Have you considered the Heartland Guest App for your restaurant?

Lets your customers take you with them with the Guest App

Because the Heartland Restaurant POS is cloud based it empowers you with value added features like the Guest App. The Heartland Guest App is something your guest can download onto their own mobile phone and interact with your restaurant. The application is free to both your the restaurant owner and the guest. 

How would you like to notify a potential guest walking down the street about your restaurant?

When someone has downloaded the Heartland Guest Application your restaurant can send them an alert when they are near your place. Yes you heard that right, lets say a person is walking downtown Seattle and they come close to your restaurant. As soon as that person's phone is in range of the proximity beacon technology their phone will get an alert about your restaurant. It is that easy and it's free! Users of the App will be drawn to your place because they know with the App they can Skip the Line or Scam to Pay. 

Let us demonstrate how the Free Guest App can help you engage with current and future guest.

We can meet with you in person in the Seattle-Tacoma area for a no obligation demonstration of the powerful restaurant technology. If you don't have time we can hold a virtual demo online. In Eastern Washington we have an office in the Yakima area. Give us a call at 800-863-2274 or online at Heartland POS Seattle.

Staffing is a serious issue for Seattle Restaurants right now

Could a POS system help you during staff shortages?

Restaurants in Seattle and Tacoma are facing staff shortages as well as higher labor cost. This issue can be seen as a catch 22 of course. Part of this issue is brought on by a strong robust economy which results in full employment. certainly a better issue than one we were all facing  a decade ago when 100 people showed up for every open position and underemployment put a damper on restaurant spending. A quick glance around at the news and industry publications report many different ways restaurants are combating and winning this battle. Select a modern POS system that can put another arrow in your quiver. A POS system can help you with some labor issues.

How could a POS system help me with labor issues?

Well it depends on your concept of course but in many businesses it can make a huge impact. For the fast casual or restaurant that does a great amount of carryout or perhaps wants to grow that space online ordering hits the target. We have all been there right, we order lunch over the phone and go to collect it. We are waiting to pay for and leave with our order because the restaurant's staff is taking phone orders while trying to serve customers in from of them. Get that person off the phone and collecting for and handing out orders. Part of it is educating guest that you offer online assuming you do. If you don't why don't you? It is no longer an expensive mystery to do so. Heartland Restaurant POS includes an online ordering portal. It is not another product you are having to integrate with it's native in the system. Your staff will be happier too when they aren't attached to the phone any longer! Plus the order is already been paid for so you are not getting stiffed. Another benefit is the server does not have to handle payment, it's already done!

Deploy Kiosk in your restaurant to do more with less

This solves several problems. The first one is cashiers/servers will be serving food not ringing up items, second guest hate waiting in line. I'll use myself as an example. You know it's true we all enjoy the guilty pleasure of the Costco food court right? Well the last few years the lines are out of control and I skip right on buy them. Then something magical happens overnight! They installed Kiosk in the Seattle-Tacoma area Costco I shop at. This cleared the lines and put more people to work serving orders not taking orders. This example also proves the point Kiosk are not for everyone, because they clearly are not. At this same Costco they kept two register lines for people  to stand in if they don't use the Kiosk. I'm shocked every time I go in that they are still a mile long. It's not because people aren't engaging with the Kiosk because they are. So for people that use technology it's good, for people that don't they don't have too! 

Will Restaurant POS Kiosk stations be embraced in Seattle

We have deployed several restaurants in Seattle with POS Kiosk and the results are awesome

There are several demographics of customers that expect you to have a self ordering Kiosk. In Seattle we have always been early adopters of technology and kiosk terminals are no exception. Of course not each restaurant is the same and you should make certain you clientele would benefit just as much as you would from a kiosk. I would not recommend installing one simply to cut back on labor. Of course there are times when that may need to happen but focus on customer service and engagement not only labor cost.

How to know if your restaurant will benefit from a POS Kiosk

Like I mentioned above labor cost alone should probably not be the deciding factor alone. The better metric is customer engagement. As a restaurant owner you are facing competition from all sides. Engaging your customer and improving their experience is the key to return customers. So you are probably saying what the hell does that mean, right? It is far more simple than we think. Let's say you you want to attract a business lunch crowd to your fast casual concept. You have great food, you have a great location and signage. However if you have long lines or wait times customers like me will go right on by looking for a better ordering experience. Installing a few Kiosk to augment your counter terminals is a solid strategy. Don't make your clients do one or the other, let them use the method they like. You will find many will gravitate to the Kiosk and others will wait in line. There are other ways your POS system can engage customers but simply adding Kiosk is a wonderful way to start. It is a simple and affordable investment to find out. 

Contact your Heartland Dealer in the Seattle Tacoma Area

Here at National Business Systems we have been installing POS systems since the days of DOS and now we are installing cutting edge cloud based iPad restaurant solutions that do more than ever. Give us a call at 800-863-2274 to schedule on online or in person demonstration. 

Square users are going to be paying a lot more in fees starting November 2019

It seems the party is over for Square customers with low cost rates. This November 2019 their rates are going to more than double in some cases. Look at the examples below at what a merchant will now pay compared to what they have been paying.

Old Square Plan

$5 transaction x 2.75% fee x 100 transactions per day x 365 days = $4,745 per year

New Square Plan

$5 transaction x (2.6% + 10¢ fee) x 100 transactions per day x 365 days = $8,395 per year

With Square’s new pricing, that’s a 77% increase in fees.

It took awhile for the real world to catch up with Square who has been offering services at what seemed to be below cost for years. Industry insiders continued to yell it from the rooftops that it was to good to be true. Everyone knew they were buying business with rates too low to be true. It seems their low rates chickens have finally come home to roost! 

Now is the time to ditch your square for a real system. Check out these POS systems available in Seattle or give us a call at 253-839-9636 before Square doubles your cost of doing business. If you happen to be on the other side of the pass contact Gary with our POS Yakima office. 

Will you engage your guest with technology before your competition does?

Technology like Heartland Restaurant POS is changing the way you can engage with your guest. Below check out this video where an iconic local restaurant in Pullman Washington underwent a change in ownership and technology. Your modern diner expects you to deploy technology that will empower them to do business with you be it online ordering, mobile app or self serve kiosk just for starters. 



We would love to show you how to deploy this same POS technology in your establishment. If you wait until it's too late all your competition will beat you to the punch and lure your guest away. We all know it starts with the food and service but don't stop there. Combine your good reputation by making it easy for your guest to do business with you wherever they are. Put yourself in their shoes, it's a dark rainy winter night and you need to pick something up on the way home. Are you going to order online or on an app so you can run in and pick up a pre-paid order or stand in line with other tired hungry guest. Do you want to be notified by text your order is ready to pick up or wait around in the restaurant?

There are many other examples of what technology can do for you that you may not have even thought of. Give us a call today and we can consult with you for free of course regarding options and cost. Call our Seattle office at 253-839-9636 or in Central Washington call 509-961-1971 for our Yakima office. Of course you can always find us online here Restaurant Technology.

POS systems in Yakima now available

You don't need to come over to the West side for a system. We are excited to have a POS professional as our associate. Central Washington is now covered from our Yakima POS and cash register office. Gary Swart has years of experience in the POS field right in the Yakima Valley.

You will find Gary is well versed in all applications of point of sale rather you need a system for a small market or a restaurant with online ordering and delivery. Our customers also enjoy our solutions are not tied to a specific credit card system. We are a POS dealer not a credit card provider and we let you use the merchant services that you want.

Give Gary a call at 509-961-1971 or toll free at 800-863-2274 to set up a demonstration or visit on on the web for more information regarding POS System Provider in Yakima.

POS - Back to the basics. Stopping the unknown silent partners.

What has changed about the initial purpose of the first Cash Register/POS to now? Nothing has changed at all, the first goal of a Cash Register/POS remains the same, stopping employee theft. That is why Mr Ritty invented the first cash register. He knew his bartenders were skimming and under reporting sales. What he started has evolved into modern day POS systems.

So many of today's end-users seem oblivious to the fact they will end up hiring a dishonest staff member. Sure, they will hire some awesome honest and loyal employees over the years but sadly they will encounter the bad ones too.

I can recall several cases where as the POS provider a disgruntled restaurant owner would contact me to let me know my system does not add up, miss-reports or otherwise is messed up. After meeting with the client it only takes a few minutes to identify the issue, they have a bad employee that is stealing.

Don't overlook these issues when selecting a provider and a solution. As an experienced provider I'm always amazed at the new solutions today that have zero security features. There are systems on the market today that don't report voids correctly, matter of fact it reports like the sale never happened. The problem is the sale did happen and the employee collected for the sale and voided it. Don't be naive it is going to happen to you, it is a matter of when not if.

This brings me to the pint of today's post. We recently installed a system in an establishment that was still using hand written tickets. After two months using Heartland Restaurant POS they were able to identify a server stealing thousands of dollars. It is an ugly side of our business but just remember when looking for a system get it from someone that understands the risk and will help you configure your system correctly.

And just to leave you with a dropped jaw, I have personally been involved in helping discover several internal thefts that resulted in over 100K being stolen from each establishment and dozens and dozens in the thousands of dollars.

Contact us at 800-863-2274 and we can help you select and implement a system. We will follow that up with support to ensure you get the most from your system and stop your unknown silent partners.