Restaurant POS Equipment: Types of Input Devices
Input devices – Restaurant Point of Sale (POS) Equipment
Point of Sale Equipment: Keyboards and touch screens
Choosing which input devices to use as your point of sale equipment is one of the first things you may want to consider since it greatly affects your restaurants functionality. Going for a touch screen or a programmable keyboard depends entirely on its purpose. The only market where programmable keyboards are mostly used is grocery stores, because it can program individual keys for specific item codes and prices.
Many of the available touch screens today are designed by restaurant owners, it focuses more on meeting the needs of a restaruant that’s why they are more intuitive to use and “user-friendly”. Touch screens also provides flexibility in the user interface and programming, where it eliminates costly staff traning. Most touch screens sold these days are based on flat-screen LCDs instead of traditional CRT monitors. While LCD touch screens are a bit more expensive (typically $600 – $1,000 instead of $400 – $500), they last longer, use less electricity, and take up less space. They also look much better. With both CRT and LCD displays, avoid “overlay” touch screens that are added on to regular monitors – they are more prone to breakdowns and add an unnecessary complication to your system.
For keyboards, some models are standard 101-key models that you find with any computer. Others are smaller, more POS-specific devices, such as the flat-panel membrane keyboards you often see on fast food chains. Often, they come in with built-in magnetic stripe readers for processing credit cards. Programmable keyboards usually ranges between $150 and $300.
No matter which POS equipment you use, just make sure you consider the environment where it will be used. Both keyboards and touch screens are available with varying levels of spill and dust-proofing.
Point of Sale Equipment: Bar code scanners
All scanners work in the same basic manner, reading a bar code and sending the resulting numbers back to the computer. They typically connect to the system through Y-connectors called wedges that make them function as an extension of the keyboard. Bar code scanning has an improved accuracy and speeds up sales transactions.
Low-end scanners are based on charge-coupled device (CCD) technology. These scanners are inexpensive, but usually have limitations – the item being scanned needs to be 1 to 3 inches from the scanner. In a typical retail setting, that should be fine.
When it comes to laser scanners, they offer better scanning with the ability to scan a bar code at long distances. You may find some laser scanners that automatically turn themselves on when scanning and then turn off again, this is called “autosensing”. Omnidirectional scanners send out 15 or 20 lasers simultaneously, making bar code scanning from any angle easy. And the top of the line are embedded scanners, which you commonly see in supermarkets installed below the counter.
Wondering what types of POS scanners to use when serving different volume of customers? If you do not usually have more than a customer or two in line, CCDs or entry-level laser scanners should be able to do the job. A fairly constant flow of customers might call for an autosensing model, and very high volume businesses should investigate omnidirectional or embedded scanners. Prices range from below $100 for the most basic CCD scanners to $350 or more for omnidirectional laser scanners.
Point of Sale Equipment: Handheld POS terminal
The latest type of input device is the handheld, wireless terminal. Essentially a PDA, each handheld terminal wirelessly transmits orders back to its base station. A distinct advantage this POS equipment can provide to a restaurant is that they increase the amount of time servers spend on taking orders on the floor and interacting with customers, because it eliminates the need to go back to a terminal to enter orders.
Newer still are write-on handhelds: the combination of a touch screen interface and PDAs, this tiny input device allow servers to simply write the orders down. Handwriting recognition software parses the order then sends it on to the kitchen and bar to prepare the orders.
Handheld terminals are understandably more expensive than traditional touch-screen order terminals. However they can make up for the cost by allowing your servers to spend more time upselling customers with more desserts and drinks. If you are evaluating handheld terminals, make sure you ask about the “drop test” – units are rated for toughness according to how much of a fall they can survive. To find out if your business is a candidate for handheld POS terminals, compare multiple POS equipment vendors to learn what products and services they offer.
Need more information or an online resource?
Go to POS-For-Restaurants.com
The author of this article is the Vice-President of Customer Relations at POS-For-Restaurants with over 20 years of experience serving restaurants of all types throughout the U.S.
Tags: Point of Sale, Point of Service, POS, restaurant automation, restaurant computer, restaurant hardware, restaurant point of sale, Restaurant pos, restaurant pos equipment, restaurant pos quote, restaurant pos solution, restaurant software