Modern businesses with an eye toward long-term success know the importance of setting their goals and operations up with the proper equipment to make each day seamless and productive.
Running a successful business 50 years ago boiled down to having a dream, the knowledge to motivate that passion and the tools to make it happen. The truth is, not much has changed about being a business owner. You still need a dream. You must have a strong understanding of what you are doing.
And you need the right tools to be effective in your work.
Appetizer: The Role of the Right Software
In today’s business world, the right tools include the proper computer technology to match the needs of your company. For example, people running an auto mechanics shop need a machine that hooks up to what is now standard in every car–their computer system.
What if you are operating a restaurant? As a manager, you are charged with keeping an eye on all areas of the restaurant, from the inventory to the employees to the ever-important customer satisfaction. Big or small, you will benefit from the kind of restaurant management software that creates a smooth, efficient atmosphere from the time the doors open in the morning to the moment the last customer leaves at night.
Soup or Salad: It’s in the Inventory
Knowing exactly what is in your inventory is a critical component to keeping a restaurant profitable. Each piece of lettuce, every cup of beverage, each piece of dishware and cutlery–every item in your restaurant must be accounted for on a regular basis.
Savvy managers understand how using a quality restaurant management software program is key to maintaining an eagle eye view of any potential problems with your inventory, such as:
- Stealing: if you have a dishonest employee who is taking something that doesn’t belong to them, inventory software gives you a jump on catching this unfortunate incident and correcting it before it causes you to lose a damaging amount of money.
- Trends: tracking your inventory allows you to notice if one item is selling out more often than another, causing your ordering to be more on point and your dollars to be spent more cost-effectively.
- Needs: sometimes, the best thing inventory can help you do as a manager is forecast the needs of your restaurant in the days ahead.
- Waste: mistakes happen, and when they do, you want to have a system in place to account for them.
Main Course: Creating a Team of Excellence
The best managers will tell you that without a strong team to back up the vision and drive of the restaurant owner, the business is doomed to fail. Utilizing great software can help you in every aspect of employee interaction and can strengthen your greatest asset: a group of people who come to work every day prepared to give their very best.
Choosing the best restaurant management software should help you garner excellence in:
- Hiring and Human Resources
- Payroll
- Training
- Scheduling
- Job Evaluations
- Corrective Consequences for Unprofessional Behavior
- Incentives and Bonuses
Dessert: Now That’s Satisfying
Whether you are serving in a fast food setting or a fine dining establishment, you know it is the satisfaction of the individual customer that can make or break your business. Unquestionably, you must be equipped to provide each and every customer as though they are valued guests deserving of your full attention.
So how can software help you in this aspect?
- POS: Using a Point of Sale (POS) system makes your order taking more efficient through user-friendly technology, allowing orders to be placed (and therefore served) more quickly.
- Feedback: Having an electronic system in place for a customer to provide instant feedback is critical in today’s quick turnaround culture. When it’s good feedback, you want to let it shine–and when it’s not, the faster you address the problem, the better!
- Training: It can’t be stressed enough that the training of your employees needs to be a place of intense focus. Using effective software to aid in the training (i.e. with videos, hands-on training demos, etc) is a smart decision for every great manager.
