Chances are, you’ve heard quite a lot in recent months about online ordering solutions. Maybe you’ve even used them yourself to get takeout or a delivery from another restaurant. And now, it’s time to seriously consider implementing such an application for your own operation.

As if that weren’t enough, you can utilize historical point of sale information to set minimum and maximum “stock-on-hand” levels. This will prevent overstocks and, in turn, minimize the need to ever tell a customer that you are “out” of a product or menu item.

Nominated for consideration by Mercury Payment Systems, pcAmerica won the award for their installation with low calorie frozen dessert chain Tasti D-Lite. For this installation, pcAmerica and Tasti D-Lite collaborated to utilize Restaurant Pro Express POS software to integrate social marketing with their customer loyalty program.

Remote log-in program. Once this type of program is installed, you can access your store, restaurant, or home computer from the software provider’s Web site by entering your user name and password. This type of software can be provided by pcAmerica.

Internet security solutions, including antivirus software, antispyware software, and firewall software. The antivirus piece ensures that your computer cannot be maliciously destroyed by outside hackers. With antispyware, unwanted ads will not pop up on your screen. Most importantly, firewalls prevent outsiders from stealing your data.

“Support” and “maintenance” are nebulous terms, but when it comes to these two elements, retailers need to be very clear about what they’re getting from their POS systems vendor.

Pencils down! Put those notebooks away! While retailers have for years used paper-based methods to track inventory, it’s time to consider replacing paper-based methods with a much more functional handheld system.
Unlike manual methods for inventory-counting and receiving, automated handheld systems allow data to be captured by and accessed from retailers’ systems in real time.

“The decision to join the RSPA and attend their annual convention is an important part of our growth strategy as our company actively looks to recruit new reseller partners,” stated David Gosman, CEO of pcAmerica. “The RSPA membership is well known and respected as leaders in the point of sale industry.”

Loyalty is being integrated into social networking applications as a growing number of customers gravitate away from traditional ways to track rewards, and as restaurateurs seek new means of attracting and retaining clientele.

Social networking is a marketing method that can and should be employed by restaurant chains and smaller, independent businesses alike. Increasingly, consumers are looking for a personal touch when it comes to communicating with the stores and restaurants they patronize.