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Best Bakery POS Systems: Discover Your Sweet Spot
Updated, January 21, 2024
Running a successful bakery requires more than simply the delightful smell of freshly cooked pastries. Because of the ongoing technological revolution in business operations, bakery owners must invest in a robust point-of-sale (POS) system and payment processor to succeed.
This comprehensive guide will include valuable insights into the importance of POS systems in bakeries, highlight critical bakery POS features to consider when selecting a provider to work with, and review some of the best bakery POS systems that can propel your business forward.
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The Role of POS Systems in a Bakery
The Roman Empire saw the founding of the first baker's guild. Since then, the bread business has seen tremendous transformation, evolving into the cutting edge of technology with the introduction of oven bakeries. However, to succeed in today's market, owning a contemporary bakery is not a piece of cake.
In 2021, the market for baked products was estimated to be worth $474.48 billion worldwide. By 2027, its estimated value will be $612.4 billion. To get here and keep expanding, bakery operators have taken a deliberate strategy, such as installing a point-of-sale system and establishing an online presence.
A POS system is the primary hub for transaction processing, inventory management, and sales tracking. A dependable POS system may help simplify operations and improve the customer experience in a bakery where speed and precision are critical. This also saves time and lowers the possibility of mistakes, letting you concentrate on what you do best: making delicious sweets for your customers.
Key Features to Look for in a Bakery POS System
When choosing a bakery's POS system, it's important to consider your business needs and the system’s key features to ensure they fit perfectly. Some of the most important things to look for are:
- User-friendly interface: A bakery POS system should be intuitive and user-friendly. This guarantees that your employees can move rapidly through the system, reducing training time and mistakes during peak hours. Such must-have features include a mobile point-of-sale system that runs on either Android or Apple tablets so that even if clients rush your bakery, you can still serve everyone while moving about without missing a single sale and without creating long lines of customers
- Order management: With the right baking POS system, tracking and handling orders should be easy. Your customers will trust you more if you make it easy for them to see the status of their order and allow them to make real-time changes. Order management also lets you save previous purchases from customers and quickly find them again to enhance customer service
- Inventory tracking: Because baking is all about the ingredients, a bakery needs a good way to keep track of its goods. It's important that your POS system has ingredient-level inventory control so that you never run out of any ingredients you need for baking. Inventory management also reminds you to reorder items that are running low or does it for you automatically
- Integration with payment gateways: If you provide delivery for cakes and treats, delivery integrations will help your point-of-sale system function more effectively. Integration also provides you with a network of on-demand drivers and a fixed delivery charge. Additionally, your consumers will be able to follow their order's delivery status and know when to expect it to arrive
- Reporting and analytics: If you want to make smart business choices, look for a point-of-sale system with many intuitive tools, such as advanced reporting and analytics. Accessing specific sales reports and stats can help you understand how well your bakery is doing and what to focus on to make it better
- Customer Relationship Management (CRM): Nowadays, building a good relationship with your bakery customers takes more than just saying hello at the door. You need to know their regular orders, preferred contactless payment options, and much more. A good system should also have tools for managing customer data. This will let you keep track of their information and order patterns. In addition to planning for many people coming into the store, you can use your customers' information to send them personalized deals, gift cards, or promotions
Can a bakery POS system really help my bakery succeed?
Yes, a POS system for bakeries can genuinely assist in the success of your business. You can effectively track your goods and ensure you always have the appropriate ingredients in stock with the help of the previously stated capabilities, such as inventory management, automated updates, and ingredient monitoring.
Top 4 Bakery POS Systems for Growth
- KORONA: The KORONA POS stands out because it has many features that are perfect for the baking business. The strong inventory-keeping system ensures you always know how many ingredients you have, and the user-friendly design makes it easy for staff to process orders quickly. KORONA POS is a good choice for bakeries that want to improve customer satisfaction and efficiency. It has built-in payment methods and detailed reporting tools. Their system also includes the following features:
- Built-in loyalty and rewards program
- Scalability and multi-location support
- Product combinations and special order pricing
- Lightspeed: Lightspeed Restaurant POS is a complete option for businesses that want more advanced features. Their inventory-keeping system does more than just the basics; it also lets you keep track of recipes and ingredients in great detail. The system's CRM features allow you to connect with customers in a more human way, and its reporting tools give you helpful information about sales trends and how your business is doing. Lightspeed Restaurant POS is an excellent choice for bakers who want to run their business in a thoughtful and data-driven way. They state that even if your internet connection drops out, their system continues to function with ease in offline mode
- Toast: Toast POS is an excellent choice for a bakery POS system, adding the perfect touch to your customers' experience. Their system for cafés and bakeries is intuitively designed, easy to use, and requires minimal training to get started. In addition, Toast offers their Toast Go mobile application, which allows your customers to make orders right from their seats. Your front-of-house operations are also connected with the kitchen display system, so as soon as a customer makes an order, it's automatically sent to the kitchen to be prepared or baked, which cuts down on wait times.
Toast also offers multi-location management, online ordering, tableside ordering, customer and team management, and all the features a solid bakery POS should have. Moreover, it seamlessly integrates with third-party applications and services to provide further features and delivery services, all for the sake of streamlining your operations and helping you cut costs as you generate more revenue - Epos Now: Epos Now POS for bakeries packs most of the vital features a bakery business would need to help run it smoothly, such as comprehensive menu management where you can:
- Add ingredients to menu items
- Add product notes to help customers with allergens and dietary restrictions
- Create combination offers through multiple-choice ordering options
- Apply menu changes instantly to prevent confusion or errors
Epos allows you to take orders from anywhere using its Epos Now Order & Pay feature. You can build your digital menu on its free app platform, and customers can track their order status and schedule a pickup time, so you won’t have to rely on any third-party online ordering platforms.
Moreover, Epos POS will put your customers under the spotlight with its customer management tools, where you can create customizable loyalty programs for repeated orders, track customers’ buying habits, and have them leave online reviews about your services. You can also connect Epos with marketing platforms to send your customers special deals and promotions through email or text messaging
Which bakery POS system is ideal for small businesses?
The ideal point-of-sale system for a small bakery will depend on your unique requirements. Because KORONA has features specifically designed to meet the demands of smaller bakeries, our study indicates that they are a perfect fit for them.
Conclusion
Achieving success in the dynamic bakery sector requires investing in the right point-of-sale system. A bakery point-of-sale system promotes sustainable growth, improves customer satisfaction, and simplifies everyday operations.
After thoroughly evaluating essential characteristics and examining leading options such as KORONA, Toast, and Lightspeed, you can make an informed choice that corresponds to the specific requirements of your bakery. Look for features such as speed order screens, online orders, and customer support.
It's important to remember that a carefully selected bakery point-of-sale system is a tool and a formula for success in the highly competitive baking industry. Review our point-of-sale company reviews, blog posts, and comparisons to make a knowledgeable decision.