One of the most important aspects of running a restaurant is keeping your data safe—your company’s and customer data. A breach of either or both can have disastrous consequences on a business. The good news is there are ways you can keep every piece of data secure.
Data breaches are generally associated with tech and finance companies, but they can and do happen in other industries as well. This includes retailers that have had customer and internal data compromised. There have been many stories in the news about retailers’ data getting breached.
One example is TJX Companies, the parent company of Marshall’s discount department store. In 2006 it was reported that a hacker stole customers’ credit card numbers when the information was sent electronically from one Marshall’s to another. However, conflicting reports stated data was breached through an in-store kiosk instead.
Either way, this proves that data breaches aren’t just a problem for financial companies. So if you own a restaurant, it pays to know how to prevent these breaches from happening to you.
There are a few steps you can take to protect your restaurant and your customers. The most obvious one is to tighten your security measures. Your firewalls should be configured so that your network isn’t fully accessible. The configurations should be set so that any POS in your restaurant is only able to access payment processing and other relevant websites.
PCI compliance is also a solution. This technology is designed to keep your customers’ credit card information safe from hackers. When your network is secure, it is easier to reassure your customers that they can trust your restaurant.
Above all, the most effective way to protect your restaurant is to use a cloud-based pos system. This is especially true if you own a chain of restaurants. Cloud-based pos means each location can stay linked, so you can safely share data among all of them.
In addition to keeping your business safe, it also makes it easier to run day-to-day operations. On each register, you will be able to access and update inventory lists instantly.
For your employees, the benefit is that they can view their schedules online, and you can change and update them the same way. It also makes it easier to run your customer loyalty program. POS software can personalize offers and coupons based on each customer’s dining habits and frequency.
Having a cloud-based POS system implemented in your restaurants is a multi-step process.
- The software and hardware must be installed first.
- Security measures must be set up within the system.
- Once the software is running securely, it is time to train your employees to use it.
- You may choose to have a professional from the software company show your staff how it works.
Keeping your data safe is the key to a successful business. It is not something that you should overlook the importance of.