At a glance, running a food truck business may seem fairly straightforward, especially if you have food truck management software. Managing inventory, securing operating permits, and vehicle maintenance pretty much sums it up, right? Well, maybe not. Efficiently running a food truck can, in fact, be one of the most difficult of businesses to manage. Always on the move, the office of a food truck is typically the front seat of the vehicle. Receipts, invoices, cash boxes, and even mobile devices can quickly get buried or fly out of an open window.
With your business by nature is mobile, it makes sense to take advantage of the innovations in the POS software world to integrate a mobile-friendly POS solution that improves your operation. By moving the clutter of your passenger seat filing cabinet into a centralized, cloud-based location, record keeping becomes easier and the use of game-changing analytics a reality. But can a food truck management software solution accomplish more than just better record keeping?
Implementing the Right Software Streamlines Logistical Challenges
The standards that any business owner must operate under are all centered around concrete facts. Without accurate data or information, businesses will usually flounder and fail. While many often do not view food trucks as true businesses, let alone as businesses that have POS needs, could not be further from the truth. In fact, it is mobile businesses, including food trucks, that have the most to gain by modernizing and upgrading their POS technical platforms.
The size of food truck operations becomes greatly magnified when all of the logistics and customer expectations that come into play are examined. For example, a food truck located near a business park must provide rapid service to customers that are operating under the limitations of a short lunch break. Additionally, if you locate your food truck outside of a concert, or near a popular event, wading through the long lines means more time in front of the customer and less time to sort perform manual tasks, such as printing receipts, dispensing change, or processing card payments.
This is where taking a modern approach towards an innovative, scalable POS solution can give you some valuable breathing room. Tackling the unique challenges of food truck operators is a task that the right mobile POS software can help accomplish for you. In seeking a solution, there are a few key areas where your attention should be focused. These assure you of having the right POS system in place that provides you the confidence that your background tasks are being handled effectively while you are focused on the line of hungry customers in front of you.
Meeting Customer Demands Through Simplified Order Tracking
Perhaps the most tedious and error-prone area of your food truck business occurs during the ordering and payment process. Using manual methods for taking orders, such as paper pad scribbles or even yelling orders over your shoulder, can quickly pile up errors in orders and cost you in wasted food, time, and reputation. Achieving a high level of order accuracy can be made easier for food trucks, especially with the right mobile POS software placed at your fingertips.
Tablet-based ordering screens present the customer-facing person with an easy, visual way to enter orders, including add-ons and adjustments, such as no pickles or doubling the number of onions. This makes sending orders to the cook, or remembering the nuances of each order yourself, extremely easy and greatly improves both ordering accuracy and the efficiency of keeping the line moving. The reduction in wait times, plus experiencing less inventory leakage, will provide immediate dividends to your operating margins.
Broadening Customer Payment Options Gives Flexibility to All
A key aspect of any food truck management software you consider implementing is its ability to process a wide variety of payment options. As consumers continue to lean away from using cash in favor of digital wallets, you must keep up with these expectations as well. Offering an assortment of payment options will allow you to satiate even the most cutting-edge of customers while improving your overall safety by greatly reducing the amount of cash you have on hand.
When choosing a POS software platform, you must look at not only the supported payment options. You will need to examine the terms and conditions of payment processing, as well as determine if the flexibility you need is reflected in any agreements your strike with a payment processor. While some POS vendors provide all-in-one solutions to this problem, many times this comes at the cost of limiting your ability to change the terms or exit the contract altogether if things aren’t working out as expected.
Maximizing Your Brand Through Targeted Marketing Strategies
How often do you change locations? Do you have regular stops during set times, are you prone to wandering in a general area? Under what, if any, conditions does your menu change? Do you know which stops, and at which times, are the most lucrative? Or the slowest? Answering these questions is critical when it comes to building a foundation of loyal customers that visit your truck and can help you in deciding your path of future movements.
Equipping yourself with a versatile POS software platform will help in determining the answers to these key questions. Using your app, you can quickly communicate a location change, letting your frequent customers know exactly when and where you will be located. Also, by using customized reports, you can easily blend transaction data and location data to determine your most popular spots. This allows you to save time and increase revenue by eliminating lower volume stops, consolidate two closer spots into one, or to maximize time at busier locations.
A highly capable POS solution will also give insights into which menu items sold only in certain areas, in all areas, or not at all. This gives you the ability to adjust menu options while on the move and to quickly adjust inventory based on real-time inventory and product management features. You also gain the ability to run promotions on new or slower moving items, as well as to send app-based notifications on special occasions, such as holidays or customer birthdays. The overall value gained from a mobile-based POS solution is nearly limitless.
Guidance is Available When Selecting Food Truck Management Software
Implementing a feature-rich, mobile POS solution is the next step you need to take to obtain greater control of your food truck operation. The effects of your data migrating from the front seat to the cloud reveal facts and figures about your business that empower you to change how you run your food truck business. From accounting and inventory to orders, payments, and customer service, the right mobile POS solution must fit you perfectly.
Giving expert advice around cloud-based, mobile POS solutions is what talech does best. We understand your need for a dynamic POS system and will work with you to make your project successful with your budget in mind. We offer a wide range of mobile POS solutions to choose from, and we can help you select a system that fits the needs of your business. Contact us today to sign up for a demo and to learn more about how talech can be your expert POS partner.
