How Incorrect POS Information Hurts Your Business

Although POS systems are great tools to prevent employee theft, restaurant managers maybe losing far more money from employees entering wrong data. If an employee isn’t properly trained, lazy, or purposely entering misleading numbers, information like guest count and guest averages will be extremely skewed. And employees who seem to be producing more sales are really underperforming compared to their peers. Rick Braa of Washington Restaurant Association warns, “The risk of inaccurate financial data can lead to poor decision-marking.” By ensuring that your team is inputting the correct information you can improve sales and employee performance.

For example, Felix is an employee at a casual-dining restaurant.  He grossed $1,000 in sales this week and had a guest count of 160. To surpass the stores per person average of $8, Felix incorrectly inputs a guest count of 100 to increase his PPA from $6.25 to $10.  If this goes unnoticed by his manager, he’s costing the restaurant $280 a week or $10,000 a year in sales. Along with increasing marketing expenses to boost a guest count that seems to be declining.

Due to Felix’s fabricating guest count his manager is unaware of his declining work performance and cannot help him achieve a higher guest averages through better training. Greg McGuire, author of Increasing Restaurant Profit writes, “Let’s face it: your staff is the face and soul of the restaurant.  That’s why it’s important to get them tools they need to make them your biggest money-maker.” This lost opportunity trickles down to lost sales.

Another common user-end error is misidentification. Although most POS systems require employees to enter an identification number to place an order. Some restaurants will create generic usernames like AM Bar, or PM Server for employees to share.  If managers cannot properly identify how an employee is performing, rewards or additional training cannot be given.  Without proper training the employee’s service will decline and eventually affect sales. K.A. Francis, from Small Business Chron, writes, “Good customer service keeps customers coming back. Bad customer service keeps customers away.  Keeping customers happy, and getting them to tell others about the great service they received, will propel a business forward.”

Nonetheless if your top performers aren’t being honored, they may lose motivation or even worse leave. Inc Staff writes, “Your purpose in creating an employee rewards program may be to create some acknowledgment and motivation for your company team. The purpose behind a recognition program is to help motivate your employees to earn the rewards and ultimately help you meet business goals.”  All employees appreciate being acknowledged for their hard work, but if they go unnoticed service will decline.