In this article, we shall try to explain the main differences between Restaurant Point of Sale Software (or Restaurant POS Software) and Restaurant Management Software in simple words. This should help you to decide which Software best suites your need.
Restaurant point of sale software / Restaurant pos software
Point of Sale is a term used in Restaurant or Retail business to identify a point where the restaurant billing is performed. So we can say that Restaurant point of sale is the cashier desk or area where customer is provided with the Software based bill. In POS Software scenario, Customer gives the order at till and the order taker generates the bill instantly. Customer pays the cash against their invoice and gets his/her meal. The example of such Restaurants are fast food restaurant, Takeaways and Cafes. In such restaurants, there is no concept of running order as in case of Dine-in or Ala-carte restaurants. The bill is generated immediately and the billing Software is simple to use and handle. Restaurant POS Software comes in both Touch Systems and Keyboard operative systems. At the day end, management gets summarized reporting which includes Daily Sales and Daily Cash Collected etc.
These POS Software have replaced the old/traditional till machines for simple billing or invoicing.
Restaurant Management Software
Restaurant Management Software are referred to manage complete restaurant operations which includes, Restaurant Ordering, restaurant Inventory management, items recipe management, payroll and accounts. Such Software are also referred as Restaurant ERP Software. These Management Software are normally used by restaurants with larger operations and man power. The Restaurant Management Software provides more depth of information with multi angle of analysis and reporting for management.
The Restaurant Management Software are module based. All these modules are integrated in order to minimize the duplication of work. Some RMS also provide integration with order Software.
The main modules in Restaurant Management Software are:
- Dine-in, Home Delivery and Takeaways orders management.
- Sales ordering management, which handles running orders, cancellations, returns, entertainment and complementary billing.
- Tablet Ordering Software, Digital Restaurant Menu, Customer Feedback Software
- Table Reservation System
- Raw material inventory management
- Costing Systems, including Recipe definitions and consumptions
- Staff Attendance and Payrolling
- Accounts handling
- Multi-level reporting and analytics, including Dish Breakdown summarizes, food costing, financial statements
Difference between restaurant point of sale systems and restaurant management systems
POS Software are for handling small business operations in a simple way, whereas restaurant management Software manages end-to-end restaurant business operations. The main difference is how much information is required by management and how many staff is available to handle these operations at each level. Usually Restaurant Point-of-Sale is part of complete Restaurant Management System, just like Plattium Restaurant Management Software. So, the information can always be extended if and when required. The small restaurants like Café, Takeaways and Fast food operations normally starts with Restaurant Point of Sale System and later they can integrate other modules to get more insights on their business.
What should you choose?
It all depends on these factors:
- Restaurant Type (Dine-in, Takeaway, Home Delivery)
- Restaurant sales and operations volume
- Available literate staff.
- Information required by management
Normally the Restaurant Software are module based just like Plattium Restaurant Management Software, which has Point of Sale, Restaurant Ordering, Inventory Management, Recipe Management, Payroll and Accounting modules. All integrated!! If you have Takeaway or Home delivery operations only with average sales volume, then Point of Sales Restaurant Software should be suitable for you. If you have Dine-in operations and/or sales volume is high, then you should choose the Restaurant Management Software. Although you can go by purchasing modules based on your budget but the Software you choose must be best Restaurant Management Software and is modular based!