With several digital menu board platforms on the market for quick-service restaurants (QSRs), dining halls, drive-thrus, and food service operators to choose from, you might be feeling overwhelmed by features, offerings, and more as you do your initial comparison research. 

Instead of comparing features side-by-side in a long list, we’re looking at the bigger picture to help make your comparison research a bit simpler. In this article, we’ll compare WAND Digital with Xenial – A Global Payments Company.

Xenial is a large global company that makes digital signage, software, and hardware for several industries and at enterprise scale. When it comes to managing a signage display network at scale, they make it seem easy to provision and deploy devices at an enterprise level. If you’re looking to deploy hundreds or thousands of displays and all the accompanying technology, you might consider what they offer.

Though, because they play at such a large scale with a “to the max” mentality, their services and features could be more than a small-to-midsize QSR franchise or food service operation would need to set up one, a couple, or even a few dozen locations with digital menu board technology.

Because WAND Digital is centered on getting QSRs, fast casual restaurants, and food service operators up and running quickly and smoothly with digital signage technology, we won’t take you down a rabbit hole of distracting features or next-level products. Xenial’s endless options could be overwhelming for small and mid-size operations and distract from what it takes to operate and scale successfully. 

If you’re making the transition from static menus to dynamic digital menus, consider a partner that will listen to your needs and goals and tailor a solution for you. WAND experts will help you decide on the optimal set-up and solution based on your business’s budget, parameters, and challenges. Then, we’ll procure and install hardware (like displays) for you, install WAND’s digital menu board software, integrate it with your POS system (if desired), and train and support your teams to ensure you get up and running quickly and sturdily. 

With WAND’s installation and onboarding services, content management resources, and award-winning menu design, you’ll be able to easily make updates to menu items, prices, descriptions, calories and sizes, as well as upload brand assets, schedule day-parting, and deploy a premium outdoor and indoor experience from one store to hundreds in minutes.

There are some benefits to working with a large global corporation like Xenial. But, another drawback can be the maze you have to navigate in order to get useful and timely support from staff who know you as a client. 

WAND offers 24/7/365 support. Our support team is headquartered in Eden Prairie, Minnesota, and they are always ready to respond to your service needs. WAND’s experts know our clients and our products well. One reviewer on Featured Customers writes, “Not only is the software easy to use but the relationship with WAND is supportive, helpful and open. It’s a great partnership.” 

In addition to around-the-clock support and a partnership mindset, WAND has decades of award-winning menu design in our portfolio and can help you design, test, and optimize your unique menu to maximize engagement and ROI.

For all these reasons, we hope you’ll see that WAND Digital is the preferred alternative to Xenial. Overall, Xenial offers a lot across the spectrum of digital signage needs. Though, their size and focus on enterprise-level operations could leave you overwhelmed with your transition from static to digital menus.

If you’d like to continue your research to find the best digital menu board platform for your business, see the related articles below for additional comparisons of the best digital menu technology on the market.

Disclaimer: All information was obtained from public sources on or around the date of publishing this article and may have changed since then. References to Xenial are for illustrative and educational purposes only. We are not affiliated with or sponsored by Xenial.

In comparing WAND’s digital menu board technology to other digital signage platforms, we could go feature by feature, but we understand that can be overwhelming. If you are an owner, operator, marketer, manager, etc. of a quick-service restaurant (QSR), fast casual restaurant or food service, this article is for you as you dive into your initial comparison research of the best digital menu platform for your operation. 

Instead of a long list, we’re looking at the bigger picture–the focus and capabilities of the technology and company–to help make your digital menu and signage comparison research a bit simpler. In this article, we’ll compare WAND’s digital menu platform with Nutrislice’s.

We know our clients’ needs, industry requirements, consumer demands, and food service and QSR trends. We’ve designed our software and built our technology solutions specifically for food service and quick-service restaurant owners and operators.

With features like WAND’s order status module (for drive-thrus), interactive service kiosks, mobile and web menus, A/B testing, advanced analytics, menu templates, and easy-to-update menu details (like items, prices, descriptions, calories and sizes), you’ll be able to deploy a premium outdoor and indoor experience from one location to hundreds in minutes. 

Additionally, WAND’s digital menu board software was built specifically to help you stand out from the competition with easy branding and marketing tools. With our QSR pedigree, we can help food service operators, like hospital and college cafeterias, become best-in-class dining options for their patrons.

WAND’s suite of integrations is prepared to connect to your point-of-sale (POS) system and create a single source of truth for powering, managing, and revising your digital menus.

A lack of focus on one industry could mean watered-down solutions for QSR and fast-casual restaurants. With a focus just on the food service industry, Nutrislice might not have their eye on helping you stand out from the competition.

In the food service industry, there can appear to be less competition because patrons of these facilities are often already committed to the space that the food service is in. For example, imagine taking a trip to a hospital and needing dinner and breakfast during your stay. Would you have a choice between the hospital’s food service and another’s? Likely, no. But these days, you might hop on an app for food delivery service and order from a local restaurant. So, if you are looking for your brand and marketing to stand out from the competition, WAND Digital is a good alternative to Nutrislice. 

One of Nutrislice’s core solutions is displaying nutrition information, which is important for food service in the industries they serve. One of their products they do this through is a digital labeling system that requires the customer to scan with their phone a QR code to learn additional details about the item. An alternative, perhaps more user-friendly option, would be on-site touch screens (tablets) the customer can interact with to view the menu items and details – especially if all of your food items are not on display (and therefore would not have a designated digital label).

Currently, Nutrislice’s only POS system integration is with Oracle’s MICROS Simphony. So, if you operate with a POS system such as Toast, Revel, Square, PAR Brink or another, syncing your POS system data and capabilities with your menus could be a costly custom integration.  

When it comes to hardware, WAND Digital looks out for our clients in the long run with end-to-end tailored solutions. We guide our clients through display selection based on the environment and intended use, like if the displays and hardware need to be weather resistant or able to withstand the harsh environment of commercial kitchens. We’ll procure, install, and get your hardware up and running smoothly. WAND Digital powers these displays through proprietary software that communicates wirelessly to updated display operating software, making these smart screens smarter. 

Nutrislice on the other hand uses an open source media player approach, which can be limited in capacity and capability. And, when it comes to which displays you use, they seem to be less invested.

The bottom line is that WAND Digital ensures that your end-to-end solution is optimized for your business no matter how unique each of your locations are. 

If you’d like to continue your research to find the best digital menu board platform for your business, see the related articles below for additional comparisons of the best digital menu technology on the market.

Disclaimer: All information was obtained from public sources on or around the date of publishing this article and may have changed since then. References to Nutrislice are for illustrative and educational purposes only. We are not affiliated with or sponsored by Nutrislice.

With several digital menu board platforms on the market for quick-service restaurants (QSRs), dining halls, drive-thrus, and food service operators to choose from, you might be feeling overwhelmed by features, offerings, and more as you do your initial comparison research. Instead of comparing features side-by-side in a long list, we’re looking at the bigger picture – the fundamental aspects of the technology and company – to help make your comparison research a bit simpler. In this article, we’ll compare WAND Digital with SmarterSign.

SmarterSign won’t procure or install hardware for you, although they’ll make recommendations for installation services, for displays, and for what they refer to as SmarterSign players, which are hardware and operating systems that you can run their digital signage software on. Compared to WAND Digital, SmarterSign is more of a build-your-own in regards to setting up each location with all your technology needs. If you are more of the do-it-yourself (DIY) type or are very technically savvy, and you have time to put all the pieces together (literally and figuratively), this may work for you, but it certainly won’t work for all QSR and food service owners and operators.

Not to mention, SmarterSign’s platform is not just for digital menu boards, but for digital signage across several industries like hospitality, healthcare, retail, corporate communications and more.

As you are well aware, QSR owners and operators have busy schedules and often little time to invest into researching, purchasing and implementing new technology and equipment (even if it means time and money saved in the long run). WAND Digital’s full service hands-on support is a major time (and effort) saver for everything you’ll need to implement a digital menu board platform at your location/s. WAND experts will help you decide on the optimal set-up and solution based on your business’s budget, parameters, and challenges. Then, we’ll procure and install hardware (like displays) for you, install WAND’s digital menu board software, integrate it with your POS system (if desired), and train and support your teams to ensure you get up and running quickly and sturdily.

End-to-end support might require a bit more investment up front, but you’ll soon increase your average order values and repeat customer rate, as well as save time and unnecessary costs trying to DIY. Though, WAND does offer digital menu packages for any stage of growth (whether you’re a do-it-your-selfer or you want as much support as you can get).

With our installation and onboarding services, content management resources, and award-winning menu design, you’ll be able to easily make updates to menu items, prices, descriptions, calories and sizes, as well as upload brand assets, schedule day-parting, and deploy a premium outdoor and indoor experience from one store to hundreds in minutes.

Here’s this issue with that: There are risks with connectivity when stringing one media player to multiple TVs. WAND recommends a 1:1 ratio when it comes to players and displays, because multi display players can be unreliable and create a rabbit hole of failure and implementation scenarios. The added complexity of multi display players outweighs the savings, especially as you scale. Yes, SmarterSign does offer a 1:1 ratio, though you’ll need to decide on the best configuration of technology and then install and set-up the player and display yourself (or hire someone else to do it).

WAND Digital will outfit your location/s with modern commercial grade displays, which eliminate the need for an external player. WAND embeds the player within the display itself, which is a more reliable set-up. Though, if you already have display screens you want to use, WAND is able to accommodate and install a WAND media player (though we still recommend taking the embedded player route). With WAND’s easy, no-code, no-fuss displays, and 24/7/365 operational support, you’ll never miss a beat or stress about an outage again.

For all these reasons, we hope you’ll see that WAND Digital is the preferred alternative to SmarterSign. Overall, SmarterSign offers a lot across the spectrum of digital signage needs. Though, perhaps their lack of support when it comes to procuring and installing hardware could leave you with a patchwork of unreliable technology and higher costs in the long run.

If you’d like to continue your research to find the best digital menu board platform for your business, see the related articles below for additional comparisons of the best digital menu technology on the market.

Disclaimer: All information was obtained from public sources on or around the date of publishing this article and may have changed since then. References to SmarterSign are for illustrative and educational purposes only. We are not affiliated with or sponsored by SmarterSign.

For quick-service restaurants (QSRs), dining halls, drive-thrus, and food service operators, digital menu boards are now table stakes in the competitive food service and restaurant industry. So, it’s important that your digital menu boards and everything it takes to run them well – like commercial-grade screens and software tailored to restaurant owners’ and operators’ needs – are optimized for scalability, growth in sales, and bottom lines. 

For franchisors and franchisees who are ready to invest in digital menus for drive-thrus and indoor service, we’ve pulled together comparisons of the best platforms on the market for QSRs and fast casual restaurants. In this article, we’ll cover what makes WAND Digital the OptiSigns alternative digital menu platform for businesses in the QSR industry

Tempting and perhaps cheaper in the short-term, TV screens are not ideal restaurant digital menu boards. When it comes to hardware longevity, durability, and capabilities, a TV is no substitute for what a restaurant needs. Consumer-grade TVs aren’t built to last and cannot withstand a restaurant environment. Additionally, most consumer TV screen warranties clearly detail that commercial use of the TV screen falls outside of the product’s warranty. Not to mention, TV screens have too many unnecessary settings. If you’re looking to upgrade your restaurant signage with digital menu technology, investing in commercial-grade screens is a smart move for your customers, end-users, and your bottom line.

Read this article on why TV screens won’t work as digital menu boards

OptiSigns software and hardware (a plug-and play device or one of many they recommend like Amazon Fire TV Stick and other similar players) are not specifically made for QSRs and fast casual restaurants but any business with digital signage needs. They run the gamut when it comes to industries served, which means their software and hardware were created for broad use, not just for QSR drive-thru digital menus or indoor digital menus. And, because OptiSigns was not created specifically for QSRs, services like POS system integration are not included in the base packages – you’d need to upgrade to their enterprise package to receive custom integrations, thereby increasing your costs.

WAND Digital can outfit your QSR or fast-casual restaurant with POS integrations, state-of-the-art hardware, and more tech to fit your needs. WAND will help you procure industrial-grade digital menu boards for your drive-thrus that withstand the weather in any region and climate that your stores are located in as well as best-in-class displays for your indoor spaces. 

Additionally, WAND Digital’s software is specifically made to help QSR and fast casual restaurant owners and operators get up and running quickly and seamlessly (then scale and grow) with digital menu boards. With our installation and onboarding services, content management resources, and award-winning menu design, you’ll be able to easily make updates to menu items, prices, descriptions, calories and sizes, as well as upload brand assets, schedule day-parting, and deploy a premium outdoor and indoor experience from one store to hundreds in minutes.

Designed for maximum performance, WAND is hosted by AWS and backed by an offline automatic playback system. WAND software integrates with POS systems like Revel, Toast, PAR Technology’s Brink (all leaders in the QSR industry) and more, so you have a single source of truth for powering, managing, and revising your digital menus.

For all these reasons, we hope you’ll see that WAND Digital is the preferred alternative to OptiSigns. Overall, OptiSigns offers a lot across the spectrum of digital signage needs. Though, perhaps their lack of focus on QSRs and recommended use (and support for) consumer-grade TVs could leave you with an untailored, short-term solution.

If you’d like to continue your research to find the best digital menu board platform for your business, see the related articles below for additional comparisons of the best digital menu technology on the market.

Disclaimer: All information was obtained from public sources on or around the date of publishing this article and may have changed since then. References to OptiSigns are for illustrative and educational purposes only. We are not affiliated with or sponsored by OptiSigns.

In comparing WAND Digital’s menu board technology to other companies’ digital menu boards, we could go feature by feature, but we understand that can be overwhelming for quick service restaurant (QSR) owners and operators as you dive into your initial comparison research. Instead of a long list, we’re looking at the bigger picture – the fundamental aspects of the technology and company – to help make your comparison research a bit simpler. In this article, we’ll compare WAND’s digital menu board platform with Navori Labs’.

We are experts in the QSR and food-service industry who take a partnership approach to serving our clients in order to meet and exceed their digital menu board expectations. WAND works directly with our clients for end-to-end service for everything from system architecture, hardware installation, software implementation, point-of-sale (POS) system integration, operational support, and menu design. This means we get to know our clients and receive direct feedback from them in order to understand how we can best serve them. With their partnership and feedback, we continue to evolve our products and services to be cutting-edge, user-friendly, scalable, and secure.

Navori delivers “technologies to digital signage solution providers and software resellers worldwide.” This means Navori does not typically sell its software directly to end users, selling mainly through channel partners such as distributors, resellers, and integrators. For example, The Howard Company resells Navori software licenses to its clients, and they remain the support and service contacts for their clients. This creates a larger distance for feedback to travel back to Navori, perhaps leaving them out of touch with who their end users really are and what these business’s needs and goals are with their digital menu board software. End users may never know that they are using Navori if the channel partner providing the service layer doesn’t tell them. With Navori, you may need to pay another service provider to do your POS system integration, help procure hardware, and provide technical support.

We know our clients’ needs, industry requirements, consumer demands, and QSR trends. We’ve designed our software and built our technology solutions to specifically serve fast-casual and quick service restaurant owners and operators and food service managers. With features like WAND’s order status module, weather widget, mobile and web menu, A/B testing, advanced analytics, menu templates, and easy-to-update menu details (like items, prices, descriptions, calories and sizes), you’ll be able to deploy a premium outdoor and indoor experience from one store to hundreds in minutes. Additionally, WAND’s digital menu board software was built specifically to help you stand out from the QSR competition with easy branding and marketing tools.

Navori makes software for many industries, including healthcare, government, retail, business/corporate, transportation, restaurants and more. With a lack of focus on one industry in combination with resellers representing their primary sales channel, means QSRs and fast casual restaurants are left to figure out how to customize their technology set up in order to meet their industry-specific requirements, needs and goals with digital menu boards. Serving so many industries could mean watered-down solutions for QSR and fast-casual restaurants.

If you’d like to continue your research to find the best digital menu board platform for your business, see the related articles below for additional comparisons of the best digital menu technology on the market.

Disclaimer: All information was obtained from public sources on or around the date of publishing this article and may have changed since then. References to Navori Labs are for illustrative and educational purposes only. We are not affiliated with or sponsored by Navori Labs.

If you’re looking to make the move from static menu boards to digital menu boards, you might be feeling overwhelmed by the number of options with which to outfit your quick-service restaurant (QSR) or fast casual restaurant. We’re here to help you sift through it all to figure out the best fit for your business. We’ve pulled together a handful of comparisons of the best digital menu platforms on the market for QSRs. In this article, we’ll compare WAND Digital’s menu system and The Howard Company’s.

First and foremost, The Howard Company is more like a consulting firm or middleman for brick-and-mortar businesses that have drive-thrus, like banks, car washes, grocery stores, restaurants, QSRs, etc. They manufacture hardware (such as illuminated menu boards and drive-thru menu boards and accessories), and they recommend procuring Samsung display screens. The biggest difference between WAND Digital and The Howard Company is that The Howard Company does not have their own digital menu software. They license content management software from Navori, which makes digital signage software for several industries, including retail, business/corporate, transportation, restaurants and more.

WAND is laser focused when it comes to digital menu solutions. Because we built the platform, we know our own technology inside and out and have a strong bench of developers evolving the platform and experts who will support you every step of the way. This also means we don’t tack on licensing fees. And though WAND is not a display manufacturer, we make display operating systems work better.

WAND Digital wants to help you eliminate the costs of printing, shipping, and merchandising associated with static signage. WAND’s tools and platform enable users to leverage dynamic digital signage to increase revenue by consistently influencing the buying behavior of guests. Food service, QSR and fast-casual restaurant owners and operators are able to adopt this technology quickly in the face of labor shortages and increasing competition to automate the menu updating process. In addition, WAND’s API feature seamlessly integrates with most third-party data sources (including your POS), empowering real-time data compilation and adaption to the unique needs of each of your locations.

The digitization of drive-thrus not only gives restaurants a competitive edge in an ever-growing industry, but it has also permanently changed how drive-thrus deliver clearer information, better experiences, and enhanced safety to customers when they need it most. Though The Howard Company can help you move to digital for your menus (using a third-party software), they still manufacture static signage, which will leave you in the dust when it comes to market competition.

On top of manufacturing drive-thru menu boards and accessories and static signage, The Howard Company also creates branding materials and merchandising articles for interior and exteriors of businesses, as well as consults on interior design. It’s a lot of extras with a lack of focus on going digital.

WAND is hosted by AWS and backed by an offline automatic playback system. WAND software integrates with POS systems like Revel, Toast, PAR Technology’s Brink (all leaders in the QSR industry) and more, so you have a single source of truth for powering, managing and revising your digital menus. We also understand that reliable hardware is a big part of ensuring your digital technology works well. So, WAND pros will help you procure industrial-grade digital menu boards for your drive-thrus that withstand the weather in any region and climate that your stores are located in as well as best-in-class displays for indoor food service.

In summary, The Howard Company will consult with you in getting all of your digital and static signage and accessories up, though you might end up with a hodgepodge of technology and non-digital signage and pay more due to consulting fees and markups on licensing and monitors.

Disclaimer: All information was obtained from public sources on or around the date of publishing this article and may have changed since then. References to The Howard Company are for illustrative and educational purposes only. We are not affiliated with or sponsored by The Howard Company.

Digital menu boards can help fast casual and quick-service restaurants (QSRs) grow revenue, stand out from the competition, and save time and money on IT. Yet, in order to accomplish these goals, your digital menu platform must provide a dynamic and enjoyable experience for customers, align with your budget, be user friendly, and most importantly, be backed with great technical and strategic support. In this article, we’ll take a quick tour of WAND Digital’s digital menu system and compare it with what Delphi Display Systems offers.

WAND’s focus is on your success through a digital menu system consisting of software, smart menu design, hardware (we’ll help you procure what you need), and integration with your point of sale system (POS) and other existing tech. Because WAND’s products and services are for QSRs and fast casual restaurants specifically, we are able to offer expert-tailored packages for any stage of growth: Express, Pro and Elite. We’ll meet you where you are, whether you’re a do-it-yourselfer who wants to dive in and take advantage of WAND’s self-help services from day one, or you’d like to rest easy with WAND-guided implementation and content deployments. If a pre-set package isn’t what you need, we offer an a la carte menu (pun intended) you can select from to fit your time and budget.

Delphi makes hardware for drive-thrus such as digital menu boards, timers, confirmation screens and wireless headsets. They do not make displays but will help procure them for you just as WAND does. Delphi’s offerings are focused on their drive-thru hardware, though they also have a software platform for managing menu content. Considering this focus, there are potential blind spots with implementing end-to-end customer engagement, both inside and outside your restaurant.

Our support team is headquartered in Eden Prairie, Minnesota, and can be reached at 952-361-6200, or if you prefer, you can submit a digital ticket and our support team will respond quickly. With our focus on digital menus for small to midsize franchisors and franchisees in the quick service restaurant industry, WAND’s experts know our clients and our products well. If you’d like to request a demo or a quote, you can get in touch with us here.

Delphi is a global company that is also in the entertainment, corporate and education industries. In order to differentiate your fast casual or quick-service restaurant (QSR) from the competition and keep up with customer demand, your digital menu system must work well when it matters most, like the dinner rush at 5pm on a Friday. And, if you need help troubleshooting when it doesn’t? You might be disappointed to find out that Delphi’s tech support shuts down at 3pm (and are not available on weekends or holidays either).

If you’d like to continue your research to find the best digital menu board platform for your business see the related article below for additional comparisons of the best digital menus on the market.

Disclaimer: All information was obtained from public sources on or around the date of publishing this article and may have changed since then. References to Delphi Display Systems are for illustrative and educational purposes only. We are not affiliated with or sponsored by Delphi Display Systems.

Digital menu boards are now table stakes for small and midsize business owners and operators in the fast casual and quick-service restaurant (QSR) industry. For franchisors and franchisees who are ready to make the investment in digital menus for drive-thrus and indoor service, we’ve pulled together comparisons of the best platforms on the market for QSRs. In this article, we’ll compare WAND Digital’s menu system and Raydiant’s.

Raydiant’s software and hardware (a plug-and-play device) are not specifically made for QSRs and fast casual restaurants but any business with digital signage needs.They run the gamut when it comes to industries served, which means their software and hardware were created for broad use, not just for QSR drive-thru digital menus or indoor digital menus. 

Raydiant’s content management system (CMS) integrates with several point-of-sale (POS) systems, including Square and Toast. The CMS connects customers to an overwhelming and unfocused stack of features and media like employee rewards, sales gamification, mobile apps, widgets, emotion detection, 250,000+ drag-and-drop templates, music, video clips, news feeds, social sharing, trivia games, entertainment, etc. This lack of focus could be distracting for small to midsize QSRs who are looking to take the first step of swapping static manual menus with dynamic digital menus or are just getting a foothold in upgraded technology.

Because WAND Digital is centered on QSRs and fast casual restaurants, we won’t take you down a rabbit hole of distracting or complicated features that are not focused on what it takes to run and scale a QSR successfully. WAND Digital’s software is specifically made to help QSR and fast casual restaurant owners and operators get up and running quickly and seamlessly with digital menu boards. With our installation and onboarding services, content management resources, and award-winning menu design, you’ll be able to easily make updates to menu items, prices, descriptions, calories and sizes, as well as upload brand assets, schedule day-parting, and deploy a premium outdoor and indoor experience from one store to hundreds in minutes.

Designed for maximum performance, WAND is hosted by AWS and backed by an offline automatic playback system. WAND software integrates with POS systems like Revel, Toast, PAR Technology’s Brink (all leaders in the QSR industry) and more, so you have a single source of truth for powering, managing, and revising your digital menus.

Raydiant does not make display screens and recommends their customers to source their own from places like Walmart, Best Buy or Costco, leaving it up to customers to figure out industrial-grade requirements and which ones fit best for their locations. Additionally, Raydiant hires out Geek Squad for installation. In regards to their hardware, Raydiant makes a mini computer that plugs into an HDMI port. Each device plays to each individual screen to be controlled independently from their cloud-based CMS.

WAND Digital can outfit your QSR or fast-casual restaurant with POS integrations, state-of-the-art hardware, and more tech to fit your needs. WAND will help you procure industrial-grade digital menu boards for your drive-thrus that withstand the weather in any region and climate that your stores are located in as well as best-in-class displays for your indoor spaces. Because we are experts in digital signage for the QSR industry, we can cater to your specific needs and goals from start to finish. We also offer 24/7/365 operational support.

Overall, Raydiant offers a lot across the gamut of digital signage needs. Though, perhaps their lack of focus on QSRs and overwhelming amount of features and technology options could leave you self-navigating the transition to digital menus.

Disclaimer: All information was obtained from public sources on or around the date of publishing this article and may have changed since then. References to Raydiant are for illustrative and educational purposes only. We are not affiliated with or sponsored by Raydiant.

Whether it is to build your brand, drive sales or engage customers, digital menu boards help fast casual and quick-service restaurants (QSRs) hit their goals. In this article we’ll compare a few key solutions and features of WAND’s digital menu platform with BrightSign’s to help you choose the best digital menu platform to outfit and run your store, cafe or cafeteria with. If you’re just starting your research or need reasons to make the investment in digital menus, read this article on Why It’s Time to Go Digital with Drive-thru Menu Boards. Read here for additional comparisons of WAND’s offerings to other systems on the market.

Among the dizzying amount of products and packages BrightSign offers, is a focus on digital signage media players. They are a global company that serves “all vertical segments in the marketplace,” which means they are not solely dedicated to providing solutions for QSRs and fast casual restaurants. BrightSign does offer cloud-connectivity (called BSN.cloud) on all BrightSign players, of which can integrate with 90 content management system (CMS) providers. They also have their own CMS, though, it is not designed just for QSRs and fast casual restaurants.

Because WAND designs and evolves our products and services specifically for QSRs and fast casual restaurants, we are experts in the industry and can help you increase average order values and your repeat customer rate with dynamic digital menus and signs. WAND offers digital menu packages for any stage of growth. From integrating WAND software with your existing tech, to procuring hardware, WAND caters to owners’ and operators’ needs. Our focus on a well-rounded suite of solutions for QSRs and fast casual restaurants helps you grow revenue, save money on IT and create stand-out branded experiences.

As mentioned, BrightSign’s focus is their media players. When it comes to CMSs, they defer to other providers they integrate with instead of recommending their own CMS (which is not specifically for QSRs and fast casual restaurants). Additionally, they will not help you procure other hardware like displays.

All of WAND’s software and services are made for QSRs and fast casual restaurants (including cafes, university food service and more). WAND’s online menu software enables you to quickly edit your menu items, prices, descriptions, calories and sizes. You can select from a wide variety of award-winning menu designs, choose photos in order to upsell high-value items, and create a branded experience across your displays. We ensure your operation is thoroughly onboarded, integrated, outfitted and serviced throughout our partnership, including procuring hardware best fit for each of your locations and integrating with your POS system.

As a global company serving many industries, BrightSign’s customer service is spread thinly among their potential and existing customers. According to one review, they do not offer much in the way of tutorials or guidance on how to set up and use their products.

Our support team is headquartered in Eden Prairie, Minnesota, and can be reached at 952-361-6200, or if you prefer, you can submit a digital ticket and our support team will respond quickly. If you’d like to request a demo or a quote, you can get in touch with us here.

Disclaimer: All information was obtained from public sources on or around the date of publishing this article and may have changed since then. References to BrightSign are for illustrative and educational purposes only. We are not affiliated with or sponsored by BrightSign.

Digital menu boards for fast food restaurants, or quick service restaurants (QSRs), and fast casual restaurants are a must-have for the best customer experience and to scale your business. But with an array of technology to pick from, how do you choose the best digital display software and hardware for your franchise? In this article we’ll compare a few key features and offerings of WAND’s digital menu board platform with NCR’s. If you’re just starting your research or need reasons to make the investment in a digital menu platform, read this article on Why It’s Time to Go Digital with Drive-thru Menu Boards.

The biggest difference between WAND and NCR’s offerings for restaurants is that WAND focuses on digital menus, and NCR’s product is a point-of-sale (POS) system with digital menu management as a secondary feature that’s not cloud-based. WAND connects to your POS system and creates a single source of truth for powering, managing, and revising your digital menus. WAND is hosted by AWS and backed by an offline automatic playback system.

NCR offers two options for their POS system: Aloha Cloud, which is cloud-based but does not include digital menu board management, dayparting, templates or changes. The other is Aloha Essentials, which is not cloud-based but does include digital menu board management features. If you already have Aloha and are looking to add or upgrade your digital menu game, WAND can help you integrate our software with NCR’s POS. If you already have a POS system and are not looking for a complete technology overhaul, Aloha is likely not for you. This also makes NCR the more expensive route as you are paying for the whole kit and caboodle.

WAND enables franchisors and franchisees to grow revenue, stand out from the competition, and save money and time on IT through the use of dynamic digital displays and menu boards. These are some of the best tools owners and operators can add to their growth strategy. Because WAND designs and evolves our products and services specifically for QSRs and fast casual restaurants, we know the industry inside and out and can help you increase average order values and your repeat customer rate.

And, we offer digital menu packages for any stage of growth.

NCR is a global corporation with hands in several industries.

Their POS system is made for restaurants, not specifically QSR’s and fast casual, which could slow your time to market and increase costs for customizing the platform to your needs.

In summary, WAND is your digital display software and technology partner designed to increase your customer’s engagement, average order value, and sales revenue. On the other hand, if you need a whole new POS system and a lot of features in addition to digital menus (and you have more time and budget) Aloha might be worth looking into.

Disclaimer: All information was obtained from public sources on or around the date of publishing this article and may have changed since then. References to NCR are for illustrative and educational purposes only. We are not affiliated with or sponsored by NCR.