS software modules, regardless of which system you choose.

EPOS Management Tools

Using point of sale till system software, you’ll be able to view and analyse all areas of your business. As an owner or manager, it’s important to have a clear view of your sales figures, stock levels, staff, customers and profits, at the very least! A good EPOS system will give you access to valuable data and reporting tools. You’ll be able to gain insights into trends and overall business performance in relation to your goals. Modules include stock control, sales, customer relationship management (CRM), reservations, accounts and staff management.

With this type of reliable system in place, you’ll spot areas performing well and improve those that need more attention. By following this process, your business will become more and more efficient.

EPOS Time-saving Features

Time is so valuable when running a business. By automating various business tasks with EPOS, you will be able to put additional time into other areas of the business. Perhaps you’d like to give your customers more attention or launch that marketing campaign you’ve been meaning to do for a while. Or maybe you’d like to spend more time training your employees to further improve customer service.

For any fast-paced business, this is perfect. You’ll also free up your employees’ time, by automating tasks such as stock take, to serve customers instead. Restaurants that provide speedy yet attentive service will turn tables faster and increase return traffic.

Customer Loyalty & EPOS Integration

Speaking of returning visitors, turning your attention to ‘loyalty’ is paramount in hospitality – and technology is here to help. An EPOS system allows you to connect with your customers on a whole new level. With reward programmers, branded loyalty cards and promotions via integrated apps, there is more room for a relationship to grow with your customers.

Employee Engagement with EPOS

You’ve taken the time to pick the right employees to represent your business, now you’ll be able to empower them with the right tools to perform their roles. If the chosen EPOS system is efficient and user-friendly, their job will become easier, thus increasing job satisfaction and team motivation.

From an HR and employee engagement point of view, the right system will give you insights into performance and attendance. This is really helpful if you are a forward-thinking business, fostering a culture of rewarding successful employees. You’ll be able to use the EPOS system to keep track of all the performance metrics using back-office management tools.

Integrated Technologies

You may already be using more than one business tool or platform to keep track of business operations. Choosing an EPOS system to fit your business shouldn’t mean giving up other tools that already work well for you. Why not invest in a system open to multiple integrations, such as popular payroll and accounting tools, Sage and Xero. If you’re a restaurant owner with a steady revenue stream from delivery orders, you’ll want to have a system that integrates with online ordering, driver management systems and delivery partners such as Deliveroo, JustEat, Ordelord and LivePepper.

 

To recap, you’ll want to find out the following when choosing your EPOS system:

Is the system intuitive and reliable?

Which tools are available to manage stock, sales, staff and customer information and what reports are available?

How will the system automate your business processes?

How will the system help you build customer loyalty and marketing efforts?

Is the system intuitive for your staff to use, will it help keep your team engaged and empower management with the right HR tools?

What integrations does the system offer and can bespoke tools be developed if needed?

 

Having a fast, efficient and reliable EPOS system in place empowers a hospitality business and promotes best practice. View the full list of EPOS solutions 3S POS offer