POS profit-building tip #4: Manage labor costs

Are you still making up schedules with a spreadsheet, or even a pencil and paper? You may be missing out on a big way to manage a significant expense. You may be tempted to slightly over-staff to cover unexpected spikes in traffic. Understaffing, on the other hand, can cause delays and poor customer service. It’s hard to get the balance just right, especially without any reliable numbers to help you plan.

A sales forecast report can help you manage your labor more effectively. A powerful restaurant management software system can give you all the numbers you need to schedule precisely the right amount of staff, right down to the hour, half-hour, or quarter-hour. And real-time alerts on labor costs vs. sales can also help you take immediate action, and send staff home if sales are lower than anticipated and profits have fallen past a certain threshold.

Many restaurant owners use integrated POS and restaurant management software to:
· maintain time and attendance of employees
· track breaks (paid or unpaid)
· create schedules
· manage tips, and
· export the appropriate data to payroll systems.

This helps you maximize productivity and keep labor costs in line. Experts say that in most restaurants, labor (including taxes and benefits) adds up to about 20% of total sales. If yours is far higher, you can likely allocate it more effectively and save money, without compromising on customer service.