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SAP Alternatives

Best SAP Alternatives and Competitors in 2021

SAP is one of the largest ERP system vendors in the world, comprising more than a lakh customers globally.

With a range of features and tools such as customer relationship management (CRM), human capital management (HCM), financial management, inventory and supply chain management, and product life cycle management, SAP is famous for its extensive list of apparatus that covers every aspect of running and streamlining a business. 

It can be deployed both on-premise and on the cloud and comes with a comprehensive mobile app for both Android and iOS.

Nevertheless, besides all the features and integrations, SAP is also famous for its complicacy. Although suitable for both large and mid-size businesses, SAP can be pretty difficult to deal with and requires a certain level of expertise and know-how. All in all, SAP is not for everyone, which makes for an argument for the vendor’s competitors, who mostly offer the same features at a more user-friendly level. 

In order to help you reap the benefits of the best feature that SAP has to offer on a more interactive and user-friendly platform, we have compiled a list of the best alternatives to SAP. Let’s take a look:

NetSuite ERP

NetSuite ERP is one of the best alternatives to SAP, thanks to its scalable, customizable, end-to-end platform that can be utilized to accelerate growth and drive innovation. It offers a range of features, including finance processing, order management, revenue, billing, inventory, back-office tasks. NetSuite also comes with financial management and business intelligence to help you make the right decisions at the right time.

Best features:

  • Provides you insightful reviews by combining data with visual analytics
  • Quick cycle time to allow you to enhance your planning process
  • Helps you streamline business process and save time and resources so you can focus on more productive aspects of the business
  • Easily customizable and integratable to keep up with growing business

Microsoft Dynamics GP

Although at its core, Microsoft Dynamics GP is a CRM, it offers an array of additional services to make itself among the list of best ERP contenders. With Dynamics GP, you can consolidate all your business data and centralize the entire operation to stay organized and at the top of your processes. Created in parallel to MS office software and SQL database, Microsoft Dynamics can optimize your business reporting and business intelligence aspect. This means you can easily evaluate market trends and KPIs to stay ahead in the industry. 

Microsoft Dynamics GP can also be integrated with a number of third-party solutions to help you manage and maintain different aspects of the company in one place. 

Best features:

  • Allows you to develop new database-powered apps
  • Creates quick reports with Excel and Word templates
  • Reduces the number of possible errors by minimizing data entry
  • Provides easily modifiable dashboard and visualized data for detailed insights

ERPNext

ERPNext allows you to take complete control of your business in one place. It offers features such as HR management, financial accounting, inventory management, and project management, to name a few. 

Like SAP ERP, ERPNext can be deployed both on-premise and on the cloud, and it offers mobile apps for both Android and iOS. ERPNext also allows businesses to create their own website and design product catalog and shopping cart.

Best features:

  • User-friendly interface with full control given to the user
  • Allows easy adding and removing process of clients and agreements 
  • Is open-source 
  • Extensive range of features to help you manage all the aspects of your business

Priority Software

Priority Software is a business management solution that offers CRM, ERP, and HCM functionalities. It is one of the best solutions to manage your business’ finance, manufacturing, logistics, human resource, time and attendance, warehouse management, project management, and business intelligence.

Besides all the features, Priority Software also offers off-the-shelf mobile application development, allowing businesses to build their own mini-workflows without having to indulge in the coding process. Moreover, Priority Software is also integratable with an array of third-party software, making it easier for you to simplify your business process and manage everything in one place.

Best features:

  • Short learning curve and ease of use
  • Lower total cost of ownership
  • Looks and feels like renowned applications such as Microsoft Excel
  • Agile ERP solution for easy scalability

Oracle ERP Cloud

If you are on the lookout for a robust ERP that can facilitate the growth of all kinds and sizes of business without having to deal with the complicacy of SAP, Oracle ERP Cloud is probably your best choice. With a range of tools under their belt, including a strong data analysis tool, Oracle ERP can help you efficiently perform project assessment, financial analysis, and risk management. Oracle ERP is designed to cater to the changing environment and business’ scalability potential. You can use this ERP platform to automate a number of core processes such as financials, reporting, and compliance.

Best features:

  • Easily automates core processes allowing you to pay attention to more productive aspects of the business
  • Provides an easy way for employees to submit, view, and track timecards
  • Different plans for various-sized businesses
  • Seamless functionality across different business aspects
Conclusion

These are some of the best alternatives to SAP ERP. However, you must keep in mind that while choosing an ERP platform for your business, you should make a thorough assessment of your business as well as the platform of your choice. 

Before finalizing an ERP platform for your business, you must consider the usability of the application. The ERP solution you pick must be user-friendly and easy to operate, so you don’t have to hire a technician only to run your ERP program.

The second thing to look for in your ERP platform is scalability. Make sure the ERP you are choosing is scalable, flexible, and adaptable according to the change in your business. Go with a solution that can keep up with the growth of your business.

Last but not least, look for reliability in the ERP solution you choose. This means the system should offer you an end-to-end platform that can take care of all your business requirements. The best way to make sure you are choosing a reliable ERP solution is to figure out user reviews about it on the internet and through real-life users. Moreover, make sure you are getting 24/7 customer support and technical assistance. 

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POS Inventory management

How Point of Sale System Helps with Inventory Management

For a retail business, the stocks you have in your store servers are one of the most important aspects. As a retailer, a large part of your job includes being in control of merchandise and ensuring you have the right products at the right time. In fact, nothing can bring your business down like carrying the wrong amount of inventory. This is where inventory management comes in. 

Inventory management is the process of ordering, tracking, and managing your stocks. 

Why is Inventory Management Important?

As a retail business owner, it is imperative to stay on top of your inventory to keep your business up and running. When you manage your inventory, you are able to maintain stocks that sell and reduce the ones that don’t. This will help you make sure you have the products in your stock that your customers are frequently buying and, in turn, make more sales and profit.

Being out of stock on products does not only affect your sales but also makes you lose your customers. With proper insight into your stock, you can avoid such situations and retain your customers by offering them their favorite products. 

Moreover, with proper inventory management in place, you can reduce the chances of shrinkage, which is the reduction in inventory due to theft or admin error. 

Why is POS the Best Way to Manage Inventory?

There are several ways of managing inventory. Some retailers stick to the old-school way and use paper receipts, records, and clipboards. Others go a bit advance and make use of a clipboard. Nevertheless, the best way to manage your inventory, especially in the digitized era we are living in, is implementing stock control through a point of sale system.

A point of sale system, also known as POS, is a technology that goes beyond the traditional cash register to offer a more sophisticated way of managing sales, inventory, reports, and administer customer loyalty programs. For a retail business that sells online or through brick-and-mortar stores, investing in a good POS system can be one of the most beneficial decisions.

A POS with a strong inventory management feature can help you streamline your business process by keeping your sales and stock data in sync. Whenever there is a sale in your store, the POS will automatically update your catalog to match the product quantity you have in your store. This automated process essentially eliminates the need to manually update records every time you make a sale. 

Moreover, POS inventory management also reduces human errors since most of the operations related to managing stocks are overtaken by the system. Lastly, a POS system can quickly produce reports and allow you to get a view of important metrics so you can make key decisions to scale your business performance. 

How does POS Help you Manage Inventory?

Now that we have understood what inventory management is, why it is so important, and why a POS system could be the best solution for it, let’s take a look at some of the specific tools you can use to best manage your inventory:

Your inventory management database contains all the information about your products, including:

  • Product name
  • Description
  • Category
  • Supply price
  • Retail price
  • SKU number
  • Barcode number
  • Quantity
  • Supplier

The database can be extremely helpful in finding out information about specific products as well as add and update your catalog. A good POS system also comes with a purchase order generator tool, which you can use to create invoices to send to your vendor. 

An accurate reporting and analytics tool also comes with most POS, using which you can have clear and error-free information on your best-sellers, slow-movers, most profitable products, and the items that are low on stock. Such information can help you make effective decisions regarding the growth and scalability of your business. 

Advantages of Using POS for Inventory Management

As mentioned above, using a proper POS system is one of the best decisions a business can make, regardless of the type of business it is. If you run a business that sells products, inventory management through a POS system can help you save time, money, and resources.

Here are some of the major advantages of using a POS system for inventory management:

Here are some of the major advantages of using a POS system for inventory management:

  • Automation of inventory management

    A POS system automates the task of inventory management, so you don’t have to manually update the data. This can help business keep their inventory in the best shape and their customers happy.

  • Automatic report generation

    POS can generate both sales and inventory reports accurately at any given time, allowing you to get a deeper insight into your business trends.

  • Increases business profitability

    Since POS helps in lowering the ordering and carrying cost of inventory with proper inventory management, your business is bound to increase its profit margin and scale through new heights.

  • Remote management

    For businesses with more than one location, a POS system can help keep track and maintain stocks across multiple stores. 

Final words

Both the retail and restaurant industry is getting incredibly competitive, which means it is more important than ever to keep your inventory in the best shape. Fortunately, there are a number of systems and tools available in the market for proper inventory management. We recommend looking through them and selecting the ones that best suit your unique needs. Explore the plethora of options to find out which POS system works best for your inventory management so you can retain your customers and grow your business with ease.

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Why Need a POS System in Restaurants and Which Type Should You Opt For?

The restaurant industry has gone through a number of changes in the past few years. Restaurant owners who don’t have the proper technology in place are finding it difficult to keep up with the changing scenarios meeting the customers’ expectations while managing all the operations. When the entire world is moving towards digitalization, it only makes sense for restaurant owners to pick up on the available technology and make the most out of their business. The easiest way to automate and simplify your restaurant operations is to implement a POS in your restaurant. 

Nevertheless, not all POS are the same. When it comes to purchasing a new POS system for your restaurant, one of the biggest mistakes that you can make is purchasing a POS made for retail or other industries instead of the ones made for restaurants. 

So, what type of POS should you implement in your restaurant business?

Restaurants and other food service establishments have distinct needs, and their POS should be specially designed to cater to these needs. Restaurant POS systems are designed to adapt to the scaling needs of the business and offer long-term growth with relevant add-on features.

In a restaurant, a staff member uses a POS system to input a customer’s order, and that information is immediately relayed to the kitchen. Depending on the restaurant, the order may then be closed immediately or stay open until the meal has been delivered. Because of this unique ordering and check-out process, a restaurant POS ties the menu items with inventory along with descriptions and graphics of each dish. Once the order has been placed, the restaurant POS relays this information to the kitchen and simultaneously updates the inventory.

Moreover, restaurant POS systems are designed to make the order process more fluid and keep the order open until the item has been delivered to the customer. This way, restaurant staff can keep adding or modifying the orders without the need to complete individual orders every time. 

In terms of hardware, a restaurant POS also has different needs. Since in the restaurant business, transactions often remain open, the POS has to be portable, which can be carried around the venue to facilitate tableside ordering.

Restaurant POS also often includes additional hardware such as receipt printers, kitchen printers, customer display, kitchen display, and mobile payment terminals.

Now that we have understood the type of POS you need for your restaurant, let’s take a look at its benefits:

Built Restaurant POS for your needs

A restaurant business is built to cater to the specific needs of the hospitality industry. More often than not, such POS systems are developed under the guidance of people who have worked extensively in the hospitality industry. In turn, the restaurant POS features tools to counter specific issues such as bill splitting, table management, and menu changes. This means that you can manage almost all the aspects of your business in one place without having to resort to integrations and third-party extension software.

A restaurant POS not only helps you with the operation, order, and check-out process but also aids your staff to better prepare to offer the services. Moreover, Restaurant POS systems are interactive and intuitive, allowing your staff to easily understand and get used to the system. 

Food Industry-specific features

A restaurant POS comes with all the industry standard-specific, allowing you to keep your restaurant in pace with the competitors and scale your business with ease. Some of the features offered by a restaurant POS include:

Menu Management

With the menu management feature, you can easily build, customize, and manage multiple menus as well as categories. A menu management feature also simplifies updating and customizing menus across multiple outlets, allowing you to add or remove items at a central level. 

Staff Management

An employee management feature can help you be in control of who is working when and where. Using this feature, you can gain deeper insight into employees’ data and ensure they are best used for their time. The employee management feature also helps you control how much access your staff members have to the system at any given time, saving you from fraudulent entries and accidental entries. 

Inventory Management

This feature helps you keep track of inventory and costs with real-time ingredient tracking, low stock alerts, recipe and menu tracking, vendor management, and more. Most quality restaurant POS will have an inventory management feature built into the system to help you stay on top of your stock.

Online Ordering Management

 In today’s fast-changing restaurant industry, you need to have an online ordering system in place. A good restaurant POS system will offer you features to accept online orders, allowing you to broaden your reach and boost your sales. 

Floor Plan Management

Floor plan management allows you to customize your restaurant floor plans, add or remove tables, move parties around, split bills, and more.

Kitchen and Table Management

Most decent POS systems come with kitchen and table management, allowing you to keep the front of your kitchen in sync with the orders you receive and focus on providing the best dining experience to your customers. With kitchen and table management feature, you can automate the order taking process with kitchen displays and stay connected with every guest throughout their dining experience.

Specialized Day to Day Restaurant Reporting

The best restaurant POS systems come with analytical suites that provide restaurant owners with essential information from the dishes that are selling the most to the staff members that are performing the best.

A restaurant POS gives you a detailed insight into specific variables, such as which modifiers are being added to the meals and which ingredients are getting too expensive. You can analyze these data to make changes accordingly and improve and scale the business.

Add ons and Integrations

Most restaurant POS are complete within themselves in terms of ordering a one-stop solution to all the needs of the restaurant owners. Nevertheless, in case a restaurant owner has more specific needs, a POS can be integrated with third-party systems such as reservation, loyalty programs, gift cards, and more.

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Retail POS

Understanding POS Integration for Retail Businesses

As a retail business owner, you would want to get the best out of your POS system. While your POS system might help you manage inventory, accounting, sales, employees, customers, and everything in between, sometimes you need more out of such systems. For instance, not all POS come with a complete retail business solution, which makes it difficult to manage and maintain your business in one place. In such cases, you might find yourself looking for alternatives or finding a way to integrate new systems with your POS. This is exactly what POS integration is.

What is POS Integration?

While most retail business owners will promptly be able to answer what a POS is, the term POS integration is not familiar to many. Let’s first understand what POS integration is. POS integration is a streamlined connection between your POS and your retail business accounting and operation platforms. POS integration is becoming increasingly important within the retail enterprise. 

POS Integration for Retail Businesses

POS system allows retail business owners to manage operations and sales, and purchases in one place. Nevertheless, in order to be more effective and efficient, a POS system must be integrated with other existing technologies such as an Enterprise Resource Planning system.

A cloud-based POS system allows you to easily connect the system with other technologies. Since cloud-based POS system makes use of cloud servers in real-time, the data your POS shares and receives is shared with the integrated systems as well. This real-time back and forth of information helps create an efficient network of systems, allowing you to automate a lot of tasks for your business.

Nevertheless, not all POS integrations are equal. In order to make integration work, you must first consider your requirements as a retail business owner. In this post, we will discuss a few POS integrations and give you some insights into what you need to consider before integrating your POS with another system. Let’s take a look:

Marketing POS Integration

Marketing POS streamlines customer data from your point of sale system to your marketing system. If you use text or email-based marketing, then this integration can help you automatically create customer records, including their names, email ids, phone numbers, and other information in your marketing system. With a marketing POS in place, you can save time and effort by not having to manually export all the customer data and import it into your POS. 

Moreover, marketing POS systems have evolved to offer a more nuanced approach in exporting customer information. Advance marketing POS can communicate customer purchase history, purchase frequency, total spent, the total number of orders as well as custom information associated with customers. Using advanced marketing POS, you can create more efficient and targeted campaigns. 

E-Commerce POS Integrations

E-commerce POS integration is one of the more popular forms of integrations. More often than not, an e-commerce website is integrated with a POS to sync and manage inventory. E-commerce integration is also essential when it comes to operating an online retail store as it helps minimize the room for errors and simplifies the order placing system. With the inventory management feature offered through e-commerce integration, retailers can keep up with their stock and the number of orders they have to dispatch, all through a simplified interface. 

An e-commerce integration can also help keep track of product descriptions, price, name, orders, and the customers buying those products. Additionally, with e-commerce integration, retail business owners can also manage loyalty programs, gift cards, and coupons, as well as maintain the sales of multiple locations in one place.

Accounting POS Integrations

An accounting integration helps to simplify and communicate sales data directly to your accounting system. Besides managing sales data, accounting POS integrations can also communicate invoices, customer data, purchase orders, and inventory data. Before going on with the decision of integrating an accounting system with your POS, make sure to consult with your accountant and take in their input on the process.

The reasons for integrating an accounting POS system may range from keeping track of sales and maintaining invoices with customer data, to tracking account receivables and to keeping an eye on inventory values. 

Employee Management POS Integrations

Retail stores have unique staffing needs, which could change according to the time of the day and business of the store. In order to cater to that, retail owners need a way to easily change schedules and notify the employees of the same. With employee management POS integrations, your employees can create their own profiles while allows them to be in sync with the needs of the store. Employee management integrations allow you to track the hours, schedule, and performance of your employees and streamline the onboarding process, as well as make it convenient to add more employees into the system.

Payment POS Integrations

With integrated payment, retail business owners can align the system and platform to streamline the payment side of the business. Retail business owners can connect their POS with their payment processor to keep the data flowing smoothly from one platform to another.

Integrated payment POS helps retailers eliminate the need of keying customer and credit card information at the check-out counter, making the check-out process simple and quick. Since the POS system is integrated with the payment processor, all the necessary information is ready as soon as you initiate your payment terminals. 

Conclusion

It is not easy to run a retail business, especially in the ever-changing and technologically-dependent era that we are living in. Nevertheless, with the right tools at your disposal, you can create efficient solutions to keep your business running smoothly while putting yourself on the path to modern retail success. 

 

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Cloud-Kitchen smb solutions

What is Cloud Kitchen and How Does it Work?

The food industry has gone through a lot of changes in the past few years, thanks to the rapid growth in technology, ever-rising startup cost, and a global pandemic. Restaurants, eateries, cafes, hotels, and other hospitality sectors are looking to implement new ways to serve their customers while keeping the business afloat. Most of these steps are aimed at providing convenience and making food easily accessible to everyone. 

Online food ordering has already taken its roots in the society and the indefinite era of the pandemic only served to make it more viable. In such scenarios, the food industry has come up with a new concept, or rather a new development on an old concept which has come to be known as Cloud Kitchen.

A cloud kitchen, also referred to as ghost kitchen or virtual kitchen, is a commercial facility that is specifically used to prepare food for deliveries and takeouts. The entire model of the ghost kitchen is based on a delivery-only service, which provides ghost kitchens with a few advantages over traditional brick-and-mortar restaurants doing deliveries. 

How does a Cloud Kitchen Work?

Now that we have cleared that a cloud kitchen is essentially a delivery-only restaurant that does not have any physical space to offer dine-in service. The restaurant relies entirely on online orders placed through the restaurant’s website/app or a food aggregator.

The cloud kitchen model also allows restaurants to launch more than one brand using the same kitchen premises. For instance, a restaurant that employs a delivery-only kitchen to deliver Asian food can use the same kitchen to deliver mexican food. But instead of incorporating the Mexican food in the same brand, it can launch another brand entirely for Mexican food only. 

Most often than not, cloud kitchens are situated in outskirts, industrial areas and offer driver parking, driver waiting areas, and check-in stations to allow seamless driver pick-up. The most important aspect of cloud kitchen is the technology that goes behind it. These facilities use large amounts of data to determine what types of food are in demand in specific locations and employ popular delivery apps to make deliveries.

Taking orders in a Cloud Kitchen

Most of the orders for a cloud kitchen restaurant come from online, which makes a POS mandatory for these particular models of restaurants. A cloud kitchen restaurant can take orders from multiple platforms including food aggregator’s apps, website/app, and telephone. 

Getting orders from different platforms makes order management a daunting task, which is why a POS is required for a cloud kitchen restaurant. A proper POS in place makes it easier to handle orders and maintain a consistent delivery process.

Moreover, POS is also essential for cloud kitchen restaurants that deliver food under multiple brands so the detailed insights and data about numbers of orders received for each brand remains in place and accessible.

Order Processing in a Cloud Kitchen

In terms of order processing, cloud kitchen restaurants work similarly to any other restaurant. Nevertheless, when multiple brands are operated under one cloud kitchen, it is imperative to watch out that the distinct taste of each brand is maintained. Most cloud kitchens employ various cooks in order to make sure the unique taste for each brand is maintained. 

Once again, a proper POS system in place can help smoothen the order processing procedure. A POS system reflects orders directly to the kitchen screen as soon as an order is accepted on the website or app. Once the order is prepared, the kitchen staff can mark it ‘done’ on the kitchen display and the packaging process is cued in. The packaging staff packs the items and sends it to the delivery station while the POS records each of these steps to help you analyse and optimise the order processing time and procedure.

Managing Staff in a Cloud Kitchen

A cloud kitchen restaurant does not have any physical premise to let people dine-in, which means such facilities do not require much in terms of staff. However, the lack of wait staff has to be reciprocated with excellent kitchen staff as the taste the restaurant offers will be one of its main selling points. 

Most cloud kitchens hire different chefs to handle each brand they are operating under the roof. Besides kitchen staff, delivery executives are needed, if the restaurant relies on an in-house ordering system. 

Managing Inventory and Suppliers in Cloud Kitchen

Finalizing and maintaining suppliers in a cloud kitchen is similar to the regular, commercial restaurant kitchen. Restaurants operating various brands with the same basic ingredient requirement under one cloud kitchen can order basic ingredients from the same supplier and different ingredients from various suppliers.

If the supplier provides a diverse range of ingredients, all the brands’ essentials can be supplied from one source. Before finalizing a supplier, it is advised to create a list of ingredients that the brands require and try to order most of them from one place. It will help you keep track of the suppliers and inventory.

In terms of inventory management, most cloud kitchens use a smart POS to conveniently control various aspects of inventory and stock. A POS allows cloud kitchens to manage daily consumption and different brand requirements from a single screen. 

Marketing a Cloud Kitchen

The marketing needs of cloud kitchens are very different than that of regular restaurants, given that the former does not have any physical outlet. Without a premise where customers can walk in to dine, the need for powerful social marketing and branding arises. As a cloud kitchen owner, you need to be able to do online marketing using social media platforms, SMS and email marketing, brochures and flyers, and integrating third-party delivery apps, and tying up with complimentary restaurants. 

Proper use of technology and is essential for a cloud kitchen to thrive so make sure you are making the best use of the technology at-hand including POS, social media platforms, mobile marketing, and properly targeting your audience. 

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Benefits of In-House Online Food Ordering System for Restaurants and Cafe

The convenience of being able to order food online, from the comfort of our homes is undeniable. Even before the pandemic struck and forced us to resort to our homes and tend to our works through the internet, the concept of taking most of our day to day tasks online was commended by everyone. The onset of the pandemic only solidified its existence.

Nowadays, the online ordering system is the backbone for most restaurants, which makes for an argument for the benefits of in-house online ordering systems. An in-house ordering system is when restaurants use their own online ordering software to process orders instead of relying on third-party aggregators. An in-house ordering system gives the restaurant full control over the entire ordering and delivery process.

Online food ordering is here to stay, which means it makes sense for restaurants to invest in an in-house ordering system and integrate it with their POS to streamline the entire process.

Here are a 5 reasons why having an in-house ordering system is better for your restaurant than relying on third-party platforms:

Online Ordering Drives More revenue To Restaurants

With online ordering, users are able to linger on the menu for as long as they want without having to worry about being hurried up by the person behind them. This independence allows them to take their time, explore all the menu options comfortably, and choose the best item according to them.

Being able to explore the menu with ease also increases the probability of customers adding extra items to their orders. Not to mention, online ordering systems are more accessible to a large number of people and the average order value of online orders are higher compared to orders done in stores, making online ordering more profitable.

Customization On The Go

Unlike delivery aggregator’s apps, having an in-house ordering system allows you to make adjustments on the go. Whether you are running low on an item or going through a rush period or not delivering to a particular area, you can update the information on your menu, add images of food you are offering, and create daily specials quickly and easily.

More Accurate Food Orders

Online ordering reduces the chances of mistakes and errors that are often prevalent with phone and in-person orders. First and foremost advantage of online ordering is that it gives the customer greater control over their choices. With more control, customers have more clarity and understanding about what they are going to order. Online ordering systems are also detailed with the menu and its consisting items so customers remain aware of exactly what they are ordering and what does the item contain. This convenience allows for better and more accurate order placing process, saving the customers as well as the restaurant from making any mistake regarding the order.

Improved Data Insight

One of the reasons Domino’s relies on an in-house ordering system is because of the important insight they get into their customers’ data. Third-party software don’t provide restaurants with complete access to customer data, making it difficult for them to do more personalized campaigns and marketing. With the ordering system incorporated in the restaurant’s POS, important customer data such as address, phone number, and order history is stored directly into the system. This allows restaurants to launch loyalty programs and gift vouchers for their loyal customers.

Customer data also allows restaurants to better understand their customers, understand what they like and dislike, get information on frequently purchased items, and watch out for their behavior to be able to provide better service.

Fast and Standardized Food Delivery Experience

Food delivery aggregators handle multiple restaurants at the same time, which often results in them not being able to conduct order taking and delivery processes in time. More often that not, these third-party service providers also fail to maintain hygiene and sophistication the likes of which are expected by your restaurant, which could potentially tarnish the restaurant’s reputation. With an in-house ordering system, restaurants can rest assured that their customers get their delivery on time and according to the restaurant’s standards.

No service fee

Most third-party aggregators charge a large sum of commission for each placed order, which can be revenue draining for restaurants. Whether it is a flat fee or a percentage of every order being placed, aggregators commission eat into the restaurant’s revenue and can be extravagant in the long run.

By opting for an in-house ordering system, restaurants can say adios to such financial worries and boost revenues and profit.

Online ordering is here to stay, especially now that we have gone through a pandemic. This means that restaurants need to amp up their services by letting go of third-party reliability and becoming a complete system on their own. As a restaurant owner, you need to make sure that your restaurant is up to date with the latest technologies and trends and is able to serve the customers in the way they have become accustomed to. It is important to let your customers experience the convenience of modern-day technology. By going with an in-house ordering system, you maintain a consistent experience across all channels, maintain the reputation of your brand, and streamline the entire ordering and delivery process.

 

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Restaurant COVID-19

How Restaurants Fighting to Stay Alive in COVID-19

Managing a restaurant business and maintaining a prolific revenue out of it is quite a demanding task. The entire restaurant industry is made up of 70% of independent owners and operators, with an average restaurant annual revenue falling somewhere around $1 million and 4-5% operating profit. Not to mention, the need to maintain brand reputation, food quality, customer service, and ambience is a must for any restaurant to thrive. Add to that one of the worst pandemic the world has ever seen and the task of managing a restaurant becomes tenfold more challenging.

Unlike some other sectors where businessmen and entrepreneurs receive government aid in the times of an emergency, restaurant business owners have to address such concerns themselves while keeping the business afloat and the customers connected. 

The first priority for any restaurant owner in times like these has to be the safety of their staff and their customers. Nevertheless, putting appropriate safety measures in place is not enough. You also need to be able to get proactive and inventive in order to keep your restaurant up and running, especially in the current scenario of low to none dine-in business.

In this article, we will share a few tips to help you fight the pandemic and keep your restaurant business vigilant. Let’s take a look:

Take Restaurant Business Online

If you have not brought your business online already, the covid situation has probably come as a sign of times to you. Whether your restaurant premises are closed down or partially operational, with online delivery you will be able to reach all of your customers and that too in a more convenient manner. Set up an online food ordering system and delivery on your website or build an app for it and let your customers know that you are taking orders online and making home deliveries. 

Make sure to practice hygienic food preparation processes and let your customers know that your food is 100% safe. If the pandemic has taken a toll on your staff or is keeping your restaurant from working at its full potential, you can also revamp the menu and sell only the best selling items. Avoid taking orders for items that customers do not order regularly and focus on the ones that are customer favorites. 

Most importantly, inform your customers that you are up and running, can take orders online and make home deliveries. Moreover, you will also have to tell your customers about the safety measures you are taking and how every order is helping you keep the restaurant afloat. 

Make Restaurant a Safe Spot for Eating

The first and foremost thing to do in your fight against the Coronavirus is to keep your restaurant as clean as possible. All the governments around the world have issued various safety measures that restaurants need to follow in order to remain open. Make sure you are following those safety guides. 

Moreover, as additional measures, keep cleaning the surfaces that are most likely to come in contact with customers, staff, delivery persons, or other people. Provide your team with anti-bacterial gloves, masks, and pocket sanitizers. However, don’t just keep your restaurant clean, communicate the cleanliness of your restaurant to your customers as well. 

Leave a hint of disinfectant in the air, make it a habit to clean the tables and chairs every time a customer leaves, put up signage informing customers about your practices of safekeeping and sanitizing. 

If you are not able to keep up with the safety measures, however, consider closing down the premises and continue delivering online.

Equip Drivers With Proper Information

The delivery executives are an extension of your restaurant, which means you are responsible for their safety and protection from the virus. Keep your delivery executives well-informed on the pandemic and its spread. Outline delivery instructions every time a customer places an online order so the executives have the information in their mind all the time. 

Contact-less delivery is the new norm in the online delivery system. Get your delivery executives informed on how they should go on about delivering the orders without coming in contact with the customers. If possible, do a workshop on all the measures that delivery executives should take while delivering the order. 

Again, you will have to highlight the safety measures you have your delivery executives taking through your social media platforms or your website. The key is to let the customers know of whatever steps you are taking to keep the virus at bay and deliver safe and hygienic food. 

If you are doing an in-house delivery system, equip your executives with masks, gloves, and hand sanitizers among other essentials. 

Focus on Your Social Audience

Since the pandemic has most people working from home, not only is an online ordering system necessary for restaurants but so is an interactive social media platform. Moreover, with the business being down than usual, you also get some extra time to invest in your restaurant’s social media platforms and expand its reach. 

Use you social media wisely to let your customers know about how you are taking essential steps to ensure safe food delivery as well as to connect and interact with more customers. Make it a goal to reach a certain number of followers on your socials. Use high-quality photos, proper hashtags, interesting captions, and interactive posts to grow the reach of your socials. 

Once you have reached a certain number of followers, you can use your social media to promote items, inform on the measures you are taking to ward off coronavirus, let your customers know that you care about their health, and engage with customers to take their suggestions and feedback. A well-maintained social media handle will help your restaurant to rise among the peers as a more viable and safer option for eating out or ordering in.

By alpana j 0 Comments
eMenu- Digital Menu

Digital Menu Increasing Restaurant Revenue and Empowering Brand

We are living in a historical era where technology has overtaken most of our day-to-day lives. A large portion of what we do, see, hear, and think has something to do with specific pieces of technology. So it only makes sense for restaurants and eateries to take digital innovation into account if they are to stay relevant.

One of the best things you can do as a restaurant owner is to incorporate a digital menu into your services. Having a digital menu will ensure that your brand remains in sync with the modern world and the process of order placing is aesthetically pleasing. Digital menus are also convenient, easily accessible, and allows for a great customer experience. 

In this blog, we will discuss how having a digital menu for your restaurant can positively and efficiently serve your business. Let’s take a look:

Improved Customer Interaction With Easy to Modify Options

The first and foremost thing you get with a digital menu is the ability to make modifications with ease. With a digital menu, you have the advantage of displaying the right content at the right time, making it easier for your customers to place the order. If you are running out of a particular stock or have discontinued a meal, you can simply update your menu to display the same and save yourself the trouble of having to inform every other customer. A digital menu is usually cloud-based which means you configure, manage, and update products on the go.

Cost-Effective and Long-Lasting 

Having a traditional menu can bear a large amount of cost on your business. Designing, modifying, and printing menus cost a lot of money. With a digital menu, you can say goodbye to all such worries. Digit menu systems are customisable and allow you to make changes to design, available menu, special offers, and price in real-time. Moreover, with a digital menu, you are not only saving your money and resources, but you are also saving the environment by not being a part of a paper-based business. 

Upselling with Ease

Digital menus give the advantage of displaying your products in an appealing manner to catch the interest of your customers. If you have a meal that you would like your customers to order more often, you can select that particular meal to be displayed on top of the menu with a high-quality image of the product. This brings your customers’ attention directly to the product and compels them to make an order. You can also set up special meals, promo offers, and new products directly to your menu and set them as you would want them to be displayed. 

Bring in More Customers

This goes without saying that people frequent the places that they believe is up to modern standards. Regardless of what business you run, if you are not providing your customers with convenient services and fail to make their time with you worth it, you will eventually run your business to the ground. Staying connected with your customers require constantly changing and updating your business to meet their expectations. A digital menu helps you stay modern and provides you with an option to serve your customers efficiently and ideally. When you establish yourself as an up-to-date, adaptable business model, your customers are liable to grow in numbers. 

Stay With the Trend

Digitalisation is a concept that has been coming a long time and now that it is finally here, the most sensible thing to do, especially for businesses, would be to adapt to it. Now more than ever, when a pandemic has taken over the world and human interaction is minimised, digital menus serve a more important purpose. It is one way to keep your business trendy as well as safe and secure.

Represent Your Brand with Modifiable Menus

Need to add, remove or customise products instantly? You can do so with a digital menu. All you need to do is put up the name, prize, and image of the product from your computer and you are good to go. Digital menus also allow you to put up special offers, combo meals and add on options so that your customers know exactly what to order. 

Streamlined and Simplified Ordering System

As a restaurant business, time is of great value to you. Every second saved on an order adds up to another order. With digital menus, your entire ordering system is optimally streamlined, which means quick order placements and customer satisfaction. Your customers will be able to access and place orders from your restaurant directly from their smartphones and you will be able to serve more of your customers.

In conclusion, having a digital menu for your restaurant is only going to serve your business and your customers. You will be able to elevate your brand to a wider audience, stay competitive in the market, make modifications, and promote new products in a stylish and engaging fashion using clear content copies and high-quality images. 

 

By alpana j 0 Comments
Best-Odoo-Alternatives-and-Competitors

Best Odoo Alternatives and Competitors in 2021

If you are looking for ERP software you must be having a hard time deciding considering a large number of options out there. However, once you have ascertained the needs and functionalities of your business, you can track through the plethora of software to find the one that suits you the best. 

During your search for the perfect ERP software, you must have come across Odoo. The software offer all-around management and maintenance features that can help simplify your operations and give you the reins to every aspect of your business. If you find yourself considering Odoo as your last stop, you will be glad to know that we have compiled a list of similar alternatives or competitors to help you make the right choice. 

The list is compiled according to the features found on Odoo, which means you will find all the below-mentioned software to have similar features and tools. Some of the most important features of ERP software include visual configuration, payroll, cloud-based system, inventory, projects, and maintenance. The following software will feature most if not all of these features.

Let’s take a look:

Oracle Oracle

NetSuite is a cloud-based ERP solution featuring a range of applications and tools to help you manage your accounting, financial planning, warehouse, e-commerce, and much more. It is one of the most used and preferred ERP systems in the market, thanks to its user-friendly interface, easy connectivity options, an abundance of features, and modifiable profile. Nevertheless, NetSuite also has some major drawbacks. One of the most complained about feature is the unorganised dashboard that makes it difficult for customers to search for specific information. Moreover, NetSuite is quite costly when compared to other ERP software in its alley and it is subscription-based, which could be an issue for some small businesses. 

SAP ERP                         SAP

SAP ERP, with over 40 years of experience, is one of the oldest management solution provider in the market. With more than 50,000 customers, the ERP software has been proven time and again to offer a trusted foundation to build your business onto. SAP ERP has experience serving both large conglomerates and small organisations. It allows you to leverage role-based access to critical data, applications, and analytical tools and simplify your business operations with manufacturing, finance, sales, services, and HR management features.

While the learning curve is a bit steep with SAP ERP, once you get the hang of it, you would be on top of all your business operations. 

Acumatica acumatica

Acumatica is another cloud-based ERP software that provides a business management solution for organisations, especially for the ones who are having a hard time maintaining their online presence. The software is built for mobile and Tele work scenarios and is easily integrate with tools of your choice, making it one of the most flexible and efficient software out there. 

One of the best tools Acumatica offers is its Warehouse Management System with automated shipping, packaging and receiving goods in the inventory. Moreover, you can customise it to suit your unique needs either directly through the UI or through the extension project. 

In terms of support, however, there have been many complaints from customers. It takes quite some time to connect with Automatic a support executives and even more time to get them to help you with your issues. Having said that, if you are looking for customisable, easy to use ERP software for your business, Automatica can be one of your best bets.

Microsoft Dynamics 365   Microsoft

Microsoft Dynamics 365 is a comprehensive business management solution. It offers a range of services including operation management, financial management, HR, and manufacturing. Dynamics 365 can help connect all the moving parts of your organisation, allowing you better visibility and control over your business processes.

Microsoft Dynamics 365can be used across many areas and can be implemented with various other programs. However, the format Dynamics 365 uses is more or less outdated, which can make it difficult for you to access certain features, especially if you are in a hurry. Not to mention, a lack of a cloud-based system makes Dynamics 365 kind of defunct. Nevertheless, if you are looking for an efficient and optimum management system for your small business with fundamental needs, look no further than Dynamics 365.

ERPNext        ERP-next

ERPNext is an all-around business management solution providing complete, integrated, and customer-centric experiences to organisations for years. It features Enterprise Resource Planning, Financial Management, CRM, POS, and e-commerce solutions all in one suite. ERPNext is customisable and cloud-based, making it the out-and-out maintenance and management system for all your business needs. One of the best things about ERPNext is that it is an open-source alternative to Odoo,  which means you get high-quality software with integrated features without having to invest in a new hardware system.

ERPNext consists of all the business solutions in a single suite, allowing you to oversee and manage all the aspects of your business in one place. Moreover, you don’t have to worry about integrating various enterprise applications as EPRNext comes featuring a fully integrated system in one suite.

Whether you run a small organisation, mid-sized industry or are looking for a comprehensive solution for a major conglomerate, EPRNext can help you manage, maintain, and operate your business from anywhere at any time.

SAGE          SAGE-VS-ODOO

Not unlike the other options mentioned in this article, Sage offers a fully integrated ERP system that can be used by employees across departments to complete their daily chores. Sage has a range of ERP and business management software for different business types. For instance, smaller business mostly requires accounting, billing, and HR features from their ERP software and Sage have one for each of these needs. Not to mention they have products and services for medium-sized businesses as well as for conglomerates. Sage is a trusted business management service provider, thanks to its effective and rather welcome policy of retaining clients by offering them support, expertise, and innovation. 

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