There are certain features that all point of sale systems need to have: inventory tracking, simple check out procedures and sales tracking. But no single point of sale system can meet every industry’s demands, which is why the market is so saturated with systems.

A boutique or a mid-sized retailer’s point of sale system looks (or should look) completely different than a bar or restaurant, and for the latter two there are certain features that no merchant should be without!

So let’s discuss several essential features that any bar or full-service restaurant is going to need:

Open Tab System

Every bar and most restaurants must have a tab system. This enables a bartender to swipe a card and continue adding drinks and food (ordered by the customer) to the tab without having to add consecutive bills each time a patron wants to order a new item. When they want to close out, the patron gets one check with all their items listed. This will also be essential for many full-service restaurants, especially those with a bar area.

Table Layout

Table layouts are a must have for a full-service restaurant as patrons may switch tables, switch from the bar to a table (or vice-versa) or even stay long enough to where there is a server change. These are not essential for many bars, but for those with table service and servers, it’s a definite need.

Menu Management

Menus, especially with bars and nightclubs, are living breathing documents with the ability to change every other day or from one hour to the other. Therefore you need a system that is going to be able to keep up with those needs and keep your servers and bartenders up to date as well. Being able to effortlessly attach, detach, edit descriptions, pictures, and menu items at any time!

Tip Declaration

Servers and bartenders depend on tips (and good ones at that!) to make the bulk of their money or even their livelihood! By implementing a suggested tip percentage on a check, not only are you giving your servers a leg up by showing customers what they deserve but also makes it easy and fast for the customer to figure out what they are going to tip them. Win, win for both!

Employee Management

Without happy and dedicated employees, what would your establishment be? In order to find and keep servers with those qualities it is important that you are able to manage them effectively in every aspect. Finding a system that will give them the ability to easily clock in and out and additionally log in and out of the system as they use it is always a plus. Not to mention when the end of their shift or night ends, you are able to split tips easily so everyone can be on there way!

These are just some of the 150+ features that your restaurant or bar should have in order to work faster, more effectively, and overall streamline the process of your day to day operations.

Do you think that your restaurants POS system is up to standards?