How to Choose the Best POS for Your Family Restaurant

Family restaurants aren't just places to eat — they're hubs of connection where groups of people gather to celebrate birthdays, commemorate milestones like graduations or anniversaries, or simply talk and laugh over a good meal.

To make sure these special moments are actually realized by your customers, your restaurant needs seamless operations behind the scenes. From crafting a menu that appeals to people of all ages and dietary preferences to turning customers into regulars, family restaurants require thoughtful planning and a robust point-of-sale (POS) system.

Your POS system can help you and your managers handle everything from table management to loyalty programs, ensuring a memorable customer experience. But choosing a POS system that’s right for your family restaurant is critical. POS systems are not one-size-fits all and they don’t all come with the features that family dining requires. Not sure where to start? Explore the key considerations and must-have features for your family dining POS system.

Key Considerations When Choosing a Restaurant POS System

Every business is different, so when choosing a POS system for your restaurant, it’s important to understand your options. Keep these key considerations in mind as you start your search.  

1. Budget

With so many POS systems to choose from, it’s best to start by setting a budget, keeping in mind that you will need to have funds for initial costs (e.g., POS terminals, mobile POS terminals, receipt and kitchen printers, credit card terminals, kitchen display systems, customer-facing displays, system installing, staff training and more), ongoing costs (e.g., software, upgrade, and processing fees), training, and support.

2. Essential Features

With a budget in mind, you can move into exploring POS systems that offer the features you need, including:

• Kitchen communication that seamlessly transmits orders from the waitstaff to the kitchen.
• Inventory tracking to prevent stockouts and minimize the chance of menu items being unavailable ­— which can cause customer dissatisfaction.
• Sales reporting that can track profitability, identify popular menu items, and provide insight into the restaurant’s overall performance.
• Payment processing that accommodates a variety of payment methods and gives customers a straightforward and seamless check-out experience.
• Employee management tools for scheduling and permissions assignment to ensure smooth operations during busy shifts.   

3. Ease of Use

Overall, the POS system should be easy to use for all staff members, from veterans to new hires. Make sure that the system has clear and intuitive interfaces and also offers efficient training processes, whether that’s through online reference guides, on-demand videos, or in-person training sessions.  

4. Customization and Integration

To get the most out of your POS system, it should be customizable to fit your restaurant’s specific needs and integrated with your other systems, like reservation management or payroll systems. Customizations can also help your restaurant adapt to changing trends, like delivery and online ordering, seasonal or rotating menus, or tableside ordering.

5. Hardware and Software Fit

When evaluating POS systems, also make sure to determine how it will fit within your existing infrastructure or if you will need to make additional investments to support it. Understanding the hardware, software, and network requirements will not only enable you to better estimate total costs, but it will also provide insight into whether the POS system can scale with you as you grow your location or expand to multiple locations.

Essential POS Capabilities for Family Restaurants

Of course, every restaurant is different, and family restaurants require a few specific capabilities to equip them to serve their unique customer base. When choosing a POS system for your family restaurant, consider these features:

• Loyalty Program Integration

You can encourage repeat business by implementing loyalty programs — which can have a big impact on profits. Research shows that returning customers spend 67% more than new customers, and 55% of consumers visit a restaurant at least twice a month to earn rewards.

With POS integration, you can more easily track loyalty program purchases and rewards, creating a smooth process for both employees and customers. Plus, the integration can help you capture valuable information, including customers’ preferred locations, menu items, and more, so they can better customize their menu and marketing efforts. 

• Staff Management Tools

Nearly every restaurant faces the challenge of staff retention, with turnover reaching 75%. With a close-knit dynamic, family restaurant staff play an integral part in your culture and identity — so losing staff to turnover can cause a huge disruption. POS systems that offer features like convenient scheduling, integrated payroll, and automatic gratuity can help build a better work environment for staff, keeping them happier and working for you for longer.

• Table Management Tools

When a large group comes into a restaurant, staff must quickly figure out how to best accommodate them with the tables and space available. Advanced table management tools, like a graphical table display, can give servers a clear view of the dining area. They can quickly see which tables are free and more efficiently rearrange the space to accommodate any size customer group.

These tools can also help restaurant employees manage reservations and track table statuses, so they can turn tables quickly — and, ultimately, keep customers happy.

• Menu Management and Customization

Families and other large groups of customers can often come with varying dietary needs and preferences — from gluten-free or dairy-free to more severe food allergies. With robust menu management options, restaurants can easily cater to every individual’s requirements.    

• Ability to Split Bills

Family restaurants often attract large and diverse groups of people — for everything from a small birthday celebration to milestones like graduations — which means that it’s critical for to have the ability to easily split checks. With a POS system that has the ability to split bills multiple ways and accept a variety of payment methods, you can process those bills quickly and create a smooth and easy process for customers.  

When selecting a POS system, the choices can be overwhelming — especially when you’re busy running a restaurant. To better understand which solutions are best for your needs and learn how to leverage your POS to grow your business, download our Restaurant POS Buyer’s Guide.