100 Amazing Restaurant Software Apps You Need To Know

In their webinar on the future of digital technologies in the restaurant and hospitality industries, Deloitte predicts, “Restaurants will become tech companies.”

There are two ways in which this will take place — through the technology that delivers the kinds of experiences and services that customers want and the software that streamlines and simplifies day-to-day management and operations for independent restaurants.

Source: Going digital: Strategies for creating competitive advantage in restaurant and hospitality companies | Deloitte 2016

Why do restaurant software and apps matter?

If you’re thinking, “I run a restaurant, not a startup.” — think again:

• Margins can make or break you — With operating margins ranging from 4-5%, every minute spared and every dollar earned counts.
• Time is money — In its blog, restaurant software platform PeachWorks states that “17 minutes out of every hour is lost to back office tasks.”
• Food is only 1/3 of the fight — According to Bodellconsulting, “Having good food and service is only 1/3 of the battle — the other 2/3 includes marketing and managing.”

A pen and paper (or spreadsheet) will only take you so far.

In their blog post and panel discussion, Adapting Your Business to a Changing Restaurant Industry, OpenTable states, “To put it simply, restaurants have to be more things to more people to keep up with rising costs and competition.”

While it’s incredibly important to focus on the quality of food and experience at your establishment, the quality of your processes can make the difference between profitability and potential disaster.

Level the playing field.

While there are more independent restaurants than chains, Greg Starzynski, the Director of Product Management at NPD Foodservice comments, “Independent restaurants are historically less stable, not having the same resources as chains to get through more difficult times.”

With the availability of online, cloud-based, software as a service (SaaS) technologies, the same types of powerful tools are no longer out of reach for small business owners.

Get your front end talking to your back end (and vice versa).

(Is this some urban cowboy or country music metaphor? No, we promise. And nobody’s dog dies either.) While point-of-sale (POS) systems forever changed the way orders were placed from the dining room to the kitchen, other areas of operation are poised to experience the same levels of innovation.

Source: Going digital: Strategies for creating competitive advantage in restaurant and hospitality companies | Deloitte 2016

THE Power List of Restaurant Software and Apps

If you’re skimming the article to see where the list starts, it’s right here. We’ve organized this list of the best restaurant software according to function with each category and software provider in alphabetical order. For providers who wear many hats, we’ve done our best to place them in the category that makes the most sense. (If there’s an amazing restaurant software or app you like that didn’t make the list, please tell us about it in the comments at the bottom of this post.)

Accounting

The difference between well-managed companies and not so well managed companies is the degree of attention they pay to the numbers.

Harold Geneen, Former Chairman, International Telephone & Telegraph

Accounting, invoicing, expense tracking, budgeting, bank reconciliation and reporting aren’t necessarily the first things you think of in terms of running a restaurant. However, as RestaurantOwner.com states, “Your restaurant isn’t just a restaurant, it’s also a business.”

Small business accounting software, Xero, notes five essentials for restaurant accounting software: It should be online, accurate, easy-to-use, smart and flexible. In the same blog post, it’s also recommended that your accounting software integrate (work well) with your POS, payroll and other key operational systems.

Below is a list accounting software that are good choices for small businesses, including restaurants.

Bar inventory and compliance

If you have a bar in your restaurant, you know that alcoholic drinks can be highly profitable. The challenge is preventing any practices, like poor or inaccurate inventory, that can eat away at the bottom line. Fines or legal actions as a result of failing to properly identify patrons are also costly. While there are certain things you can’t control, like the basic costs of beer, wine and spirits, there are tools that can help you take charge of inventory and compliance.

Employee training/process creation

Every day at a restaurant there are a million things to do from kitchen prep and food safety to customer service and operational routines. As it’s fairly rare for an expert to walk in off the streets, training and process creation are a key underpinning of how your business runs.

In its blog post, 3 Ways Custom Elearning Can Improve Restaurant Training, Learnkit, states, “Whether you are an independent operator that does not currently deliver training courses, or a multi-chain, multiple-location franchise, custom e-learning can deliver consistent, high-quality training to all your employees, quickly and effectively. Elearning also allows you to cater to each individual learning style, so while the delivery is cast wide, each experience is personalized to the learner.”

Transforming training and knowledge sharing

The attention span of the next generation of young restaurant workers is 50% shorter than that of the generation before them. They will also have a greater aptitude for tablets and smartphones.

Jolt Senior Marketing Manager, Kelin Crane, explains how restaurant software is responding to this shift, “Jolt’s ecosystem provides just-in-time training for each employee’s most relevant needs in ways that no other ecosystem comes close by delivering video training on location, content that requires passing a quiz to prove understanding and a role-specific library of information.”

Integrated solutions/platforms

Software companies like the ones below realize that restaurants need more than a one-off solution. POS systems need to talk to inventory and accounting systems. Table and waitlist management impacts scheduling and labor forecasts, etc. PeachWorks Founder and Chief Product Officer, Jeff Schacher, explains, “Consistency and efficiency are the two things that keep a restaurant in business.”

The PeachWorks website further elaborates on the benefits of a platform and technology strategy, “When most restaurants create their technology strategies, they quickly realize they have lots of things they’d like to do, but only have time to do one or two to start. But while choosing one or two apps may seem simple today, they realize that if those apps can’t be easily integrated with other solutions and restaurant systems or customized to meet new requirements down the road, they’ll quickly find themselves unable to have their technology keep up with their business needs.

Inventory/ordering/sourcing

Orderly notes that with a single restaurant producing 25,000-75,000 pounds of food waste per year and inventory representing nearly 1/3 of your budget, tools like the ones below can be your best friend for preventing waste and controlling costs.

According to Simple Order, “Your restaurant or food service business should aim to keep its food cost between 28 and 35 of the overall operating budget. The smaller your business is the closer you want to keep your food cost to 28 percent you budget. Once food cost starts to exceed a third of your budget it’s time to take action.”

If point of origin and serving local/seasonal items are priorities of yours, there’s software for that too.

Music streaming

Music definitely helps set the mood and atmosphere. But as a business, your restaurant may be subject to licensing fees. In order to help restaurants avoid this issue, services like the ones below make it simple to keep things up-tempo, without getting into any trouble.

Online ordering

Online and mobile ordering services make it convenient for customers to find the foods they crave. For independent restaurants, they’re also a cost-effective way to get noticed and drive sales.

Payroll

In its blog post, Common and Costly Payroll Mistakes Restaurant Owners Make, scheduling software ShiftPlanning, notes, “Ask ten small business owners what the worst part of running a business on your own is for them, and chances are that a majority of them will say “payroll.” Unless your payroll process is automated, it can be incredibly tedious and time-consuming. If your current software solution or technology strategy calls for payroll software, they following providers can help.

Related: Payroll For Restaurants: Keeping Things Simple With Software

Pay-at-the-Table (PATT)/mobile phone payments

In its article Investing in the Future, Full Service Restaurants states, “One segment where many operators are boosting spending involves computers and smartphone technology, including POS devices, labor management software, guest-centric mobile applications and tablets for various purposes.”

Example: A guest wants to order dessert, but the server is helping another table. Table 5 is ready to pay and the guest at table 10 is about to request a substitution. Traditionally, all of this responsibility would fall on the serve, who would then have to work as quickly as possible to take the orders, note special requests, run the tickets to the kitchen, pass the drink orders to the bar and bring the check at the end of the meal.

Enter the tablet at the table that allows guests to order and pay whenever they are ready — freeing up the server to be more of a brand ambassador for the restaurant.

What tabletop restaurant software can do.

Speaking on the potential of Ziosk, CEO, Austen Mulinder notes, “Ziosk is the industry pioneer, having founded the tabletop tablet industry, currently commanding 95% of the deployed tabletop market in the U.S. Our disruptive technology is giving dining an edge in a competitive restaurant segment by enabling our restaurant partners to digitize their business in order to improve the overall customer experience at their locations, grow their business and strengthen their position in the industry, all while helping servers earn higher tips.”

Mulinder also adds that customers are responding well and quickly adapting to this technology with 80% of guests are using the payment function and the number of guests completing surveys after payment is rapidly increasing.

Point-of-Sale (POS)

One of the first technologies to transform restaurant management, POS systems continue to evolve and bring further to sophistication owners and operators.

In a blog post, Toast CEO, Chris Comparato, writes, “46% of restaurant operators look at business reports and metrics every day. Restaurant sales used to be the primary benchmark for restaurant operators. And while that’s great… That’s not all there is. Now advances in technology enable restaurant owners to see so much more: labor cost percentage, food cost percentage, specific menu item sales, the list goes on and on.” He also adds that restaurant owners and managers are using this information to make smarter decisions on everything from menu options to shift changes.

Alex Barrotti, TouchBistro CEO and Founder, states, “Mobile tablet technology has revolutionized POS systems and processes in restaurants, allowing waiters to input food and drink orders right at tableside — sending these orders directly to the bar and kitchen. And tableside payments can be processed quickly and securely as well. Restaurateurs using mobile tablet POS systems have estimated it saves between 7 to 15 minutes per table turn and have dramatically increased their sales.”

Scheduling/Time tracking/Attendance

You know the expression a picture is worth 1,000 words? This video from Deputy pretty much sums up the need for scheduling, time tracking and attendance.

When you run a restaurant, you have to be flexible. But you also don’t have time to make phone calls to track down employees, arrange shift trades, etc. This is why it’s only natural that software has stepped in to provide solutions.

Jordan Boesch, 7Shifts CEO, also cites the benefits of the reporting and forecasting capabilities these applications bring. “By knowing the number of hours worked each shift, you can accurately project future needs, preventing you from being over or understaffed. And you’ll be acting no real numbers, not just a hunch.”

Table/Reservation/Customer Management Systems (CMS)

The dreaded waitlist. For customers, it’s the ultimate question of how long will this take? For hosts, it’s a matter of making sure that everyone’s on the list and working as quickly as possible to get people seated.

If you’re still working with a laminated table chart and dry erase marker, you may not be managing this process as efficiently as possible. The rise of table, reservation and waitlist software makes things easier for everyone and offers restaurateurs the added value of developing detailed customer databases.

Heath Wechter, Vice President of Sales at DineTime notes, “With the right solution restaurants can gain immediate access to guest information as well as key performance indicators (KPIs). At the same time, it can provide a convenient way for guests to interact with the restaurant, by either getting on the waitlist via an app or website and/or communicating with the host desk via text messaging.”

Tip reporting

In the United States, tips earned by restaurant employees are considered taxable income, requiring tipped employees to report this income to their employers each month. The following apps also make it easier for tipped employees to know how much they’re earning each month.

Related: How to Manage and Pay Tipped Employees in Restaurants

Restaurant software makes a difference.

Commenting on the benefits of technology in restaurants, Matt Millsaps-Brewer, Owner and Engineer at Lotus Apps, creators of Tip Counter, states, “I’d encourage restaurant owners to think of investing in technology to better analyze and benefit employees as a unique perk, to improve employee retention in an industry traditionally known for a high turnover rate.”

What restaurant customers want to see next.

With the rise of restaurant tech, WebstaurantStore gathered some facts on what kinds of tools and technology restaurant goes would like to see in their favorite dining establishments. The infographic is below.

In the service industry, it’s all about listening to your audience and understanding the needs of the people or businesses you serve. In the case of software and apps for restaurant owners and managers, we’d like to thank 7Shifts, DineTime, Jolt, Orderly, PeachWorks, SimpleOrder, TipCounter, Toast, TouchBistro and Ziosk for taking the time to speak with us and provide insights for this post.

Knowledge is a shared experience. Please let us know if there’s a restaurant software we’ve missed or tell us your restaurant software story. To learn more about Wagepoint and our simple, fast and friendly payroll for small businesses, request a free demo.  

Slideshow

For a visual recap of the companies listed in this piece, see our accompanying SlideShare.

Written by Michelle Mire

Formerly Wagepoint's Content Manager, Michelle enjoys simplifying complex payroll topics and creating engaging small business and partner content. When not at the keyboard, she enjoys chocolate, running and quality television (not always in that order).

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