TOP 10 RESTAURANT MANAGEMENT SOFTWARE DEVELOPMENT FEATURES AND WHY YOU NEED THEM?

by Max Anderson Digital Marketer

Managing a restaurant is like watching over the cogwheels of an intricate machine. Not only do you have to manage employees and customers, but you need to deal with food service and the unique baggage that comes along with that. The focus on details in providing consistent quality, revenue and profit margins aren’t easy. While most of the restaurant owners are lured at giving perfect ambiance and comfortable environment through various architectural designs, they tend to ignore a very crucial aspect of running this kind of business - Restaurant management.

Restaurant management varies across multiple management styles, although there is one common parameter among all the restaurants: profitability. To grow your profits, a better manager will always examine and understand operational costs and how they aid in the restaurant’s productivity and efficiency in providing premium quality service to its customers. One has to keep a track on controlling and balancing operational costs and profitability. Mismanagement in restaurant business is big no, as it can lead to degradation in its productivity and efficiency which would result in poorer customer satisfaction. This is why Restaurant Management Software Development comes into the picture. With a well-equipped restaurant management software, productivity loopholes and mismanagement can be made minimal.

With the incorporation of management software, various restaurants can entangle itself as a competitive, innovative and well-managed platform along with the latest management trends. Hospitality software development is a collective term for software wherein it is used in aiding various other software for billing, ordering, inventory management, and most importantly point-of-sale (POS) software.

Here I would like to mention some of the crucial features to look for which would help you and other restaurant owners to make a smart buying decision while going for a hospitality software development purchase.

A user-friendly order management

In metropolitan cities where traffic is an important issue, people tend to order their food to avoid wasting their time on roads. Be it a home delivery or ordering at the restaurant, your software should have easy navigations to menus and ordering options. The restaurant staff should be able to easily manage and keep a track of table reservations and changes in orders. To keep a pulse on the business, managing team should efficiently control and view order status at any given time.

Integrating credit card payments

Digitization has accelerated the use of credit cards for different payments. Cash-only business is getting outdated and by missing out card payment facility, you are definitely decreasing your opportunities in driving revenue. According to a study, 68% of the respondents choose to pay through credit cards or debit cards. To make sure your customer’s data is secure, your POS management system must be EMV ready and PCI compliant.

Simpler menu design

Your restaurant management software development should comprise an easier menu format and setup. Menu updates or pricing changes for a complex menu design would make it difficult to alter. It should hardly take your 2 minutes to make any kind of changes in the menu, if not you should consult a better POS provider for the management software.

Tracking of business sales data

A huge amount of cash transaction data needs to be handled by the software. The software must store sales data as well reliable records for taxes through much efficiency. Sales data would aid you in knowing the information about most-preferred and less-preferred item of your store, making it more effective in adjusting your menu listings for better profits.

Offer prepaid gift cards

You might think that offering gift cards to your customers is sounding as a no-brainer, but it possesses the hidden potential to increase your sales. More that coupons, customers will be tempted on using gift cards up to 35% more than its prepaid balance. The biggest advantage is that it is improving cash flow by generating revenue before sales.

Inventory management

Inventory control management is the most significant feature for your restaurant management software. POS is specifically designed to update the inventory according to the items sold wherein items would be deducted from the database upon its purchase. This feature helps in getting information about edibles and when to order for more items.

Point-of-sale security system

POS is of no use if it doesn’t have employee management features. To have a track of employee’s hours worked, overtime schedules, sales performance, etc is important to monitor staff productivity of your restaurant. Various systems have features to set different user permissions and accessibility options to keep your system secure.

Filtering reports and customer data

Filtering of your sales, as well as customer data, is significant for the restaurant’s growth at a bigger picture. Data analysis and filtering help in gaining control over food costs, staff productivity as well as defining particular time for marketing schedules. The owner readily gets the information about the product having higher sales and customer showing more loyalty towards your restaurant.

Marketing strategies

Marketing of your product is what you need to get started with the earning. Several management software already have some built-in tools like loyalty programs to drive in repeat customers and increase their sales. Some also possess 3rd party integrations as a part of their marketing strategy.

24/7 Technical support

Last but not least is full-fledged technical support which must be provided by the software development company to enhance user experience. It’s quite hurting when the system is down and you can’t get the necessary support from the technicians of the company. Services offered by the development company should be tested beforehand for better flow of your business.

According to the present scenario, one has to face many challenges to keep up with the current market trend. It has been quite imperative to have proper Hospitality Software Development done for your restaurant which would ultimately define your failure or success as a business. The best way to get a visual of your desired software is to get hold of a Software Development Company like Ncrypted Technologies, which assists you with the following features you need right out of the box along with highly qualified developers and talented pool of resources.