POS ANALYTICS

EMPLOYEES

GROWTH

SECURITY

MENUS

INSIDE

POS ROLLOUT

Restaurant Technology Field Guide:

ENTERPRISE MANAGEMENT

1-888-400-9185 | speedlinesolutions.com INSIDE »

POS ROLLOUT

TRAINING

INSIDE

1-888-400-9185 | speedlinesolutions.com POS ROLLOUT »« ENTERPRISE MANAGEMENT

POS ANALYTICS

EMPLOYEES

GROWTH

SECURITY

MENUS

INSIDEManaging Point of Sale Across Multiple Locations and RegionsOne advantage the largest pizza and delivery chains have over smaller multi-unit companies is IT expertise. They can manage point of sale systems centrally, collect and mine data from all their stores, and use analytics to scale operations and expand quickly.

Today, the best pizza point of sale providers are equipping chains of all sizes with enterprise reporting and management tools that help them compete.

1-888-400-9185 | speedlinesolutions.com POS ANALYTICS »« INSIDE

POS ROLLOUT

An Integration StrategyOne of the first challenges you face as a multi-unit operator is oversight. When you can’t be in every location at once, you need the tools to manage centrally and report locally. In a larger multi-unit operation, you may need to do this across multiple regions.

The reality in most multi-unit restaurant companies is a mix of POS applications, aging or mismatched hardware, and outdated network and security infrastructures. Systems may or may not talk to each other, and maintenance can be an ongoing chore.

In that kind of environment, a POS rollout can be a delicate operation.

Bridge the gap. A new point of sale rollout for any multi-unit operation can be complicated, and must be completed without disrupting operations or management functions. Even with a mix of POS systems in place, reporting and business analytics between locations needs to continue uninterrupted.

Connect and gain insight. Most chain restaurants have other existing systems that help run their business. A chain-wide POS rollout needs to enrich that business intelligence infrastructure by connecting the POS with external systems.

One major key to success is knowing what you want, and working toward that goal with your POS provider. Allow sufficient time for planning, scheduling, and careful preparation to bridge the gaps and maintain regular operations and reporting throughout your rollout.

The Certification AdvantageConsider certifying your own staff in installation and training of your new POS system. The SpeedLine Certification program trains your technical staff to manage corporate menus, install SpeedLine in stores, and optionally, provide first-level technical support.

The cost of certification is recovered quickly in reduced installation and support fees, but the real pay-off may be the in-depth knowledge of your business processes and how they can be enhanced by the POS—something only an in-house trainer or technican with insider knowledge can provide.

Read the Papa Murphy’s Canada case study:

Integration Goals:

z Upgrade technology without disrupting operations or management functions.

z Enrich business intelligence infrastructure by connecting the POS with existing systems.

“I don’t just train on how to use SpeedLine, I can train specifically on how Papa Murphy’s uses SpeedLine—so training is tailored to our needs.”

PAPA MURPHY’S CANADA

1-888-400-9185 | speedlinesolutions.com EMPLOYEES »« POS ROLLOUT

POS ANALYTICS

Smarter Chain Operations Through POS AnalyticsToday’s multi-unit operators have an advantage the previous generation of restaurateurs lacked: in-depth insight into their customers and business from their POS system.

A more efficient enterprise. Managing a restaurant chain profitably requires clear visibility into performance at every location, every day, in real-time. An effective enterprise reporting solution automates data transfer and the distribution of key reports, and gives you the tools to manage restaurant menus and POS settings from a central office.

More cost-effective marketing. Pizza and delivery point of sale systems deliver a new layer of analytics to the typical transaction-based POS data: detailed customer insight. And with the popularity of loyalty programs, even take-out and dine-in chains can now profit from database marketing, even more so with multi-units.

In-depth customer analysis, loyalty solutions, and database marketing tools are natural offshoots of the delivery business model. Some POS systems also connect the customer database to third-party marketing solutions, giving you the flexibility to choose from an array of cutting edge mobile, social, email, and loyalty marketing programs.

High-performance delivery. A profitable delivery operation takes constant attention and ongoing monitoring. A specialized point of sale system will track every aspect of the delivery service, from delivery times, fees, and mileage to driver performance.

Enterprise Software:Deliver data from each location automatically to a central data

warehouse for analysis.

Cut out hours of POS administration with the tools to push out

updated menus, upgrades, and configuration changes to your

restaurant locations automatically.

Manage more efficiently and cost-effectively. Running individual and consolidated reports for all locations from a secure central database is integral to running a profitable multi-unit business. And the ability to push out menu changes, coupons, and upgrades to a region or chain-wide saves time, money, and unnecessary administration.

Easier payroll. Payroll becomes faster to administer for multiple locations, with no potential for data entry errors. Automated data transfer can cut hours of payroll and purchasing-related paperwork—and improve accuracy.

Effective management. With consolidated customer data from all locations, you can efficiently manage database marketing from a central office. Compare training records for employees at all locations. And easily compare numbers at a high level or down to individual transactions for a single restaurant, a region, or all your restaurant locations.

“With more than 50 locations on SpeedLink Enterprise reporting, we can look at a store in an area with the same type of demographics as another store but is not doing as well as that store. We can then look deeper and try to identify problems.”

MARY JANE RIVA, CEO, PIZZA FACTORY

1-888-400-9185 | speedlinesolutions.com MENUS »« POS ANALYTICS

EMPLOYEES

Managing Employees Across Multiple LocationsNew technology at the point of sale and above store streamlines employee management across multiple locations. Unique tools address challenges with scheduling and labor, security and loss prevention, training, and payroll.

New control over labor cost. The sales history recorded in your POS database is the key to automated forecasting and labor planning aids. The employee scheduling system in SpeedLine POS, for example, recommends ideal labor targets based on each location’s historical and projected sales for the week. It accounts for lunch and dinner peaks and forecasts by order type, so your managers can schedule the right number of drivers, servers, and kitchen staff to handle the workload. Restaurant traffic can be unpredictable, but accurate forecasting takes much of the guesswork out of scheduling and can save hours in administration across a chain.

Security central. With central administration tools at head office, you can define and push down security settings to the POS systems in every location. An enterprise POS system also provides consolidated and ticket-level detail to identify and stop employee theft. Benchmark performance indicators across all your locations, and use detailed reporting to drill down into variances by location—and down to the employee

and transaction level.

Centralize payroll. If centralized payroll makes sense for your concept, an enterprise POS system gives you the tools. Collect detailed schedule and time clock data from each location, and save hours of work in payroll administration.

Performance tracking and incentives. Use detailed sales reporting to manage employee incentives and contests. Track and reward staff for item sales, and encourage teamwork through friendly competition among locations.

“Using SpeedLine sales forecasting and labor scheduling, our locations not only dropped employee labor by 3-5%, but also are now spending less than 15 minutes scheduling vs. more than an hour doing paper based scheduling.”

PIZZA RANCH

Managing Employees Chain Wide: Control labor costs centrally

Keep a tight lock on security

Streamline payroll across locations

Keep an eye on sales by employee

“[Our POS system has] allowed us to more easily identify times that we were over staffed and times when we needed more staff, thus allowing us to spend our labor dollars more wisely.”

HAPPY JOE’S ICE CREAM

Happy Joe’s had POS software in their restaurants and an enterprise accounting system at head office, but their systems weren’t talking to each other.

Read the case study on how they:

z Connected the stores and head office systems;

z Automated to cut hours of work; and

z Provided their executive team with accurate and up to date financial info every day

Connected Restaurants Case Study:

Happy Joe’s Integrates Financial Management

MENUS

Master Menus for Multi-UnitsMany chains use master corporate menus to control food cost and brand consistency throughout every location. By standardizing menu offerings, recipes, and portion sizes, restaurant chains protect their margins, deliver a consistent product across multiple locations, and streamline IT operations.

Tastes can vary from one area to another. The BBQ bacon pizza that’s a hit in Seattle may not go over so well in Chicago. With regional differences in prices, coupons, and tastes, how do you put the concept of a corporate menu into practice?

A POS system with chain-friendly menu management tools will allow you to define a master menu, and tailor it to each region as needed. Head office staff can create and maintain one or two menu files to use across the entire chain or a region. This keeps the core of the menu consistent, and ensures that PLU’s used for online ordering always match those in the store menus. If you’re using SpeedLine POS, you can customize a single corporate menu to allow for different prices, coupons, and offerings at individual locations.

Corporate menus are a powerful tool, and should be used with caution. Before distributing a menu across multiple locations, test it thoroughly at one or two stores.

Points to ConsiderPOS software version. Stores should all be using same version of software that was used to create the menu (or newer).

Back office settings like tax rates, print routes, and security rights. These are often set at the store level, and may need to be changed to support a new corporate menu. Above store tools can help you manage back office software settings from head office by allowing you to push packages of pre-configured settings to the restaurants’ POS systems.

Menu MixYour menu mix can be a key factor in overall sales and profitability. The item sales detail from your restaurants’ POS systems is the key to understanding purchase trends, item-specific cost and contribution margins, and which menu items may be struggling or weighing down menu performance. When you add customer purchase history information to the equation, you gain new insight into upselling and cross-marketing opportunities.

“Corporate menus make it possible for us to use some of the deeper features offered by our POS, like inventory software, because all locations have the same recipes and units of measure.”

GODFATHER’S PIZZA

1-888-400-9185 | speedlinesolutions.com SECURITY »« EMPLOYEES

1-888-400-9185 | speedlinesolutions.com GROWTH »« MENUS

SECURITY

Loss Prevention Tools for Multi-Unit RestaurantsRestaurant security and loss prevention become increasingly challenging as you add new locations and spread the oversight of daily operations over distance and multiple levels of management. Your success relies heavily on staff performance at remote locations, under the management of non-owning managers.

Monitor and block the avenues that employees can use to steal. Controlling access to vital areas of your business is your first line of protection. A POS system’s security settings can give each staff member unique credentials and access. Flexible security, locked down tight through fingerprint scanning, is a critical component of a POS system. Set access for each employee, department, and station, making sure staff have access only to the information they need to do their jobs. Unique logins track every employee and transaction, providing documentation to hold employees and managers accountable for their actions. That’s essential in protecting business assets.

Identify and prevent shrinkage and theft with customizable security. If you aren’t keeping track of inventory at a detailed level, you can bet that food is going missing. Whether it’s a forbidden dessert on break or a stolen brick of cheese in your employee’s trunk, it’s theft that can make the difference between profit and loss. The first step is to protect your inventory like the cash in your registers. Lock the doors, and give access only to limited staff such as managers or senior employees.

To prevent inventory theft all together, implement controls at the POS. By following accurate recipes, measuring portions, tracking waste and conducting regular inventory counts, you make it that much harder for staff to dip into your stock without you noticing.

Track questionable transactions. Be open about your tracking. Employees who know you’re watching are less likely to steal. Do regular audits, and make sure your employees know you do them. SpeedLine POS, for example, tracks “notable activities”—actions that can indicate theft—and displays a list at the touch of a button. Other reports to review regularly include time clock reports and those that list employee payouts and discounts.

The National Restaurant Association estimates that US restaurants lose $2 billion each year to employee theft. Much of that loss is avoidable with controls in the point of sale system.

Tighter Security:

Push down security settings to stores

Control access with unique logins

Consider fingerprint biometrics

Lock down inventory controls

Keep a close eye on portion control

Do regular inventory counts

Track notable activities in your POS

Watch time clock reports

Monitor payouts and discounts

“The security controls on clock-in and clock-out times prevent staff from stretching their shifts or clocking unnecessary overtime.”

PIZZA HUT – MARBLE RESTAURANTS

1-888-400-9185 | speedlinesolutions.com« SECURITY

GROWTH

Growing Profits for New LocationsWith the breakneck pace of change in technology, choosing the right POS system requires you to look into your future. No one wants to risk a technology investment that could limit their options as they grow.

Your restaurant guests are driving the need to innovate—in many cases, starting with web and mobile ordering.

So you need a point of sale solution that gives you the freedom to take advantage of technology advancements early—to gain and maintain a competitive edge.

Imagine your future. To invest wisely in point of sale technology, you need to consider not only today’s requirements, but how a new solution may be adapted to meet your changing needs over time. The most scalable POS systems are open—in the architecture of both software and database, and the ease of connecting to third-party services and solutions.

Look to the past. While you can’t imagine every innovation that will influence your business and industry over the next five or ten years, one of the best indicators of future flexibility and scalability is the developer’s track record for innovation, releasing software updates, and integrating with third-party solutions.

"Since installing our [SpeedLine] POS, one franchisee saved $700 a month in credit card fees alone. Cost savings like that have positioned us to grow, and growth is certainly in our future."

RED’S SAVOY PIZZA

Growth Factors:

What comes next in POS?

Scalability to leverage new technology

Enterprise tools to manage multiple locations

Open architecture for ease of integration

New technology integrations: mobile ordering, video security, kiosks, etc.

Open Architecture: The Key to Multi Unit POSAlthough the new technology you roll out today may not be the technology you need a year or five years down the road, waiting can leave you in your competitor’s dust. Choosing an open architecture POS platform is one way to hedge your bets. The more options you have to connect existing systems and new technology solutions to your tried and true POS—both today and as your needs evolve in the future—the safer your investment.