Business

Evaluating a Point of Sale System Hardware Before Purchasing

The typicall POS systems you may see on restaurants and fast food chains are touch screen monitors, programmable keyboards, or scanners and handheld devices. Cash registers can be baught with or without a built-in cash drawer, printers can be dot matrix or thermal, programmable keyboards can have covers for spill protection and scanners can be a CCD scanner or an autosending laser scanner.

Touch screens: With its flexible user interfaces and programming, many restaruant owners prefer to use touch screens. With this type of POS hardware, an employee can easily set orders and cancel an order within a second. It can also reduce mistypes and accelerate ordering. Touch screens also uses less electricity and much easier to position on the counter table, but they are more prone to breakdowns.

Handheld devices: Restaurant harware devices like PDAs, which are commonly wireless devices that transmits data back to its base station and into the POS system. You can use the newer version, which is the write-on handhelds that allows you to write detail such as the orders and sends them directly to the kitchen! This type of handheld device is perfect when up-selling desserts and drinks to customers either by roaming on tables or by approaching customers in line.

Keyboards: You’ll find that most grocery and convenient stores prefer to use this type of POS hardware because it allows them to program individual keys for specific item codes and prices. The standard POS keyboard is a  101-key, like what you will find with any computer. Other have built-in magnetic stripe readers for processing credit cards, others are small and flat, like what we usually see in fast food outlets.

Scanners: This restaurant hardware reads bar codes and converts it before inputting it’s information to a POS system computer. Generally, it speeds up a sales transaction as well as accurately inputs product or service payment of a customer. POS scanners are connected through Y-connectors called wedges which makes them function as an extension of your keyboard.

Customers’ volume: For different volume of customers, using different types of scanners can be very helpful. If the line has several customers, your staff can easily use a CCD scanner or entry-level laser scanner. But if your counter line is loaded with customers, then an autosensing laser scanners would be a better choice. It’s a type of laser scanner that automatically turns on when you place an item in front of it, scans its code, and then turn off again. But if the counter line is overflowing with customers, then you’re staff could really use the help of an omnidirectional scanner, where it scans a bar code from any angle with its 15 or 20 lasers simultaneously!

Consider Additional Restaurant POS

Cash Drawer: Used to store cash, credit card slips, gift certificates and other important papers. When looking to buy a cash drawer, look for a sturdy construction of at least 18-gauge steel, don’t just buy one because your local supplier tells you that it’s the best or simply because it looks fancy. Go for the most reliable cash drawer since the usable life of cash drawers are measured, you also have to make surer that you can replace rollers, bearings, and other parts. A typical cash drawer opens only when it is signaled by the POS printer.

POS printers: Every retail business owner has them, every POS system needs one of course! A POS printer is needed for printing a receipt and create credit card slips. There are two types of POS printers, the dot matrix printer and the thermal printer. The dot matrix printer uses ribbons and regular paper to print. Thermal printers are slightly expensive compared to dot matrix printers because they are faster and quieter when printing, and they have less moving parts which makes them more realiable.

POS Customer display: Also called the pole display. This restaurant hardware lets your customer view their item and its price, and sometimes used to support advertising. Before buying a customer display, make sure that you check for the right height and width, which will perfectly fit your counter table, and its compatibility with your POS software.

Check readers: If you’re still thinking if you’re going to buy one, now would be the best time to say yes! This little device can help prevent fraud by verifying essential account information on cheks that are presented by your customers. It can save you money and eliminate flushing money down the drain because of fraud.

Magnetic stripe readers (also known as magstripe reader): This piece of hardware is used to read credit cards. You can also purchase keyboards and touch screens has a built-in magnetic strip readers for convenience.

Fingerprint readers: This type of POS equipment can be used to limit which staff can access a POS terminal. Typically used by employees to log on to their designated stations.

Keep in mind, when purchasing for POS systems, hardware or software, make sure to know the item first before heading to your local supplier. No matter how much money you spend on your POS equipment, consider the environment where you’re going to use it. Regular cleaning will keep your peripherals in tip top shape, vacuuming dust and lubing your receipt printer can extend its usable life and maintaining your workstation clean can help protect your POS computers from dust and spills. You can always request for a FREE POS system quote online where local vendors will offer you competitive price lists of any restaurant hardware and software you need based on the the information you give them. So you would never have to waste money buying the wrong POS systems.

For more information on restaurant POS systems or to have a local POS professional serving the restaurant industry in your location see more information at POS-For-Restaurants.com.