As competition and economic conditions continue to toughen, restaurants need to keep a tighter grasp on costs than ever before.
Good inventory management – always important – has now become crucial; poor inventory control can mean heavy losses from over or under-stocking, from waste or even from theft.
The most savvy restaurant operators keep close tabs on their inventory and stock control with the help of EPOS (electronic point of sale) software, which has become increasingly sophisticated in recent years. As well as inventory management, it also helps restaurants streamline operations, take orders and payments efficiently, organise labour and enable targeted marketing to customers.
A restaurant EPOS system uses advanced technology to automate tasks, enhance accuracy and provide real-time insights, helping restaurant managers to make informed decisions swiftly. When it comes to managing inventory, restaurant management software offers help in 6 areas:
- Better inventory tracking
- Accurate meal planning and cost control
- Efficient purchasing and receiving
- Forecasting and planning
- Integration with kitchen operations
- Compliance with regulations
Better inventory tracking
EPOS systems for restaurants offer you real-time inventory tracking capabilities, so you can monitor your stock levels seamlessly. Automatic updates on inventory levels prevent stockouts and overstocking, optimizing inventory turnover and reducing any waste.
If you are managing a restaurant group, an EPOS system that makes inventory visible online across multiple locations makes centralised stock management possible ensuring consistency and efficiency across all of the outlets. It also minimises duplication of effort across different locations, reducing management costs.
Accurate meal planning and cost control
By providing insights into ingredient usage and consumption patterns, restaurant pos system software helps you and your team to optimise menu offerings – you’ll know exactly what dishes are selling best at what times, and which to drop.
The detailed sales data captured by the software, coupled with inventory analytics, supports informed decisions on menu pricing, portion sizes and ingredient substitutions. It all helps to maximise profitability. EPOS systems also include cost control features so you can set budget constraints and track expenditure.
Efficient purchasing and receiving
Your restaurant ePOS software makes it easy for your business to implement automated purchasing processes by generating alerts when stock levels reach thresholds that you have identified and defined.
Integration with supplier databases allows you to order directly from the system, wiping out manual paperwork and reducing costly human errors. Once the orders are received, the software streamlines the reconciliation process by automatically updating inventory levels. It also highlights discrepancies, so you can be sure of accuracy and accountability.
Forecasting and planning
It’s a huge help to your business to be able to accurately forecast future demand. EPOS systems don’t exactly have a crystal ball, but they use historical sales data and predictive analytics to forecast of future demand so you can manage your inventory in a proactive manner.
By identifying seasonal trends, peak hours of business and the most popular menu items, your restaurant can anticipate demand and adjust inventory levels to match, which minimises waste and maximises revenue.
Your restaurant EPOS system should ideally integrate with a customer relationship management (CRM) system so you can create targeted promotions and loyalty programmes, creating a great relationship with your guests and bringing them back again and again.
Integration with kitchen operations
Good communications between front and back of house operations is the best way to streamline food production and delivery, creating a positive customer experience.
Seamless integration between your EPOS and kitchen display systems promotes this – your servers take orders at the table on a mobile device or tablet, and they are sent direct to the kitchen where food production can begin immediately. Human error is eliminated and the order arrives at table more quickly, keeping customers happy.
In addition, servers receive real-time updates on order statuses and ingredient availability so they can manage guest expectations. The system also provides insights into kitchen performance metrics such as ticket times and order accuracy, encouraging a culture of continuous improvement and operational excellence.
Compliance with regulations
Complying with regulatory demands is a priority for restaurant owners and managers, but also can cause headaches with its complexity.
Restaurant EPOS systems help in maintaining compliance with requirements such as food safety standards and allergen labelling – they can include built-in features for ingredient labelling and tracking allergens.
Automated record-keeping streamlines your audit processes and organises documentation, which minimises the burden of admin and helps make sure your business fulfils all regulatory requirements and safeguards customers.
Conclusion
Restaurant businesses can be hard to monitor and control due to their fluctuating seasonal demand, changing customer behaviours and emphasis on reducing waste and maintaining ideal labour and stock levels.
EPOS systems are an invaluable help in all of these areas, giving you an end-to-end view of operations via comprehensive reports that supports good decision making and planning.
Operationally, your restaurant EPOS software streamlines workflows in ways that lead to improved table turn, accurate and fast food delivery and better communications between the front of house and the kitchen. The system even enables customers to pay at the tableside – your servers spend far less time running back and forth to a till, and guests appreciate the convenience.
When it comes to inventory management, EPOS makes it simple to match ordering to demand, keeping correct stock levels maintained and reducing waste – a key aim for restaurants aiming for sustainability and cost control. The reporting and analytical functions inherent in the software provide a comprehensive view of the entire business, from sales to labour to forecasting, that is hard otherwise to obtain.
The ROI on a restaurant EPOS system can be identified in time savings, reduction of admin, good labour and stock control, and in creating efficient working conditions that make your restaurant a great place to work. And the overall result – happy staff, rapid and accurate food delivery, a seamless experience and loyalty incentives that work – is excellent customer service. As a recipe for success, it’s a winner.
