by Chandra | Feb 5, 2019 | Marketing, POS Systems, Restaurant Industry News, Retail Industry News
Is Managing your POS System as Easy as Posting a Picture to Social Media? It Should be!
Imagine being able to upload an image of your daily specials or entrées as soon as they come out of your oven. Uploading an image to your menu is as simple as posting to your facebook page. Wow your customers and entice them into your restaurant or store today. The power of an image is incredible!
As a business owner or manager, can you edit and make modifications easily from wherever you are?
Envision being able to make real-time changes to your menu, manage your staff and keep an eye on your sales from anywhere in the world. Whether you are at home or on vacation the newer POS systems allow you to manage all of your operations in one place!
The newer POS systems are now state of the art, replacing the old legacy systems and improving your life as a restaurant or retail owner.
If your current POS system doesn’t have all these easy-to-use features, make the change and upgrade today!
by Chandra | Jan 29, 2019 | Mobile Payments, Mobile Processing, POS Systems, Restaurant Industry News
Increase Your Restaurant Revenue with Mobile and Online Ordering
You know how important it is to get customers’ orders right. So why leave anything to chance? With our online ordering system, you won’t. Your customers will find it so easy to use from whatever device they choose to use.
We know that running a restaurant isn’t easy and competition is fierce, whether you are offering fine dining, a casual experience, takeout, delivery or a combination.
Move your restaurant into the future with mobile online ordering. Employees won’t need to spend time on the phone – they can serve customers.
Traditionally, online ordering was a term used to define restaurant orders that were placed through the internet typically from a customer’s desktop. Now 77 percent of Americans have smartphones, and they’re doing everything with them, including placing orders. Today, many restaurants are offering customers the chance to place orders and make inquiries online, on whatever device they use, without any interaction from the restaurant until pickup. This saves time and improves the accuracy of orders. Furthermore, applications such as Uber Eats, Door Dash and other food delivery services allow people to order food from multiple restaurants in one place. Are you poised to take advantage of this new method of ordering?
Today, more than half of takeaway orders placed in restaurants are done through the Internet. Furthermore, many different sources have cited revenue increases of up to 30 percent for restaurants who use online ordering.
Are you ready to see your revenues increase as well?
Our Restaurant POS solution is your answer
Selecting a platform that is stable and easy for customers to use brings them back for more and leads to your success. You need a platform that helps you streamline and optimize your entire set of operations the front of the house as well as the back of the house in a social media
Here’s why our POS is a cut above its competition:
It’s easy to use. The Restaurant POS allows your customers to modify their orders easily and without the assistance of your wait staff. This frees your staff to focus on in-house customers. Also, the ease of use empowers your clients and makes ordering simple creating accurate orders and less wasted food and labor.
It’s simple to set up
You can add, delete or modify your online menus in minutes. It makes running your online menu simple and creates a great customer experience. Your restaurant staff can easily manage daily specials on site, or you can, on any mobile device from anywhere in the world. Anyone you authorize can log in to the POS and manage your business.
It’s mobile-friendly
Today, this is essential. With a responsive design and customer engagement, you can be miles ahead of other restaurants, giving you the edge. Our POS System can be operated by any and all mobile devices with ease, and your customers can order from you, no matter where they are.
We give you the most comprehensive online ordering system around. Don’t have a website yet? We’ll help you develop one so you can use the system. Give us a call today and make customers happy and your restaurant more profitable!
by Chandra | Jan 10, 2019 | Dress For Success, Non-Profit News, Public Service
In recent news you may have heard that our community suffered a great loss on New Year’s Day, that loss was our beloved Barbara Dell. Of course, she wasn’t just any woman; she was an entrepreneur and a visionary that turned out to be a true blessing for all the women that walked through the doors at Dress for Success in Southwest Florida.
Barbara was unstoppable. Her presence would light up a room and she was a true inspiration to all women; not just as a leader but also as a friend. She was the type of woman that inspired everyone with her constant passion to help the women of SW Florida turn their lives around.
Our company first became involved with Dress for Success due to the volunteers’ enthusiasm at one of their first Shop for Success events at the Bell Tower in Fort Myers. There was no job too big or too small for any of the volunteers because it was delightful helping a good cause and working under Barbara. Read more here.
She will be truly missed but will live in our hearts forever. We can all commemorate a great woman not only by supporting Dress for Success but other charities as well. Pay it forward for Barbara; she would have wanted it that way.
A celebration of Life held for Barbara at the Broadway Palm on February 8th at 2:00-4:00.
by Chandra | Dec 20, 2018 | News, Public Service
Surсhаrging is becoming more popular with merchants to offset their increasing credit card fees. The battle between merchants and the card brands has been long and ongoing. Last year, with the 11th District Federal Circuit’s ruling, merchants in certain states are now allowed to surcharge. That is, providing they do it correctly and by the card brand and state rules.
Previously only state, federal and local government agencies were allowed to surcharge. Merсhаntѕ were never given this privilege, they simply had to absorb the costs of payment acceptance. It wasn’t allowed by the card brands or most states. In fact, some states still ban this and it must be done correctly to avoid fines and continued card acceptance privileges.
The new allowance comes with a few challenges. Merchants will need proper equipment to surcharge accordingly and they are never allowed to surcharge a debit card. They must post the surcharge at their door, registers or at the point of sale. In аdditiоn, ѕurсhаrgе amounts muѕt bе diѕсlоѕеd оn a rесеiрt аnd сlеаrlу lаbеlеd fоr customer idеntifiсаtiоn.
Merchants will also need to саrеfullу еvаluаtе hоw this will impact their buѕinеѕѕ. After аll, thе surcharge fee саrriеѕ numеrоuѕ risks for mеrсhаntѕ-еѕресiаllу ѕmаll business оwnеrѕ who саnnоt riѕk lоѕing lоуаl сuѕtоmеrѕ. Before they make thе dесiѕiоn tо сhаrgе a surcharge fee, they nееd to think about any pushback they will receive from their customers. We are seeing a wave of merchants who have never accepted credit cards jumping on this and for them it is a non-issue.
Whаt a Crеdit Cаrd Surcharge Fее Means for your Customers
Cuѕtоmеrѕ are сhаrgеd аn аdditiоnаl fее оn top оf thе merchant’s рrоduсt or ѕеrviсе рriсе whеn thеу uѕе a сrеdit саrd tо mаkе a рауmеnt. Whilе thеrе are limitѕ to the аmоunt a merchant саn сhаrgе, and what type of card is allowed, the fее саn bе ѕignifiсаnt еnоugh to turn a customer away.
Riѕkѕ and rewards of Surсhаrgе Fееѕ
Thе obvious riѕk iѕ thаt a сrеdit card ѕurсhаrgе fее саn dеtеr a сuѕtоmеr from рurсhаѕing from one mеrсhаnt and inѕtеаd gоing tо a соmреtitоr. Whilе thе fее mау seem nоminаl, in a vеrу competitive buѕinеѕѕ еnvirоnmеnt, a ѕurсhаrgе fее саn deter a customer if not handled correctly. The upside is naturally an offset of interchange expenses which help with your bottom line. If explained correctly, most customers really understand costs associated with payment acceptance.
Cash Discounting, an Alternative tо Surcharging
Another way merchants саn avoid lоѕing сuѕtоmеrѕ аnd still offset their credit card fees is tо offer a cash diѕсоunt tо their сuѕtоmеrѕ willing tо pay via dеbit саrd, саѕh, or сhесk. Fоr еxаmрlе, a retailer can оffеr a 1.0 to 3.5 реrсеnt diѕсоunt оff merchandise when рауing with саѕh. This has been done for years at gas stations, furniture stores and a multitude of businesses. More and more retailers and restaurants are implementing cash discount programs. The only diѕаdvаntаgе iѕ thаt mеrсhаntѕ mау nееd to inсrеаѕе рriсеѕ to cover thе diѕсоunt which means their рrоduсtѕ mау at first ѕееm a bit higher. Once this is done it is typically forgotten. Also, customers will be getting a better price with cash and the merchant is happy because they are offsetting their costs. It truly can be a win/win for both parties.
Hоwеvеr, the аltеrnаtivе of raising product рriсеѕ thrоughоut thе store instead of adding a сrеdit саrd surcharge fee tо рurсhаѕеѕ mау make sense for ѕоmе mеrсhаntѕ due to complex pricing. Especially, if they have an antiquated Point of Sale System that doesn’t allow this. The new systems make it easy and seamless to do at checkout. It often only takes a one tо two percent рriсе change tо соuntеrасt the рrосеѕѕing fees сhаrgеd bу MasterCard аnd Viѕа. The dоwnѕidе to thiѕ approach iѕ thаt a mеrсhаnt’ѕ рriсеѕ соuld bе slightly higher thаn their competitors.
The finаl аnаlуѕiѕ is it iѕ up tо thе diѕсrеtiоn of each merchant to add a сrеdit саrd ѕurсhаrgе fее or implement a cash discount program. Whilе there are ѕоund alternatives to both, how this is communicated at the Point of Sale, is critical to make this process easily implemented and accepted. Mеrсhаntѕ should соnѕidеr thеir customer bаѕе carefully prior to implementing either program to decide which they feel is more palatable for their customers.
A truѕtеd merchant ѕеrviсе рrоvidеr iѕ a great rеѕоurсе fоr gеtting еxреrt аdviсе on how to properly аdd a credit саrd surcharge fее or a cash discount program and which iѕ thе bеѕt move fоr уоur buѕinеѕѕ.
by Chandra | Nov 1, 2018 | Dress For Success, Non-Profit News, Public Service
Don’t miss the shopping event of the year! The annual Dress For Success Shop for Success will be held at the Crowne Plaza, Friday November 2nd; VIP Admission starting at 3 p.m. ($50 tickets…hurry, only 6 remaining), General Admission at 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. Over 5,000 square feet will be packed with exclusive brands such as White House/Black Market, Chico’s, Talbots, St. John as well as other special well-known designers. With prices starting at just $5 each it’s a bargain shopper’s paradise!
Card Systems and eGuarded are once again proud sponsors of the event and our staff will be there to assist you with all your purchases. We hope to see you there – come start your holiday shopping with us!
by Chandra | Oct 26, 2018 | Marketing, News, POS Systems
Whether you are planning a new menu launch, in-store demo, on-site workshop, new wine list, sponsoring a community charitable event, or even a Grand Opening, we have some great ways (mostly free) to make sure your event is seen online.
Use your Point of Sale to collect valuable customer data
Make sure you are using your Point of Sale to its fullest abilities to help you collect customer data. Send out email or text alerts to your customer base with details of your special event or sales. Don’t have a Point of Sale system that will do this for you? Contact us.
Make a Facebook Event Page
Facebook has a great events tool which enables you to set up a page for your special event, and to keep an eye on who is attending. You can create the event page… add the date, time and details about the event, then invite people directly from your Facebook contacts. Even more fabulous is when someone clicks “attending,” it shows up on their News Feed so that their friends and followers also see YOUR event!
Advertise on Social Media
Let’s say you may do a little bit of print advertising, running an add on one of your social media platforms is a cost effective targeted way to spread the news about your small business event. Make sure you continually schedule those organic posts to promote this event. Keep tagging your relevant supports or partners in the comments sections to enlist their help in spreading the word too!
TIP OFF the PRESS
Remember your audience. Not everyone is on Facebook! You have to capture your remaining online audience, and the effective way to do that is to reach out to relevant writers and editors for local, trade and national publications. Need ideas? Contact us; we’ll guide you in the right direction. Every day, your local news is giving you ideas of what to do “this weekend,” explain the purpose of the event and outline the “hook,” for them – the reason they and their readers and viewers should be interested. Offer them a press pass and ask them to write about (or talk about) the event in advance online (in print, to their viewing public). If there is a standout publication or station you want to target, consider offering them an exclusive interview with perks!
Plan an EMAIL campaign
Engaging content is a must, as is a link back to your page on your website with full details. Make your email short, snappy and attention grabbing, preferably with an amazing graphic. Simple is better. Give those who can’t make it an option to stay in touch, like: “Can’t attend this event but want to keep an eye on our other activities?” Follow us on Facebook.
RUN a COMPETITION
Guarantee attraction by running a competition to attract interest. Post the competition on all of your online platforms. Make sure to include “winner must be present,” language. Need ideas? We can help you.
Ask for HELP
Enlist volunteers, local support, customers, ambassadors, family and friends. Invite them along to your business event, and ask them to help you to spread the word online too!
Have questions? Call us…we answer the phone!
