For pizza restaurants, this is the perfect time to be in the market, whether it be cloud restaurants or a fine dining restaurant because, with such a popular product, you already have a consumer base. However, this means that the market is overcrowded, and client retention is the key to maximizing growth. In such a competitive sector, technology is critical in driving the efficiencies you need to develop a successful restaurant. Pizza restaurant software can help you establish a strong customer base, keep track of your performance, and increase revenue. If you own a pizza parlour, pizza window, or food truck, you understand how different your food ordering requirements are from those of other eateries. Selling pizza almost always necessitates a high level of order customization, and delivery is especially important for many pizza restaurants. As a result, rather than adopting a POS system built for general restaurant use, most pizza entrepreneurs would be better off investing in POS software with capabilities created exclusively for a pizza operation.
Features To Look For In A Pizza POS Software
Choosing a point-of-sale system for a pizza parlour or restaurant may appear to be tough, but it’s a niche that’s well covered owing to a few but significant point-of-sale vendors. As you may guess, the optimal POS system for pizza shop needs can differ slightly from those for a specialist pizza restaurant.
1. Online Ordering
Many small pizza joints still regard online ordering to be a nice-to-have option in their POS software. However, allowing your customers to buy for themselves, as we mentioned in our post about the benefits of an online ordering system, is a convenience that customers are increasingly demanding – and that includes pizza businesses. Customers have welcomed the benefits of online ordering, especially following COVID-19, and are more likely to visit businesses that make it easy to buy online.
2. Delivery
Let’s be honest; delivery is the most important thing when you open a pizza hub. Whatever those frozen pizza commercials claim, there’s nothing like receiving a hot pizza delivered to your door in less than 30 minutes. Years ago, fast service and high-quality food became one of the most important and profitable value propositions for pizza chains, while smaller enterprises struggled to compete. Owing to automatic delivery updates for customers, GPS and customer information for drivers, and the ability to update orders as “complete” in real-time, even the smallest businesses can now give consumers the same delivery efficiency as the big chains, thanks to an easy-to-use, iPad-based pizza POS system. Look for a POS system with strong delivery capabilities, such as the option to send orders to third-party or in-house drivers.
The finest pizza POS software will have a driver-specific app as well as the ability for management to track drivers’ routes in real-time. Customers should be notified of the status of their orders on-demand and should be allowed to rate and comment on their delivery experience.
3. Inventory Management
To cut costs over time, look for a pizza business POS system that allows you to track inventory correctly and enhance portioning efficiency. You can eliminate goods that are dragging down profits if you can see them. Comprehensive reporting that allows you to determine what’s selling, what’s not, and where your profit margins are the highest is essential for better understanding your restaurant performance. Handwritten order slips should be relegated to the past. Because let’s face it, a misspelt “no anchovies” note can soon result in a fishy pizza and irritated customers. Pizza POS software enables stores to easily add, remove, and change any order request to match consumer needs in clearly defined, unambiguous directions, printed directly on a ticket.
4. Customer Loyalty
Loyalty programs and rewards systems are especially beneficial to pizza shops because customers like to return to the places they trust to provide a good meal. Adding a little generosity can go a long way toward developing lifelong consumers and brand advocates, whether it’s a free pizza after every fifth transaction or additional goods for regular large buys. Look for a POS app that allows consumers to earn and redeem points for making purchases automatically, as well as prizes for referring friends or making specific purchases.
5. Track Data
Real-time visibility into restaurant sales and other data provides meaningful insights into how your labor, menu, and other expenses are translating into sales at any given time. Menu reporting is thus crucial for protecting your margins and growing the bottom line. You’ll be able to discover which menu items are popular and which aren’t, as well as how to alter your menu as needed. To optimize your menu, identify the items that are driving revenue and those that are a drag on your bottom line. Within a certain timeframe, compare sales of menu groups and individual items. Your pizza POS software should be able to keep track of historical inventory and food cost percentages so that you may tailor your menu to your specific seasonal requirements. Customers should be able to place online orders, and your pizza POS system should track these orders in pizza sales reports and product mix reports.
Things are only going to get better with a POS system that caters to these characteristics and is pizza-specific. Not all POS systems are created equal, and not all provide customizable pizza menu options, loyalty programs tailored to pizza, a strong inventory control system, and delivery management capabilities. You should never acquire POS software just because you heard it worked in a lot of restaurants throughout the country. A pizza POS system is an investment in your business, and pizza-specific features can only help you build and expand your restaurant into something bigger and better.
