Restaurant general managers are known for working well over 60 hours a week, including evenings, weekends, and holidays. Of those hours, many are spent working with a point-of-sale system, so it’s essential that the system is as efficient as possible. Here are the five most important features that a GM needs in a POS system.
1. Mobile access.
Any GM will tell you that their job does not end when they go home. Whether they need to run reports, make menu changes, or add a new employee, the last thing a GM wants to do is be locked in a basement, chained to an old computer. With systems that are accessible via smartphones and other mobile devices, GMs can view the most up to date information about their restaurant with the push of a button.
2. Customized reports.
GMs are constantly making decisions that they don’t have time to scroll through pages of useless reports. Whether it’s a one-time change, or a daily decision, a GM needs the ability to customize reports and just get the exact data that they need. A bonus feature is when those customized reports can be customized and scheduled so that they can just be waiting in someone’s inbox.
3. Real-time system changes.
Changes to menus, floor plans, and employee access, are some of the most common changes that a GM needs to make, so it’s essential that these processes are simple and quick. These changes need to be applied immediately, and shouldn’t require restarting terminals and servers, or waiting until end of business day.
4. Reliability.
A restaurant’s POS affects every part of the operation, and therefore, needs to be extremely reliable. Whether the power goes out, the Wi-Fi goes down, or a printer runs out of paper, a GM needs to know that they can rely on their POS. The best POS systems have redundancies and backup plans to minimize service interruption, like accepting credit cards even when the network is down.
5. Support.
No matter how amazing a GM is, or how great a POS is, there are bound to be times when there are questions or something goes wrong. Restaurants can’t wait 48–72 hours to get a response or assistance, so having accessible, reliable, and friendly, support is an absolute necessity. Sometimes the solution only requires 30 seconds of someone’s assistance, and knowing that a support team is always available is exactly what a GM needs.
