Effective inventory management is at the heart of all successful food-service operations. But many restaurants and other food-service businesses struggle to implement a sound inventory system. If you're struggling to stay on top of food cost and inventory tracking, it may be time to opt into food costing and inventory management software.
Restaurant inventory management software helps your business track ingredient purchases and sales, orders, recipes, and menu costs. The best restaurant inventory management systems sync with point-of-sale (POS) systems, saving you precious time by eliminating hours of tedious administrative work. With the right software, you can get back to what matters most: running your business successfully and engaging with customers.
If you're not sure where to start, look through this brief guide to restaurant inventory management software. It covers the basics of what you need to know before making a purchase decision.
Let's dive in!
Craftable
Craftable is one of our absolute favorite platforms for inventory tracking and food costing because it seamlessly connects inventory, sales, and purchases to your restaurant's sales to help drive profit.
The Craftable platform promises a 3-5% decrease in pour cost and a 2-3% decrease in food price when you automate the connection between your recipes to sales. The software can also help reduce labor hours by saving you 80% in accounting time and 50% in time spent taking inventory. As they say, time is money!
Lastly, the software provides a clear view of cost trends through easy-to-understand data. These trends will help forecast future spending so you can adjust your budget to reduce your bottom line.
Xtrachef
Xtrachef, hosted by Toast, is another prime software to automate and track operational costs through various tools. The platform provides automated invoice processing daily along with real-time reports regarding food costs to help you maximize your margins.
Xtrachef also offers recipe and inventory management to help you cost each plate served. It provides invoice data and inventory tracking to use across operations and finance teams. The Xtrachef software will also streamline all your various vendors and products to provide a visual data dashboard in real-time.
Another bonus of using Xtrachef is its manufacturer rebates that allow your business to earn cashback on food purchases.
MarginEdge
MarginEdge automates tedious processes, connects systems, and radically streamlines critical activities, like inventory, cost-tracking, ordering, and recipes. Its automated invoice processing allows you to track costs by taking a picture of invoices, receipts, and bills. It also integrates with commonly used POS systems and accounting systems to streamline access to essential data.
MarginEdge's software also features a recipe development tool that allows you to cost out the price of an individual plate based on ingredients used. With its food cost management dashboard, you can have quick access to daily food and beverage costs as well as price movements across multiple locations.
Restaurant 365
Restaurant 365 lives up to its namesake by encompassing all-in-one restaurant payroll, accounting, inventory, scheduling, and reporting all on the same page. It also integrates with your POS system, vendors, and banking partners so you can have a one-stop shop for your business cost.
The Bottom Line
The bottom line is this: good inventory management is key to any food-service business' success. If you don't have a handle on your inventory, it's time to invest in some quality software that will save you time and money in the long run.