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The holiday season is a huge calendar event in the restaurant industry, with bookings booming as guests look to let their hair down and enjoy a festive feast. Over the Christmas season, 63 percent of adults plan to eat out so your restaurant needs to be prepared for the increase in demand.
A customer in Miami should bite into the same perfectly seasoned burger that delights diners in Seattle. The 2024 State of the Restaurant Industry report revealed that 22 percent of restaurant operators plan to invest in technology like POS software, back-of-house systems, and data analytics in the near future.
By investing in a data-driven POS platform, restaurant operators can address labor challenges, fine-tune their stock management, design promotions based on current trends, reduce human error and more. This shift underscores the evolution of POS systems from mere transactional tools to comprehensive data hubs.
The holiday season brings bustling crowds, higher sales, and festive celebrations, making it a prime time for restaurants and bars. These best practices can help you maintain a safe and enjoyable environment during this busy season. These best practices can help you maintain a safe and enjoyable environment during this busy season.
When it comes to managing inventory, restaurants face a choice: POSinventory alerts vs. manual tracking. On the other hand, POSinventory alerts offer real-time updates, automate ordering, and minimize human mistakes. Time-Consuming and Labor-Intensive Manual inventory tracking eats up a lot of time and energy.
POS systems do more than handle payments they utilize POS data to help restaurants analyze and manage seasonal sales trends. By leveraging POS data, restaurants can adjust inventory, staffing, and marketing strategies to maximize profits during busy periods and minimize waste during slow seasons.
You can also use sales trends to adjust menu pricing and share customer-favorite menu items, helping you get the most out of high-demand dishes. Data can help you create a menu that contains more of your customers favorites so you can phase out underperforming dishes. Optimize your menu based on sales trends.
Once you have that total, subtract all of your costs, such as labor, inventory, rent, utilities, and other operating expenses. Bars that effectively manage their inventory and reduce waste tend to maintain higher margins. To calculate your pour cost, you have to know the total cost of your alcohol inventory.
Every day, youre juggling staff, food quality, inventory, customer service, purchasing, and moreall while trying to cultivate a dining experience that wows your customers enough to keep them coming back. How to solve it: Use data-driven ordering to track inventory closely to forecast demand accurately and avoid overstocking.
An inventory management system with automated restocking alerts keeps your stock levels in check. For example: If you want to improve efficiency look for software that integrates with your POS and kitchen systems. A Modern POS System Powers Transactions and Data-Driven Decisions Every restaurant needs a POSperiod.
POS systems do more than just process payments they enable restaurants to personalize menus by analyzing customer data. Learn more in our latest post: How POS Systems Enable Menu Personalization. Real-Time Updates : Adjust menus instantly for accuracy and relevance.
You can have a crowd-pleasing menu, loyal regulars, and a packed dining roomand still watch your margins disappear. Too many restaurant menus are built on intuition and aesthetics, not real numbers. What Is Menu Engineering and Why Should You Care? Because not every dish thats popular is profitable.
Start by analyzing these Top 7 POS Sales Reports to know where your restaurant is headed. These reports help you understand sales trends, manage inventory, optimize staffing, and improve customer satisfaction. Product Mix Reports : Identify bestsellers and underperforming items to optimize your menu and reduce waste.
From improving customer satisfaction to managing inventory, every day presents a new opportunity to optimize operations. In 2025, one of the most powerful tools at your disposal will be your Point of Sale (POS) system. Heres how POS systems are evolving and why they should be at the heart of your strategy.
A spike in food costs, a drop in sales volume, or one slow season can wipe out months of hard work. That includes the ingredients and packaging for your menu items, but not things like rent and payroll. This gives you a sense of how effective your menu pricing is.
Real-time inventory systems help restaurants cut food waste , save money, and improve operations. Here’s how: Track Stock in Real-Time : Monitor inventory levels instantly to avoid overstocking or understocking. Integrate with POS Systems : Sync with sales data to refine menu choices and track high-waste items.
Food Costs (COGS) Your food costs, or cost of goods sold (COGS), include everything that goes into producing your menu items, including: Recipe ingredients Beverages Condiments Disposables, like to-go containers, straws, and napkins Tracking your food costs percentage helps you understand how much of your revenue is being spent on your menu.
You also want to integrate your marketing and loyalty platform with your restaurant POS system. Try using a first-in, first-out (FIFO) model to maintain a consistent inventory schedule and prevent delivery orders from sitting on a shelf or getting lost in the shuffle.
The next youre racing to keep inventory stocked while customers wait for tables. Whether youre a seasoned owner or just starting out, this advice will help you boost efficiency, keep your team motivated, and turn customers into regulars. Free meals after long shifts or a staff pick on the menu build camaraderie.
Want to make smarter menu decisions? Use your POS system to analyze sales, profitability, and trends. Categorize Menu Items : Group dishes into Stars (popular & profitable), Plowhorses (popular but low profit), Puzzles (profitable but less popular), and Dogs (low demand & profit).
Restaurants can optimize their menu by highlighting delivery-friendly items, improve kitchen workflows through better station organization, and track prep times to identify bottlenecks. How POS integrations can help Most mistakes happen because staff are manually re-entering online orders. How well your menu is optimized for delivery.
Real-Time Inventory Tracking offers a powerful solution by giving operators instant visibility into whats in stock, whats being used, and what needs to be reordered. With real-time data guiding inventory decisions, restaurants can take tighter control of their food costs and boost long-term profitability.
But there's more to it than adding up your inventory bill and comparing it to your sales. Why it matters Restaurant Food Cost Percentages Calculate Food Cost Percentage Food costs vs Prime costs Menu Changes and Seasonality Strategies to Reduce Your Food Costs Food Cost Management Tools FAQ What is food cost?
Restaurants will also explore delivery options beyond costly third-party partnerships, and hike delivery menu prices to make the channel more lucrative as off-premise demand holds steady. Simplified Menus. Menu variety plays a substantial role in every dining experience. Health-Conscious Food Will Dominate Menus.
In this article, you will learn: How to identify top-selling and underperforming menu items Ways to adjust pricing using real sales data How timing and frequency trends improve planning and customer experience Lets dig into what your restaurant data might already be trying to tell you. Ordering data includes more than just what gets sold.
If you're standing in line waiting to order the special of the night, the seasonal Panzanella Salad, you don't want to hear “86 the special”. At some point when you were dining in a restaurant, you may have heard the BOH staff shout “86” and the name of a menu item to the waiters. How to stop 86ing menu items. What does 86 mean?
One of the most effective tools for achieving this is mobile inventory management. This system helps restaurant owners and managers track stock in real-time, reduce waste, and maintain optimal inventory levels. By automating inventory processes, restaurants can save time, improve accuracy, and enhance overall efficiency.
Photos of your menu items, ambiance, and even happy customers will give potential guests a glimpse of the dining experience you offer. Use it to share updates, special events, or new menu items. For example, you can promote your seasonal dishes or happy hour specials. It's an active marketing tool.
Keep an Eye on the Inventory There’s no substitute for taking regular inventory – not just knowing what’s been ordered, but what’s in stock, what condition it’s in, and how long it’s been in the restaurant. Got a few extra gallons of milk about to hit the expiration date? Technology? Not so much.
The umbrellas are up, the patio lights are glowing, and the tables are fullpatio season has officially arrived. But after the initial rush of sunny-day diners, many restaurants face a mid-season slowdown. Manage Inventory for Heat-Driven Demand Hot weather brings shifting customer preferences.
A well-designed POS system improves restaurant operations by streamlining order management, speeding up transactions, and delivering real-time insights that help optimize every aspect of the business. In this post, we’ll explore how a restaurant POS system works and the specific ways it transforms daily operations for long-term success.
Restaurant owners are rethinking the way they run daily operationsand many are switching to Lavu POS to stay ahead. From faster service to real-time inventory tracking, modern restaurants need more than just a cash registerthey need a system that adapts to their workflow. This often results in mistakes, delays, and unhappy customers.
By tracking metrics like customer retention and employee turnover rate, contribution margin, and menu item profitability, restaurant managers can identify each area’s strengths and what areas need improvement. “Time, not food, is the ultimate perishable inventory,” Sheryl E. This means that you get to keep $0.70
How POS data improves customer loyalty isnt just a trending topic its a strategic advantage for modern restaurants. By capturing real-time insights into customer behavior, preferences, and spending habits, POS systems empower restaurants to deliver personalized experiences, reward loyalty, and increase repeat visits.
If youve ever wondered how does a POS system work , youre not alone. A modern Point of Sale (POS) system is more than just a cash registerits the central hub that powers day-to-day business operations. In this post, well break down how does a POS system works and why its essential for restaurants, cafes, and other growing businesses.
These are tools that can help you streamline operations, easily schedule staff, and make sure you never run out of ingredients for your best-selling menu items. Inventory management and demand forecasting Running out of key ingredientsor over-ordering and wasting themis one of the fastest ways to lose money.
Staff scheduling, inventory management, menu analysis , guest satisfaction, profitability, and so much more rest on the shoulders of accurate restaurant forecasting. On a micro level, forecasting helps a restaurant plan for inventory orders and how many employees need to work each shift to make and sell food.
By accurately calculating food costs, restaurant owners can set the right menu prices, reduce waste, and maximize their profits. Whether youre a seasoned restaurateur or just starting, mastering food cost management is the key to boosting your restaurants profitability. With a target food cost of 30%, the menu price is set at: $5.15/0.30
If your POS system is slowing down your restaurant , you’re not just dealing with minor annoyances; you’re risking lost revenue, poor customer experiences, and operational chaos. If your restaurants operations feel slower, less efficient, or prone to errors, your outdated POS system might be the culprit.
How would you recommend menu items to guests to enhance their dining experience? Have you ever handled a situation where a customer asked for a dish not on the menu? What techniques do you use to upsell menu items or drinks? How would you recommend menu items to guests to enhance their dining experience? What did you do?
Table of Contents The Costs of Opening and Running a Restaurant The Difference Between Fixed and Variable Cost Understand And Calculate Your Prime Cost Understand And Control The 5 Major Restaurant Costs Restaurant Labor Costs Restaurant Food Costs Restaurant Utility Costs Restaurant Kitchen Equipment Costs Restaurant POS System Costs Ready?
Thats where this guide comes inpractical, no-nonsense tips to get things running like clockwork, especially for folks using POS systems like Harbortouch. Well cover everything from automation to IT management, with examples tailored for POS users. and task completion times (how long to process inventory?).
Payroll can be a huge chore in this industry due to its time-sucking nature, and other accounting needs like inventory and budget management aren't exactly easy (or exciting). An extension for restaurants using Toast POS, this feature of the popular restaurant management platform is actually for your guests as much as it is for you.
Your inventory is one aspect to keep track of to avoid overordering. “If you aren’t taking accurate and consistent inventory at your restaurant, you’re missing out on a 20+% increase in profits,” our own D.J. Train your staff to use ingredients efficiently and plan your menu to minimize waste.
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