POS systems make inventory management and check out processes far more efficient than conventional systems. POS devices have been proven to increase sales across all industry verticals and bars and nightclub industry is not an exception. POS systems can solve many pain points at bars in addition to making the check out process efficient.
Here are a few reasons why POS systems bars is a must to increase sales.
1. Flexibility in orders and billing
Guests at the bar prefer customizing their drinks and POS systems make customized billing a breeze. Different people like different combinations in their cocktails. Modern POS machines have to be flexible enough to take customized orders and bill for the same.
Most of the bars offer happy hours, occasional discounts and daily offers. The bartender at the counter shouldn’t have to restart the system and enter the new prices every time. The systems should be able to update themselves with the prices according to the time of the day and day of the week. Fortunately, POS systems are capable of doing this.
Some customers prefer split checks. Though the orders are placed from the same table, the POS devices would be able to instantly generate split checks as soon as the customer request it.
2. Reduction in employee thefts
Bars and nightclubs are prone to fraudulent activities. It is important to be careful when it comes to payments. According to Bevinco, the majority of bars lose over 20% of their sales to employee theft.
POS systems come with highly secure authentication processes like biometric logins. This will make the employee at the counter responsible for the cash that is collected during the period he/she is logged in. Some bars and restaurants even use a method called ‘blind close out’ where the employees are required to reconcile the cash at the end of their shifts without being informed of the amount they are expected to return. This will let them know that they are being watched and prevent them from involving in thefts.
Most of the advanced POS systems are cloud-based. This means the owners of the bars and nightclubs can monitor the sales on a real-time basis whenever they want, from wherever they are. Some POS systems come with preauthorization capabilities to check if the credit cards that were swiped are real.
3. Inventory tracking and management
Inventory tracking is very important when it comes to bars. Besides helping you understand what drinks are sold more, what needs to be restocked, and what needs to be stopped from ordering, inventory tracking would help you reduce fraudulent activities too. For example, the inventory variance systems keep comparing the theoretical inventory with the actual ones. This will help you find out when a bartender pours an extra drink for his/her friends.
Another advantage of inventory management is the chronological insights. You get to know at what time of the day the sales peaks, which day of the week the sales are dull etc. Based on these insights, you will be able to make more systematic decisions about happy hours, daily offers etc. Inventory management systems keep you informed about the availability of items. This way, bartenders can make sure that they don’t bill for a drink that is out of stock.
4. Customer Relationship Management
Bar and nightclub management software come with an integrated customer relationship management (CRM) tool. This CRM tool records the contact information of every customer. You can use this information to send a personal notification to every customer whenever you announce an offer. Also, these CRM tools help you invite your customers for the events that you conduct. You can also notify your customers about early bird offers, loyalty programs and last minute bookings.
Nightclubs are tremendously crowded most of the time. It is not easy for the bartenders to maneuver back and forth the central payment terminal between the crowd. Mobile POS devices enable bartenders to accept orders and complete transactions from the customer’s table and only have to walk between the crowds to serve drinks and food. This way you can reduce the wait time and offer better service.
If you are planning to deploy POS systems in your bar, we recommend you to try Posiflex’s MT series and HS series POS machines.
