With many of our clients moving to integrate their accounting system with an EPoS, we take a look at how this could add value for your business.
Our team are certified advisors and experienced with Xero and Quickbooks Online, both of which offer various apps that allow integration with EPoS. If you would like advice about moving to cloud accounting or with your EPoS selection, please contact us.
5 key reasons to switch to EPoS
1. Improved management reporting
With so much data at your hands, you will be able to access real-time detailed information that can help you take decisions. The data gathered by your EPoS system will allow you to produce financial summaries, sales reports and more. This will allow you to compare menu item performance, sales channels, locations or seasonal trends and the performance of your higher-margin wet and dry items. With user data you can also monitor the productivity of your staff and measure the speed of service and average table turnover time.
David Sharp, Partner, says, “This is where we can assist. Having access to this data, as well as an experienced hospitality accountant by your side, will mean that you get the right advice for your business. Perhaps you should be promoting under-performing dishes, spending more on advertising one of your locations or increasing staffing levels to meet demand peaks. Using this data we will be able to provide the advice to help you increase your performance and profitability.”
2. Customer service
Using visual displays, such as tablets or mobile devices, can be user friendly and well received by your staff, but it also provides other benefits. Smart devices can allow your staff to show images of menu items to entice customers into making a purchase. This can be particularly useful if you have a wide selection, or where you sell unusual cuisines that your customer may not be familiar with, such as sushi dishes.
Majid Sadeghi, Partner, says, “Some EPoS systems can also be set up to recommend wines and spirits that compliment menu items, provide allergy information and record customer preferences, making them a great customer service and marketing tool”.
3. Operational efficiency and stock control
Your speed of service is often the difference between a satisfied customer and a disgruntled one. Having a back of house interface or printer can reduce the time that orders get to your kitchen and reduce missed orders. Furthermore, EPoS systems can also improve your supply chain.
David Sharp, Partner, adds, “We have clients using sophisticated systems that calculate the ingredients per portion and then estimate when new orders should be made, which improves stock control, reducing the likelihood that menu items will not be available for customers.”
4. Payment
In today’s busy world, customers expect payment to be quick and straight-forward, with plenty of choice. Many EpoS systems are now giving hospitality operators the option to take new forms of payment, such as Apple pay and contactless, and allowing modifications such as splitting the bill, adding a service charge, set menus and promotions.
Majid Sadeghi, Partner, adds “Increasing the choice, speed and accuracy of your billing can help keep customers happy and keep your table turnover flowing.”
5. Customer loyalty
Repeat custom is the lifeblood of many successful restaurants, and it is important to turn as many new customers as possible into regulars. Some EpoS systems allow you to build up your database and incentivise customers to return.
Leighton Bower, Partner, adds, “You can also encourage your staff to become more sales orientated, for example collecting sign-ups to your email promotions or loyalty card scheme at the right point in the customer journey. With the forthcoming tightening of EU data protection regulations, monitoring and recording customer opt-ins will become more important.”
Integration with your cloud accounting system
There are some areas to consider when integrating your EPoS with your accounting system.
In particular, the cost of hardware can vary, as can the cost for maintenance, support and your initial set-up. You should therefore review the overall affordability before choosing your system.
One area to watch is where a transaction is cancelled or reversed. These can be genuine mistakes, such as adding two pints instead of one or a customer misunderstanding.
Having a system in place to ensure these are noted on your EPoS and reconciled with a reason, will help keep your accounting records in order.
Another in-frequent problem, but one that should be considered, is your power supply. Always invest in an alternative power supply to keep your system running in the event of power failure and have back up procedures in place to safeguard your business.
In summary
In summary, integrating your EPoS helps in computerising all transactions and reduces the need of manual staff input, which can be prone to error.
Accessing real-time data is an obvious benefit of integrating your EPoS and accounting system, however you ensure that you are not weighed down by an abundance of data.
Leighton Bower, Partner, concludes, “Focusing on your processes, KPI’s and the right metrics you need to run your business is crucial. This is where having an experienced hospitality accountant can add real value. We can look at areas such as seasonal trends, category and location splits, stock control and sales to recommend strategies to improve your profitability”.
Contact us
Please contact us if you would like to know more about how we can assist you with choosing, or integrating, EPoS and cloud accounting systems.
Award-winning chartered accountants offering tax, audit and advisory services.