Working smarter for the future

Customer retention (32%), operating costs (32%) and staff hiring/ training/ retention (31%) remain the biggest challenges for restaurateurs.

INSIGHT:

Restaurateurs are working smarter to spend more time with their customers. Technology is helping teams to do more with less. Driving efficiency, streamlining processes and providing valuable time and cost-saving insights and tools that can be applied across the business.

97%

of restaurateurs believe that tech can benefit their restaurant.

50%

of restaurateurs that drive $1 million or more in revenue per year cite that automation can help them acquire more customers (34%) and streamline online ordering in-house and via delivery apps (24%).

Did you know?

Australian restaurants that used Square for Restaurants technology were around 3 times more likely to survive than the industry average.¹

Tip: Introduce delivery and takeaway

Customers value convenience and choice. Give them both with Square Online. It’s easy to enable pick-up and delivery as options for orders placed through your Square Online Store or Square food delivery partners.

34% of millennial hospitality workers say that technology helps free up time for them to spend with diners and other restaurant tasks.

35% of consumers responded that not having staff available to assist them if/when needed would be a deal breaker.

^{1 Source: Based on Square Internal data and data from the Australian Business Registry for FY2021 and FY2022.}

Pro tips:

1. Get every order right

With Square Kitchen Display System (KDS), fulfil orders from any channel efficiently, from one place. It also helps you connect your front and back-of-house seamlessly, allowing your cooks to focus on preparing the right items, at the right time.

2. Serve more customers

By connecting Square for Restaurants to a reservation platform, your staff can easily manage the dining room by knowing the status of each table in real time.

3. Take more orders with fewer steps

Square for Restaurants Mobile POS turns Square Terminal into a powerful all-in-one tool in your apron pocket. Wait-staff can share orders directly with the kitchen while receiving visibility into product availability and alerts from kitchen staff.

What do hospitality workers value?

Hospitality workers value smart and reliable tech and tools that let them work faster and give them back the biggest benefit of all, time.

48%

of hospitality workers say that order fulfilment is the most important POS feature.

45%

value technology that can help increase lines of communication from the kitchen and minimise tensions.

43%

value technology that can make time-consuming tasks simple.

39%

value a POS that streamlines managing dine-in, takeaway and pick-up orders in one place.

39%

say that a POS that is easy to use and train staff on is most important.

A POS that brings teams together

Help your team to work smarter, not harder, with Square for Restaurants. A powerful, all-in-one POS that makes running and growing your restaurant easier. Here are some of the ways it can help.

Want to improve customer service and cut back wait times? Use Square Online self-serve ordering for restaurants, which enable contactless self-ordering via QR code. While Square Terminal and Mobile POS give staff the flexibility to take orders and payments tableside.

Streamline communication and workflow between the front- and back-of-house with Square Kitchen Display System (KDS). All orders are sent, managed and fulfilled on one central screen. Regardless of where they came in from: the POS, online or through delivery apps.

New staff? No worries. Square Team Management makes onboarding easy. Custom permissions mean staff have the right level of access for their position reducing errors. While the Square Team app offers you transparency and your new hire an easy way to stay in touch and see what’s happening on the work front.

Technology doesn’t hinder the customer experience or replace your staff. Instead it enhances both by removing time-consuming tasks and increasing efficiency. Giving you and your team time to focus on more important things.

Did you know?

Live Sales on Square for Restaurants offers immediate insights into your business. Accessible on any device, you can track real-time sales and open orders from anywhere, anytime. Ideal for multi-location monitoring, Live Sales optimises your restaurant operations, irrespective of your physical presence.

INSIGHT:

While there may be an initial transitionary period and financial outlay, the benefits of working smarter by utilising technology are proven to be multi-faceted and long-term.

62%

say that technology fees and costs are too high – specifically high ongoing fees to use and high upfront costs to implement and get started (both 38%).

56%

say that they don’t have the time to implement new technology - specifically it would take too long to train staff on the new technology (35%) and lack of time to learn about new technology (32%).

95% of restaurants say there are barriers to investing in automation/tech to help them work smarter.

How Square can help

1. Simplify taking reservations

Want to streamline your online booking system and elevate your customers’ dining experience? Connect Square for Restaurants Plus account with OpenTable to share information like your floor plan, table, and coursing information. Features like real-time table status alerts and reservation information, like allergies and table preferences, help you to provide more efficient, personalised service.

2. Award-winning customer support

Restaurants trade at all hours. So, accessing help fast when you need it is essential. On the Square for Restaurants Plus or Premium plans, you can access our award winning 24/7 support, recognised by Canstar’s Most Satisfied Customers – Merchant Services Award for two years in a row in 2021 and 2022.

3. Offline mode when your internet is down

Internet down? That doesn’t mean your sales have to be. With Square for Restaurants, you can enable Offline Mode on Square Terminal and Square Register. Offline payments are processed automatically when you reconnect your device to the internet and may be declined if not processed within 24 hours.

“At Fricken, working smarter, not harder, is a driving force for us. Automation and technology have streamlined our operations. Integration software consolidates delivery partner orders through our POS and digital KDS, simplifying staff training and eliminating the need for multiple hardware devices.

Square's Self Service feature via QR code has transformed our dine-in experience. Customers can view the entire menu at their own pace and find answers to most FAQs, freeing up staff to interact with customers and gain valuable business intelligence. We leverage this tool to recommend up-selling and cross-selling opportunities without any social pressure.

The implementation has reduced wait times, increased productivity, and ensured more personalised customer interactions and overall satisfaction.”

- Mo, Owner Fricken