How Many Restaurant POS Stations Should I Use?

• Considering peak customer volume
  If you want to sufficiently handle huge volume of customers, you need to plan for the number of POS stations based on peak business.
• Considering the number of employees taking orders
  One station per 3-5 servers would be sufficient in a table service environment. High volume areas such as bars and cashier stations may need to have a dedicated station for that purpose. Switching from a standard cash register to a POS system, many people unintentionally forget that their POS system will not only be used to cash out customers, but will now be used for order entry as well.
• Managing restaurant layout wisely
  Assigning a separate station like for your bar tender would be much better, so he could easily serve customers customers without any delay.
• How and where you plan to have customers pay for their meals
  Having proper locations where customers can pay for their meals is also important, you don’t want to keep them waiting do you? For paying at the front, you should have one or two dedicated cashier stations faster transactions.

Which style of POS computer is best?

• Desktop: the standard desktop type.
  • Least expensive computer option
  • With a gurantee of 3 years of onsite warranty
  • Takes more space but can be hidden away below a counter
  • Flexible enough for adding extra ports
  • Latest CPU speeds and memory
  • Screen and computer are separate; so you can easily isolate which ones has technical problems.
• Small form factor: smaller than desktops.
  • More stylish than the desktop
  • Has 3 years standard onsite warranty
  • Saves more space
  • Fewer options for expandability
  • Latest CPU speeds and memory
  • Screen and computer are separate; if ever technical difficulties accur, it’ll be isolated.
• All-in-ones: combined touchscreen and computer.
  • More efficient because it requires fewer wires least space, even more stylish
  • Manufacturers warranty: 1-2 years (Not onsite)
  • Comes standard with sufficient ports for almost any operation
  • CPU speed is generally slower than the other two options but sufficient for the Point of Sale needs.
  • Screen and Computer are one unit

How many cash will I need?

• Your servers may carry their own cash banks, but it is still advisable that you have a cash drawer to stations where you want to end transactions.

Integrated debit cards?

• A restaurant POS system can be used to safely record all credit card transactions in one convenient location.
• Reduces transaction time by 3-4 seconds with a high speed internet.
• A standalone terminal can be used in place if you do not have high speed internet connection.

How many printers must a typical restaurant?

• Having one printer for your kitchen would be sufficient for your restaurant, not unless you have different sections serving different dishes inside your kitchen then it would be better if you place printers on all sections.
• As an example, you can have all your starters print on one printer and all your main dish printed on another.
• For kitchens and bars, it is highly recommended that you use impact (dot-matrix) printers instead of thermal printers. Because their loud printing alerts cooks and bartenders that an order is coming through, and since tickets printed on thermal printers becomes unreadable when exposed to heat.

How many receipt printers do I need?

• It’s a good idea for every station to have a receipt printer.

Does having a back office computer helps in restaurant management?

• Having a back office computer allows managers to access POS systems for checking inventory levels, changing a menu, and even adjusting employee clock times.
• It’s not quite necessary to have a back office computer for your restaurant, if you only have 2-3 stations.. However, it’s a great idea that you use a back office computer to host your database if you do have 4 or more stations so none of them has extra load of running the database.

More information is available at POS-For-Restaurants.com

The author of this article is the Vice-President of Customer Relations at POS-For-Restaurants with over 20 years of experience serving restaurants of all types and sizes throughout the U.S.