QL Powered Digital Menu Boards

The Digital Menu Board Challenge

Quick-service restaurant owners and operators have an ever-evolving list of needs and requirements for their Digital Menu Boards. Today, this list typically includes the need for:

• Easy-to-use Digital Signage Software
• Reliable performance (no blank screens or error messages)
• The ability to dynamically display pricing, images, and videos
• Custom menu board template designs
• Built-in advertising campaign management tools
• Simple and centralized management of content and devices
• Built-in monitoring and troubleshooting tools

QL can handle all of the above and also do much more than display dynamic menu content. Restaurant staff can create, store and serve their own product data feeds using our software’s built-in Content Manager and Data Feed Manager. They can also modify content selections and product information right from their mobile phone.

Using our digital signage solutions, restaurant owners and operators can build and maintain their own product and pricing database without leaving the software. Users can also easily import custom data feeds from all popular POS and inventory management systems via our built-in Data Feed Manager.

Menus can be displayed in a table format using QL’s Data Grid feature or shown in individual fields you can place anywhere on screen. It’s never been this easy to create digital menu board templates for your store.

The QL Digital Menu Board Software Solution

We offer a range of solutions for every indoor and outdoor digital menu board challenge. You create dynamic content using QL’s own Template Designer with your own product images, animations, price lists and caloric values. You can also insert videos in your layouts to create attention-grabbing digital menus that sell.

Restaurant chains who operate their own POS systems can retrieve real-time product and pricing so their digital menu screens are always kept up to date. By connecting QL to your POS database you can automate content shown on screen without any staff interaction. Automatically remove out-of-stock items or promote overstock items based on actual inventory levels.

Programming your menuboards is easy using dayparting. Create time slots for each period of the day and then assign playlists with your own menus. Easily transition between breakfast, lunch and dinner items based on the time of day. All of this can be done from the comfort of your favorite web browser!

QL supports multi-screen/single PC menu installations and can synchronize content across any number of screens, including Smart TVs with integrated player hardware, Android media players and BrightSign players. There is no better solution to create and manage a digital menu board for restaurants.

QL gives you a competitive edge

Sales increase when you deploy professional digital menu boards. Guests stay longer, they order more, and they enjoy a better experience that guarantees repeat visits.

It’s easy to take advantage of QL’s features:

• Create, publish and display a visually stunning restaurant menu board layout from any desktop PC or mobile device.
• QL is easy to learn and simple to use. No technical or graphic skills are required and anyone can create beautiful menu layouts using our web-based template designer.
• Update restaurant menu board menu items, caloric information, and prices instantly using QL server data feeds or any external database.
• Highlight new products, promote your assortment and your brand. Create simple playlists that switch over from breakfast, to lunch, to dinner selections. Schedule events once, and let QL handle the rest.

Simple and secure

QL’s Content Manager is very user-friendly, yet powerful. Staff members can update their digital menu board instantly using our software’s built-in Template Designer. They can even update menus from any smartphone or tablet via the QL Mobile app.

Security is our top priority. Only authorized users can modify digital menu board content or change the information published on your screens. For instance, a restaurant operator may have full administrative privileges across an entire chain while managers are only authorized to change their own local pricing, or publish announcements and instant notifications for their locations. You decide who has access, which information they can see, and what they can publish.

There is a QL software version available for any size or type of organization. Choose from a cloud based digital signage solution (SaaS) or an on-premise software version you install and manage on your own servers.

Automate digital menu item and pricing updates

Most large restaurant chains use point-of-sale (POS) and inventory management systems to manage pricing and centralize product information. QL easily integrates and synchronizes with POS systems and back-end databases to retrieve real-time product data so your menus are always accurate and automatically kept up to date.

• QL will automatically remove sold-out items from your digital menu board.
• Prices and item descriptions can be synchronized locally or with a centralized database.
• Easily deploy a common menu layout to hundreds of locations with each one showing unique pricing and products.
• Trigger promotions based on any criteria.
• Automatically promote overstocked items.
• Show ads based on live data. For example, promote ice cream when the it’s hot outside or sunglasses when it is sunny outside.
• Upsell side-dish items and cross-sell using drive-thru LED screens. Automatically show side items based on the customer’s order.
• Use touch screens or sensors (motion, RFID, mechanical button, etc.)

Making your programming more dynamic

QL’s Dynamic Content Rules uses artificial intelligence to decide when certain menu items should show up on your digital menu board based on external data. Content can be added to your programs or triggered based on stock levels, or promotional status,. In the case of drive-through digital menus, you can also show add-on items based on a customer’s order.

You can also use environmental factors (temperature, weather, traffic levels, and more) to decide what gets shown on your screens. This technology operates in real-time, specific to each site, and is completely hands-free.

QL Mobile

QL Mobile lets staff members update and control your digital menu screens using any smartphone or tablet. They can also update your menu board database and make changes on-the-fly. Launch unique content at the touch of a screen. You can also turn screens on or off and control any screen’s volume right from your phone.

QL makes dayparting easy

Navori QL software end-users define time slots for the various periods of the day. Time slots can repeat daily or change depending on the store’s need. Some locations may want to display the same time slots 7 days a week (breakfast, lunch, dinner). Others may wish to display content that changes daily, or they may want to show different menus during the week and on weekends. It’s important to select an electronic menu board software that can accommodate both options.

QL can accommodate all these scenarios and more. For example, you can assign specific rules to individual content, such as a “happy hour” announcement that can only appear on specific days, and at specific times.

What are the technologies behind digital menu boards?

First, let’s talk about the basics. There are two types of restaurant menu board applications. Indoor and outdoor.

Most outdoor menu boards and drive through signs use ultra-bright digital screens and are installed vertically. An indoor digital menu board tends to use multiple screens that are laid out horizontally. For the most part, the screens used in these applications must be designed for constant operation (24/7/365).

It’s one reason why system-on-a-chip screens have become so popular for restaurant menu screen applications. These screens are relatively inexpensive and they have proven to be extremely reliable. They are also very easy to install which is an added bonus.

Windows PCs remain quite popular because they are more versatile and offer better performance. High-end digital signage menu boards can rely on multiple screens connected to Windows PCs running Navori Labs’ QL IPR player software. QL IPR is a perfect choice for this type of application since it supports up to 24 screens and can display unique high resolution content simultaneously on each screen.

For best results, we recommend using a thin-bezel digital sign as they provide a seamless canvas for large banners and video walls when synchronizing content across all screens. When displaying content on these large surfaces, menus are easier to read and you create a better guest experience.

Using Computer Vision with your digital menu boards?

Marketing analytics

Navori Labs’ AQUAJI marketing analytics platform uses computer vision and artificial intelligence for audience analysis. When interfaced with the QL digital signage software, AQUAJI can perform several useful tasks like adjusting a playlist according to customer time spent waiting. AQUAJI can also provide important metrics such as customer wait times so management can adjust staffing levels to meet corporate performance targets.

Knowing your customers

By scanning and analyzing your store’s traffic flow, AQUAJI can provide useful information about each customer’s demographic profile, and the time spent by each person visiting your store. This information is invaluable to marketing and planning managers.

Restaurant drive-through

AQUAJI can detect vehicle license plates and match them to POS data so drive-through menus can offer personalized choices based on past purchases. The software can also track time spent waiting which can be used to analyze employee performance.

Conclusions

When it comes to best digital menu board software, there are a few key factors to consider. First and foremost, the software should be easy to use and understand. Additionally, the software should be compatible with all popular types of digital displays, so that you can change your digital restaurant menu as often as you like without having to purchase new hardware.

Finally, it should be affordable, so that you can get started without breaking the bank. With these factors in mind, we believe that Navori QL is the best software on the market today. QL offers a wide range of templates and designs to choose from, is compatible with all popular types of digital displays, and is very affordable. Get started today and see how menu boards for restaurants can improve sales, reduce perceived wait times and improve the overall customer experience. Thanks for considering QL Digital Signage Software for your digital menu board solution!