Aloha is a very
powerful piece of
software that makes the lives of
restaurant workers oh so much happier. The Aloha POS provides a touch-screen interface for all aspects of the "hospitality business". While they offer several services, the Aloha TableService is probably the most widely used.
TableService is a touch-screen set of menus that allow most all aspects of restaurant business to be tracked. Access levels can be set, for wait staff, hostesses, managers, and chefs. Employees key in with a swipe card or with an employee number.
For waiters, Aloha allows them to ring up food rapidly. It's a touch-screen collapsible menu set. Main headings such as salads, soups, entrees, daily specials, mixed drinks, wines, etc are touched to reveal a listing of all the entries in that category. The menus are completely programmable to suit each restaurants needs. Aloha also has built-in credit card support, making check-out very easy. Because the system is so automated, splitting the bill in nearly any way imaginable is very easy. With a few touches, bills can be split in fractions, or split by items ordered. It's also easy to add a large party gratuity or ring up gift certificates.
For management, Aloha provides excellent data tracking. It keeps tabs on daily sales both overall and in many categories such as wines, keeps track on employee data such as sales or voids, and has many other useful financial options I did not get to explore as I was not a manager for the summer I worked at an Aloha-using restaurant.
Aloha TableService is widely used in restaurants, especially large chains that can afford the software. It is too costly at this point for many small, privately owned places to afford, but for those that have adopted it, Aloha is a huge benefit to the flow of business.
http://alohancr.com/