[REQUEST] Restaurant POS recommendations

[Kirby]

I have a customer using an old, probably pirated POS software called Champion POS v1.8 (yes, the customer I talked about before). This is a Chinese restaurant. They don't do delivery and they're not fancy. People walk up to the counter, order and sit down to wait for it to be delivered to one of a dozen tables or so. They do take-out.

Their current software is bilingual, Mandarin and English. I think the company might make software nearly exclusively for Chinese restaurants because when I called them they answered the phone in Mandarin and had to have someone call me back because the guy I talked to didn't speak English well.

The reason that is important is that the client is not exactly "fluent" in English. The wife does pretty well for all common concepts, but gets hung up on nuanced things like "Go to WalMart and buy a can of compressed air." The kids are fluent in both languages. I think the husband is a little worse off that the wife. I didn't even think he spoke English at all until the last time I was there when I did hear him.

Anyway, I want to make life easy for my client, so a system in both English (what they need to know) and Chinese (what they already know) would be nice

Also, importing their menu and data would be nice, but I kind of get the impression this is a convenience for them, not exactly a business-tracking, all-important computer. They always pay their bill in cash on the spot and rarely ask for receipts, though they did the last time, but that was a much bigger bill than usual.

I have a friend, a computer tech in a bigger town, who was supposed to be looking into POS systems for me because he has sold them before, but he has kind of flaked on this one, meaning he is probably really busy so I don't want to bug him about it. Personally, I've never dealt with a POS before and I would rather ask help from someone who really knows what they're doing than to pretend I know what I'm doing.

So I need to get them a POS system from this decade with zero pirated software. My friend was talking about QuickBooks POS systems, but the price of their software is absolutely ludicrous, and that's before any hardware. I believe there are free POS software packages out there, but that's not necessarily the best solution if the software is crap.

Essentially I could go with either a professionally built POS system and the expense that goes with it, often including monthly support fees and huge "punishment" fees for getting support as-needed or I could go with an off-the-shelf all-in-one touchscreen computer with a POS software installed for much less money. I'm sure there are pros and cons of both besides just the money thing, but that's what I'm here for.

A little about what they need, they did have a receipt printer and a ticket printer with the current system, though the ticket printer became the receipt printer when the receipt printer broke. The kitchen is right there behind the ordering counter in plain view and within spitting distance, so I think they just verbally pass orders. It would be nice to give them the option of a remote screen for the cook for upcoming orders that he can tick off as he finishes them, but I doubt they would actually choose something that fancy. The order printer was covered in "dried on" grease, so it's a little messy back there.

Now, given that it's a small, family business, profitable, but not hugely so, my single question is this: What would YOU do for them? To clarify I want the options you would present to them, not "Here is the system they would get if it were me." Even I don't have enough information to say with any certainty what they "need".

 

[RemotechIT]

I set up an all-in-one touch screen, running FRS for a coffee shop client at the end of last year and it's working great for them. It's a breeze to setup and very user friendly, free for two stations too.

 

[YeOldeStonecat]

Some popular ones I'm seeing...
*TouchBistro...runs on iPads with an iMac for the server
https://www.touchbistro.com/

*Clover systems...all while custom hardware, very popular down south
https://www.clover.com/

*Toast
https://pos.toasttab.com/

I'm putting together a nice Ubiquiti system right now to upgrade a restaurant that's installing Toast.

 

[Archon Prime]

Try Aloha. http://alohancr.com/aloha-pos/aloha/ I've seen it in action.

Edit: and Damn that TouchBistro one looks really nice.

 

[Computer Bloke]

my single question is this: What would YOU do for them?

This won't be the answer you're looking for, but in your position I'd refer them to someone who already has the two essential skills that you don't have - knowledge of POS systems and fluency in Mandarin. You can easily learn the first but probably not the second.

If your clients are barely bilingual then you'd be doing them a huge disservice by moving them onto an English-only package. You may very well think that they "need to know" English but that's really not your decision to make.

There are lots of Chinese POS systems - the world's a big place and much of it speaks Mandarin or Cantonese* - and it shouldn't be too hard for someone with the right experience to set something up. I don't know what your location is like but in all the big cities in New Zealand** there's no shortage of computer-literate accountants and specialist computer consultants with the necessary language skills.

If you're in Vancouver or San Francisco you'll have no trouble at all; if you're out in the boonies it might be a bit harder, but still worth the effort.



* The spoken languages are different but the written languages are essentially the same. If you can read one, you can read the other.

** We have three cities with a population over 250,000 and you could fit everyone who lives in New Zealand into New York City, twice.

 

[Kirby]

Try Aloha. http://alohancr.com/aloha-pos/aloha/ I've seen it in action.

Edit: and Damn that TouchBistro one looks really nice.

Thanks, but like pretty much all POS pages, there doesn't seem to be any information there whatsoever. Just a couple of videos of some guys talking and a few unhelpful pictures. I am not even finding the Touch Bistro thing you're talking about.

I find the whole "contact us for information" thing incredibly annoying. I know it's a sales tactic to get me talking to a salesperson with bullet points instead of giving me facts. The purpose is to get the chance to push their product. But it seems to be the way of the world these days.

This won't be the answer you're looking for, but in your position I'd refer them to someone who already has the two skills your clients need you to have - experience with POS systems and ability to converse in Mandarin.

If your clients are barely bilingual then you'd be doing them a huge disservice by moving them onto an English-only package. There are lots of Chinese POS systems - the world's a big place and much of it speaks Mandarin or Cantonese* - and it shouldn't be too hard for someone with the right experience to set something up. I don't know what your location is like, but in all the big cities in New Zealand** there's no shortage of computer-literate accountants or specialist computer consultants with the necessary language skills.

If you're in Vancouver or San Francisco you'll have no trouble at all; if you're out in the boonies it might be a bit harder, but still worth the effort.



* The spoken languages are different but the written languages are essentially the same. If you can read one, you can read the other.

** We have three cities with a population over 250,000 and you could fit everyone who lives in New Zealand into New York City, twice.

That doesn't really help at all. The nearest really big city is Chicago, about 200 miles away. And I like these people. I don't want to give a decent customer to someone else.

Also, I had no intention of switching them to an English-only system, which is why I went into detail about their language needs.

I am not experienced in POS systems, but that is not to say it never comes up in my business. It has come up repeatedly, which is why it's something I want to get into. That is exactly how you become "experienced", by doing the work that comes at you instead of giving customers away to other people. Becoming proficient with POS systems would build my business. We pretty much all need to expand as the PC market continues to decline in the face of the ever growing mobile and disposable electronics market.

 

[Computer Bloke]

The nearest really big city is Chicago, about 200 miles away. And I like these people. I don't want to give a decent customer to someone else.

Have you considered a partnership with a larger company in Chicago (or anywhere, really) which does have the necessary skills? You could be the boots-on-the-ground guy (and retain the client) while the POS software could be installed and supported remotely by a specialist.

I understand your wish to do your best for a valued client but in this case your best might be to call in an expert.

 

[Your PCMD]

Floreant POS? And its free. I put it in a steakhouse about a month ago and they are happy with it.

 

[Kirby]

Have you considered a partnership with a larger company in Chicago (or anywhere, really) which does have the necessary skills? You could be the boots-on-the-ground guy (and retain the client) while the POS software could be installed and supported remotely by a specialist.

I understand your wish to do your best for a valued client but in this case your best might be to call in an expert.

That's why I'm asking opinions and doing what research I can. As I said, I have a friend in a nearby bigger town who has dealt with them, but he appears too busy to help right now and he was recommending Intuit's POS system, which appears to be just about the most massively overpriced software on the market as far as I can tell.

Floreant POS? And its free. I put it in a steakhouse about a month ago and they are happy with it.

Thanks. I'll look into that one. And I love that you have recent experience with it so I know your opinion is based on recent actual knowledge of the system.

Can I ask what hardware you used?

 

[Markverhyden]

I've installed plenty of Square kits over the years. They are very popular with small businesses and there product is very well developed now. The problem is they only have English and Spanish for an account created in the US. Maybe a call to their support might get more information.

 

[YeOldeStonecat]

I am not even finding the Touch Bistro thing you're talking about..

He was referring to my reply...up above him...and I put the link right there in my reply. Good people to work with.

 

[kwest]

Aloha is the best restaurant software but expensive.

Cheaper would be square or clover. Ran off of a tablet and all online. You just have to use them for credit card transactions.

I have setup square and you can import all the items online with an excel file. Square has all the printers and will handle it all. They will spend about $1000 for iPad and equipment.

 

[Kirby]

Aloha is the best restaurant software but expensive.

Cheaper would be square or clover. Ran off of a tablet and all online. You just have to use them for credit card transactions.

I have setup square and you can import all the items online with an excel file. Square has all the printers and will handle it all. They will spend about $1000 for iPad and equipment.

What they're coming off from was likely super cheap even after the high markup. They are very small and don't need anything too fancy. They essentially click a button for each dish on the menu which is ordered and choose whether it's dine-in or carry-out. I think the order is delivered to the cook verbally, but I'm not sure. He is working about 15 feet from and in clear view of the counter.

And I simply won't set up anything that runs credit cards over anything but a phone line. Too much hassle with the PCI compliance. Maybe it has changed since the beginning, but back when I was processing through QuickBooks if I had continued to do that it would have cost me a minimum $250 per quarter to have a network security scan done because I was going over the Internet. Switched to a phone line and all the PCI crap pretty much disappeared.

 

[YeOldeStonecat]

And I simply won't set up anything that runs credit cards over anything but a phone line. Too much hassle with the PCI compliance. Maybe it has changed since the beginning, but back when I was processing through QuickBooks if I had continued to do that it would have cost me a minimum $250 per quarter to have a network security scan done because I was going over the Internet. Switched to a phone line and all the PCI crap pretty much disappeared.

Pretty easy now-a-days. I just installed a Unifi network at a restaurant this morning, same basic design I use for a lot of 'em. Since Unifi wifi allows up to 8x SSIDs, and I use a USG Pro gateway, I make several totally different networks...important point being 1x just for the point of sale rigs. If the client has a server that needs external access ,like SBS or Essentials, best to get an additional public IP address just for the POS system to exit out on....instead of sharing a public IP with a network that has any ports open/forwarded.

 

[Markverhyden]

What they're coming off from was likely super cheap even after the high markup. They are very small and don't need anything too fancy. They essentially click a button for each dish on the menu which is ordered and choose whether it's dine-in or carry-out. I think the order is delivered to the cook verbally, but I'm not sure. He is working about 15 feet from and in clear view of the counter.

Things like square can easily handle this. They can take checks and cash as well and don't even need to use their till.

And I simply won't set up anything that runs credit cards over anything but a phone line. Too much hassle with the PCI compliance. Maybe it has changed since the beginning, but back when I was processing through QuickBooks if I had continued to do that it would have cost me a minimum $250 per quarter to have a network security scan done because I was going over the Internet. Switched to a phone line and all the PCI crap pretty much disappeared.

It's really not a big deal these days. As long as there are no services being provided by the site all ports can usually be blocked. Either at the ISP modem or a router like ERL3. The part that is a pain is you have to fill out the self-assessment. In the case of Square the CC is not being processed at the site, it's being processed by Square over a secure tunnel.

 

[Kirby]

Now that I think about it I'm really not surprised that they did something to address the complication and expense with PCI compliance. When they first made the move it was a way to shift cost from the credit card companies onto those processing the cards for the screw-ups and dishonesty of the end processors. It certainly was a long time coming. People just never gave it a thought that you don't write someone's credit card information down on a Post-It when they call it in and then toss it in the trash for any scavenger to find.

The cost was the big thing for me. An extra $1,000 a year would have been a big deal for my small business, and that was the cheapest rate I had found. There were other companies charging much more for their 5 minute quarterly scan. And at that time it didn't matter whether I was processing cards through QuickBooks on my PC or the dedicated little machine was connected via the Internet, if it went over the Internet, it cost me money. So have they done away with the need for the quarterly network security scans or at least come down considerably in the cost of doing them?