Mobile/Roaming EPOS

 

Mobile/Roaming EPOS…should you use roaming terminals?

There are a couple of different ways to make use of a hospitality EPOS system in a restaurant, particularly when it comes to tablet & cloud-based systems. With many systems, you now have the option of static terminals (fixed in one point) and roaming terminals (typically on iPad mini or similar). You can use just fixed terminals, or you can use a combination of fixed & roaming.

When using fixed terminals, you’ll take orders traditionally on pen & paper at the table. After you’ve taken the order, you can then walk over to your fixed EPOS screen and enter the order to send it to the Kitchen. This tends to be the preferred option for fine dining establishments & traditional restaurateurs who see the taking of the order as a key point of interaction with customers and a major service opportunity. The main criticism of doing things this way is that it can be inefficient at busy times & can mean that you need more wait staff on the floor.

If you use roaming terminals, you can arm your floor staff with tablets that allow them to enter customers orders directly into the EPOS (the interface tends to be the same as the main screens). This, in turn, allows orders to be sent directly from table to kitchen which saves staff having to walk back to the fixed stations. This tends to be the preferred choice for more casual environments where speed is often the key. Staff are able to spend more time on the floor, talking more orders & sending things to the kitchen faster. This means fewer people can serve more customers & turn tables over faster. The main criticism is that if staff aren’t properly trained, then the tablets can act as a barrier between them and the customer detracting from the experience of eating in a restaurant. A few companies have found solutions to that issue whereby the tablets become a tool for boosting interaction. They allow you to add large images and descriptions to products that can be used as a digital menu to upsell at the table.

 

Offline mode

One of the biggest concerns that people have about moving to cloud based systems, is, what happens when the internet cuts out? There are 2 types of cloud based systems on the market, the first, ‘pure cloud’ requires a constant internet connection to work, if you internet drops out then the software will cease functioning. The second, ‘hybrid’ gives you the convenience of cloud based systems with the safety of an offline backup, meaning that you can always run, even without internet. This is typically done using small local servers or Mac mini’s and means that the entire system including all hardware will continue to operate. The only difference, is that data won’t be sent directly to the cloud for reporting. It’ll be stored locally, and will auto-send as soon as the internet connection is re-established.

We always recommend these hybrid software for restaurants where the POS is a crucial operations tool. Without it, customers orders can’t be sent to the kitchen and it’s extremely difficult to keep track of bills.

Syncing between terminals

Especially important for restaurants that want to run multiple tablets, is understanding how those tablets communicate. You want to make sure that all of them can communicate live in order to show up-to-date order information. For example, you want to know that if a new table is opened on one tablet, that it also opens on the other.

Some systems do this locally using one tablet as the ‘master’, all tablets constantly look for the master (think of it like a lighthouse) & use it as a reference point to know what data to show. The downside to this method is that if there are any network interferences or issues with the master device, then the other devices lose their way. Other systems treat all tablets equally and they use the cloud or the offline backup as the reference point. From our experience, this is the most reliable method for running multiple tablets. If there’s an issue with one device, the others will continue to run.

Integrated payments

Depending on which type of restaurant you are, you may want integrated card payments. Integrated card machines connect to your POS software to allow you to send the amount to be paid directly to the machine without manual entry. This can make transactions faster & can minimise human error. We tend to recommend it if you’re planning on taking payments at a counter.

If you’re taking payments at the table, integrated machines aren’t always the best way to go as you don’t always know who’s going to pay what amount when you arrive at table. As the card machines are controlled by the POS, you can end up in a situation where you’re running back and forth across the restaurant sending each transaction from the POS to the card machine. The only time it makes sense to use integrates devices for tableside payments is if you’re using mobile tablets which allow your floor staff to bring both the card machine and the tablet to the table.

Reference Sites

It’s always a good idea to ask whether a software company has similar businesses to yours using their platform. This does two things, firstly it helps show whether or not the salesperson truly understands your business & secondly it allows you to see if the system is proven in an environment like yours. You don’t want to end up a guinea pig.