The modern restaurant industry is one that demands perseverance, creativity, and a commitment to service. With the advent of the internet and its effects on the way customers interact with restaurants, it’s not enough to have a great product and put it on a menu—you have to make sure that you’re reaching your customers where they are.
Unfortunately, not every restaurant owner has the resources to develop their own technology, which is why we’ve compiled this list of some of the best apps for restaurant owners to help keep you connected with your customers.
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Best Apps For Restaurant Owners
Restaurant owners and managers are always on the go. The daily grind involves a number of responsibilities and task lists. Check inventory. Track shifts. Get sales insights. Manage customer feedback. Send newsletters with offers. Be on top of the social media game. Check emails. Organize notes. Create a financial plan… The list is literally endless! No surprise then that technology is a necessity for running a great restaurant business. (95% of restaurateurs agree that technology improves business efficiency). Apps for restaurant owners can help manage some of this workload and make it easier to run the business.
This is why we have put together a list of some of the best apps that will help restaurant owners and managers in their businesses, whether they have an in-house hotel marketing team or outsourced operations. Read on to learn how you can use these apps in your business.
- Zonka Feedback: To manage customer feedback
Happy customers are the cornerstone of your business, and Zonka Feedback understands this very well. Zonka is a multi-channel feedback system with which you can take customer feedback on iPads, Android tablets, and kiosks (on-premises while your customers are in the restaurant). You can also send email surveys or SMS surveys to your target audience after their visit or after home delivery to get feedback when they’re out of the restaurant.
Whether you want to measure key metrics like NPS®, CES, and CSAT or wish to gain detailed customer insight into each aspect of your restaurant’s CX, you can quickly do it with Zonka Feedback. You can use the customer feedback platform’s smart features like real-time reporting, instant alerts and notifications, and in-depth analysis. You can even ask for employee feedback to evaluate staff performance. Through the app’s dashboard, you can compare feedback across locations, and track devices. As a bonus, your customers become your forever partners. This restaurant feedback management system (it also comes as a feedback app) is well-suited for both standalone and restaurant chain owners. (Pro Benefit: Fully customizable surveys, real-time alerts, and end-to-end feedback management.)
Tablet Kiosk + iPad App & Android App + Web + Email + SMS | Try for Free | Request a Demo | Visit Zonka Feedback to know more
- 7shifts: To improve shift management
7shifts is a restaurant scheduling software. You’ll be able to manage your hectic schedule intuitively with it. All you need to do is add the shift information and the updated staff availability, click a few times, and you are all set in minutes. The USP is your schedule will be fully optimized and data-driven as per your restaurant needs. (Pro Benefit: You can even fill and swap shifts in a call-out via a chat function.)
Apple + Android | Visit 7shifts to know more
- Sprout Social: To manage social media
Sprout Social is a collaborative social media management app to manage your social media and communication. It works as a social inbox, so you can effortlessly post, schedule, and monitor content on cross-network social channels (LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, Google+). It lets you view all your messages as well as conversation history in one place. You can take action on to-do lists or tasks from messages. Link your social media data to your customer feedback to gain better insight into what your customers are saying about you.
Android + Apple | Visit Sprout Social to know more
- Bonusly: To enhance restaurant productivity
Bonusly helps you recognize and reward your employees. With this restaurant app, you can improve employee engagement and retention and can simplify employee recognition as well as performance management. Use this app to improve the working environment and make employee interactions more efficient and meaningful. You can integrate this app with Zonka Feedback – and use employee surveys to develop a rich employee culture. (Pro Benefit: You can enrich bonuses with emojis, images, and GIFs.)
Android + Apple + Web | Visit Bonusly to know more
- Evernote: To organize your notes
Evernote is designed to keep your ideas and memories available to you when you need them – much like your memory. Apart from capturing your thoughts, Evernote helps you nurture and share ideas in every form ( photos, checklist, PDFs, to-do lists) and you can easily access them at any place and at any time. Make it your team’s documentation hub. Use Evernote for initial brainstorming as well as for the final implementation of various ideas and tasks – for planning menus, creating a marketing plan, etc., and be a more productive restaurateur.
Android + Apple | Visit Evernote to know more
- MailChimp: To send newsletters
MailChimp is a marketing automation platform to build and share email as well as ad campaigns with customers, clients, and other parties as per your brand requirement. By using analytics in MailChimp, you can even evaluate the performance of your marketing efforts. Some of its distinguishing traits are brilliantly designed campaigns, healthy list management practices, and powerful data analysis. You can integrate MailChimp with Zonka Feedback to add your customers to your mailing list. Check other MailChimp alternatives here.
Apple + Android | Visit MailChimp to know more
- Avero: To get business operations and sales insights
Avero gives you valuable insights into sales and business operations. You can take a deep dive into data and explore what action management can make your team more productive. This restaurant app won’t only help you sell more, it will also help you drive sales, reduce costs, and make smarter business decisions.
Android + Apple | Visit Avero to know more
- Compeat: To manage accounting and back-office systems
Compeat provides a comprehensive and fully integrated solution for back office, inventory, accounting, analytics, and workforce management. It helps you manage your prime costs as well as the entire business with great ease. You can also streamline your business operations with it.
Web | Visit Compeat to know more
- Feedly: To consolidate all your publications
You can use Feedly as a central place to keep all the publications that matter to you. This smart reader app allows you to keep a tab on the latest blogs, newsletters, or magazines. Use it to stay informed and ahead of the curve in the restaurant world. Another great thing — you get everything in a clean and easy-to-digest format.
Android + Apple + Cloud-based Service | Visit Feedly to know more
- Food Cost Calculator: To ease your calculations
Personally speaking, I get mentally numb when I have to do calculations. But unfortunately, it’s a part of the job. If you are also like me, then the Food Cost Calculator is perfect for you. It helps you calculate the edible cost, food cost, portion cost, plate cost, and menu cost-efficiently. (Pro Benefit: You can benchmark your costs against competitors.)
Web | Visit Food Cost Calculator to know more
- CrunchTime: To manage back-office system
CrunchTime is your all-inclusive back-office management solution. It helps you manage your food cost, labor, inventory, alerts, and dashboard smoothly. This smart app has another excellent feature It integrates with your POS data. This means that you can get labor, sales, and other vital insights much more easily. This restaurant app is an excellent option for both midsize and large restaurants.
Apple + Android | Visit CrunchTime to know more
- Incentivio: To manage marketing needs
Incentivio helps you manage your restaurant’s marketing needs. With this restaurant marketing app, you can quickly acquire new customers, drive visits, reduce costs, improve average ticket size, enhance loyalty, and increase engagement efficiently. Another plus point is that this app is white labeled, which means it works behind the scenes, so your brand is always at the front and center.
Web + Mobile + In-store | Visit Incentivio to know more
- LevelUp: To handle mobile ordering and payments
LevelUp is a mobile ordering and payment platform to keep your line always moving. This restaurant app connects you with your guests and provides a CX that blends loyalty, analytics, and rewards. By using this app, your customers can securely link their credit or debit card to a unique QR code and pay you by just scanning the QR code.
Android + Apple | Visit LevelUp to know more
- MobileDay: To lead conference call or online meeting
MobileDay is an app that allows you to dial into a conference call or online meeting with one touch. This means you can schedule an online meeting or conference call with restaurant stakeholders in a fraction of a second. You can sync it with your Smartphone calendar to remain up-to-date with all the upcoming meetings. (Pro Benefit: You can connect with a single touch. No need for access, or pin code.)
Android + Apple | Visit MobileDay to know more
- Slack: To manage team communication
Slack helps you communicate with your team members in real-time. Whether you want to share a personal or a group message with teams and vendors across supply, operations, kitchen orders, you can easily do it with this mobile messaging app. This app will help you bid goodbye to all your communication gap anxieties. You can also integrate Slack with a feedback system to get notified immediately of customer feedback. (Pro Benefit: You get the added advantage of screen sharing, integrated calls, and the file-sharing option.)
Android + Apple | Visit Slack to know more
- Outlook: To check emails
Outlook helps you ease your email communications. You can effortlessly check emails and perform other actions (like archive, schedule, or delete emails) using Outlook. What’s more, you can use it at any time, whether you are on the go or at your desk. (Pro Benefit: It auto-organizes your email into the Focused Inbox.)
Android + Apple + Windows | Visit Outlook to know more
- Restaurateur: To manage the restaurant’s business plan and financial plan
Restaurateur helps you create your business as well as the financial plan. You can build an effective profit and loss statement and calculate check and sales break-evens. You just have to key in the size of your space, cost ratios, average check amount, and monthly expenses and leave the rest to the software. (Pro Benefit: You can get alerts when a ratio crosses the industry guidelines.)
Apple | Visit Restaurateur to know more
- Zenefits: To manage all your HR needs
Zenefits is an online HCM software you can use to meet all your HR needs. You can use it for everything related to your HR needs. Use it to manage payroll for your restaurant employees, paid time off and attendance, benefits, and health insurance. You can also use it to manage your compliance requirements, employee onboarding, and more. Whether you are a small firm and a big organization, it works just as well.
Android + Apple | Visit Zenefits to know more
- StoreKit: To manage payments
StoreKit is payment technology software. They help businesses around the world realize the future of ordering food and drink. With click & collect, delivery, and in-store ordering modules, Storekit software helps make things simple and usable for your customers, and for you.
Visit Storekit to know more
- E-Delivery: To Accept and Manage Online
Fulfilling customer’s needs is a must in order to survive in this competitive business arena. Customers these days leading towards “convenience” and having an online ordering solution for restaurants has become a new norm. From browsing digital menus to secure online payments to real-time tracking of orders and social media sharing, E-Delivery platforms allow a delivery services business to accept and dispatch online orders more efficiently. (Benefit: You will get separate apps and panels for stores, customers, and delivery providers to manage bulk deliveries without any glitches.)
Visit Elluminatiinc.com for more information.
Try out these restaurant apps to make your tasks easier and automated. With these apps, you will be free to focus on making your restaurant successful and on improving the customer experience.
apps for restaurant employees
There are a lot of apps designed for restaurant managers and operators to be more productive. In fact, a quick Google search yields ~700,000 results aimed at providing information on apps to help you work smarter, faster, or more efficiently.
But what about your staff? All of this attention is being paid to restaurateurs but are there apps built specifically for employees to help them excel in their own roles? For example, are there apps to help your staff keep track of their shifts or daily tasks? What about apps to gain knowledge on topics such as spoilage or safe food handling?
As a restaurateur, it’s important to know about apps which will benefit your staff. Anything that helps your employees be more successful in their own jobs will improve your business in the long run. Remember – empowered and successful employees leads to an empowered and successful restaurant!
Here are 6 essential mobile apps you should tell your restaurant staff to check out:
Instant
As Instant’s tagline reads, “Imagine a world where you get paid everyday.” Instant is a fintech company which allows shift work employees to get paid out instantly at the end of every shift using their app. The best part is it works outside of your existing payroll solution, which makes implementation a breeze for managers. In addition, paying your employees with Instant allows you to reduce your operational costs associated with payroll.
Android | iOS | Cost: free
Google Keep
A less-known Google suite product ‘Keep’ allows users to create and share different kinds of notes; including text, lists, images, and audio. Users can set reminders, and text from images can be extracted and turned into editable text. For employees, Keep is a great way to err, keep, track of the various tasks they are responsible for during their shift. Since notes can be shared with managers, this is a great way to ensure you know what tasks were completed and when. Additionally, Keep is a great way for you and your restaurant vendors to share information back and forth between orders, especially if you have already streamlined your supplier management with an app such as BlueCart.
Android | iOS | Cost: free
NLRB Guide
Just as it’s important for restaurant operators to know and understand labor regulations, it’s equally crucial for staff to understand how these regulations affect them as well. This handy guide from the National Labor Relations Board provides practical information in an easy to search format. It provides information on working regulations on a state-by-state basis so employees can quickly see how laws apply to them, their work, your management, and your business.
Android | iOS | Cost: free
7shifts
One of the most common stressors for those who work in restaurants is knowing when they’re scheduled! This handy app allows managers to quickly enter staff schedules online which are instantly viewable by staff so they always know when they work. Staff can share their availability and time off preferences while receiving alerts prior to their shift starting. The app also allows managers and employees to chat with each other in real time without having to have a contact list or call the restaurant.
Android | iOS | Cost: free
Food Safety Prep Test
Perfect for those starting their restaurant career, this app reinforces knowledge of safe food preparation, food storage, and kitchen practices. It also includes knowledge on U.S. legal food handling procedures. This app was designed to meet requirements of 4 of the top national food safety courses and provides everyone with a foundational understanding of safe food handling. This app is great to share with your suppliers and vendors so you can all work towards food safety goals together.
Android | iOS | Cost: $5
ServerLife
This one is aimed squarely at FOH staff, but is usable by anyone receiving tips as part of their compensation. ServerLife is a tip tracker enabling staff to record tips as they earn them so the total is in their pocket at the end of the shift. ServerLife also keeps track of tips on a weekly, monthly, and annual basis so they always know the total of what was earned.
Android | iOS | Cost: free
About the Author: Chris de Jong is the Marketing Lead for 7shifts, an employee scheduling app designed for restaurant based in beautiful Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. He works with the rest of the 7shifts team to help their customers all over the world save time scheduling, reduce labor costs, and improve communication in their businesses.
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