When running a restaurant, pub, or takeaway, the right Electronic Point of Sale (EPOS) system can make or break your business. Having the right tool in place is an essential part of ensuring smooth and consistent operations. But different systems often have different features and choosing the ideal system that fits your business can feel like navigating a maze.

If you feel overwhelmed by sorting through the countless options on the market, you’re not alone. Many business owners often find themselves lost trying to understand what essential features they need and what features are just flashy extras that don’t add any value?

To help you cut through the noise, we’ve put together a list of the must-have EPOS features every restaurant or pub needs. Whether you’re upgrading from an older system or investing in one for the first time, this guide will provide you with the features we consider essential for successfully managing a food service business.

Let’s dive in!

Stock Control

Food waste is one of the biggest expenses for restaurants. Every dish that goes uneaten or every ingredient that spoils before it can be used is money down the drain. These losses can quickly add up, cutting into profits and making it challenging to maintain a financially healthy business.

The good news is that EPOS software can help restaurants reduce food waste through better inventory management. With a few clicks, they can quickly get a snapshot of what’s in the storeroom, easily calculate how many pints come in a barrel, and identify their best and worst selling dishes. They can then remove poorly selling items from the menu, avoiding purchasing ingredients that aren’t contributing to the business’ profitability.

And, as an added bonus, some EPOS systems will not only help track stock levels, but can automatically reorder popular items, ensuring key ingredients don’t run out at critical times.

Time and Attendance

Tracking time and attendance can be a royal pain if done the old fashioned way—with pen and paper. Not only is it often inaccurate, but it also makes it easy to cheat.

But with a full-featured EPOS system, you can say goodbye to the guesswork of tracking staff hours. A clock-in and out system does all the heavy lifting, while making it easy for employees to report work hours accurately. Management can also keep an eye on things with detailed reporting by shift, by the hour, and by staff members.

Tip Pooling

Managing tips fairly and transparently is essential for maintaining staff morale and complying with UK laws. A high-quality EPOS system simplifies tip pooling by automatically collecting and distributing tips among staff members according to the Employment (Allocation of Tips) Act 2023. This ensures that all tips are shared properly, without any deductions except for necessary taxes, to avoid disputes over tip distribution.

Your EPOS system should also support the tronc scheme, a tax-efficient way to manage pooled tips. With detailed reporting features, you can easily track and document tip allocations, ensuring compliance with legal requirements. This way, your team can focus on delivering exceptional service, knowing that their hard-earned tips are being handled honestly and efficiently.

Table Management

Managing tables effectively can be a game-changer for any bustling restaurant or pub. Your EPOS system should take the guesswork out of table management by providing a clear and intuitive overview of your floor plan. With this tool, you can easily track which tables are occupied, which are reserved, and which are ready to be turned over for the next guests.

Using the EPOS system, staff can effortlessly manage bookings, accommodate special requests, and ensure that every guest receives timely and attentive service. Additionally, they can see at a glance when tables are ready for their next course, and businesses can even automate kitchen notifications for when to start preparing each table’s courses at the right time. This means fewer mix-ups and smoother operations, so servers can focus on creating a welcoming atmosphere and memorable dining experiences for customers.

Taking Deposits for No Shows

One concerning trend in restaurants is no-shows for reservations. Quite simply, when guests don’t show up, restaurants lose revenue. No-shows also disrupt the flow of service and wastes the time and effort spent preparing for those reservations.

To counter this, some restaurants have started to take deposits when someone makes a reservation. Tracking these deposits—who’s paid what and how much—can be an accounting nightmare.

But with an EPOS system, you can not only take reservations online or over the phone, but you can also collect the deposit and apply it to their cheque when the party is ready to pay.

Promotional Management

Managing promotions can be a real challenge for any restaurant, pub, or takeaway. Ensuring that all staff members are aware of the current deals, applying discounts correctly, and keeping track of promotion performance can be confusing and there’s a lot of room for human error.

But the right EPOS system can turn these challenges into opportunities. An effective EPOS system will help you easily set up and track promotions, whether they’re a limited-time discount, a recurring happy hour deal, or a special set menu. Automated reminders and order prompts ensure that your staff never miss a beat, guaranteeing customers always get the best deals.

What’s more, detailed reporting allows restaurants and pubs to analyze each promotion’s success, helping them to refine their strategies and maximize revenue. With the right EPOS system, managing promotions becomes seamless and efficient, attracting more customers and boosting the bottom line.

Upselling

Upselling can be tricky to master, especially in a fast-paced restaurant, pub, or takeaway environment. Encouraging staff to confidently suggest add-ons and upgrades without coming across as pushy is a delicate balance.

That’s why it’s important to have an EPOS system that makes upselling a breeze. Using built-in intuitive prompts and suggestions, your staff will have the tools they need to recommend higher-value items and complementary dishes. Detailed sales data and reporting can help you identify the most effective upselling strategies, ensuring your team is always ready to tactfully engage customers with enticing offers. By making upselling a seemingly natural part of the ordering process, businesses can enhance customer dining experiences while boosting revenue.

If you want an EPOS system that offers all these features—and more—Everything EPOS has you covered. Our comprehensive software and hardware suites makes running a restaurant, pub, or takeaway simple and streamlined, ensuring customers walk away satisfied without risking profitability.

Contact one of our EPOS specialists to discuss your business needs and how we can work together to make your establishment run smoothly.