The Cost of a POS System for Bars: Understanding Pricing and Features
Last Updated: April 24, 2023
Fact Checked By: Ashley Smith
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The quality of customer service and inventory control go a long way towards determining how profitable your bar, pub, lounge, or nightclub is. No matter how dedicated you are to your business, you can't be in all places at once, especially during the busiest hours. If you feel as though you could use help managing day to day operations, enhancing productivity, and cutting back on employee theft and waste, then a bar POS system could be just what you're looking for.
Security and speed are the cornerstones of successful bar management. Both are greatly enhanced through the use of a bar POS system. Some users have reported substantial revenue increases after implementing a POS system in their bar due to the ability to more closely monitor inventory and sales. An advanced point of sale system can also help you keep customers and staff happy with functions that make it easy to open and settle tabs, set promotional price scheduling, and keep the drinks and good times flowing.
Bar POS System Sample Costs #
Do the advanced functions provided by a bar POS system sounds like a good fit for your establishment? If so, then keep reading to get a better idea of how much a bar POS system costs.
- A single station bar POS system starts at around $1,500, while a complete, multi-station system, could cost approximately $12,000 and up.
- 1 station used POS systems for bars costs around $1,500. At this price you can expect to receive a used POS computer, a new 15" touch screen flat panel LCD monitor, a new cash drawer, 2 new printers, a new magnetic card swipe, and more.
- You can get a new 1 station POS bar system for approximately $2,500. This type of system might come with a PC tower, LCD 15" touch screen, thermal receipt printer, bar/kitchen printer, cash drawer, pre-installed POS system software, training DVDs, and more.
- For about $5,000 you can buy a new 5 station bar POS system. A system at this price should come with 5 computers, (5) 15" touch screen flat panel LCD monitors, 5 cash drawers, 5 thermal receipt printers, 1 kitchen printer, POS software with 5 licenses, and more.
- A 5 station all-in-one bar POS system costs approximately $8,000. For this price, you can expect to receive (5) 15" all-in-one touch screen POS computers, 5 credit card swipes, 1 cash drawer, 5 receipt printers, 1 kitchen printer with built in network card, 5 software licenses, and more.
- An 8 station all-in-one bar POS system costs around $12,000. A system at this price might include 8 all-in-one 15" touch screen POS PCs, 8 credit card swipes, 1 cash drawer, 8 thermal receipt printers, 1 kitchen printer, 8 POS software licenses, and more.
Benefits of Bar POS Software #
Restaurant POS systems simply won't do in your bar, pub, or nightclub. POS systems for bars provide the specific management solutions you need in your business, including:
- Tight control over inventory and staff: Waste, loss, and theft can all cut into your profits. In order to maximize earnings, you need to be sure that every drop of liquor, every ounce of beer, and every plate of food is accounted for. The real time inventory control provided by a bar POS system helps you do this. Set up live video monitoring of POS stations and set program logon controls to monitor the cash going in and out of drawers. You can keep track of how well specific bar and menu items are selling, reconcile your inventory, implement portion control, monitor employee hours, and much more.
- Improve customer service: Excellent service not only keeps the orders and profits coming in, but it helps build repeat customers. Bar POS systems have a number of functions that make it easy to keep the crowd pleased, including one swipe opening of bar tabs, filters and searches for finding open tabs, one touch "next round" re-ordering, transfer orders from tabs to tables, and more.
- Advanced reporting: A bar point of sale system lets you generate hundreds of different reports including those for end-of-day processes, voids, staff service, promotional items, and many others. Some systems let you access operational information from anywhere you have an internet connection, including through a mobile POS device. The more you know about your business, the more profitably you can manage it.
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