Are you running your restaurant with spreadsheets? While Excel is a powerful tool that's helped countless businesses thrive, growing restaurants often reach a point where they need something more scalable. Whether it's an off-the-shelf solution or custom-built software, modern restaurant management systems can transform those dozens of spreadsheets into a seamless, integrated experience.
This article will explore today's restaurant management landscape: from ready-to-use platforms to custom development options. We'll break down key features of major solutions in the market, and show you how custom software development can create a system that fits your unique needs perfectly.
Restaurant management system business benefits
End-to-end restaurant automation software can incorporate dozens of features, from accounting and tax reports to loyalty programs. To understand capabilities and benefits, we should consider internal and customer-facing business processes.
Back of the House Benefits
Restaurant management involves dozens of mundane tasks that could benefit from software automation. Everything from tax reports to employee scheduling can be achieved using a reliable management system. However, you need to be sure the solution's features meet your needs and can increase efficiency and reduce expenses, instead of going the other way around. Keep an eye for features to help you
Keep track of stock inventory
You will always know when supplies are running low, and placing an order with suppliers can be as easy as clicking one button. Moreover, you can track supply usage and quickly stop employee thefts. Predictive analytics will help you calculate the budget necessary to keep your restaurant stocked any month of the year, depending on customer demand.
Let me show you how this works in practice: Your system notices you're using mozzarella 20% faster this week due to a popular new pizza special. Instead of running out during Friday's rush, it automatically adjusts your Wednesday delivery order. But it gets better—platforms like
MarginEdge or Restaurant365 can spot if someone logs unusual ingredient usage at odd hours or if your portion sizes are creeping up.
Schedule work shifts to keep employees happy
An intuitive restaurant system design will allow employees to schedule their hours and prevent overstaffing or understaffing, saving money without detracting from the customer experience. Integrating an employee communication system can ensure that all team members stay on the same page and are happy with their employment.
Here's what it looks like in action: Your hosts can swap shifts right from their phones using apps like
HotSchedules while the system automatically checks that you're not accidentally scheduling your best bartender for a double shift. Smart systems like Planday even predict when you'll need extra hands – like when a big game in town or a local event that historically packs your tables.
Automate accounting and tax reports
Modern restaurant accounting is like having a virtual CFO working 24/7. Take
QuickBooks Restaurant Edition or Restaurant365. They automatically categorize your morning coffee delivery as COGS (Cost of Goods Sold), sort your DoorDash payouts correctly, and flag if your food costs suddenly jump above 32%.
Tax compliance is where it shines. Imagine it's Friday night, and someone orders a beer (alcohol tax) a take-out pizza (different tax rate) and adds a tip (payroll tax implications). The system handles all these calculations instantly. It knows that Florida has different restaurant tax rules than California or that Chicago has special meal taxes. When tax season hits, platforms like Xero or Toast's tax integration can generate ready-to-file reports that your accountant will love.
Track sales and provide comfortable payment options
Today's POS systems are light years beyond old-school cash registers. Picture this: A server takes an order on their iPad using Square or Toast POS, and before they even finish saying, "I'll get that right in," the kitchen's already firing up the appetizers. The kitchen display system automatically routes items — salads to cold prep, steaks to the grill station — and even sequences them so everything in a course comes out hot and fresh together.
Want to see something cool? When a guest mentions a shellfish allergy, the server taps "allergy alert. " The system automatically flags any dishes with hidden shellfish ingredients (like the fish sauce in the house vinaigrette) and suggests safe alternatives. Systems like Clover or
TouchBistro handle split checks like a dream—you can divide that shared appetizer three ways and split the bottle of wine by percentage with just a few taps.
Front of the house benefits
Customer relationship management in the food industry is a must. After all, gaining new customers costs six times more than keeping current clients. I'm sure you've heard of the top CRM software for restaurants, such as Toast, TouchBistro Restaurant, Upserve, and others. Let's go over what these ready-made software solutions can do for your customer-facing processes.
Establish an efficient and user-friendly reservation system
Let me show you how modern reservation systems transform the guest experience. Your
OpenTable or Resy integration means guests can book directly through Google Search or Instagram while the system quietly works its magic. It knows your corner booth takes 15 minutes longer to turn during the dinner rush, automatically spaces reservations to prevent kitchen bottlenecks, and even suggests alternative times when you're near capacity — "Book at 6:15 instead of 7:00 and enjoy 15% off your entrées!"
The waitlist management is particularly clever. Yelp Guest Manager doesn't just take names—it learns your real turn times, sends automated updates to waiting guests, and even flags when regulars join the list. Some systems go further: TouchBistro can detect a private event coming up and automatically adjust available slots, while ResDiary helps prevent overbooking by considering your kitchen's actual capacity, not just table availability.
Run an efficient loyalty program and attract new customers
Modern loyalty goes way beyond punch cards and basic points. Let me show you what's possible: Toast's loyalty engine spots ordering patterns and gets creative—like noticing a customer always orders the same bourbon after work and surprising them with "Your usual Manhattan is on us!" on their birthday. Or Thanx, which can detect when regular visits are dropping off and automatically sends them a personalized "We miss you!" offer with their favorite appetizer.
The referral game has evolved, too.
Punchh takes it further by gamifying the whole experience: Customers earn extra points for bringing friends, trying new menu items, or visiting during slow hours.
Set up an online order system for delivery and takeout
Without the pressure of a phone call, your clients are likely to
spend 23% more on their orders. The number of mistakes will go down, and that will go a long way in establishing customer satisfaction and loyalty. Take ChowNow's innovative ordering platform learns customer preferences and makes personalized suggestions.
The error elimination is impressive, too. Toast's system prevents common mistakes, like forgetting to specify burger temperature or missing allergy notes. It automatically prompts for crucial details, such as "How would you like that cooked?" or "Are any special preparations needed?".
Integration is where it gets really powerful. Square for Restaurants ties everything together. When customers order their usual Tuesday night family meal, the system automatically applies their loyalty points, remembers their delivery instructions, and even adjusts prep times based on the current kitchen load.
Restaurant management system alternatives
In addition to the restaurant management software examples I've mentioned, you should consider two other alternatives. First, you can choose an all-purpose retail solution, such as Epos Now, LS Retail, or Cash Register Express. These solutions come with multiple built-in features your restaurant might need, including stock inventory, CRM, and retail accounting. However, they are not tailored to the food industry and might lack critical solutions.
Your second alternative is to run a software engineering project on a restaurant management app. This might require a significant upfront investment, but you will get a solution that fits your needs perfectly. Moreover, you can count on reliable technical support if you run into any trouble and ongoing development for your growing business needs.
Building your custom restaurant management solution
I hope I've made a case for the benefits of CRM in the restaurant business, and end-to-end automation systems offer even more possibilities for growth. However, the deeper your restaurant management system penetrates your business, the bigger repercussions its failures might cause. I've analyzed the most prominent risks your company can run into and come up with a list of features to prevent or mitigate them, creating an app for restaurants. For maximum security and highest returns, look for:
Automated flexible reporting
To make most of your CRM for a cafe or a restaurant, you need to assess critical information at a glance. Adjustable filters and settings should let you choose data points and sets to display and provide visualization options for easy access.
Offline capabilities
It's not only useful for cruise ship operators but traditional restaurants as well. Cloud-based solutions should be able to work with a spotty or non-existent Internet connection and synchronize the new data once the network goes up.
Sensitive data protection
If you collect customer information for your CRM needs, ensure the restaurant management system is secure enough to prevent breaches. The solution should be compliant with GDPR and other data privacy regulations applicable to your business.
Third-party integration
If you select a restaurant CRM module without all the bells and whistles, you should be able to integrate your existing ERP, bookkeeping, or stock management software. Manual data transfer between software solutions will cause delays and mistakes.
Scaling capabilities
When your restaurant business takes off, and you open new venues, your smart restaurant management system should be able to handle more data and streamline operations across all branches.
Takeaway
As a part of the Freshcode software development team, I've helped dozens of companies streamline their business processes and increase revenue. I know for sure restaurant management systems have vast potential, and if you ever decide to take your business to the next level, I'd like you to remember these four things:
- Back of the house solutions offer increased efficiency and reduced expenses by streamlining employee scheduling, accounting and tax reporting, inventory management, and sales tracking.
- Front of the house solutions breed customer loyalty and increase revenue through online reservation and order system or a loyalty program.
- You can start a restaurant management system project or opt for an all-purpose retail solution if you can't find the food industry software that meets your needs.
- You need to think restaurant automation through and ensure the solution you choose comes with proper security features, scaling and integration capabilities, as well as an offline mode.
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