From the kitchen to the cash register, technology has now become integral to the way restaurants and fast food joints operate. The advent of these new digital solutions has made it much faster, easier, and profitable to run a restaurant. If you are a restaurant owner or planning to start one, here are some technology solutions you must consider in today’s rapidly changing business landscape.
Accounting: Unfortunately, running a restaurant business demands a lot more than just delivering mouth-watering food and excellent service. Like every other business, accounting is one of the cornerstones of building a successful restaurant business. If you are not able to or willing to maintain methodical or accurate financial records, your business could be in serious danger.
Luckily, there are several restaurant accounting software packages that take the pain out of the process of accounting. Depending on your needs, you may opt for a desktop package as well as a cloud-based solution. The features of the packages may range from basic to intricate. Some of the most advanced packages are equipped with features such as sales reports, payroll management, methods of payment, menu planning, etc.
Digital inventory tracking: Keeping a track of the inventory using the traditional pen-and-paper method is now obsolete. The latest electronic inventory systems can be used by the employees through their mobile devices to gain accurate and efficient insight into their inventory counts. Customized counting schedules can also be set-up by the managers for each product in their inventory. In addition to keeping track of the actual count of products, these systems are also capable of monitoring the theoretical levels of inventory.
Automated purchasing tool: Not having an adequate quantity of food to serve the customers is one of the biggest threats for a restaurant or food joint. However, the restaurant owners can now have this problem addressed by using automated purchasing systems. These systems are directly linked to the inventory system, and alert the managers about low product levels. Placement of automated orders can also be enabled by the managers when a certain threshold is reached by the inventory.
Scheduling software: If you are a restaurateur, you are probably well aware of the scheduling challenges in this industry. With the help of scheduling software, you can now create digital schedules for your employees in just a few seconds. In order to avoid understaffing or overstaffing, these systems optimize the shift times and positions based on the forecasted sales levels and historical staffing patterns. This technology can also help reduce overtime by monitoring staffing budgets and sales.
Reservation Manager: Having to wait for a long time is a major source of dissatisfaction for individuals visiting a restaurant. Many restaurants around the world are now using digital table manager tools to keep their customers happy. These software systems can handle loads of tasks including booking reservations directly from customers, suggesting seating arrangements, providing accurate wait time estimates, sending text notification about table availability, and much more.
Bluetooth temperature sensors: Compliance with the food safety checklist requirements has always been a pain for most of the restaurants. Bluetooth temperature monitoring systems provide a viable solution to this problem by ensuring that all equipment and food are up to the mark. Using these fixed sensors and handheld probes; it takes less than a minute for the managers to find out the temperature of their critical assets. Programming of customized limits for each equipment and food and receiving alerts for beyond threshold temperatures is another key function of these systems.
Virtual reality onboarding: The latest employee management trend, VR can prepare workers faster and better for their respective jobs. By utilizing this technology, restaurant owners can ensure that the same training is received by all employees. Therefore, all of them are equally equipped to handle the restaurant’s daily operations.
