In the restaurant industry, there’s no such thing as “free time”.
You and everyone on your team is busy all the time.
Your chefs are in the kitchen simmering, frying, and plating.
Your servers are on their feet, juggling multiple tables and customers.
Your managers are watching over everyone…while you stand guard over everything.
Meanwhile, the dishwasher is on the fritz again, you’ve got a party of 10 that just walked in the door, your best server called out…
And you ran out of shrimp for the Po’ Boy special.
Sorry to bring up flashbacks to last night’s dinner rush…
In the fast-paced world of restaurant management, you’ve got a whole lot of plates spinning at one time. It’s exhausting. There’s barely time to catch a break, let alone get to the paperwork that you need to do.
More often than not, you toss aside tasks like monitoring your food costs and COGS so you can focus on keeping the place from (quite literally) burning down.
But if you want to make that cheddar, you’ve got to manage your costs so you can maximize your profit.
The reality is, you can’t be in two places at one time. And you just don’t have a spare moment to labor over a spreadsheet.
What if there was a way to track COGS and profits that wasn’t such a time suck?
Enter restaurant technology: a life-saving solution to your time management woes.
But, not all technology is created equal. The wrong piece of tech can end up costing you time and cash.
Tech should revolutionize your business.. Selecting the right technology can put hours back in your day, and ultimately dollars back into your bank account.
But don’t fret. We’ve done the research for you in this go-to guide on time-saving restaurant tech.
1) Is it Mobile?
You’re always on the move. If you’re tired of having to jump back and forth from the office to the stockroom, to the floor, to the kitchen…you should be.
Because it isn’t efficient. We’re tired just thinking about it.
Restaurant technology needs to move with you no matter where you are.
Think about it. We use our mobile devices for everything.
If you can call your mom, text your friends, check your emails and Instagram your dishes – why shouldn’t your restaurant technology do the same thing?
Truly time-saving tech is mobile and lets you manage your restaurant business from the palm of your hand.
2) How easy (or difficult) is it to set up?
Some restaurant technologies take as long as 6 months just to set up. Basically, you’d be paying for a service, without reaping the benefits. For 6 months! What a ripoff.
Even if the vendor timeline doesn’t cause heartburn, a cumbersome setup and training process will. You just don’t have the time to sit through hours upon hours of setup and training.
Of course, you’ll need to invest some time to set up new tech, but the real rub is in understanding exactly what setup entails…and how long it’s going to take.
Here are a few questions to ask:
- Is there a clear path to getting the technology implemented as quickly as possible?
- Will you be working with an onboarding team?
- Can they provide a clear outline of responsibilities and time frames?
- How much of your time is needed throughout setup? Ask them to get as specific as possible.
- What are the terms of the contract?
- Make sure you know exactly how long the window is between purchase and launch. Stay away from so-called solutions that require long set-up processes and significant time investment on your part. Remember, the goal is to save time while saving money!
Even if the setup process is short and sweet, what about the contract? Don’t waste time and effort negotiating crazy terms, when you could be getting started already.
Aren’t sure? Sign up on a monthly or a quarterly basis first, instead of an entire year.
That way, you can ensure the software or service is perfect for your restaurant before you make a long-term commitment.
This path should be as painless as possible for you. You’re already pressed for time… setting up technology should be efficient so you can get back to doing what you love.
Pro-Tip: Try it before you buy it! The best tech partners offer up FREE versions so you can test drive first with NO commitment, NO hidden costs, NO catch. (like the free Orderly App)
Ask and you will receive.
3) The Actual Service – does it save you time?
So, you think you’ve scored the right piece of restaurant technology. It’s affordable. It’s mobile. And the set-up is pretty seamless.
Great…you’ve done your homework.
But we’re not done yet.
There’s still one crucial question to ask: Will this new tech actually save time?
Once all is said and done with this new technology in place, will its features truly revolutionize your business, or are you just adding more work to your plate?
Revolutionary technology will streamline your processes, not create new tasks for you to do (like data entry). There’s nothing worse than investing in a new piece software only to realize it adds more work…the kind you’re trying to avoid doing in the first place.
Be on the look-out for:
Technology that automates processes for you with NO manual data entry, NO cumbersome report generation, and NO lengthy backup protocols.
Is the interface simple? Trackers and counters may look cool and help you get organized, but are they really going to tack hours back onto your life?
Does it do the heavy lifting? Or are you still stuck in the weeds with accounting, inventory…
That’s what you need. Time-saving, easy-to-use software that does the dull, tedious, dirty work so you don’t even have to think about it, let alone lift a finger to calculate food spend or COGS.
Stop standing in the walk-in freezer. Get the free profitability app instead.
BONUS: Save time behind the bar, too
The bar industry rakes in more than $24 billion in revenues in the U.S., so having a bar in your restaurant seems like an easy win.
But, the truth is, the bar is a different animal.
So, the new big thing in restaurant technology is a focus on the bar.
The problem is there’s tons of technology that wants you to spend time (you know…the time you don’t have) measuring what’s left in all your bottles and counting every single beer can in your restaurant.
Sound like a painful waste of time? Well, it is.
You need to focus only on what matters, and still get those answers on your bar’s spend. Because who’s got the time to spend countless hours getting bogged down with booze you only buy once a quarter?
On top of it all, good technology can guide you when you place your next order so you can save some serious cash by ordering the right amount…at the right time…every time.
Zero work on your part. Seriously.
Conclusion: The right restaurant technology, the right results.
When it comes to time, you have none at your restaurant. What you need is a piece of technology that makes your life easier…better…and faster.
Your time has a cost…and that cost equals real dollars. Dollars that could be in your bank.
Good restaurant technology is convenient.
It’s easy to use and automated.
It’s affordable.
It’s mobile.
Basically, good technology gives you everything you need with none of the work.
Orderly is revolutionary tech for your restaurant.
It’s mobile because that’s how you roll.
Its setup is 30 days or less because you move fast.
It’s one fee for all your employees on a month-to-month contract because that’s what you want.
It automates COGS reporting so you can spend your time doing other things.
Just snap a clear picture of your invoices and upload your sales data. The Orderly App does the rest.
The best part? It’s completely free to try.
Take back your time and get the results you want with NO headache and NO hassle.
