(Newswire.net — October 16, 2013) Palm Beach Gardens, Florida —
The selection and purchase of a restaurant POS system that is perfect for your restaurant is a huge undertaking. The restaurant’s management and staff will work with the restaurant POS system every day and will have to live with it for many years. The right restaurant POS system decision will pay for itself in a matter of months. Do your homework, get the facts and enjoy the rewards of a restaurant POS system that meets your needs and budget.
The Restaurant POS System 3-Step Purchase Process is as follows:
- Define – Your System Requirements
- Compare – Acceptable POS Solutions
- Negotiate – Price, Terms and Conditions
Start by Defining your restaurant POS requirements. Restaurant POS systems are for specific types of restaurants. Are you a pizza restaurant, a quick serve restaurant or a fine dining establishment? Do you offer pick up and/or delivery? Do you have a drive-thru? How many bartenders, cashiers and servers will you have at peak times? How many terminals and remote order printers or kitchen video displays you will need. Not to mention the back office system, do you need one or not? After that, you have to think about your floor plan and where the equipment will be located, electrical connections, network cabling and Internet access. And since the restaurant POS system directly interacts with every aspect of your operation, you should also consider menu items, hours/days of operation and how you operate your restaurant before you contact the first POS provider. Here is a complete list of questions to help Define your individual requirements.
Okay you’ve Designed your system, now it is time to contact some POS providers and schedule a demo. The demo can take an hour or more and if you are satisfied with the POS provider’s presentation you should request a quote. Now the important second step of Comparing quotes must begin so you can determine the total investment for each system. Restaurant POS providers always make this step very difficult. The terms, conditions, features, options, warranties, support and ongoing maintenance included in the quote will vary greatly. What is included in one quote could be optional in another quote. This important step is where you must uncover the hidden costs of purchasing and operating each of the restaurant POS systems. Do a three year total investment comparison of your top three choices so you can compare apples to apples. For help doing a complete and fair comparison use this comparison guide.
You’ve Compared the quotes and you’ve selected the restaurant POS system you want to purchase. All of the hard work is done right? Wrong! Step 3, Negotiating is the next crucial step. This is your opportunity to get the best system with the best terms and conditions at the best price. You are in the driver’s seat, make the most of this opportunity. The total price is important but don’t focus solely on price. This is the time to get your best deal by negotiating the included menu programming, additional features, future options, credit card processing interfaces, staging, shipping, installation, staff training, management training, go-live coverage and warranties for hardware and software. Don’t forget to lock down the costs of ongoing maintenance and support services which should have been included in your three year total cost of ownership comparison. The more that is included the less you pay for later. For help with this important step use this list of negotiation considerations.
So you see, purchasing a restaurant POS system really is as simple as 1 – 2 – 3 if you put in the time and effort. However, this is often easier said than done, especially when you are opening a new location. Many restaurant owners and managers just don’t have the time to handle all the important pieces of the restaurant POS puzzle. POS Advice can help, they can save you time, money and aggravation by handling any or all three phases of the purchase process. The selection of a restaurant POS system is a critical decision that you will live with for many years, take your time and utilize all the free resources available so you can make an informed decision.