Being able to take your POS system with you to the table can reduce errors in the ordering process, and can give customers a better dining experience. This article explains what to look for in a hand-held ordering system, and how to connect it to back-end restaurant processes.
What is a hand-held ordering system?
Imagine taking your point-of-sale terminal with you, away from the counter or bar. A hand-held ordering system is a mobile POS system designed to give waiters more flexibility in the restaurant, by taking orders from customers directly at the table and relaying them to the kitchen without having to walk back to a separate terminal at the counter. Also called MPOS (mobile point of sale), the systems consist of a hand-held device and a wireless network that enables it to communicate information from anywhere in the restaurant.
Why is it useful?
The idea is that waiters can improve service by processing orders more quickly, reduce the human error involved in writing down orders and re-entering them at a fixed POS terminal, and increase customer throughput. It can also be used for taking orders from queuing customers, meaning that they are more inclined to stay and wait for their table. And waiters can move between tables without having to return to a fixed terminal, therefore improving their efficiency.
Can I take payments at the table too?
NeoMobile is designed to take not just orders at the table, but payments too. A separate belt printer (for receipts) can be carried by the waiter. Many famous restaurants such as Ipoh Famous Tauge Chicken Rice (Lou Wong) using this feature to speed up the payment process to maximize sales turnover and save waiter's time. A hand-held payment processing system enables customers to pay without getting up and also customers will feel well served.
Do I need special software?
You just need to get the NeoMobile Android/ Windows application from us and also you can ask for the package which included Android, Windows device & Belt printer.
What is handheld ordering system that using RDP format? What is RDP?
If you are currently running a handheld ordering system on an android/iPad device but need a third party app to feed the Windows to android/iPad device to run the POS software then you are having a RDP format ordering system.
Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP) is a proprietary protocol developed by Microsoft, which provides a user with a graphical interface to connect to another computer over a network connection. The user employs RDP client software for this purpose, while the other computer must run RDP server software. Which mean POS software runs on a central computer and simply feeds a user interface image through to the handheld client device/Tablet. This format has many disadvantages such as high battery consumption, involve many third party software, expensive software license cost and it's a high maintenance solution due to the complication of system setup.
If your vendor provide you RDP solution for handheld ordering system, you must be aware of the licensing issue. For example, If you are running 4 devices (Android tab/iPad) with RDP and 1 Central Computer so you need 5 Windows Licenses and Virtual Machine License and also RDP third party software license.
Below are the licenses needed for RDP (not including android tab, iPad & Cashier POS)
5 x Windows License x RM650 = RM3250
1 x i7 Central Computer x RM4000 = RM4000
1 x VMware Workstation x RM3000 = RM3000
5 x POS License x RM2000 = RM10000
If your vendor didn't charge you the above, then you must be careful of using illegal pirated software which will cost you more than 50 times if you get caught.
We never provide RDP to our client due to extra software cost and it's actually not a proper solution for handheld ordering system. What we provide is, you just need to purchase the Android/Windows NeoMobile POS license then install on android or windows 8/10 tablet (which already come with original windows license) to run the system to connect to your Cashier POS/Server. Is not that simpler?
Why NeoMobile is better?
NeoMobile currently able to run on Android & Windows Tablet (iOS will be coming soon). NeoMobile is a native application running on Android & Windows platform. It's running offline, has better memory management & battery life. Compare to RDP, thin client & online database connection, NeoMobile runs everything on the device and send data when the transaction is completed. It's significantly increase the battery life and most importantly when the cashier terminal/server is down, NeoMobile is still running offline, able to process payments, taking order without interruption.
What type of equipment we provide?
Restaurants/Cafes can choose between two different types of equipment when creating a hand-held ordering system:
Android Devices: There are many android phones and tablets in the market. NeoMobile support any size and any versions of Android. NeoMobile Android Version is the best for cafes and small size restaurants. It's light and user-friendly.
Imagine taking your point-of-sale terminal with you, away from the counter or bar. A hand-held ordering system is a mobile POS system designed to give waiters more flexibility in the restaurant, by taking orders from customers directly at the table and relaying them to the kitchen without having to walk back to a separate terminal at the counter. Also called MPOS (mobile point of sale), the systems consist of a hand-held device and a wireless network that enables it to communicate information from anywhere in the restaurant.
Why is it useful?
The idea is that waiters can improve service by processing orders more quickly, reduce the human error involved in writing down orders and re-entering them at a fixed POS terminal, and increase customer throughput. It can also be used for taking orders from queuing customers, meaning that they are more inclined to stay and wait for their table. And waiters can move between tables without having to return to a fixed terminal, therefore improving their efficiency.
Can I take payments at the table too?
NeoMobile is designed to take not just orders at the table, but payments too. A separate belt printer (for receipts) can be carried by the waiter. Many famous restaurants such as Ipoh Famous Tauge Chicken Rice (Lou Wong) using this feature to speed up the payment process to maximize sales turnover and save waiter's time. A hand-held payment processing system enables customers to pay without getting up and also customers will feel well served.
Do I need special software?
You just need to get the NeoMobile Android/ Windows application from us and also you can ask for the package which included Android, Windows device & Belt printer.
What is handheld ordering system that using RDP format? What is RDP?
If you are currently running a handheld ordering system on an android/iPad device but need a third party app to feed the Windows to android/iPad device to run the POS software then you are having a RDP format ordering system.
Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP) is a proprietary protocol developed by Microsoft, which provides a user with a graphical interface to connect to another computer over a network connection. The user employs RDP client software for this purpose, while the other computer must run RDP server software. Which mean POS software runs on a central computer and simply feeds a user interface image through to the handheld client device/Tablet. This format has many disadvantages such as high battery consumption, involve many third party software, expensive software license cost and it's a high maintenance solution due to the complication of system setup.
If your vendor provide you RDP solution for handheld ordering system, you must be aware of the licensing issue. For example, If you are running 4 devices (Android tab/iPad) with RDP and 1 Central Computer so you need 5 Windows Licenses and Virtual Machine License and also RDP third party software license.
Below are the licenses needed for RDP (not including android tab, iPad & Cashier POS)
5 x Windows License x RM650 = RM3250
1 x i7 Central Computer x RM4000 = RM4000
1 x VMware Workstation x RM3000 = RM3000
5 x POS License x RM2000 = RM10000
If your vendor didn't charge you the above, then you must be careful of using illegal pirated software which will cost you more than 50 times if you get caught.
We never provide RDP to our client due to extra software cost and it's actually not a proper solution for handheld ordering system. What we provide is, you just need to purchase the Android/Windows NeoMobile POS license then install on android or windows 8/10 tablet (which already come with original windows license) to run the system to connect to your Cashier POS/Server. Is not that simpler?
Why NeoMobile is better?
NeoMobile currently able to run on Android & Windows Tablet (iOS will be coming soon). NeoMobile is a native application running on Android & Windows platform. It's running offline, has better memory management & battery life. Compare to RDP, thin client & online database connection, NeoMobile runs everything on the device and send data when the transaction is completed. It's significantly increase the battery life and most importantly when the cashier terminal/server is down, NeoMobile is still running offline, able to process payments, taking order without interruption.
What type of equipment we provide?
Restaurants/Cafes can choose between two different types of equipment when creating a hand-held ordering system:
Android Devices: There are many android phones and tablets in the market. NeoMobile support any size and any versions of Android. NeoMobile Android Version is the best for cafes and small size restaurants. It's light and user-friendly.
NeoMobile Android Version
Windows Tablet: Windows 10 tablets are very common now. They provide bright, pen-ready screens between 7', 8' and 10' in size, making it possible to display more and show things to customers. NeoMobile Windows Tablet Version is a feature-rich ordering system and it's best for Chinese restaurants and fine dining restaurants.
NeoMobile Windows Version
What sort of communications network would I use?
When these systems first began, radio frequency technology was sometimes used. A coaxial cable would be run around the restaurant, and would pick up signals from the handheld clients. Today, however, wireless computer networks have been standardized. WiFi -- the same networking standard used for wireless access in hotels -- is a cheap and convenient way to communicate between handheld clients and a central server.
What other features should I be looking for?
A hand-held ordering system should relay information to the kitchen staff so that they can begin cooking meals immediately, and you should ensure that they also integrate with a restaurant management system to help automate tasks such as stock control.
Depending on the type of terminal that you use, you should begin to think about using the handheld ordering system not only for relaying orders, but for showing extra information to guests. Perhaps, for example, they would like to see a picture of a particular dish before they order.
Having access to more information about meals from a server database enables you to provide instant answers to important questions about food content. This will reassure guests with allergies, for example.
A good restaurant management system will also enable you to retrieve information about the status of certain dishes -- perhaps one dish is off the menu, and the system could tell you that at the point of ordering, saving you the trouble of taking a new order from a customer later on.
Consider the battery life of your terminal equipment. Traditional PDA probably allow you to use up to 2-3 hours and RDP solution costly, complicated setup and battery life also up to 3 hours only. NeoMobile is very Low battery consumption, running offline significantly increase the battery life to 10 hours (depends on device battery capacity).
Finally, the ability to script prompts for the waiting staff can increase revenue. If they are reminded to offer drinks or side dishes with each order, the increased orders will soon mount up.
Original Post / Source from The Caterer
When these systems first began, radio frequency technology was sometimes used. A coaxial cable would be run around the restaurant, and would pick up signals from the handheld clients. Today, however, wireless computer networks have been standardized. WiFi -- the same networking standard used for wireless access in hotels -- is a cheap and convenient way to communicate between handheld clients and a central server.
What other features should I be looking for?
A hand-held ordering system should relay information to the kitchen staff so that they can begin cooking meals immediately, and you should ensure that they also integrate with a restaurant management system to help automate tasks such as stock control.
Depending on the type of terminal that you use, you should begin to think about using the handheld ordering system not only for relaying orders, but for showing extra information to guests. Perhaps, for example, they would like to see a picture of a particular dish before they order.
Having access to more information about meals from a server database enables you to provide instant answers to important questions about food content. This will reassure guests with allergies, for example.
A good restaurant management system will also enable you to retrieve information about the status of certain dishes -- perhaps one dish is off the menu, and the system could tell you that at the point of ordering, saving you the trouble of taking a new order from a customer later on.
Consider the battery life of your terminal equipment. Traditional PDA probably allow you to use up to 2-3 hours and RDP solution costly, complicated setup and battery life also up to 3 hours only. NeoMobile is very Low battery consumption, running offline significantly increase the battery life to 10 hours (depends on device battery capacity).
Finally, the ability to script prompts for the waiting staff can increase revenue. If they are reminded to offer drinks or side dishes with each order, the increased orders will soon mount up.
Original Post / Source from The Caterer
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