3 Ways Restaurant Managers Can Boost Restaurant Operations In 2022
After enduring two years of pandemic conditions, 2022 promises to be a year of more unique obstacles for restaurant owners. Supply chain issues have been wreaking havoc on ingredient and supply availability, and labor shortages have been forcing restaurant operations to shorten their hours or close one or more days during the week.
The labor shortage has caused many restaurant owners to take a closer look at their technology. There aren’t enough workers to go around, so technology is filling in the gaps, streamlining restaurant operations, and boosting revenue. Here are the top three ways restaurant owners and managers are increasing operational efficiency in restaurants without adding stress to their staff.
1. Creating a Back Office for Management
Instead of tying up a POS terminal in the dining room, kitchen or bar, many managers are investing in restaurant management software that allows them to do back-office work from a separate computer.
These restaurant management software packages offer a full range of reporting capabilities with minimal setup and training, so managers can access real-time data without slowing down the restaurant operation. The manager can focus in a quiet setting without worrying about privacy issues, especially when reviewing sensitive accounting or personal staff information.
NCC’s PC Workstation is the restaurant management software that many restaurant owners choose. PC Workstation runs up to 150 real-time reports, can pull data from a year’s worth of data, and is QuickBooks® compatible. As a result, it’s easy to create and review department and product sales reports, labor numbers, track food costs, and read employee performance reports.
This technology makes it easy for managers to do more with their time and attention. They can quickly review their reports and act accordingly to boost the operational efficiency in their restaurant. With it being more accessible than ever to make business-savvy decisions, managers can spend their saved time interacting with customers and helping staff, making it the ultimate secret weapon of successful restaurants.
2. Establishing Effective Online Ordering
Since the start of the pandemic in 2020, online ordering has been a lifeline for restaurants that lost most or all of their on-premise business. Take-out business boomed, but customers didn’t want to wait on hold or keep hitting redial when they got a busy signal. Instead, online ordering provided a frustration-free experience, especially during peak business hours. Easy-to-use online ordering is here to stay, which is why owners and managers are ensuring their point of sale (POS), and other vital restaurant management software integrates with online ordering.
Leveraging online ordering is another way to increase restaurant operations. Eliminating the need to search for and train more staff, stay open for longer hours, or add more seats in the dining area. Instead, online ordering boosts the bottom line without making significant changes—diners are drawn to this platform because it’s a medium they’re comfortable with, and they can take their time to read through the menu. There’s no one waiting on them, so they can take as long as they want to decide or look for something new to try.
Giving a diner control over the ordering process also means they can modify their selections, and the order is sent directly to the POS, eliminating erroneous order entries from staff, it also allows restaurants to accept more orders saving time, money, and ingredients.
Ordering360 is an online ordering platform that allows restaurant owners to maintain complete control over the process instead of contracting with a third party to run it. Ordering360 includes modules for branding, marketing, websites, custom mobile apps, gift cards, customer outreach, and more, keeping owners and managers in the driver’s seat.
When considering online ordering integrations, managers evaluate based on these valued assets:
- Modern interface with itemized photos
- Retaining valuable customer data
- Reducing labor costs and errors
- Loyalty program integrations
- Customer feedback surveys
- Order compatibility via POS or Mobile POS tablet
3. Working With Local Value-Added Resellers
Nothing works perfectly all the time, including POS systems. Fortunately, more reliable systems like Reflections POS won’t go down due to a central point of failure. Every terminal is redundant–so only the affected computer goes offline—without affecting the entire restaurant operation. But even if it’s just one terminal, when your restaurant management software starts to malfunction, you may feel stuck if you don’t know how to handle it.
This is why working with a local VAR is the best practice: they’re used to dealing with software glitches, and company associates are literally there to help—you aren’t talking to an automated troubleshooting system or someone in a different time zone. For example, if there is a hardware problem, you can reach out to your single point of contact—the VAR—and they may have a loaner unit they can deliver the same day! An exceptional choice compared to working with a multi-national chain facing inventory shortages, supply chain issues, and slow shipping. Taking the worries out of restaurant technology means more face time with customers and staff, so restaurant managers and owners can focus on business.
Since 1986, NCC has focused on creating reliable, cost-effective POS restaurant management software distributed through a global channel of qualified resellers. The company’s quality-focused, local approach is why more restaurant owners and managers have turned to NCC for their POS needs. If you are ready to take your restaurant operation to the next level and elevate your bottom line, please visit www.nccusa.com.
