At a glance, contactless point-of-sale (POS) systems seem like a dream come true for any business owner. Not only do they provide a higher profit margin than traditional cash registers, but they also give customers the ability to purchase menu items online. That’s why it should come as no surprise that many restaurants are looking into contactless POS systems in order to increase their revenue and help keep their customers happy.

But is a contactless system the right choice for your restaurant? Despite the many perks associated with contactless technology, there are some potential disadvantages that you need to be aware of before making a decision.

Is Contactless Really Better?

Although contactless POS systems cost more than traditional registers, they offer several key advantages that can make them more beneficial for your restaurant. More on that in the original article about the benefits of a contactless menu for your restaurant. For starters, an online menu linked to a POS system can increase sales. Because customers will no longer have to order food while dining, they’ll be able to browse your website and mark their favorites before ordering. This means that the number of food orders per day will increase, which is a major contributing factor when it comes to increasing revenue.

Moreover, since you’ll be able to track your customers’ food consumption through online ordering, you won’t have to worry about your fixed profit margins. Instead of earning a set amount when a customer buys food for their table, online ordering will allow the system to calculate the price per item and let you know how much money you’ll make based on the amount of food that was ordered. This makes it easier for your staff to plan menus and produce accurate cost calculations for customers interested in making additional reservations. In cases where customers order online, this is especially important as it can help boost your revenue.

Having a contactless menu normally comes with an online component and it could help you in moving your restaurant online and could be one of the best ways how to promote your restaurant online.

Contactless POS systems also allow you to sell menu items online. When customers order their food online, the POS system can automatically mark the items as sold, and you won’t have to worry about losing out on business because of slow sales or having to manually mark inventory.

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Contactless is Much Faster

As far as efficiency is concerned, contactless POS systems also come with a number of benefits. Most traditional cash registers take several minutes to process sales and close out a transaction. By eliminating the need for cashiers to swipe credit cards or hand over receipts, contactless technology allows payments to be processed more quickly. Customers can complete their purchases and leave in seconds flat without dealing with endless lines at the register.

Contactless technology also makes it easier for you to work with international markets. While your staff may have to learn the ins and outs of a foreign money system in order to accept foreign currency, your POS terminal can process these transactions without them even needing to enter the information into your system. If the money and credit card are already loaded onto the magnetic stripe of the card, all you’ll need is a customer’s passport (or other ID) in order to complete payment.

Is Contactless Technology Right For You?

Contactless POS systems are ideal for restaurants that want to take advantage of online ordering and selling menu items without having their profit margins suffer. However, this brings us to our next question…

Is contactless technology really the right choice for your restaurant? If you answered “yes” to one or more of the questions above, contactless POS systems may be a great fit for your business. But if not, there are several other options available to you.

Contactless Brings You Free Traffic from Google and Yelp

In order to increase your profit, it is a good idea to add contactless menu URL on Google and Yelp. This will drive more traffic to your restaurant! Google Maps is a great source of free restaurant traffic. Besides Google Maps, there are at least other 10 sources of free customer traffic for your food business. People search for food on Google every day. By adding a contactless menu to a Google Map, Yelp or Google My Business, people will be able to see what’s on your menu and order online directly from your Google listing. The good thing about Yelp is that it is more of a trusted source for customers.

With MenuStripe, you can easily create an online menu and start taking orders in less than an hour.