Restaurant Management System: A Comprehensive Guide
Introduction
The restaurant management system market size was $3.6 billion in 2020, and the number is expected to reach around $7 billion in 2025, according to Grand View Research, the leading US-based market intelligence platform. This tells us that the industry is growing as more and more restaurants feel the need to invest in similar solutions.
As a restaurant owner, are you still using Excel sheets? Perhaps you're using a simple, even outdated, POS system to record your sales orders and calculate revenue. Have you reached the point where you started to notice gaps in your restaurant management system and think you can improve the margins without selling more?
Whether you are choosing restaurant management software for the first time or looking for a different solution, we recommend you check out the comprehensive guide we've put together for restaurant entrepreneurs just like you.
What is a Restaurant Management System?
Restaurant management systems have become even more state-of-the art over the past few years. Thanks to technological updates, it has become all the more important for those in the hospitality industry to stay up to date to ensure the most profitable restaurant operations.
This includes the various activities that are carried out in a restaurant to run the business, from produce purchasing to preparation of food, staff shift schedules, housekeeping, menu updates, customer service, accounting, website and social media management, reporting, and of course customer orders and tariff values.
Knowledge is an important element for restaurant success, especially when it comes to systems and procedures. A modern restaurant management system is a great way to streamline your operations. It will also reduce overheads and increase your daily sales turnover using effective customer acquisition methods.
If you’re in the beginning stages of looking for a?restaurant management system, this comprehensive guide provides answers to your multiple questions and concerns. Let's start by taking a look at five important questions, and evaluating your particular restaurant business.
Whilst searching for a restaurant management software find out:
What is the Difference Between an RMS and a Standard POS System?
A proper Restaurant Management Software offers more features than a standard POS system. A point-of-sale (POS) system is the hardware and software that enable you to accept payments and check out customers. A standard POS system's software calculates all details relating to customer purchases.
An RMS manages all back-end needs such as online ordering, reporting, inventory, and much more, as described in What is a Restaurant Management System? above. Every RMS is different according to the manufacturer and the system requirements of the restaurant. When choosing Restaurant Management software, there are a few must have tools that will play a large role in the success of your restaurant which you will have the opportunity to discuss with your supplier, prior to purchase.
What are the benefits of an RMS?
A comprehensive guide such as this details the benefits of a software for restaurant management.
Overall, by integrating every 'department' within your restaurant business, the chosen management system for your restaurant will enable you to run operations much more effectively as well as increase your bottom line profitability.
Here are the top 10 benefits of using a restaurant management system:
Gone are the days when restaurant owners and managers had to spend precious time on Excel spreadsheets, staff rota planning, clocking in and out times, rest days, holidays, and sick days.
Software for restaurant management will automatically update and is a fantastic way to maintain your staff timesheets and rota planning as a cloud-based system that you can easily access and share.
2. State-of-the-Art Inventory Tracking
As a restaurant owner, even working beside your head chef, tracking all the items required for each and every dish is both time consuming and cumbersome without the use of software for restaurant management. Apart from the fact that your restaurant stores may have a deficit of some items and an excess of others to be used in good time, there are suppliers with whom you need to order in advance, especially for items in high demand or seasonal, such as certain fresh fruits and vegetables or seafood. Restaurant management software fully supports the tracking of all items and saves your restaurant business both time and money.
Your restaurant management system will also enable you to track inventory metrics and generate those all important reports. Maintaining a full menu as published for your guests is very important for both the reputation and longevity of your restaurant.
3. Dine-in Reservations and Floor Management
During peak times when your dine-in restaurant may be extra busy with regular as well as new guests, even small groups, who haven't made a reservation, managing the floor can be a challenge for your FOH team.
A customized restaurant management system will allow you to view your floor plan, seating capacity, guest arrivals and so on. As new guests arrive, you can quickly and efficiently see them to a table. This floor management team will satisfy your newly arrived guests but drastically reduce the risk of losing their return custom had you not been efficient with your floor management. We can call this damage limitation.
Of course, your restaurant management system will also enable your FOH team to accept table reservations on whichever day and time your guests choose.
4. Countless Menu Options
Now you can update your menu as frequently as you like, for example, with daily specials, seasonal specials, vegetarian food, gluten free options, discount offers, a breakfast, lunch, or dinner promo, a new signature dish, a menu for kids, limited edition desserts, and beverages.
The beauty of an RMS is that you can seamlessly update your menu from anywhere, even your home office, by simply logging in. Simply synchronize your menu updates across multiple POS terminals and locations, inform your restaurant's front of house team, and voila! You're done!
5. Organize and Consolidate Online Orders
Most restaurants are using an online order delivery platform such as Careem, Deliveroo, Noon, Munch, Talabat, Lunch On, Eat-Easy, Clean Eat Me, DoorDash, ChowNow, Caviar, Seamless, PostMates, and Delivery.com - the list is endless, depending on the location of your restaurant across the globe.
Once your customer has placed their order with any of the above food ordering platforms and is seeking a delivery or takeout service from your restaurant, it's critical that your restaurant management system has integrated your partner's online order platform.
From receipt of the order, you can automate it into your own restaurant management system, accept payment, advise your kitchen, and change or amend a new food order as may have been requested by the customer. The food preparation can commence immediately, before your food delivery partner's driver arrives to collect your parcel for delivery to the customer.
6. Offer A Wide Selection Of Payment Options To Your Customers
A restaurant management system should provide payment options such as credit, debit, and cash. However, more customers are moving towards an EMV payment method for convenience and security as payment technology strides forward. Compatible restaurant terminals enable card dipping for chip and PIN or chip and signature authentication for popular secure payment methods such as Apple Pay, Android Pay, and so on.
In order to maintain new customers, your restaurant must remain up-to-date with today's modern technology. To provide ease for restaurant staff and customer satisfaction for those all important guests, it is critical that your restaurant management software can accommodate all the necessary payment options.
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7. Restaurant Marketing Updates
The continuous building of your brand name, remaining on point, and showcasing your menu and interior design are critical to the overall success of your restaurant business.
Any restaurant owner who fails to keep up with their social media channels, including reels, stories, and consistent posts to include their dishes, isn't going to be able to remain open. It's a numbers game, and reaching out to your target demographic is much easier with an effective restaurant management system that connects to your social media channels.
Software for restaurant management enables you to quickly and easily publish your dish of the day, your head chef preparing food, your star of the month team member, pretty guests, and gatherings. All this effort will contribute to the flow of foot traffic through your restaurant door.
8. Consolidate Restaurant Updates
Enabling your restaurant management system to allow you to receive and consolidate restaurant updates from your kitchen's inventory status to online delivery orders, staff attendance, reservations, floor management status, social media, website, and financial account reports enables you to stay ahead with your restaurant business management.
A restaurant owner who invests in a professional restaurant management system subscription will benefit from business efficiency, save time and money, and be able to focus on your guests' dining experience as well as customer acquisition.
9. Live Order Tracking and Updates
An out of date POS system will provide for printing out and placing orders for the kitchen. This type of process doesn't provide for order updates such as menu item changes or an additional order from the same customer. Neither does this method allow you to track the food preparation process, communicate with your head chef, or make any amendments whatsoever because, quite simply, the order was printed out and handed over to the kitchen. In effect, you've let that order go, and your front of house team is now waiting for the packaged food delivery order to come out of the kitchen.
Modern restaurant management software will allow you to make updates directly through the RMS portal, eliminating the need for staff to walk into the kitchen with order amendments and extra customer requests.
10. Boost Your Restaurant Efficiency
Our comprehensive guide details the key benefits and importance of a restaurant management system and talks about so many amazing performance perks that will allow you to run your restaurant business so much more efficiently and profitably.
As you are aware, no two days are the same when running a restaurant, and the key is to remain efficient. In this way, your staff will stay, and your guests will get to enjoy that all important dining experience.
By making the decision to not only understand the core benefits of restaurant management software but also to purchase a state-of-the art system that integrates all the core requirements of your restaurant business operations, you have also taken the decision to start avoiding mistakes that can drastically reduce your restaurant's reputation and popularity and instead, look forward to running an efficient and much more profitable business empire.
What types of RMS are available?
How Can I Use RMS In My Restaurant?
The way in which you choose to use your management system for your restaurant largely depends on the property's size and specific needs. However, there are so many exciting ways you can benefit from your software for restaurant management!
3 Things to Consider Before Getting an RMS
Our comprehensive guide details all the following aspects whilst going through the process of selecting the right management system for your restaurant. However, these are the 3 key points to keep an eye on.
Restaurant Management System Pricing
Orderific is a leading supplier to owners and managers with a seamless software for restaurant management platform that their whole business loves.
Why Venues choose Orderific
Increase Your Revenue More Than 30%
Decrease Operational Costs by 30%
Gain More Control Over Your Business
Now you can also drastically improve your guest experience with Orderific QR Mobile ordering solutions. Allow your customers to view your branded digital menu, place their orders and pay the bills to avoid errors and save time. Your staff will have more time for hospitality and an awesome welcoming guest experience. Orderific Restaurant Management System also increases the order amounts with smart upsells and cross-sells and includes all the features and benefits you will need and as described in this comprehensive guide.
With your Orderific restaurant management software you will finally be able to manage with ease both your operations as well as enjoy increased profits by reducing costs and implementing much more powerful back of house and front of house operations.
The Orderific software solution supports a wide variety of restaurant businesses including:
The tremendous advantage to restaurant owners and managers is that now you can kickstart your restaurant management software solution with an Orderific free trial and upscale according to your business requirements without any obligation whatsoever.
Choose to find out more and how your F&B business can benefit from state-of-the-art restaurant management system and talk to an Orderific advisor today.
Can't wait and want to get started? Simply register for your free, try before you buy Orderific account.
You can also find out more about the features and benefits of Orderific's comprehensive restaurant management solution and simply request a demo today.