With today’s customers living fast paced lives, convenience is king and cafes are under increasing pressure to deliver the same great service at lightning speed. As a result many cafe owners are turning towards technology, like cafe POS systems, to help cut costs, maximise sales and boost efficiency.
What is a cafe POS system?
Point of Sale, or POS, systems have evolved over the decades from simple cash registers to powerful pieces of software. POS systems no longer just take orders and payments, they can manage everything from accounting to inventory all in one place.
How can a POS system work for your cafe?
We’ve selected 5 ways a cafe POS system can boost efficiency and save time to maximise sales for your cafe.
1. Empower staff to provide a consistent experience, every time
The morning commuter rush can be hectic and when there’s a queue out the door, staff can sometimes make mistakes. Having a cafe POS system prompt staff to ask the right questions at the right time is an easy way to provide customers with a great, consistent experience.
There are many options when it comes to selecting a POS system for your cafe. Lightspeed, for example, allows users to pre-programme prompts, reminding your staff to upsell – “can I make that coffee a large?” – or ask certain questions – “would you like the sourdough toast or wholemeal?”
This has several benefits:
- Minimise order errors so customers always get what they ordered
- Never miss an upsell opportunity and boost your AOV
- Cut costs on re-making incorrect orders
- Consistent experience for customers
Providing staff with the right tools empowers them to consistently deliver the best possible service to your customers. Yes, mistakes will still happen, but building effective processes can minimise the frequency of common errors – saving time and money.
2. Boost revenue with online orders and delivery
The amount of Aussies ordering food online jumped by a massive 49% from 2017, and a growing number of cafes are capitalising on this trend to boost revenue and:
- Reach new customers
- Encourage people to try them out in person
- Open an extra source of income
However, it’s important to consider what type of online ordering you want to offer – is food delivery the best option? Or would an order ahead and collection system work better for you?
Whatever you choose, Cafe POS systems can integrate with a whole host of partners, like Uber Eats, DoorDash, Deliveroo, Bopple, Mr Yum and more! Plus, all orders sync straight to your cafe POS system and the kitchen printer – just like a dine-in order.
3. Save time and money with inventory control
The cost of goods is a large expense for any business and keeping on top of suppliers, stock, and costs is crucial. The great thing about a cafe POS is that you can monitor all of these things from the same platform.
For example, Lightspeed’s cafe POS allows you to:
- Adjust the cost and breakdown of dishes by building recipes
- Track fixed and variable ingredient costs
- Determine margins by comparing sales revenue, cost price, and gross profit
- Input supplier details and assign them to specific items
- Automate purchase orders
- Reduce wastage
- See stock levels in real time
4. Accounting and payments made easy
Like any software, cafe POS systems are regularly updated to meet changing technology and are compatible with a whole host of payment integration partners. Cafe POS systems make it easy to:
- Sync with payment terminals, like EFTPOS, in a safe and secure way
- Accept new payment methods
- Split the bill
- Avoid keying errors from staff
- Offer faster payments with peace of mind for customers
Being able to accept a variety of payment methods and take payment in a matter of seconds is the best way to keep customers happy and queues short – a win win for everyone!
The best bit? Cafe POS systems integrate with your accounting package, like Xero or MYOB, so all of your card transactions are automatically reconciled! Meaning no more card variances or discrepancies.
5. Drive growth with in-depth analytics
Understanding your most profitable menu items or working out which days of the week pull in the most sales can be time consuming. As cafe POS systems are connected at every point of the business, they contain a wealth of data that can be used to spot trends and grow your business.
- Access customisable reports: daily sales, MoM, dine in vs takeout etc
- Live reporting app gives you access to your data when you’re on-the-go
- Gain full visibility of profitable menu items with detail product insights
Free ebook
We’ve barely scratched the surface when it comes to the capabilities of cafe POS systems and what they can do for your venu. Our friends and hospitality experts over at Lightspeed have compiled a free POS Features eBook for you to download and learn more.
