Why You Need to Integrate Your POS with Your Scheduling Tool

A restaurant’s point-of-sale (POS) system is the heartbeat of the business. Initially, restaurants used them solely to power payments, but today’s POS offer new technologies and capabilities that can help businesses run better. Among their many superpowers, POS systems help ensure accurate ordering, assist in controlling inventory, and improve front-of-house and back-of-house efficiency. They also track sales and cash flow and help your team upsell.

They’ve become so essential to daily operations that it’s difficult to imagine running a restaurant without one. Yet there are tasks that POS could use a little help with – hey, even some superheroes have sidekicks!

For example, when it comes to creating optimized schedules, POS systems can be easily outperformed by software specifically dedicated to the task. That's why it's a good idea to ingerate your pos with your scheduling tool. Luckily, a web- and mobile-based scheduling tool like 7shifts offers streamlined scheduling as well as free integration with your operation’s existing POS software, giving you the best of both worlds.

Why Use a Scheduling Tool

While some POS systems have built-in schedulers, they offer limited features and often require managers to manually input data and print paper schedules. With 7shifts, managers can save time spent on scheduling by 80% by creating schedules online, where they can be copied, or easily adjusted, from week to week in a few clicks. To further simplify scheduling, 7shifts also has built-in alerts to ensure your schedule stays labor compliant, which keeps your staff happy and helps you avoid costly fines.

Thanks to the 7shifts app, managers no longer have to sort through scheduling requests and employee availability. Employees simply use their mobile device and 7shift app to request time-off or shift changes, and managers can approve those requests on the spot using the app on their own smartphone. That also means that as managers make real-time updates, staff always has the most current schedule at their fingertips.

Employees making minimum wage who clock in 15 minutes early can cost up to $435 in added labor over one year.

The Power of POS Integration

Not only can you spend less time to make better schedules, a dedicated scheduling tool that works with your POS can help increase profitability, improve customer experience, and inform smarter decisions.

7shifts fully integrates with your POS data to fuel reports that can help you schedule from sales/labor forecasts with 90% accuracy. For instance, you may think you need five servers working the third week of January but a quick look at forecasted sales reveals there’s a slump after the holidays and you really only need four. By using a scheduling tool integrated with your POS, such labor data can be compared to forecasted sales so that you can create schedules that offer proper coverage while keeping labor targets in check.

7shifts’ POS integration can also help reduce and control labor costs by enforcing set schedules. Say an employee punches in on your POS, which is integrated with 7shifts. The POS sends the punch over to 7shifts and if the employee isn’t scheduled to work in 7shifts, he or she will not be able to clock in. (For perspective, employees making minimum wage who clock in 15 minutes early can cost up to $435 in added labor over one year).

Technology solutions are a big investment and if you’re running solutions that can’t communicate with each other, there’s a higher chance for inefficiencies, expensive mistakes, or missed growth opportunities.

7shifts is always expanding its integrations and is currently synced with some of the top systems in the industry including:

• Clover
• Breadcrumb POS by Upserve
• Toast
• Cake by Sysco
• Heartland Dinerware
• NCR Aloha
• Micros 3700
• POSitouch
• Square
• Squirrel Systems
• TouchBistro
• Bypass Mobile
• Rezku

If your restaurant is currently using one of the systems above, you can try 7shifts for free today and we’ll get in touch to set up your POS integration.

If you're already using 7shifts and you've recently switched your POS–or are in the process of switching, be sure to update your settings in the app here to get relevant updates on our growing list of integration partners and to ensure you’re alerted when we support your POS:

Visit our knowledge base for instructions on how to integrate your restaurant’s POS today.

Amanda McCorquodale

Amanda McCorquodale is freelance writer based in White Plains, NY.