The Business Buzz

The food services industry comprises a significant portion of the domestic economy. Restaurants in particular are largely dominated by small business ownership. It’s a fast-paced world where customers must be served with alacrity. Transaction speed can make or break the ability of an establishment to “turn tables” and keep the traffic moving.

Traditionally, eating establishments have collected debit and credit cards from diners at the end of a meal, bringing them back to run the charge. This can create delays in addition to security risks. New technologies like QR codes and mobile payments are innovating the restaurant space. Diners can even use QR codes to browse menus on their phone, place orders, and give a tip—without ever having to provide an actual card.

Payment solutions can also integrate with kitchen display systems (KDS). Goodbye paper tickets and reams of paper—and hello monitors. This all-digital shift can accompany the end of paper checks and the advent of emailed receipts.

Speaking of all digital connections, payment processing can also integrate with rewards applications. These applications can encourage brand loyalty, repeat business, and larger tabs, as diners are rewarded for every dollar spent or every visit. These digitized rewards programs can replace the old punch card method of fostering repeat visits.

Payment processing solutions should also integrate with inventory management software. In a world increasingly dominated by ethical scrutiny from consumers and shareholders, food waste is a moral and financial problem—but one that can surprisingly be avoided with analytics. Want to learn about these trends and others, like how to use social media for your restaurant? Sample the menu of our related articles to get a taste…