Checkout system for CHR: what criteria to choose well?
Gone are the days of the old cash register and hand-held accounting books.
A first step had been taken with electronic systems making it possible to print tickets, read payment cards, manage stocks and give change. But now, computerized solutions exist and offer you efficient and practical cash register systems.
In particular, they make it possible to facilitate accounting management, take orders, monitor and analyze sales, get to know your customers better, integrate loyalty programs and many other centralized features that will considerably facilitate the management of your CHR and increase its performance.
In addition to saving you time, this cash register software, also called POS (point of sale terminals), will also limit the risk of errors and allow you to monitor the activity of your establishment in detail. More than 250 different cash register software are listed in France.
But how to navigate among all these offers? What should you take into account when choosing your checkout system?
Choosing basic software with few features may be your first line of thought. However, a detailed analysis of your needs and your business is essential. Do you work in the restaurant or hotel industry? Do you have to take remote commands? What features do you need? Whether you are a food truck, a fast food establishment or a gourmet restaurant, the choice of your cash register software will depend on:
- The type of activity,
- Size,
- The number of restaurants,
- The number of covers,
- The volume of transactions per day,
- The number of users,
- Etc.
This will make it possible to make a first sorting in the software available in order to choose one which corresponds best possible to your activity. By choosing the right software, you will save valuable time. Indeed, the integration will be faster and more efficient, because it will not require complex configuration to meet your requirements.
The essential functionalities
You are going to choose your first cash register software and you are wondering which features to pay attention to?
It is obvious that a software for CHR is designed to calculate the bill, print the bill and make it easier to collect.
However, this is not enough, check for example that it also allows taking orders at the table with an automatic transmission in the kitchen or even better a digital application that allows you to order and pay directly via smartphones in complete autonomy without any waiting and without queuing, just like Miap.
No more lost notes or endless waits! Notes are processed in chronological order and your staff avoids going back and forth to the kitchen.
A cash register software also aims to simplify accounting, so it must be able to provide accounting data with a few clicks.
A module stock must also be available in order to monitor in real time the availability of an ingredient, a dish or a drink.
So you are notified in time to restock quickly.
Do not stay focused on immediate management, see further! Your POS should also have a reporting tool keeping you informed on the trend of your activity: the most ordered dishes and drinks, the average amount of additions, peaks in attendance, etc. With this valuable information, readjust your strategy and improve the profitability of your CHR !
Satisfied customers, less stressed staff, well-kept accounts, perfect stock management.
What service can your cash register software still do for you? Collect customer data! You will be able to create a customer file in order to set up a loyalty program. This always with a view to boosting your turnover.
Simple and user-friendly: combining the useful with the pleasant
Favor conviviality! Your POS must please you, have an intuitive interface, in short, it must be easy and pleasant to use. You will not waste time with each checkout, nor with each new employee. What if a technical problem arises? Ask about the availability of customer service. Some providers offer 24/7 assistance by email, chat or phone. This could well avoid moments of stress for your employees!
Bet on a safe bet
Choose a recognized cash register software publisher, domiciled in France (RCS or SIRET verifiable on infogreffe.fr), hosting its data securely on a server in France (or at least in the EU) and already benefiting from a large portfolio of restaurant customers, here are some guarantees of reliability!
Mandatory homologation
The law does not oblige the use of cash register software but encourages it. On the other hand, your POS terminal must be approved and certified NF525, that is to say that it must meet the following conditions:
data security, inalterability, conservation, archiving. The goal ? Fight against VAT fraud. Failure to comply with this law leads to a fine of € 7,500 for non-secure software.
So absolutely check that your publisher has this approval. You are responsible for requesting the certificate of conformity from your supplier, which is not automatically supplied with the cash register software.
Updates by automatic download according to new laws (for example, a change in the VAT rate, etc.) would be a plus.
Alright, but how much does it cost?
Obviously, the price is also an argument that comes into play in your choice. Its comparison is an essential step, but it is also necessary to compare what it includes.
Some publishers may display a price that seems attractive without informing about additional costs.
Take into account the total cost of the chosen solution, over several years: maintenance, updates, subscription, cost of the hotline (premium rate call number or free assistance?), Etc.
Flexible and scalable
You are going to invest in software and it is for the medium to long term. You would like a tool that reflects your café / restaurant.
Invest in cash register software that offers a high degree of customization, for example allowing you to configure your menus, integrate third-party applications (such as Miap which gives your customers the opportunity to order and pay via QR code) or to produce specific reports.
As you know, technology changes very quickly.
It is therefore essential that your POS terminal is upgradeable and offers regular updates so that you do not find yourself dangling arms in 2 years with an obsolete tool.
Compatible
Choosing software also means ensuring that it works with the hardware that will be dedicated to it and that it can collaborate with your other software, if necessary. The Miap solution can be integrated into your cash register software, in particular that of Zelty and Oracle Micros, which are reliable and interesting software, for different reasons. Let's take a quick look at what is on offer Zelty for example.
We will be presenting Oracle's Micros software in one of our upcoming articles.
Are you looking for a modular, flexible and scalable system? Zelty is a complete, open checkout solution designed from the start to adapt to multi-site restaurants.
Since 2014, Marc and Clément-Baptiste and their team in Paris and Lyon have carefully developed their system for the service of CHR.
Traditional catering with table service, fast food outlet, network of franchised restaurants: Zelty adapts to your activity and integrates with your existing tools thanks to its various modules and APIs.
What does Zelty offer?
Apart from the ordinary functionalities of a cash register, the software is equipped with modern tools:
• A complete and ergonomic cash register managing the following components: seating plan, orders, customer management, reservations and much more.
For example, see at a glance a fully customizable multi-room plan, the status of the tables as well as the next arrivals.
Quick access to the most important functions, designed to save you time: printing tickets, transferring tables, checking out, etc.
With the module management of Zelty reservations, fully integrated into the seating plan, you will be able to control the crowd as well as the rotation of the tables.
• An intuitive remote control, on iPhone & Ipod Touch, which is really used with one hand!
• A screen allowing to display in cooks the controls spent indoors: saving time and reducing stress for your teams!
• A loyalty tool really efficient client: management of promotional codes, sending of mailings and SMS, analysis tools, CRM and more.
• Control Multi-site allowing you to manage your restaurants remotely. Management of your activity in real time, wherever you are. The data of your restaurants in 1 click!
• A reservation system online giving you a head start on your competition.
At all times, your customers manage their reservations themselves from your site or even directly on your Facebook page.
But still ?
The possibility of sending a dematerialized ticket to your customers: their bill by email, in addition to or as a replacement for the paper version. Do your customers want to share the bill?
No problem, with Zelty, divide the bill evenly, or separate the bill according to what each has consumed.
Furthermore, your stocks are managed in real time. Track your quantities in stock directly on the cash register! No risk of sending a dish out.
In addition, Zelty proposes to many integrations, that is to say that it is possible to connect additional applications (in particular Miap, Deliveroo, JustEat, etc.) in order to have a personalized and adapted solution. Zelty is an application available on iOS.
It is therefore accessible from all your Apple devices equipped with the application.