How to Switch Your Restaurant to an iPad POS System

 You have a beautiful restaurant that is highly popular with locals and tourists. In fact, you’ve just recently expanded and set up a website. Through the website, you are now getting home delivery orders and your restaurant is booming. However, in the last few months, you’ve noticed that you are having problems with several aspects of your restaurant due to employee errors. It’s not that employees are not doing their jobs – they are hardworking and efficient. Rather, there is just so much work and so many diners that orders are getting confused, bar payments are not collected, and home delivery orders were not tallied and delivered correctly. This can easily affect your business and the reputation of your restaurant, overly stress your employees and decrease your profits. One possible solution is to switch from your traditional POS to an iPad-based one. Here’s how to get started if you want to make the transition 

iPad Apps for Restaurant

Step # 1 – Assess Your Old System and Find a Vendor 

You may already have quite a lot of hardware leftover from your traditional POS system. Most of this hardware is not required when you transition to cloud-based POS system. Get in touch with the same vendor or research as many vendors as possible to find out what the packages offer and what they contain. For example, some vendors provide state-of-the-art iPad POS systems that are linked to existing software while others may offer to buyback your traditional POS systems and offer you touch-screen billing systems, credit card readers, cash drawers, cash receipt printers, etc. 

Step # 2 – Compare Features

The exact features offered by every vendor will be different and you have to compare deals and find a system that fits your restaurant needs. For example, you might have a dine-in restaurant along with a delivery and a website that also processes orders for deliveries. As a result, you need a software system that integrates all these features into the same system. At the end of the day, you want the POS system to integrate the website, the restaurant and the delivery section together and ensure a complete sales report. Cloud-based systems are the best for this as they are completely online. Your restaurant kitchen is notified as soon as anyone places an order and this ensures that no customer is left disappointed. Most cloud-based POS systems do all this but make sure you check and compare features before buying the system. 

Step # 3 — Buy the Hardware 

Buy only that much hardware as you require. Remember, as you already had a traditional POS system, there is a very good chance that you have quite a lot of hardware with you. As you are switching to a cloud-based POS, you may not require all these accessories. However, you will require iPads for your server staff, your kitchens and your delivery staff as well. Most cloud-based systems do not require a monitor, keyboard, mouse, headphones, etc. You may have to phase out these features as an iPad has all these features inbuilt into the system. The iPad is also mobile and a credit card terminal can be attached to the iPad to complete billing for delivery orders or for takeaways. The tablet is connected to the restaurant POS and it will also contain a menu that the customer can use to place orders and pay for them. 

Step # 4 — Install the System and Train Staff

Vendors will usually offer transitioning services and move menu information, inventory information, product and recipe information, and so on from the old system into the new one. This will speed up the process and ensure that your restaurant can use the software quickly. Staff training is also important as cloud systems are slightly different from traditional POS systems. Almost everyone is familiar with the swipe-and-wipe functioning of iPads but accessing the POS system through the tablet is slightly different. 

The iPad will have an app that users have to click on such as the Shopify POS app for example, enter their password and then start using the POS systems. The good news is that once you’ve done the research and purchased the system, installing and staff training can be completed in less than a week. The employees would ensure that the sale of the product is carried out error free apart from meeting the requirement of the client.

Most vendors will be happy to help you move inventory information, choose hardware, install hardware and software, etc. in your store for a nominal extra fee. Just make sure you do as much research as possible to find the right iPad POS hardware and software, and you should have nothing to worry about.