Loyalty is being integrated into social networking applications as a growing number of customers gravitate away from traditional ways to track rewards, and as restaurateurs seek new means of attracting and retaining clientele.

Social networking is a marketing method that can and should be employed by restaurant chains and smaller, independent businesses alike. Increasingly, consumers are looking for a personal touch when it comes to communicating with the stores and restaurants they patronize.

Your disclosures must also specify the exact amount of each additional fee to be charged in conjunction with a gift card, and how frequently it will be subtracted from the balance (for example, a $3 dormancy fee every two months).

The inventory tracking capabilities of any good POS system also enhance your profit potential by identifying any items that may have been pilfered or broken. Meanwhile, an integrated purchasing functionality can be used to track vendor lists, manage item costs and generate and receive purchase orders.

With computerized POS systems, many sales can be rung up by simply by scanning the bar code on the item or items being purchased. However, not all merchandise is bar-coded. Advanced POS systems, such as pcAmerica’s Cash Register Express, allow you to quickly ring up items that do not have bar codes by touching a corresponding button on a touch screen.

Software components within full-featured systems such as pcAmerica’s Cash Register Express are configured so that retailers can maintain databases of customer information and “pull” the names of customers to whom they wish to send mailings about sales, promotions, in-store events, new merchandise or anything else that may interest them.

While the advanced features of a good restaurant POS system can be instrumental in cutting costs, there are other benefits to be reaped from using a configuration that isn’t just a cash register. The ability to generate repeat business and bolster incremental sales tops the list.

If you’re like most restaurant operators, you’re constantly thinking about ways to cut costs—even with the recession’s ugly head beginning to retreat. Leveraging the advanced, yet easy-to-use features of a comprehensive restaurant POS system like pcAmerica’s Restaurant Pro Express can yield significant savings—in more areas than one.

When a card is swiped through an electronic POS terminal, an electronic request is submitted to the processing network for authorization. Upon receiving the request, the network electronically determines whether the cardholder’s account is valid and if funds are available to cover the transaction. If so, an authorization code, guaranteeing your access to the funds, is transmitted to you. Your POS terminal or computer prints a receipt for the customer to sign and return to you.

Discussions about pricing are a huge part of setting up a merchant account in preparation for accepting credit and debit cards. And it’s not unusual for merchants to scratch their heads over how the rate they will need to pay for each transaction processed is determined.