Are you still dropping off a paper check, walking away, coming back for the card, walking away again to process the payment, dropping off the receipt, walking away again, and then coming back for the signed receipt? If so, every payment is taking much longer and is much riskier than it should.
Pay at the table solves this problem.
Your server uses a small handheld device to send orders straight from the table to the kitchen. When the guest is ready, they see the bill on the device, tap or insert their card, add a tip, sign their name, and get a receipt emailed or texted to them. The card never leaves the customer’s hands. No paper slips to shuffle through. Less confusion or mistakes about tips. A smoother experience overall.
If you own an independent restaurant in Florida and you are looking into processors or POS systems, this should be one of the must-have features you request.
What Pay at the Table Does in Your Restaurant
Pay at the table is easy to understand and easy to use for both staff and guests. The device your server takes order with is the same device they take payments with.
The ability to do everything at once on the same device eliminates extra trips to a POS station. Servers don’t have to wait for a terminal to open up when you are busy. They don’t have to take cards with them and splitting checks is much simpler and quicker.
Your guests feel more secure with the payment process. Servers move faster and turn tables faster. The whole process is cleaner and easier to follow.
How Paper Slips Lead to Tip Problems
With standard paper receipts, guests write down the tip and a server has to type that number into the POS. Some handwriting can be difficult to read and sometimes people cross things out and correct themselves. This is how tip changes and “tip bumping” can happen.
Sometimes it is an honest mistake but sometimes it isn’t. Either way, it’s never a good situation to deal with. You end up having to refund money or you might get a chargeback. You might even see a bad review come in if the guest gets upset enough.
Pay at the table removes that weak spot. Guests enter the tips on the screen themselves without the server needing to enter or change anything. The guest sees the final total entered into the system before they leave.
If someone calls later about an incorrect charge, you can pull up a clear digital record of that transaction. You see the items, the modifiers, the tip, and the total for that check. This protects your money as well as your reputation.
This is when you should ask yourself:
- How many disputes or refunds did you have to deal with in the past year?
- How many of those could have been completely avoided if the guest entered their own tip and verified the total in the POS?
How Digital Receipts Help You and Your Guests
When you look around your dining room and around your POS stations at the end of a shift, you probably see paper receipts everywhere. In check presenters, on tables, and on the floor. Most guests do not take them.
When text or email receipts are available, many guests choose that option to get proof of payment right in their phone or inbox. You only need to print when a customer requests a paper copy.
This dramatically reduces your spending on receipt rolls. It also reduces time spent on fixing printers and the chaos caused by running out of paper during a rush. Your counters and host stands stay less cluttered and more organized.
Digital receipts also help with record keeping. Every payment is linked to a check along with all of its details. When a question or concern arises, you can find the exact receipt with a signature instead of having to dig through stacks of paper receipts.
Why Pay at the Table Works Well in Florida
Florida restaurants tend to deal with crowded dining rooms and busy seasons from lots of snow birds and tourists. During season, every seat and table matters. With every extra minute a table takes to pay, you lose table turns and servers start falling behind. Pay at the table prevents those extra minutes without rushing the guests.
Many spots in Florida have areas that are further away like patios, decks, docks, and large bars. Handheld devices are perfect for this because servers don’t need to run inside every time someone wants to add an item, split a check, or close out. It can be done on the spot wherever they are.
Pay at the table also makes closing up at the end of the night easier on your team. With fewer slips to count and less missing tips to track down, managers can close the books faster and everyone can go home sooner.
How Card Systems Can Help
Card Systems focuses on POS systems and card processing for many restaurants in Florida. Based in Cape Coral, FL, local support is available 24/7.
When you need support, instead of dealing with multiple providers blaming each other, you’ll have one team that knows the ins and outs of you setup and can fix it right away. One partner for merchant services, restaurant POS, handhelds, and support.
Card Systems offers pay at the table devices as all-in-one POS systems or as POS addons for real restaurant work. The handhelds can handle tableside ordering, bar tabs, self checkout, and more. You get a local team that handles equipment setup, menu programming, and staff training so everyone can feel ready before a busy day.
A modern, feature-rich system like this is impossible to judge from a flyer or website. You need to see it in action. A short demo can show you how a handheld device takes a check from order to payment and how guests can see tips, totals, and text or email receipts.
Call (239) 549-5055 to book a demo today!
