A restaurant POS gathers vital functions for operating a restaurant under one system. Businesses that do not utilize this system are easy to identify. If you notice angry waiting customers, delayed orders, confused staff members, and messed-up kitchen operations, it’s quite likely that the organization does not have a fully functional POS system. This software brings many benefits through its useful modules, such as inventory management, reporting, or table management system. Although all the modules deserve close attention, this article focuses on the table management function. It details how the feature works and benefits that surely leave anyone in the restaurant business better-off.
Table Management System
Businesses can enjoy table management system as a function in the POS system. In this case, table management will be one of the several modules of the point-of-sale solution. Also, restaurant owners and managers can purchase the software separately. Then, the only focus of the solution will be table management.
This software displays the layout design of the restaurant. Some options for service providers offer customization features where the floor plan is very similar to the restaurant design. However, others might deliver a simple service and create a generic plan for your restaurant. With its help, users can easily detect free tables, take orders, move clients without confusion, or keep track of the seating time. As users see the size of the tables on the screen, they can efficiently locate different numbers of customer groups. Additionally, it is simple to categorize tables such as online restaurant reservations, available tables, or the ones that need cleaning.
How does It Work?
The use of the table management system is simple. Thanks to a user-friendly interface, staff members need only a little training to excel in the system. The guidelines for usage differ depending on the service provider. However, they mostly have a similar structure.
Restaurant managers need to input the design of the restaurant to the software to start working with this solution. It means they should create a detailed plan of the floor, including all the tables and seats, walls, various sections, or multiple stories. Then the table management system will assist users in finding which tables attract more customers or where slow-turning tables are located. Plus, the software helps to maximize revenue by improving table turn and locating people to places that are suitable for their number. For instance, it is not a wise decision to lead a couple to four people-sized tables. In this case, when a group of clients enters the restaurant, they might not find a big enough table.
A multitude of possibilities exist with restaurant seating software. Users can view the floor plan in two different versions, landscape or portrait, which aids usage simplicity. If a business already owns a 3D plan of its floors from a third party, managers can easily import the ready project to the system. Plus, this software allows users to manage staff members effectively. They can assign or lock waiters to particular floors, sections, or tables. Making changes to the ready design also takes a few taps. Users can effortlessly move guests from one table to another or increase/decrease the seat numbers assigned to tables. Moving orders among tables and guests are also possible with the help of table management.
Advantages of the Software
Table management system developers paid close attention to restaurant businesses during the development phase. Therefore, they added all the necessary features for table management to deliver several benefits to restaurants.
Fast Turn
Customers do not like waiting to have a seat in a restaurant. They are most probably hungry and want to get their orders as soon as possible. Therefore, if clients have to wait, they might decide to leave and prefer another restaurant business. Plus, making them wait close to the stand to hear their names is another challenge. It does not look professional when staff members rush among the hungry and angry crowd and yell names. Thankfully, technology is developing, and now restaurants can utilize text messages or specific devices to inform customers about the readiness of their meals.
Table management allows users to see which tables are waiting for the orders. Plus, it will enable staff members to send notifications by guest pager or text messages. Using restaurant seating software also improves waitlist management. Users can easily check table sizes and locate matching guest sizes, which will eliminate any inefficiency in seating.
Maximize Profit with Table Management System
While the main aim of table management is improving customer experience, it also increases sales through a quick turn of the tables. Luckily, some supporting devices, such as handheld remote updater devices exist to coordinate employees. In this way, the technology allows users to notify on-floor staff members about the availability of tables. As a result, as soon as someone leaves, another guest can be seated without losing time. Plus, staff can access live information to see which tables need help, or if they can reserve a place in advance. Instant information sharing, table status update, and immediate seating ensure that a restaurant serves more customers per day. Therefore, table management boosts revenues, too.
Leverage Data
Restaurant businesses usually look for ways to collect and use data in their decision-making processes. Restaurant seating software is another tool for data collection, which indicates simple metrics. It is useful to identify the average seating or waiting time, size of customer groups, mostly preferred locations within the restaurant, and more. Having these metrics establish some idea about better management of the restaurant and tables. It allows managers to notice patterns for improving customer experience or reducing unnecessary costs.
Effective Communication
No matter what the business type or position, communication is always the fundamental block of effective service. Sharing information quickly and understandably also benefits restaurants. In this way, managers can ensure that there is coordination among the activities of waiters, kitchen, hosts, and more. For instance, people can have distinctive requirements for their meals because of allergies or preferences. The waiter must communicate this information immediately so that he can serve the food without delay in proper condition.
Sure, to do all these tasks, the system alone may not be enough. Additional devices, like staff pagers or order management systems, are also necessary. However, table management software helps users identify problems, changes, or opportunities on time. If one of the waiters needs a big size table for a group of people, she can instantly ask her colleagues not to seat their guests in such places. To sum up, table management also improves communication, which in turn delivers premium customer experience and speeds up operations.
Does Your Business Need Table Management?
Restaurant management is a complicated task. Managers need to ensure that the activities of the kitchen, on-floor staff, hosts, and some other back operations align with one another. The table management system is just another tool to eliminate the hassle of coordinating different sections. It helps restaurant businesses to monitor all the actions on the floor and to improve them. While it brings many benefits, table management is relatively cost-effective. Some modern POS solutions already offer this module as an add-on function. Therefore, it is smart to get a POS system with this function or purchase a separate application for managing tables.
