2. INTRODUCTION
ONE Chop your infrastructure costs
TWO Less clutter, more coverage and reliability
THREE Increase order efficiency and payment speed
FOUR Change menus quickly and easily
FIVE It grows along with you
SIX Ensure stellar customer service
SEVEN Manage floor plans with a few swipes
EIGHT Maintain oversight
NINE Get up and running in a matter of hours
CONCLUSION
FOOTNOTES

3. INTRODUCTION
People are excited about mobile technology in restaurants. It looks cool, it’s more
efficient, and in some cases, it leads to a higher average check.
i
The National Restaurant Association is calling mobile the hottest technology trend of
2015, with 29 percent surveyed saying they’ll be adopting tablet computers in their
restaurants.
ii
But for all the hype around mobile, there’s a lot of confusion about what it actually
is. Most people associate mobile POS with portable units that let you place orders
tableside. But mobile is more — much more — than just portable units.
The key is how the system uses something called “the cloud” — with cloud, everything
is done on the Internet, on a website, instead of a computer or server. With a cloud-
based POS, you have true mobility. Managers and staff do everything — and we mean
everything — on mobile devices connected to the Internet, including menu setup,
workflow setup, descriptions, taking orders, sending orders and managing floor plans.
There are many, many benefits to a cloud-based mobile restaurant POS. Here are nine
of the most important ones.
9 Reasons Why a Mobile
Point of Sale is Better for
Your Restaurant

4. NUMBER ONE
•• A cloud-based mobile POS doesn’t burn a hole in your budget. Upfront
costs are dramatically lower than a non-mobile POS — no more
expensive computers, workstations, or servers to buy. You just need
mobile devices such as iPads or iPhones, an Internet connection, and a
subscription to a cloud-based mobile restaurant POS provider.
•• You can up your ‘green’ credentials as you dispense with the costly
requirements of your energy-hungry server.
•• Those frequent, expensive updates? They’re a thing of the past. You’ll
always be accessing the latest, most-up-to-date version from the web.
•• For most POS systems, a breakdown means ordering replacement parts,
which must then be shipped, delivered, and installed, usually in more
time than you want to wait. With a cloud-based mobile restaurant POS,
the only thing you need to replace is an iPad or iPhone.
Chop your
infastructure costs.
number one

5. NUMBER TWO
•• Say hello to cleaner counter spaces and less clutter. The only things
taking up space are printers, payment hardware and a WiFi router hidden
in the back of your restaurant.
•• Staff can carry mobile devices with them, which means no more
forgotten dessert orders from the patio or slow drink service at the pool
tables. Wait staff enter orders right on a mobile device, no matter where
they are in the restaurant.
•• A good cloud-based mobile POS system provides backup in the event
that anything happens to your Internet access. These include fallback
routers or offline solutions, which allow you to keep operating when
your Internet service provider can’t.
Less clutter, more
coverage and reliability.
number two

6. NUMBER THREE
•• Orders sent through a cloud-based restaurant POS arrive at the kitchen
or bar in milliseconds. If you’re managing line-ups during peak dining
hours, those saved minutes can add up to significant dollars.
•• You choose where your order goes: head chef, sous chef, line cook, cold
food station, hot food station, salad station, dessert station or bar.
•• Depending on your country and payment processor, payment can be
accepted on the device, including cash, debit and credit cards. A cloud-
based mobile POS gives you the option to email or print receipts for
customers.
Increase order
efficiency and
payment speed.
number three

7. NUMBER FOUR
•• With “going local” once again topping the charts as most important food
trend of the year,iii
restaurants need an easy way to change their menus
based on what’s in season. A cloud-based mobile POS makes changing
menus a snap.
•• Managers can access menus from the Web. With the right login
credentials and an Internet connection, you can change menu
information anytime, anywhere — working from home, while on the
road, visiting suppliers, or overseas attending events.
Update menus
quickly and easily.
number four

8. •• Any restaurant considering one-off food events, setting up a seasonal
food truck, or opening a whole new venture, will see significant benefits
from a cloud-based mobile POS. Just bring an iPhone or iPad with a way
to connect to the Internet, and you’re ready to create orders. The system
doesn’t depend on hardware so it can expand as quickly as you do.
•• If you have IT staff helping you, they’ll want to know if your POS can easily
talk to other systems and programs. A good cloud-based mobile POS
allows you to quickly integrate digital signage, online reservation systems,
accounting packages, and other services as you need them.
NUMBER FIVE
number five
It grows along
with you.

9. •• For diners with allergies or food restrictions, it matters where and how
the food was prepared. Now you can tell them. Add detailed information
on menus and menu items, including supplier information (e.g. pastured
poultry from Polyface Farm or Kobe Striploin Steak certified by the
Japanese Kobe Beef Council).
•• Many cloud-based POS systems allow you to create customer profiles,
complete with bar tabs and order histories. Staff members can offer your
best customers “the usual”, even when they’re new to the job.
•• Some cloud-based restaurant POS systems allow you to create prompts
that pop-up when a customer places an order, for upsell opportunities
such as matched sides or drinks.
•• If your food looks good, show your customers. A cloud-based mobile
POS can let you show off a full-screen photo of your plates and other
items on an iPad.
Ensure stellar
customer service.
NUMBER SIX
number six

10. •• That party of four suddenly grows to eight? A good mobile POS lets you
move tables around quickly and easily right on the device. You can keep
your eyes on the restaurant floor. No need to dive behind the desk to an
out-of-the-way workstation.
•• Your virtual floor plan can mirror the actual floor plan. Avoid serving
errors by helping busy servers, food runners, and new staff quickly pick
up on any changes made to the layout.
Manage floor plans
with a few swipes.
NUMBER SEVEN
number seven

11. •• With a cloud-based mobile restaurant POS, you can keep your eye on the
money, even when you’re not there. Run reports, check an audit trail, or
review daily and hourly sales, all from your mobile device.
•• A cloud-based mobile POS allows you to create user accounts for each
individual employee. Accounts come with customizable security settings;
you determine what employees can access, such as opening a cash
drawer, permission to discount, changing the floor plan or accessing
financial reports.
Maintain oversight.
NUMBER EIGHT
number eight

12. •• A cloud-based mobile POS requires no installation. Setup printers,
restaurant information, workflows, and menu information in the
system — and you’re good to go.
•• As with any system, a good restaurant POS provides good technical
assistance, as well as a strong network of local partners to help
with setup. Your cloud-based mobile restaurant POS should be no
different.
Get up and running
in a matter of hours.
NUMBER NINE
number nine

13. The last thing you want to worry about in your business is technology.
A cloud-based mobile restaurant POS takes away the hassle of system
and hardware management, and puts it into the hands of the people best
equipped to handle it: IT staff managing server farms and software updates
from remote destinations.
Choosing a cloud-based mobile POS will ensure that you don’t spend more
than you need to, while maintaining control over what matters most.
Conclusion
CONCLUSION

14. i
Wong, Venessa. “That Tablet on the Restaurant Table Will Make You Spend
More.” Bloomberg Businessweek. September 17, 2013.
ii
What’s Hot: 2015 Culinary Forecast. National Restaurant Association. Fall
2014.
iii
Ibid.
Footnotes
FOOTNOTES

15. At Lightspeed, we build end-to-end commerce solutions that restaurateurs
can use to build, manage and grow their businesses. Lightspeed is an all-in-
one point of sale, table management, and analytics platform for restaurants
of any size.
With the right technology, restaurateurs can make their customers happier,
and make the world a more delicious place.
Start your free trial.
Questions? Call us at 1-866-932-1801 or +32 9 221 22 20
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