“Should I computerize my restaurant or retail point of sale (POS) system?” It’s a question every food service operator and merchant has pondered at one time or another–and it’s one you should answer with a resounding “yes.”

Consider the cost savings, which easily add up to 5%.  By computerizing, a store or restaurant with annual sales of $500,000 can lower its daily operational expenditures by $83.33 per day, or $25,000 annually. The required investment? Just $2.10 per day for a typical single-station configuration.

Computerized restaurant and retail POS systems, such as pcAmerica’s Restaurant Pro Express and Cash Register Pro Express, offer significant advantages over conventional cash registers. Combining computerized cash registers, bar code scanners, inventory control software and wireless hand-held inventory tracking devices offers:

1. Speedier customer throughput. Used together, barcode scanners and computerized cash registers allow you to process transactions 50% faster than with conventional cash registers.
2. Increased accuracy: Checkout is more accurate because the price of every item is specified in the retail or restaurant POS system.
3. Reduced theft: Monitoring every piece of inventory with computerized cash registers and barcode scanners cuts theft by an average of 2 ½%.
4. Enhanced shrinkage control. Comparing “on-shelf” inventory to computerized reports lets you monitor breakage and inventory that isn’t stolen, as well as track
   new items as they arrive. The end-result: additional shrinkage reduction of up to 2½%.
5. Better inventory level and margin management. Computerized inventory reports make for easier, more efficient tracking of trends and seasonal sales patterns. With these reports in hand, you can quickly identify and order more products that generate the most profits, and fewer products that carry lower profits.
6. Improved customer retention. Remember, your best customers are your existing customers. Customized mailings based on computerized contact lists keeps them coming back.