Restaurant Management Software vs Excel Spreadsheets: What Is Better?
Most restaurant owners see excel spreadsheets as the best tool for managing their business. Spreadsheets help administrators and hosts manage staff and guest scheduling, restaurant inventory, financial records, waste and food loss, etc. In the long run, the same restaurant spreadsheets are said to save time and cause a minimal headache. This all may be true. But do you know there’s a better solution?
Spreadsheets don’t save time. They steal it
Ventana research confirms that employees spend 12 hours a month to design, fill out, update, consolidate, or correct restaurant inventory spreadsheets. In the end, no matter how many spreadsheets are designed and filled out, they all remain raw data sources. There’s nothing users can highlight or interpret with their help. Again, more hours are required for detailed processing.
Spreadsheets are too far from being secure
Though restaurant excel spreadsheets have built-in security features (hidden sheets, password options), any input data is vulnerable. How so? The thing is that these security features are too easy to bypass. Think of this next time you’ll be using spreadsheets for operating cost control.
Spreadsheets can’t offer automatic reporting
To create a single report in excel spreadsheets, users collect data from other spreadsheets. They process this data and interpret it. Then, they generate reports. None of this is done automatically. Users apply a lot of manual effort.
Spreadsheets’ scalability is poor
When much data is stored in a single document, scalability isn’t simply slow — it’s next to impossible. At first, breaking data between smaller files seems like a wise decision. However, users face another obstacle which is the difficulty of managing loads of data across multiple spreadsheets. Eventually, some data is lost, some is misplaced, some is imprecise.
Spreadsheets and errors are synonyms
Here’s a fact for everyone in the restaurant industry. Almost 90% of all spreadsheets you’re using have errors in 1% of formulas, at least (according to Pay Panko, a professor of IT management at the University of Hawai’i). Around 88% of all excel spreadsheets have at least one error, including miscalculations, formatting, misspelling (according to Forbes).
Even the smallest errors can cost you millions of dollars to be fixed. For example, during the 2012 Summer Olympics, an employee hit 2 instead of 1 when managing data on tickets, thus specifying there were 20,000 tickets left, while there were 10,000 left. Eventually, 10,000 extra tickets were sold accidentally.
Spreadsheets don’t allow you to forecast
With spreadsheets, you have no access to the historical data. From the point of view of financial forecasting, you don’t see the complete picture of what was and is happening with your finances. Eventually, all data-driven decisions are made blind.
Spreadsheets go with collaboration issues
How to manage, exchange, or share data across multiple locations through excel spreadsheets? There’s no way. Excel spreadsheets don’t offer the full package of features your business actually needs. They are tools for individuals not for successful collaboration between departments or locations.
How does a restaurant management system differ?
Unlike spreadsheets, a restaurant management system automates the business’ operations. With this type of software, you always can:
- Manage stock levels in real-time
- Control expenses
- Reduce repetitive, manual tasks
- Reduce inventory loss
- Prevent human error
- Make quick data-driven decisions
- Manage employees and guests more effectively
- Get a full picture of daily operations and finances
Must-have modules of a restaurant management system
Whether you choose a ready-made system or decide to develop a custom one, concentrate on the modules that will help you automate most of your restaurant’s operations.
Inventory management module
With this module, you’ll easily automate most of the inventory-related tasks, including taking inventory, managing the supply chain, and calculating menu costs. Through the module, you’ll see the most/least profitable products.
The following features are the must-haves of the restaurant inventory management module:
Employee management module
Through this module, you’ll have no trouble managing your employees’ schedules. The module usually allows you to create schedules, track every employee’s working hours, manage sick leaves, and vacations.
These are the must-have features of an effective employee management module:
Accounting module
Want to track all the restaurant’s expenses on ingredients, operations, and labor? Need to manage the salaries and deductions? Willing to know the business’ losses and profits over certain periods? This is what an accounting module of your restaurant management software will help you with.
To ensure access to all the operations above, the module should include the following tools:
Analytics and reports module
Access to analytics and the ability to generate reports helps restaurant owners have a better understanding of their finances and performance to make data-driven decisions. With this, businesses can increase their productivity and profitability.
This is how a perfect restaurant management software looks like, when all basic modules and their tools are combined.
These are just basic modules you will need to manage your restaurant business. There can be more modules if they are what you need to meet your business’ needs.
Ready to use restaurant management software instead of spreadsheets?
If you came up with a decision to optimize your business flow with restaurant management software, you need more information about the ins and outs of the process. Feel free to get it from one of our latest posts on how to develop restaurant inventory management software. For more insights about the development process, rough estimates, and advice, get in touch with our sales team.
