Boost your productivity and your business with a modern POS system

Remember the days when you ran your business with pen and paper, without a computerized POS system? Some operators do, like it was yesterday — literally.

 

"For many of our customers, SpeedLine is the second or third POS system that they have purchased for their restaurant," said Jennifer Wiebe, marketing manager for SpeedLine Solutions Inc. "But there are still many thousands of pizzerias out there operating with cash registers or a very rudimentary POS. They can't get along without an oven, but it's possible to do business without a modern point-of-sale system."

 

They can, but they're possibly shortchanging their businesses given what a modern system can provide: lightning-fast transactions, seamless credit card processing, automated reports, labor management, menu costing ... the list goes on. Choosing a POS system is more than being convinced of the technological advantages. Other big factors include funding such a purchase and the effort expended learning to use the system."

 

Some of them have been shopping for their first POS or living with an outdated system for years — but haven't taken that big step yet," Wiebe said. "And it is a big step. Next to their ovens, a full-featured POS is probably the biggest equipment investment they will make in their restaurant."

 

In Jose Raposo's case, purchasing a new system was a matter of replacing a 12-year-old, outmoded platform best described as running on Stone Age software."

 

Our first POS was ancient. It didn't do a quarter of what SpeedLine's system can do," said Raposo, owner of Stuft Pizza in Santa Clara, Calif. "After we lost a station from our old system, we knew we had to start looking for something better."

When Raposo saw SpeedLine, he was smitten by its ease of use. Since its installation at the store in August 2006, Raposo said year-over-year sales increased 15 percent in September. In October the increase was geared to reach 20 percent. He credits efficiencies gained, as well as rising customer satisfaction.

 

"The system is able to suggest certain products to our customers, something that was hit and miss when totally left up to the order-taker," Raposo said. "With caller ID, the system tells us who the customer is even before we pick up the phone. When we greet them, they're a little surprised that we know their name. It makes them feel like we know them personally."

 

Streamlined credit-card integration is another boon. The time-consuming task of using a separate terminal to process card information is eliminated. Now the crew at Stuft runs transactions through any of the four terminals at the time orders are processed. What could take two minutes on a busy night is now a three-second transaction. From start to finish, overall order processing on Raposo's POS now takes about 10 to 15 seconds per entry, compared to up to two minutes on the old system.What prompts an operator to finally take that step and invest in a new POS?

 

"It becomes an easy decision once they can visualize how they're going to recover their investment," Wiebe said. "On average, a SpeedLine POS will pay for itself in somewhere between six and 18 months. For someone who decides to lease a POS, a big factor in the decision may be realizing that the POS will save them enough to cover their leasing costs each month — and then keep making them money long after the system is paid in full."