4 Emerging Features Every iPad Restaurant POS Needs

staff entering orders on iPad restaurant pos

Provide the Experience Customers Want With an iPad POS System

Adjusting to the “new normal” restaurant industry landscape and shifting customer preferences often means upgrading your technology. Gone are the days when a restaurant could thrive with a point of sale (POS) system that only rings up transactions. Instead, competitive restauranteurs must advance their businesses by giving customers the choice and convenience of engaging, ordering, paying, and dining as they want. Increasingly, that involves mobile options such as an iPad restaurant POS. 

Whether you’re considering implementing an iPad POS system for your restaurant or you’ve been using one for years, you must invest in a solution that offers the latest technologies to keep up with consumer demands. Consider these four emerging technology features that restaurants need to provide the experiences customers want.

Order and Pay at the Table

A majority of customers are ready to start dining out again. According to one data tracker, 67% of US adults said they feel comfortable going out to eat at a restaurant. However, they have new expectations for their dining experience, including safety concerns. 

Order and pay at the table restaurant technology allows customers to browse the menu, place their order, and pay the bill right from their phone — without having to touch publicly handled items such as print menus, bill folders, and pens.  This solution has emerged to enable customers to dine in with added safety and convenience. The right iPad POS system restaurant partner can offer solutions such as QR code payments that make order and pay at the table simple.

Contactless Payment

With a new concern for hygiene, customers have shied away from using shared PIN pads or passing cash or cards back and forth with servers or cashiers. These health concerns have caused contactless payments to accelerate to the mainstream. Consumers have grown accustomed to contactless, digital payments, with 63% stating they would switch to a new business that offered this type of payment. They enjoy having the option of paying for their orders with their smartphones, QR codes, or “tap to pay” cards with contactless payment. 

Additionally, today’s consumers crave convenience and expect restaurants to provide quick and easy dining experiences — especially in the quick service and fast casual industries. Contactless payment technology works with your iPad restaurant POS system to increase table turnover and free up your staff, creating a better customer experience.

Online Ordering

While many customers are ready to return to dining in, their enthusiastic adoption of online ordering means it will also remain a top revenue earner. Research revealed in July 2021 that 69% of the average restaurant’s sales are now generated online (through an app, aggregator, website, or text) or by phone, with just 31% of sales generated by orders eaten on the premises. 

Today’s customers want options, and it’s essential to allow them to engage with your business in a way that makes them comfortable. For example, customers can have their meals delivered, get them for takeout, or pick them up at the curbside with online ordering. 

It’s clear that online ordering helps increase revenue, but not all restaurants can afford to invest in overpriced online systems that can charge anywhere from 25 – 40% commission. With Paradise POS, your restaurant can offer online ordering as part of your iPad restaurant POS without hidden fees.

Reporting and Data

Gaining insights into your business has always been crucial, but it can often be a hassle. Business owners can set up automated reporting and dashboards customized to their restaurant’s Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) or metrics they want to monitor closely. For example, restaurants can set up reports to track revenue by location, food and beverage margins, labor costs, and best-selling items from any device with the right iPad restaurant POS system. 

Having the right technology and using it diligently drives continuous operational improvement while keeping a pulse on how your business is performing. You’ll be able to make the best decisions for growth with the information you need at your fingertips.

The Right iPad POS System Restaurant Partner

New, emerging iPad restaurant POS technology features are shaping the industry, and restaurateurs who leverage these technologies will have a leg up on the competition. However, to get the full benefit, you must ensure it can meet evolving customer demands and offers the features that help you stay competitive. 

Paradise POS is committed to continual product development and innovation. We offer cutting-edge POS solutions that meet consumers’ changing needs and demands. For more information on our restaurant iPad POS systems, contact us today!