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IT'S TIME YOU TOOK A CLOSER LOOK

Having just performed comprehensive point-of-sale search reviews for two clients, I’ve gotten a front row seat for the dramatic changes POS systems have been going through lately. There are a lot of choices out there, some specifically tailored for restaurant needs and some not. This review will be looking at systems suited for Fast Casual restaurants utilizing tablet-centric hardware and subscription-based software. 

I began my search looking at lower-priced entries. While they had price competitive advantages, they offered limited functionality for the needs of the growing concepts I was representing. Not that these systems aren't sufficient for the needs of many operations--there are no right or wrong systems here--just better or worse options for the appropriate concept.

I can summarize together the two systems that rose to the top during the time that I did spend studying the first-tier:  Shopkeep & Square.  Both have similar strengths and opportunities and are outstanding options should they fit your style of operation.  But they are, frankly, designed less with a restaurant mindset and more for a broader retail segment, so I'd say better suited for the limited-menu, and/or single-unit operator.

Here are the pros and cons of Shopkeep & Square (a tad broad-brushed and short-stroked as I spent a little more time with the mid-tier systems my clients were seeking):

Pros
Price, price, price (hardware and software both very affordable)
User-friendly programming (geared toward self-sufficient, do-it-yourself)
Ease of operation (straight-forward layouts, limited training needed)
Support (24-hr remote, quick, capable)
Timekeeping (a basic need, but simple and solid to use)

Cons
Kiosk (customer-facing screens not yet integrated)
Kitchen Display System (a must-have for many brands so a major omit)
Reporting (metric-driven restaurant concepts will need to find alternatives)
Delivery Integration (wave of the future is here; they are not...but getting there)
Loyalty, Gift Card, Inventory, Scheduling (all would require 3rd party apps)

 

 
Now, to the mid-tier reviews, which focused on two finalists:  Revel & Toast.  As a restaurateur myself, and formerly keyboard-blistered POS techhy, I was impressed--albeit thrilled--with each.  They speak to the restaurant operator in ways that used to be relegated to more expensive, full-service systems.

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Before I dive into the two brands, I gotta say my highest enthusiasm revolves around recent advancements in this tier of POS--and by 'recently' I mean the past few months as opposed to years.  It's unclear whether programmers or operators are the driving force behind these improvements, but I'm confident it's the latter.  Restaurant owners no longer look at technology as a necessary evil and are embracing its entrance into all aspects of operations thus pushing programmers to respond to--not dictate--operators' needs.  With the continuing trend toward subscriber-required, cloud-based systems helping to push prices lower, the independent operator can get a very sophisticated system for a relatively low investment. 

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(On a personal side note, I've not always been so optimistic about the topic of POS.  Just a few years ago, the CEO of a major restaurant  software company asked my opinion about his most recent release.  My initial response was, 'did you poll the end user or test it with any actual restaurants?'  His reply left me a bit stunned:  "Operators really don't know what they want."  Yikes.  Yet with a portrait of Steve Jobs on the conference room wall peering down at us--the brutal honesty of the statement became a reality check for the status quo.  Many restaurant operators viewed technology like a colonoscopy:  understanding why it's needed, just not real comfortable discussing the procedure.  So, while this CEO was trying to push "customer-facing screens" and "mobile optimization," his potential clients were busy squeezing one more year of depreciation out of that old Casio TE-100.  Still, the operator in me refused to believe the best approach to giving the customer what they want was to...not ask what they want)

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Fast forward to today.  Having just returned from the front lines of POS, the reports are very promising.  And this is not just data gleaned off the internet; I've personally seen it accelerate and unfold before my eyes.  Given POS is a part of my career-DNA (I made my start in restaurants selling, supporting, soft-programming and training some of the first computerized cash register systems...Documenter, Medallion, Micros, etc), this is truly the most excited I've been about the topic since the demise of the 'cigar box.' 

 

Okay, enough of the editorial; allow me to offer a peek under the tent of what I've seen. 

 

With so many systems to choose from, the two I looked at--Revel & Toast--simply represent the finalists I focused on for my projects.  Both have already integrated and are continuously moving in the direction of improving their integration with forward-thinking modules:  Loyalty, Kiosk, Delivery, Enterprise Management to name a few (in the case of Toast, over the past six months--since I first checked them out last winter to my second time this past June--significant enhancements were made that had taken them out of the running before but now vaulted them near the top.  Nothing exemplifies the premise of this article better than seeing a company listen to its clientele with specifics as Toast did and actually do something about it...quickly).  

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On to the Pros & Cons:

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REVEL

Pros​

• Hardware Pricing (lowest of the best mid-tiers)

• Lowest Credit Card Processing Costs (of the ones I researched, which would amount to significant savings over time)

• A La Carte Programming (if your concept is not combo-driven)

• Reporting (sortable, exportable, comprehensive)

• Text-centric Loyalty Program (easier sign-ups)

• iPad-based (a 'con' if you are Android-friendly)

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Cons

• Combos (programmable, but not intuitive; some work-arounds required)

• No Swivel (fixed terminal with customer-display option)

• Basic KDS Functionality (haven't evolved to next-level display offerings)

• Monthly Subscription Rates (slightly higher, so more costly over time)

• iPad-based (a 'pro' if you are iOS-friendly)

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TOAST

Pros​

• Combo Programming (easy, intuitive, combo-friendly)

• Kitchen Display System (impressive extra-features, like 'running-total' tallies on production screen)

• Reporting (sortable, exportable, comprehensive)

• Swivel Terminal (no need for extra hardware)

• Monthly Subscription Rates (slightly lower, so less costly over time)

• On-site Sales Support (a rare mid-tier vendor with local street reps)

• Android-based (a 'con' if you are iOS-friendly)

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Cons​​

• Hardware Price (highest of the best mid-tiers)

• Email-centric Loyalty Program (a little more clunky to sign-up new and access members)

• Android-based (a 'pro' if you are Android-friendly)

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SUMMARY.......

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CHOICE IS GOOD

There are a dizzying number of point-of-sale choices out there.  That alone is both a blessing and a curse.  Choice is always good, with competition being the mother of innovation; but the right choice is critical. 

 

The lower-tier options have similar strengths and opportunities and are outstanding options but designed more for the broader retail segment or limited-menu and/or single-unit restaurant operator.  If that's your style of operation and...

 

you don't need...

• A Lot of 'Bells & Whistles' (simple rules your world)

• Integration (you're okay doing without altogether or will cherry-pick third party apps)

• Comprehensive Reporting (Excel is your friend!)

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but do need...

• Low Up-front Cost (for 1-2 terminal pkgs, between $1000-$2000)

• Affordable Monthly Subscription (at or below $100)

• Easy Out-of-the-Box Set-up and Programming/Reprogramming (with remote support)

• User-friendly Functionality (really streamlines the cashier training process)

• Serviceable Support (extra kudos to Shopkeep on this one, as I had opportunity to test this thoroughly first-hand)

 

...both systems are excellent.  With what they have designed for the entry level operator, even the smallest-scale operator should be tossing out those glorified calculators and installing one of these.  For old-timers who cut their restaurant-technology teeth using mnemonics (!) to program terminals, both Shopkeep and Square are super easy and actually fun (?) to self-program. 

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By contrast, the mid-tier systems are perfect for the Fast Casual operator, blending relative ease of programming and slick functionality with price-accessibility.

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if you are able to...

• Afford a modest investment in technology (for 1-2 terminal pkgs, bet. $4K-$8K-- however some slick monthly pricing plans available)

• Commit to a little soft-programming time (bigger product mix means more time in your back office console)

• Accept solid, but remote, self service-geared support (similar to what the lower-tier offers)

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but seek...

• Comprehensive, flexible reporting (a key differentiator from the lower-tier)

• Variety of Progressive Modules Included (you truly do get what you pay for)

• Third Party Integration (and variety just keeps getting better)

• High investment-to-Value Return (you could spend twice as much for top-of-the-line full service systems...but why?)

 

...you cannot go wrong with either Revel or Toast.  Short of having a customized system designed just for you, with the mid-tier you are getting most of the benefits of a bigger system at a much lower cost.

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So which is the best?

 

Don't make me have to choose!... because they are all outstanding systems...but if I had to...well, maybe I will just leave it at that.  Send me an email or pick up the phone and call me for the answer; I won't even charge you for it. ;)  That said, I would be happy to conduct as comprehensive a POS search for your business, expounding on the bullet points above, sharing intimate details about the latest and greatest enhancements, and seeing whether these, or other systems would be a good fit for you.

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For more information on either Shopkeep, Square, Revel or Toast, click on the links below:

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