New times, new digital tools for the hospitality industry. More agile and lighter POS and management software: they are more visual, intuitive and easy to use; they are virtual, allowing the business to be controlled from any device, anywhere and in real time. They grow in response to current demands: they enable you to order and pay for things from your mobile phone, record staff rotas, manage reservations and home deliveries, generate invoices on the spot etc.

Modular, hosted in the cloud and in the form of a comfortable app which is controllable from a mobile phone or tablet, the new software and digital platforms facilitate the work of hoteliers enormously, controlling each and every one of the aspects of the business and demonstrating how digitalisation is making unstoppable progress in the industry. Here is a small selection of “what’s cooking” in the Horeca cloud…

BR Bars & Restaurants: orders and payments from mobile phones

This is a complete digital tool that promises to revolutionise the management, orders and payments in catering establishments, which has just received a whopping one million euros from the Dmanán Corporation. For the consumer, BR Bars & Restaurants

is an easy to use free app that allows you to order and pay for your consumption at any establishment subscribed to the platform, as well as see the menu and allergens, and receive discounts and even the bill on your mobile phone, instantly. For the bar and restaurant owners, it is a way to increase profits thanks to the agility in the management of orders (employees will no longer have to spend time taking orders or taking payments for them); the flexibility of payments (secure, from the mobile phone and fractional, if the bill is being divided) and the possibility of implementing the take away service. Result: greater profitability and more benefits.

Hiopos: more than a point of sale

Hiopos (http://www.hiopos.com) is an easy-to-use point of sale (POS, tablet, smartphone) multi-device solution: with a single click it helps you to manage your business more rapidly and intuitively. It has different versions for each hospitality business (restaurants, cafés, pizzerias, fast-foods, bakeries/pastry, ice-cream parlours…) and it is hosted in the cloud, pay-per-use, which requires no initial investment.

Totally secure, this solution is integrated by Hiopos management software and POS hardware with a 15.6″ touch screen, and has different products that cover all needs: commanders, screens, kitchen printers, digital menu, online booking and ordering module, and business analysis and real-time business information from anywhere and any device. It also integrates easily with cash management systems and devices. Hiopos has been developed by Hiopos Solutions, an ICG Group company.

Storyous: control the restaurant from your mobile phone

This Czech designed restaurant management software arrived in Spain in 2018. What’s its strong point? It allows businesses to control 100% of their business from any mobile device: it takes orders in 3 clicks, controls storeroom stock and manages billing, among many other features. Very easy and intuitive (you can learn to use it in less than 30 minutes, say its creators), Storyous (https://storyous.com/es/) given that it is hosted in the cloud, it can be accessed at any time and from any device with an Internet connection. It is constantly updated; the latest thing is that it allows direct orders to suppliers from a mobile phone (the system controls the stock, warns when something has to be replenished and can place the order directly), and also manages reservations automatically. Restaurants can choose different versions, according to their needs.

Glop: POS software for all hospitality businesses

The POS management software etc., Glop is designed for all types of hotel and catering establishments: restaurants, cafés, discos, ice cream parlours… It is an agile and intuitive solution; it uses touch screens and provides a highly visual management of the business, which it controls 100% and for which it establishes a working method that considerably speeds up the tasks to be carried out. It begins with the taking of orders from an android device that sends them directly to the kitchen, where they are organised and displayed on tablets, monitors or televisions. Once prepared, the system notifies the waiter or waitress. In the payment process, the waiter or waitress can print the receipt from their hand-held terminal where they take the orders or from another printer in the dining room, and even send the amount to be paid to the payment terminal, without having to type it in.

Modular, in order to adapt to each business, the latest update incorporated the delivery management module, which allows you to work very easily with orders, both via websites and telephone orders, for delivery services or take-away meals which are collected. Glop differs from other software in that it does not work in the cloud (the data is held by the restaurant) and there are no monthly fees: there is just a one-off payment per license.

Cuiner: software for demanding entrepreneurs

This software specialised in management, sales and reservations for bars and restaurants, considered a reference in the industry could not be missing from this selection. Cuiner  is constantly improving and adapting to the demands of all types of catering establishments: from a professional range for restaurant groups, to a self-installable, low-cost range for bars and small restaurants. Easy to use, flexible, mobile and agile, its latest new features are the integration of the payment system with Paytef card, which prevents the possibility of there being any difference between the amount charged to the card, as the management software itself sends the correct amount to be charged. This way the waiter or waitress doesn’t need to type in or check the amount to be charged, thus avoiding human errors. The receipt to be signed is included with the purchase receipt. Another development is that it allows businesses to record when their employees clock-in and clock-out, as required by the new law requiring businesses to record staff hours and attendance, linking the software to a biometric terminal. Ah! and it also creates invoices with a single click…

Miss Tipsi: integral business control

Miss Tipsi is a point of sale and cloud management system created for restaurants by restaurateurs. Basically, in a simple and intuitive way, it enables businesses to have absolute control of their business, increasing profits, improving customer satisfaction and giving more free time to the restaurateur, who can access all their business data from any device with Internet access. This virtual POS controls everything: orders, the opening and closing balances of tills, floor plans and tables, reservations, personnel, purchases, stock…. as well as collections and payments: it manages an unlimited number of payment methods, divides receipts, rectifies and creates bills, personalises receipts… In short, it makes life a lot easier for the restaurateur. It offers flexible and affordable monthly payment plans designed for all types of hospitality businesses, from a food truck to a hotel chain.

Tiller: much more than a cash register

Tiller, the leading French start-up company based on tills, touched down in Barcelona at the beginning of 2017 with its all-in-one solution and has not stopped growing internationally thanks to continuous rounds of investment. It is a till on an iPad or touch POS that not only enables taking payments, but also the management and analysis of the business so as to take it to the next level. Its functions include taking orders quickly, offering discounts and promotions, managing staff, consulting data in real time, tracking sales, automating accounting, controlling stock and more. The result is a saving of 40 hours of work per month and an increase in turnover of between 10% and 20%, say its creators. It recently launched its own delivery service, Tiller Delivery, with which restaurateurs can create their own website for placing orders, make themselves known, retain their customers and increase turnover in exchange for a 10% commission. The order page can be integrated into the business website or shared on social networks, and the orders go directly to the TPV Tiller, allowing the restaurant to manage their data in one place.

Numier: complete, innovative and easy touch point of sale application 

Created in Andalusia, this online hospitality management tool, which is quick and easy to use allows restaurants to control every detail of their business in real time: sales management, expenses, rooms, payment methods, storeroom stock, suppliers, operators, customers, public relations, agencies, etc.

In addition, the restaurateur will have security backups of all their data in the cloud, as well as updates and a support and maintenance service. Its latest development is Numier Online Manager, the new advanced version of the Numier Online software, which allows the business to be controlled in real time via the Internet, with improvements that are focused on small and medium-sized establishments, and above all on large hospitality or franchise businesses, which require different needs, such as bringing several businesses together on a single interface; security and being easy to use, as well as providing order and organisation of the different reports, which can be downloaded in various formats. The speed of the management is also a plus to be highlighted.

Hosteltáctil: total control of the business in real time

Recently awarded a prize for its Innovation, Quality and Support to the sector by the Federación Empresarial de Hostelería de Valencia (Hotel and Catering Business Federation of Valencia). Hosteltáctil 

enables any hospitality business to be controlled securely, quickly and easily from anywhere: all that is needed is Internet access. This management software offers all the necessary functionalities, it’s intuitive, self-configurable and very easy to use. It also has a practical option of “clocking-in and clocking-out”, in order to control the staff rota. And its latest development: Direct, an online platform that allows you to be informed in real time of everything that happens in the establishment, thus offering the flexibility necessary for the hospitality business owner to optimise their time and manage their business from any place and at any time. The information offered by this powerful and intuitive tool is divided into eight information boards that allow the restaurateur to know how the business is doing at a glance: sales, tills, the dining area, incident control, human resources, products, history and reports.

Camarero 10: integral solution for hospitality business management 

This management program and point of sale developed in Spain, specifically for bars and restaurants, stands out as it can be learned to be used quickly and easily; it can be installed on any operating system, it is accessible from any mobile device with an Internet connection, and adapts to any type of restaurant business, with a large amount of functions for the bar, terrace/dining area and kitchen. In addition to the POS management program, Camarero 10 includes a mobile application to consult reports; a digital mobile order taking function which is sent immediately to the kitchen and a responsive website of the whole establishment. The tables and the payment can be managed from the mobile device itself. The best thing: this solution which is made up of flexible modules could end up being free thanks to the agreement with IRI, which reimburses the cost of the software for 3 years, since it needs a real-time and anonymous consumer panel from the hospitality sector.

Hiboutik: Free online POS

Hiboutik,  from the Swiss firm Zagareli, this software arrived in Spain 5 years ago as “the first free POS software in the world“. And it’s true that many of its basic options are free, although some options have a monthly subscription fee. For the hospitality industry it offers a version for restaurants that simplifies the management of any catering business, covering the usual requirements. As it is online software, which just needs Internet access and can be used from any place and using any device. It is very easy to use, it enables the taking of orders directly from the table via mobile phone, sending orders to the kitchen, printing receipts, recording and retrieving all sales information on another terminal.
It also involves having a kitchen screen to help the kitchen staff manage the orders, and allows the waiting staff and the kitchen staff to interact with one another. In short, it is a simple, comfortable and effective solution for any restaurant business.

These ten solutions not only streamline work considerably, but also provide a wealth of data: valuable business information you need to know and have time to analyse to make decisions. The question is if all the hospitality sector owners are using them…

Marta Renovales (Professional Horeca)