Digitization is a crucial next step for the foodservice industry but there’s no need to visualize robots or drones taking the place of human interaction. Unless that’s where you want to go. But business will suffer for those who choose to ignore these new solutions. Digitization may be customer-driven, but it’s your business that stands the chance of winning the big prize.
The technical solutions focus on the direct effect on the costumers, and the indirect effect on your business. Most, of course, benefit both and work hand in hand. Awareness technology and data insights, for example, let you know what your customers want and help you deliver on their demand.
But there are also aspects of digitization that revolve strictly around the business side of operations. A POS system that automates sales and revenue statistics is of little interest to the people dining in your restaurant. But it’s of great interest to you, the business owner.
Investing in technology is crucial for restaurants to stay competitive and if you’re using solutions that can’t communicate with each other you increase the risk for inefficiencies, expensive mistakes, or missed opportunities to grow. Not only can you save time by making better schedules, a dedicated scheduling tool that works with your POS can help increase profitability, improve customer experience, and help you make smarter decisions.
Today, most POS systems make data available to managers and owners (and chosen employees) enabling them to pull data into customized reports if you have internet connection. If you are granted access, you can access the data at any time. You could also automate reports, let’s say daily sales reports, that are composed by chosen data points and emailed to selected recipients daily. With this capability, you can make informed decisions with current data from any location.
It’s no secret that many people don’t like (or don’t know) how to properly do their business’ accounts and must depend on accounting experts to take care of bookkeeping. Accounting and bookkeeping must be thought as the backbone of any business, especially yours. One way to save time when doing the books is to integrate your POS system with your accounting software – enabling extracting the correct data and creating automated accounting reports.
Without the proper integration, your accountant needs to log into your POS system and pull reports in order to confirm the information they need. Only then the numbers can be entered into the accounting system. This can also be a costly process and not only is this a difficult task, it also leaves a lot of room for human error.
READ: BERNS SAVE TIME USING TRIVEC
Letting your POS system help you track inventory doesn’t only make it harder for employees to steal, it also streamlines ordering processes and simplifies the process of diagnosing and minimizing waste.
One of the most common reports, which most likely comes as no surprise to you, is the inventory summary. The report gives an overview of current inventory in stock, which can be helpful for staff as well as owners. There won’t be a need to run back and forth to the stockroom to check inventory during service hours.
Do you know how many liters of liquor, wine and beer is wasted on an annual basis at your restaurant? Maybe a centiliter of liquor too much is served, or a beer may be filled up to above the line… but how do you keep track of the money you’re losing?
A bar automation (or beverage system) dispense measured quantities of beer and wine, in combination with the ABC (automatic bottle control) system, which is designed to ensure spirits are served in correct quantities, will ensure reduced waste and a great amount of money saved. The systems can easily be integrated with a POS system which gives you real time numbers on sales and inventory.
How much time do your restaurant managers spend doing administrative work? Between cash reports, payroll, ordering, inspections and a mess of other paperwork, it’s easy for restaurant managers to get chained to the back office. You hired managers, not administrators.
You need to investigate your restaurant’s business and identify the icebergs your staff and managers are trying to move daily in order to find the right setup. Invest in the tools needed to digitize and define clear processes.
Look over your existing systems for ordering, staffing, planning, doing inventory and accounting and see whether a complete integrated system is something for you.
Try to estimate the amount of time you spend on logistic tasks such as table management and staffing. See whether there is an automated or digital solution that would save you time.
To stay competitive in today’s market, restaurants need to invest in solutions that facilitate everyday business activities, both online, in the kitchen and in the office.
Trivec is a one-stop platform that gives you a complete oversight of all your business operations. In addition to automated reports, it can be tailored to your business and be integrated with your existing systems such as for staffing, finances, and inventory. Through multiple integrations to other key systems, we help you streamline and automate your everyday business activities.
Read more about our integrations, add-ons and partner ecosystem here.
Download the Digital Restaurant to learn more about the new generations and how to attract them, improve customer experience as well as the processes behind the scenes (the kitchen) and how to optimize your business and save & make more money.