Each year Business Software Solutions releases an update to the federal tax tables for our payroll module. This update will ensure that your FICA tax tables are set up correctly. In addition to updating the FICA tables, there are additional federal rates that may need to be changed manually. This year the employee contribution to social security will be increasing from 4.2% to 6.2%. Be sure to update this rate before you run payroll for the new year. To change this rate, do the following:

1. 1. Open the BPA software and go to Business System>Payroll
2. 2. Click Change Federal Tax Limits
3. 3. Ensure all rates are updated to the follow: SS Wage Limit – 113700.00, SS Employee Rate – 6.2, SS Employer Rate – 6.2, Medicare Wage Limit – 9999999.99, Medicare Tax Rate – 1.45, FUTA Wage Limit – 7000.00, FUTA Tax Rate – 6.000.

1. 4. Once you have updated the rates simply select F3 to exit.

We also suggest that you check your SUTA tax rates by clicking Change State Tax Limits. Check with your state to enter the correct value here.

Please note that these rates may change at any time due to new federal legislation. Please check IRS Publication 15for updated rate information.

What do Olive Garden, Red Lobster, and Texas Roadhouse all have in common? If your taste buds reminded you of the very first bite of fresh bread you can experience at each of these locations, you answered correctly.  In this economic downturn many restaurants have shied away from complimentary bread to start a meal.  Maybe the real questions should be can you afford not to offer a fresh baked complimentary introduction to dinner?  Read more at Restaurant Management Magazine and you may change your mind.

Breaking Bread (Traditions)

Looking for ideas to boost business on days that are typically slow?  Check out what this restaurant is doing to keep their business up.

Making the Best of Snow Days

How high tech is your restaurant?  According to the NRA, nearly half of consumers said they would use electronic ordering systems, tablet computer menus, at-the-table payment, or smartphone apps to view menus or make reservations if the service was offered.  Read the full story here.

Restaurants Should Put Technology on the Menu

Have you ever wondered how important your online business reputation really is?  According smallbiztrends.com, almost half of consumers are more likely to use a business after reading positive reviews online.  Since people naturally trend toward leaving negative feedback, how can you engage your customers to leave positive feedback? Check out this article for some great ideas.

Your Secret Weapon in the Battle of Online Reputation

Business Software Solutions gets several requests a week from our customers for features that they would like to see in our software. Sometimes these requests are for additional functionality and some are simply features our customers would like to see to make their job a little bit easier. While many large POS companies would not give these requests a second thought or charge thousands of dollars to make the change, BSS listens.

We continually improve our product.

Recently, BSS was approached by a large frozen yogurt chain that was interested in using our software. While our TouchPOS product was designed to sell items by weight in this type of environment, this customer had a specific need. They wanted to weigh multiple items at a time and subtract tare weight for the number of containers they were selling. BSS saw this as a valuable feature to add to our software. Within a week our engineers were able to customize our software to meet this demand.

We see our customers as a resource.

While it is not possible for us to add every feature request to the software, we recognize that our customers are a great resource. Our Business Plus Accounting software is a high quality software package because of the feedback of our customers. Over time, implementing features based on customer feedback has been critical to the growth and acceptance of our software.

We listen to customers needs.

Since Business Software Solutions was started in 1989 we have been committed to meeting the demands of our customers. While our focus has shifted from customized business software to providing high quality POS systems, our commitment to meeting these demands remains the same. Our technicians have the ability to post any customer request to our inner-office website that is reviewed by our engineers on a regular basis. The more customers that request certain functionality, the more valuable it is to add to our software. We are also committed to adding features that are absolutely necessary for our customers. If a customer has a feature that they absolutely must have, we can give that customer a quote while they’re on the phone and typically finish the engineering within 2 weeks.

So the big question is, how well does your POS company listen?

The National Restaurant Association’s Restaurant Performance Index hit a 6 year high in December.  The Restaurant Performance Index is a monthly index that is used to predict the outlook and measure the health  of the US Restaurant Industry.  With this sharp upswing, the NRA is predicting record sales for 2012 in their just released 2012 Restaurant Industry Forecast.  Check out these great articles to learn more.

Restaurant Outlook at Highest Level in Nearly Six Years

Restaurants to outpace national job growth, reach record sales in 2012

In this economy starting a restaurant can be a pretty tall mountain to climb.  Here is a great success story from The Gyro Company in Allentown, Pennsylvania.  Check out this article to see how their great ideas came together and put them in a position for success.

The Gyro Co. Founder Talks Start-Up's Success

Recently McDonalds started a Twitter campaign that backfired. McDonalds started a campaign with the hashtag #McDStories designed as promotional campaign. Twitter users quickly picked up on this and turned it into an opportunity to bash the restaurant’s food and service. Check out the full story here.

Op-Ed: McDonald's Twitter campaign backfires as users turn the tables

Experts are predicting several new restaurant trends in 2012.  Consumers are going to have new expectations from restaurants this new year, including healthier menu options and online ordering.  Check out this great article to see how your restaurant measures up to meeting consumers demands.

Top 7 Quick Serve Trends for 2012