Managing a restaurant with its kitchen, inventory and the whole service system is a task that requires utmost activity. The management of the restaurant kitchen is indeed a very important aspect linked to the overall success of the restaurant. 

With the evolution of information technology, restaurant inventory and kitchen management are no longer a headache. There is numerous restaurant kitchen management software that can help you manage the restaurant kitchen aptly and effectively. Today we will take a look at the restaurant kitchen and inventory management software.

What is the Function of a Restaurant Kitchen Management Software

A restaurant kitchen management software automates and helps monitor the workflow in the hectic rush of the restaurant kitchen. Most restaurant management software also helps in inventory management, supplier contacts, service system operation and many more.

With restaurant management software it becomes more convenient to keep up with the overall chores and workflow of a restaurant kitchen. Some restaurant kitchen management software is free while others come with a billing option.

General Features of a Restaurant Management Software

Kitchen Management

A restaurant kitchen is way busier than any other ordinary kitchen. In order to maintain consistency and deliver an efficient kitchen service, the kitchen management software helps to streamline the communication between the staff and the demanding situations in the restaurant kitchen. It helps to keep an audit of the kitchen inventory based on the received orders, recipe management and costing, nutritional analysis, menu planning, and inventory procurement.

Inventory Management

A kitchen inventory management software helps to track, manage and control the supply and quality of stock in order to maintain optimal levels of resources available. The software also generates daily and monthly based regular reports detailing the stock expenses and current pricing of each item. Real-time inventory monitoring helps to manage menus accordingly for restaurants.

Service, Orders, and Reservation Management

By assigning staff to each order, the software helps to coordinate the table services and also deals with the orders with the internal kitchen network to maintain swift and smooth execution of orders. Most software allows us to track and keep up with table reservations to work accordingly and assign staff to those orders.

Billing and Invoice Management

The software manages monetary transactions while maintaining detailed records and prepares bills of orders from customers. It also deals with all monetary transactions with suppliers and clients to fluently run the financial workflow with detailed records of all billing history. Invoices can be received instantly with the help of this restaurant management software.

Restaurant Management Software Free

There are some of the restaurant inventory and kitchen management software free. Some are open-source software while others allow you to take satisfactory free trials before you decide upon purchase.

Tasty Lighter (Free and Open Source)

SambaPOS (Free and Open Source)

BevSpot (Free Trial Available)

Zoom Shift (Free Trial)

Floreant POS (Free and Open Source)

Lightspeed (Free Trial)

PeachWorks (Free Trial)

Shore (Free Trial)

Things to Consider while Purchasing Restaurant Management Software

There are a few factors worth considering while you purchase the appropriate restaurant management software. These factors determine the efficiency of the software in managing the workflow of the restaurant according to your needs.

Scalability of Management

The purchase of your restaurant management software should be made considering your future plans. If you are looking forward to expanding or having multiple branches of your restaurant in the future, the software should be scalable and compatible. There are certain features that should be scalable in the software including bandwidth, mobility, advanced analytics, and also multi-brand add-ons.

Reporting Capabilities

Most restaurant management software will provide detailed and clear data of the inventory, menus, employees, guests, and other aspects of the restaurant. However, it is significant for those data to be analyzed properly with appropriate competence in order to gain valuable insights for decision-making. The proper utilization of these insights is vital for the growth of your restaurant. Therefore, you should consider adding data mining, reporting, and analytics tools to your kitchen and restaurant management software. This will help the restaurant managers to reduce costs and increase revenue.

Inventory Control

Proper management of inventory and minimizing food spoilage, waste, and overproduction are some of the most important concerns while running a restaurant. Keep in mind to choose software that tracks the inventory to avoid overstocking while having an integrated inventory module will help you to keep track of real-time inventory depletion. This will automatically generate purchases accordingly to the needs of the inventory.

Ordering and Payment 

Many customers prefer table-side billing and order in restaurants. So, you can consider adding handheld devices for ordering and mobile phone transfer options to the software.

Having restaurant management software can really boost up the management and overall workflow of your restaurant starting from the kitchen to the final billing procedure. It is important to choose the appropriate management software that will suit the needs of your restaurant accordingly. If you need this type of software, then you can.