POS (Pain or Suffering)

is what I think POS stands for (not quite 'Point of Sale').  "The wonders of a new till system!", I was promised as I stared at the row of flashy computer touch screen systems.  "They will change your life! Run your business, manage your books, rub your feet and let you take 6-week holidays!"

I was sold from the moment I walked in the store but never truly understood what I was getting myself involved with.

Three weeks ago I purchased the system and it still sits in my 'office' - a room filled with various vegetable boxes stacked three high and four deep, all stolen from CostCo to assist with the move to our new home, just a little over a kilometre from the cafe.

Three weeks later and $6,000 lighter and the system has yet to be implemented.  What was I thinking?

It actually turns out I was thinking in the right way.  POS these days are glorified relational databases which can sew volumes of data together to help run a business effectively.  At the most simplest, it controls exactly how food and drink is ordered to avoid the least confusion, minimise wastage, reduce the time to serve and maximise satisfaction and your profit.  It can also take staff's available hours of work; their less-desired hours of work and; the real no-no hours, throw them all into a grid and help you schedule in minutes rather than hours.  If you tell it you use 20g of ham in a breakfast wrap and it knows you ordered a 2 kilo ham, it will inform you after the 103rd wrap that you are running low and need to re-order.

Wow.  That's my kind of system and I've not even touched on the incredible reporting and analysis of sales.  So, the last three weeks learning this beast will ultimately pay off.  That's as soon as I can find which vegetable box I packed it in.