Why your restaurant needs an integrated POS

An integrated Point-of-sale system – one that connects seamlessly with your reservations, accounting and operations platform – transforms your POS from just a cash register to a vital piece of a data-driven guest experience strategy.

Knowing what an integrated POS system is and the key benefits of an all-in-one platform empower restaurateurs, staff, and restaurant managers to get the most from the guest data they collect and turn it into a healthy, profitable restaurant.

What is a POS integration?

Before we dive into a POS integration, let’s establish the difference between POS, POS system and point-of-sale?

• POS stands for Point Of Sale and refers to the area where a transaction takes place.
• POS system refers to the software and hardware used to run and manage your restaurant.
• Nowadays, both POS and POS system work interchangeably.

A POS integration is any third-party tool that connects with your point-of-sale system.

Many restaurants use a range of tools to manage their front and back of house – bookings, staff scheduling, inventory management, gift cards, take-out, and webshop.

Layering software systems on top of your restaurant’s POS is one way to collect and share data between the different integrations (the tools you’ve added). For example, the number of previous visits pulls from your reservation system into your POS by a reservation integration.

While this allows restaurants to automate their work, it leaves you with 6-7 systems that operate independently and integrate (work together) only when necessary. You’re left with incomplete guest data and often have 0 ownership over the bits and pieces available.

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What’s the difference between a POS integration and an integrated POS?

• Integrations stack on top of your POS and work independently of each other.
• An integrated POS has the tools and systems you need to run and market your restaurant built in. The whole system works as one.

All-in-one integrated POS platform

Superb’s Guest Experience Management platform (GXM Pro) is the first to offer an all-in-one POS solution that does not require integrations to run and manage your restaurant.

GXM Pro is a platform that combines reservations, POS and payments in one. That’s 1 tool – not 6.

You'll pull detailed data from your POS in real-time. This seamless sharing of data between operations, bookings and accounting gives you valuable insights you can use for sales reporting, menu engineering, food costing, social media and email marketing. Most importantly, you’ll have a complete, data-driven picture of your guests.

Why do restaurants need an all-in-one integrated POS?

1. Create personalised guest experiences

The only way to build stronger relationships with your customers is with an integrated POS.

If you’re relying on multiple systems that stack on top of each other, you’re missing out on a treasure chest of guest data.

Using a platform like Superb’s GXM Pro connects you with valuable guest data, like average spend per booking. Restaurant managers and team members can quickly see what a guest prefers and avoid making generalised recommendations.

With an integrated reservation and POS platform, you’ll know exactly how much your guest is likely to spend and how to customise their experience based on previous dining behaviour – before they even arrive.

2. Tailor social media and email marketing strategies 

If one of your guests always orders the wine menu, you can email about new wines on your list. Having your restaurant’s POS and reservation system talk together means you can use that data to tailor your messaging according to a guest’s preferences.

With GXM Pro, you can filter your guest book and view guest data, segment and message your guests all through one dashboard – without moving back and forth between different systems.

3. Increase guest retention

Repeat customers boost your restaurant's business by up to 95%.

With a seamless connection between your reservation system and POS, you’ll quickly see who your VIP guests are and your team can provide them with the guest experience they expect.

And it’s not just about boosting your restaurant’s profits. Returning guests provide free marketing and are the best brand ambassadors.

4. Benefit restaurant employees

An all-in-one, integrated point-of-sale system saves your staff time.

What happens when your staff saves time? They’re able to focus on the customer experience, upsell and drive profits.

Knowing average spend per cover combined with total spend provides a complete picture of a guest’s spending habits and helps your staff know how to upsell and offer suggestions.

Your back office will appreciate having everything in one dashboard, too. Using an all-in-one platform provides a centralised place for all data collection and minimises human errors because the entire system is digitally integrated. This saves hours of work and makes revenue reporting easier and more accurate.

5. Make payment processing easier

Removing third-party payment processors saves time (all reports are in one dashboard, not spread over 2-3), and you only have to work with one provider to manage your business and finances.

You’ll also benefit from one transaction rate for all payment methods and have a clear picture of pricing – without worrying that one of your integrations will suddenly stop collaborating with another.

Why you should use a restaurant POS, not one made for retail

When it comes to your restaurant’s POS system, one size does not fit all.

Retail POS systems lack the features of a POS system built for restaurants. Without these extra features, you could be stopping your restaurant from reaching its full potential.

Restaurant point-of-sale systems scale and grow with your restaurant. When it comes to a POS built for restaurants, you have 2 options:

1. One that works with integrations and add-ons such as reservations, gift cards, prepaid tickets, webshop, takeaway and table management.
2. Or an all-in-one POS solution that has these included (like Superb’s POS) and doesn’t need any third-party integrations.

Using an all-in-one point-of-sale and reservations platform – made for restaurants – makes your teams’ jobs easier and frees up valuable time to provide better guest experiences and drive sales.

When it comes to an integrated restaurant POS solution, look for one that grows with you and keeps guest data secure.

1. Built to grow. The biggest advantage of an all-in-one restaurant management platform (combined POS, payments and reservations) is the time you’ll save. With Superb’s GXM Pro, you don’t have to worry about switching platforms in a year. Our team is constantly reviewing the industry and adapting to your needs – now and tomorrow.
2. Keeps guest data secure and private. Connecting your POS system with guest profiles creates an extremely powerful, and super sensitive, collection of data. When you trust your restaurant to Superb, know that we take privacy very seriously. You’ll have total ownership of your guest data and won’t have to share it with any 3rd-party integrations.

8 key differences between retail and restaurant POS systems

1. Retail POS has a greater focus on stock. – In retail, stock can vary from one-of-a-kind speciality items to bulk purchases. Restaurant POS systems manage stock, but they typically work with lower counts as food is more likely to spoil faster than a warehouse full of laundry detergent.
2. Restaurant POS allows for more detailed customer data. – Restaurant point-of-sale systems allow comments, edits, guest notes and add-ons (like gift cards and upsell add-ons). These customisations are less common in retail and often not found in retail point-of-sale systems.
3. Restaurant POS allows you to upsell to guests. – What can you do with the data you collected with your restaurant point-of-sale system? Upsell to guests during service. With Superb’s POS, you’ll have guest data from bookings and guest profiles and can make personalised recommendations based on dining and spending habits.
4. Restaurant POS offers cloud printing. – In retail, it’s highly unlikely that your POS would send anything to a KDS in the back… because there is no kitchen. Superb’s POS system takes it further by offering cloud printing in the kitchen. This saves your staff even more time and keeps the kitchen aware of orders in real-time.
5. Retail POS has no table plan. – Superb’s restaurant POS features a dynamic table plan. This gives you the option of creating a complete mockup of your floor plan, arranging tables and booking to capacity. And it pulls reservations and table plans in real-time, so you’ll know who is at each table even before taking an order.
6. Restaurant POS systems keep the bill open. – When you shop, you pay at the end of your visit. With a restaurant POS, you build the bill throughout the meal and settle at the end. This allows staff to continue adding to or modifying the order without starting a new transaction each time.
7. Restaurant POS offers specialised reporting. – Superb’s restaurant POS system delivers data that restaurant owners and managers need to know – from the top-selling dishes to the number of repeat guests at a service. Retail POS systems offer generic sales data that doesn’t provide a full picture of how your restaurant is performing.
8. Restaurant POS helps with the operational side of service. – Whereas retail POS deals with classic order and pickup, restaurant point-of-sale systems manage the flow of work behind the scenes as well.

Superb’s POS

With Superb’s all-in-one platform (GXM Pro), you’ll be able to manage the different stages a guest goes through in your restaurant – from the first booking to the final cheque.

Without a platform like Superb, you’ll have to rely on the traditional method of using multiple systems layered on top of each other. You'll end up managing the different stages of products – not the guest journey.

That’s the real difference.

What do you want to spend your time and energy on? The customer’s journey? Or managing products?