The typicall POS systems you may see on restaurants and fast food chains are touch screen monitors, programmable keyboards, or scanners and handheld devices. Cash registers (with or without a built-in cash drawer), printers can be dot matrix or thermal, programmable keyboards can have covers for spill protection and scanners can be a CCD scanner or an autosending laser scanner.
Touch screens: With its flexible user interfaces and programming, many retail business owners prefer to use touch screens. With this type of restaurant hardware, a staff can easily input orders and cancel an order within a second. It can also reduce mistypes and accelerate ordering. Touch screens also uses less electricity and much easier to position on the counter table, but they can be more prone to breakdowns.
Handheld devices: Restaurant POS equipment like PDAs, which are commonly wireless devices that transmits data back to its base station and into the POS system. You can also use the newer version, which is the write-on handhelds that allows you to write detail such as the orders and directly sends the oder to the kitchen! This type of device perfectly fit when up-selling customers of desserts or drinks. Your employee can either roam their tables or take orders from customers waiting in line.
POS keyboards: Most grocery and convenient stores prefer to use this type of POS hardware because it allows them to program individual keys for specific item codes and prices. A standard keyboard consists of 101-key, which can be seen with any computer. Other have built-in magnetic stripe readers for processing credit cards, others are small and flat, like what we usually see in fast food outlets.
Scanners: A useful piece of electronic device that reads bar codes, convert it and inputs its details to a POS system computer. Generally, it fastens a sales transaction and accurately inputs product or service payment of a customer. It typically connects through Y-connectors called wedges that make them function as an extension of the keyboard.
Customers' volume: When it comes to serving different volumes of customers, using this restaruant hardware can be very useful. If your counter line holds several customers, make your staff use a CCD scanner or entry-level laser scanner. If the line is loaded with customers, then you'll be needing the help of autosensing laser scanners. This type of scanner turns on when an item is placed in front of it, easily scan the barcode, and then turn off again. But if the counter line is overflowing with customers, you could sure use the help of an omnidirectional scanner, using its 15 or 20 lasers simultaneously, it scans a bar code from any angle!
Consider Additional Restaurant POS
Cash Drawer: Where you store cash, credit card slips, gift certificates, and other imporatant things. When looking to buy for a POS cash register, look for sturdy construction of at least 18-gauge steel. And since the usable life of a cash drawer is measured, make sure you can replace rollers, bearings, and other parts, because most cash drawers opens when a signal is released from the receipt printer.
POS printers: An addition to your restaurant POS system is a receipt printer, every retail business needs one to complete a sales transaction. A POS printer is needed in order to print a receipt and create credit card slips. The dot matrix printers, also known as impact printers, are inexpensive and uses ink ribbon to print on regular paper. While thermal printers use heat and special heat-sensitive paper to generate receipts. It is slightly expensive than a dot matrix printer because it's faster and quieter when printing receipts. They are also more reliable because they have less moving parts.
POS Customer display: Also called the pole display. This restaurant hardware lets your customer view their item and its price, it can also be used to support advertising. Before buying a customer display, make sure that you check for the right height and width, which will perfectly fit your counter table, and its compatibility with your POS software.
Check readers: Advisable for restaurants, fast food chains, hotels, casinos, and convenient stores. The check reader prevents fraud by verifying essential account information. By this, you are assure that every check in your cash drawer is authentic.
Magnetic stripe readers: A simple piece of POS hardware that is used to read credit cards. For added convenience, look for POS keyboards and touch screens that has a built-in magnetic strip reader, so you don't have to buy a separate one.
Fingerprint ID readers: If you want to limit which POS terminal can a staff use, then this type of restaurant hardware can be handy. You can also use this for employee logins thus preventing any of your employees from logging in inplace of somebody.
Always rememeber when purchasing a restaurant POS system, hardawre or software, you have to make sure that you review their details first. It doesn't matter how expensive or cheap a POS equipment is, keep in mind the environment where you're going to use it. Regular cleaning keeps your keyboards and touch screens in top shape, vacuuming dust and lubing your receipt printer can extend its usable life and maintaining an over all clean workstation can definitely help your POS stations from annoying dust and spills. You can always request for a FREE POS system quote online where local vendors will offer you competitive price lists of any restaurant hardware and software you need based on the the information you give them. So you would never have to waste money buying the wrong POS systems.
For more information on restaurant POS systems or to have a local POS professional serving the restaurant industry in your location see more information at POS-For-Restaurants.com.
