Live entertainment venues strive to offer concertgoers and audiences an unforgettable experience, which requires efficient ticket sales, rapid food service and rigorous security measures for its success.

Multi-unit operators require a POS system capable of syncing menu changes across locations, tracking performance at each restaurant location and enabling diners to redeem loyalty rewards and gift cards at each. Discover how you can select the ideal system for your venue.

1. Flexibility

Hospitality venues are becoming more complex by the day; therefore a point-of-sale (POS) system that seamlessly connects is becoming an essential tool to streamline operations and drive growth. From ticket sales to loyalty program administration, venue POS systems support numerous touchpoints within your business.

The ideal point-of-sale (POS) system for entertainment venues should be flexible enough to meet the needs of any entertainment business. Customers ordering at your bar, via third party delivery apps or your online storefront need their order flow to go smoothly for optimal business operations.

An accommodating POS can give you all of the tools to support different order types, including payment solutions and advanced inventory management features. Lavu stands out by including standard features like floor plan customization and sales forecasting which other major providers don’t include.

Toast’s cloud-based POS earned us nearly perfect marks during our research, offering a generous, forever free base plan with cost-effective hardware options. Their website clearly outlined plans and costs associated with hardware costs unlike many other POS providers. Similarly, Loyverse boasts many features in their affordable package such as loyalty integrations and CRM capabilities as well as offline mode functionality for locations with weak internet connectivity – both worthy contenders in their own ways.

2. Convenience

Between intermissions and showtime, an accommodating venue POS can help guests quickly return to their seats without long lines. Furthermore, smart POS can synchronise open tabs across devices for instant order fulfillment from multiple servers/locations – essential when guests order food/beverages across different servers/locations.

Some POS providers, like Square, offer forever-free baseline plans with affordable hardware options while others require a monthly subscription or upfront purchase to access all features. Either way, many provide intuitive interfaces requiring little training time as well as integrations with third-party apps for marketing, loyalty management, reservation services and more.

Harbortouch excels at staff management, enabling operators to monitor team performance from one central system and track employee timesheets. Furthermore, its POS has built-in inventory tools which detect low stock levels; customer notes feature is helpful for adding details about guests that you can then use enroll them into loyalty program or send promotional emails about. Centralized systems also help multi-location restaurant owners streamline operations.

3. Security

Venues require efficient order flow systems that offer seamless experiences for their guests when ordering food or drinks – whether that means offering it directly at the counter, using third-party delivery apps, scanning QR codes at tables or through third-party delivery apps, or scanning QR codes – whether ordering at the counter, ordering through third-party delivery apps or scanning QR codes at tables. A POS system should collect information from these different touchpoints to enable owners to understand how well their venue is performing and make revenue-boosting decisions accordingly.

Secure is also key when selecting the ideal POS service for venues. Opting for one equipped with encryption protocol and password protection helps protect customer payment data. Reliable services offer 24/7 customer service support as well as multi-location support to address issues promptly.

Venue POS systems should be user-friendly to reduce training time for new employees and limit mistakes during peak hours. Look for systems with features like payment pre-authorization that collect customers’ payment details at the start of each night as a safety net against unpaid tabs. If you run multiple restaurant locations, look for systems that allow menu updates across all sites at once while giving managers visibility into performance data for each location and diners redeem loyalty rewards at any location.

4. Scalability

POS systems should be flexible enough to adapt to changing operational needs, including an increase or decrease in event numbers or an average ticket price change. They must also integrate seamlessly with tools and applications used at your venue already such as accounting software or reservation platforms.

NCR Aloha POS system earned five out of five in our testing for restaurant features and provides a robust set of tools that help bars run more efficiently, such as floor plan customization and automatic restock scheduling. In addition, NCR Aloha supports online ordering and delivery – great for venues catering to sudden surges of guests throughout the day.

Square is another fantastic solution for venues, offering a long-term free baseline plan and affordable hardware options designed to withstand spills and bumps. Furthermore, its intuitive POS interface enables dynamic sales promotions as well as easy customer data capture to help build loyalty programs while sending email updates on events, specials, and new drinks – not forgetting its built-in CRM capabilities and offline mode functionality for use at events or pop-ups.

5. Reporting

POS systems gather customer information, giving you rich analytics that enables data-driven decisions to drive revenue. Use the data gathered by these systems to identify trends and patterns, pinpoint underperforming products or services and streamline operations. Connect your POS to other tools like ticketing platforms and access control systems for a seamless customer experience. Make sure that any system provides real-time sales reports so you can view which numbers matter most for your business – this helps optimise staffing levels, inventory levels and ensure customers enjoy optimal experiences – payment preauthorization ensures guests never leave with unpaid tabs!