Best Tools To Remotely Manage Your Retail Or Restaurant

Even if you prefer the hands-on approach, spending a lot of time at your business and managing it in person, there are undoubtedly going to be times when you need to perform some management tasks while you're off premise. Fortunately, today's technologies allow you to complete just about any job that doesn't involve physical labor from wherever you may be - whether that's across town or half-way around the world.

Remote Restaurant Management

Usually, the best way to ensure your restaurant is running like a well-oiled machine is for you to be there keeping an eye on things and making tweaks as necessary. But when you can't be there in person, modern restaurant POS systems enable you to keep a close eye on how things are going.

First and foremost, you need to have real-time access to all the data generated by your restaurant POS.  From the popularity of certain dishes to how long they take to cook to how long they sit in the window to the average wait time for a table, all of this data and more is critical to keeping operations running their best. A few tweaks here and there can make things easier on the staff and increase customer satisfaction at the same time.

Integrate your KDS and POS

A prerequisite to managing your restaurant remotely is to ensure your kitchen display system and point of sale system are fully integrated. You'll need data from both these sources to make sound decisions regarding any changes that need to be made with your processes or personnel. The reports you'll get through these integrated systems will give you greater granularity and make it infinitely easier to make the type of relatively minor tweaks that can end up netting substantial results in increased productivity as well as customer and employee satisfaction.

Cloud-Based Restaurant POS System

While most POS systems these days allow for remote management, a cloud-based POS system ensures that you'll be able to do anything remotely that you would be able to do from your restaurant itself. If you're thinking of opening more than one location, a cloud-based system will make managing all your locations a whole lot easier.

For instance, from anywhere you'll be able to update the menus of all restaurants simultaneously while still allowing for customizations at each location. Some systems even allow you to change your floor plan on the fly to accommodate larger parties or different table configuration requirements.

Always keep an eye on your stock. You can monitor stock of food and drink items in real time and modify it appropriately once the restaurant receives a delivery. If you do run out of something, you can make sure staff and customers are aware so that customers aren't disappointed by ordering something you can't actually make at that time.

Remote Retail Management

The tools you need to effectively remotely manage a retail establishment are similar to those you need for a restaurant; a cloud-based POS system first among them. This is the simplest way to manage both a brick-and-mortar and ecommerce store with integrated inventory. A cutting-edge online POS system for small business will include many of these tools, while others will only be available separately.

Accounting

Many POS systems offer at least basic accounting functionality. If you don't need many bells and whistles, using the built-in accounting functions of your POS is the smartest way to work because of the integration between your actual POS terminals, payment processor and accounting system. You want all these components to easily sync with each other in addition to being easily accessible from anywhere.

If you need more accounting muscle than you find in your POS, you can search for other accounting systems that can import data directly from your POS.

Inventory Management

Here's another critical aspect of retail operations that should be integrated into your POS system, especially if you have more than one location. Whether that location is virtual or physical, you're going to want to be able to view and update your stock in real time to ensure employees and customers alike are on the same page.

If you have a traditional POS system without inventory management features, you should investigate inclusive cloud-based systems that can meet your needs as you expand your business.

IT Support

This is especially important if your POS system is running on a local network rather than the cloud. If anything goes wrong, you're going to need a way for support personnel to log into your machine and fix the problem. There are a number of tools that can do this, with TeamViewer being the most prevalent.

Online Marketing

These days, you need to be able to create and execute a marketing campaign no matter where you may be. Most cloud-based POS software includes the ability to market online through SMS, email and even Instagram. If yours doesn't include any or all of these features, there's an abundance of tools available online.

Email and SMS are particularly inexpensive methods by which you can market to existing customers. These aren't the best mediums for pictures, but if you're putting on sale something that repeat customers will love, a quick email or text message will be all you need.

If you're trying to lure new customers or introduce existing customers to a new fashion line, Instagram is likely your marketing medium of choice. As long as you can access high-quality pictures of the items, you can initiate an Instagram marketing campaign from anywhere.

Remote management of a restaurant or retail store used to be one of those thrilling concepts that tended to bog down when it came to execution. But with cloud-based POS systems that are affordable to small businesses, owners and managers finally have the flexibility they've been craving to continually optimize their operations and ensure that employees are most efficient and customers are completely satisfied.