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 screen technology: With its flexible user interfaces and programming, many restaurants prefer to use touch screens. With this type of POS hardware, a staff can easily input orders and cancel an order within a second. It can also reduce mistypes and fasten ordering. Touch screens also uses less electricity and much easier to position on the counter table, but they can be more prone to breakdowns.
Hand held 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 information such as the orders and directly sends the oder to the kitchen! This type of device perfectly fit when up-selling customers of desserts or drinks. Your employee can either roam their tables or take orders from customers waiting in line.
Keyboards: Most grocery stores prefer to use this type of POS systems, since they can program individual keys for specific item codes and prices. A standard keyboard consists of 101-key, which can be seen with any computer. Others are small and flat, which we commonly see in fast food chains. POS keyboards often has a built-in magnetic stripe readers for processing credit cards.
Scanners: This restaurant hardware reads bar codes and converts it before inputting it’s details to a POS system computer. This device speeds up transactions and provide accurate data on products or services being purchased by a customer. It typically connects through Y-connectors (called wedges) that make them function as an extension of the keyboard.
Volume of customers: For different volume of customers, using different types of scanners can be very helpful. If your counter line holds 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 autosensing laser scanners would be the best choice. It’s a type of laser scanner that automatically turns on when an item is placed in front of it, scans its code, and then turn off again. But if the counter line is overflowing with customers, then you could really use some help of the omnidirectional scanner, where it scans a bar code from any angle with its 15 or 20 lasers simultaneously!
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POS Cash Drawers: Used to store cash, credit card slips, gift certificates and other important papers. When buying a cash drawer, look for a sturdy construction of at least 18-gauge steel, don’t just buy one because your local vendor 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. Most cash drawers opens only when it is signaled by the POS printer.
POS printers: An addition to your restaurant POS system is a receipt printer, every retail business needs one to complete a sales transaction. A POS printer is needed in order to print a receipt and create credit card slips. The dot matrix printers, also known as impact printers, are inexpensive and uses ink ribbon to print on regular paper. While thermal printers use heat and special heat-sensitive paper to generate receipts. It is slightly expensive than a dot matrix printer because it prints receipts faster and more quieter. They are also more reliable because they have less moving parts.
POS Customer display: A customer display or pole display lets your customers know the price of the item they’re purchasing and some support advertising. You also have to make sure that your customer display has the right height and width to perfectly fit in to your counter table, as well as it’s compatibility with your POS software.
The 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 restaurant 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: If you want to limit which POS terminal can a staff use, then this type of restaurant hardware can be handy. You can also use this for employee logins thus preventing any of your employees from logging in for somebody as a favor.
Remember, when purchasing for POS systems, hardware or software, make sure to know the item first before heading to your local supplier. No matter how expensive or cheap a POS equipment is, keep in mind the environment where you’re going to use it. Regular cleaning keeps your keyboards and touch screens in top shape, vacuuming dust and lubing your receipt printer can extend its life and maintaining your workstation clean can help protect your POS stations from annoying 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 provide 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.
