Profit-building tip #7: Manage Multiple Locations More Effectively

One of the true tests of a restaurant system is its ability to support multiple locations, and add value in the process. Too many chain restaurants are still sending raw data back to head office, where it’s re-keyed into the corporate accounting system. This unwieldy process is a huge waste of time and energy.

An integrated POS system with enterprise software features can send daily electronic reports to the corporate office, to be consolidated automatically into an enterprise system, so that daily results from every store, region, concept, or any other grouping of locations can be analyzed in a few minutes at head office. Links to programs like QuickBooks, ACCPAC, Microsoft Dynamics or even larger ERP systems like Oracle, J.D. Edwards, or SAP support further in-depth analysis of operations.

Another big challenge is maintaining consistent menus and pricing across the chain, and rolling out special promotions in a coordinated way. With a restaurant enterprise system that provides two-way communications with POS workstations in every store, you can push out new menus, prices, and promotions to every location with the press of a button.

You can set up these updates in advance, to be automatically published across a chain on a specified date or time in the future, or in real-time as you work. Beyond this, in today’s era of tight compliance, no chain can afford to let stores operate in an uncoordinated way with insufficient oversight.