PAR Technology : What Is a Back-Office and Why Is It Important?

Open and Secure

First and foremost, choose software that will integrate nicely with your other systems. A fully open API makes connecting to other systems easy and boundless.

Data should flow seamlessly with the click of a button. Broken integrations overburden staff with manual processes that could be automated, wasting time and creating frustration.

What happens in the cloud, stays in the cloud.Data security is a huge risk for restaurants in today's world. Making sure business and customer information is protected is an ongoing battle for IT departments. The open transfer of important data to and from your back-office system needs to be secure.

Selecting the right cloud-based back-officesoftware will better ensure data protection versus on-premise data hosting. Cloud-based service providers have dedicated resources to keep up with security best practices, controls, and authorization. They understand how important it is to keep your content safe, secure, and private.

Mobile

An increasing number of restaurant operators are realizing the benefits that come from investing in mobile technology. Choosing a mobile back-office system that can be accessed on any device puts the right information in the right hands at the right time.

In a restaurant, managers can spend more time with their valuable customers and less time sitting behind a desk doing administrative work. Outside the restaurant, owners and above-store operators can keep a pulse on store performance from anywhere. With web browser access, they can view sales data and other key performance indicators (KPIs) from their phone.

Scalable

For multi-unit operators, implementing systems that are built to scale is often a primary concern. When researching back-office technology, focus on systems that will sustain your growth plans.

You need to have a back-office platform that is powerful enough to scale with you as you grow. Some things to look out for are flexibility of the system, a reliable database structure, and the process for deployment.

The pricing structure should also be considered in terms of scalability. Pay attention to costs outside of a monthly SaaS fee as they can add up. Back-office providers that offer unlimited users, unlimited data storage, and free software updates will set you up for success as you continue to scale.