Restaurant management software: what it should cover

Restaurant management software brings everything that runs the business into a single portal: the menu, orders from every channel, the team, stock, food cost and sales reports. It replaces spreadsheets and separate portals with one source that the till, the website and the kitchen all read at the same time.

Why is a spreadsheet no longer enough to run a restaurant?

One spreadsheet for the menu, a notebook for the rota, a tablet for each delivery platform, a till export at the end of the month: every tool has its own figures, and nobody knows which to trust. Management software should first remove this double entry. What is sold, taken off sale or refunded should be recorded once, in one place, and then show up in the reports.

What should you be able to run from a single back-office?

The Maxilog back-office brings the menu, prices, team, terminals, orders and reports behind one login, with the same access rights. You read revenue, order count and average basket, with reports by item, category and channel. Cash sessions, VAT and invoices are tracked from the same administration.

How do you keep a single menu for every channel?

If the till, the website, the kiosk and the platforms each have their own menu, every price change has to be made several times, and one day the prices no longer match. With Maxilog, categories, items, photos, option groups and combos are managed in the back-office, and the till, the website, the app, the kiosk and the kitchen display all read the same menu.

How do you track stock and food cost?

Stock management deducts every sale: take a margherita whose recipe uses 200 g of mozzarella, and 200 g leave the stock as soon as the order is confirmed. When the mozzarella hits zero, the dishes that use it become unavailable on every channel, then return to sale when you restock. A list flags items and ingredients below their threshold, and you can also make an item unavailable for an hour, two hours or until the end of service. If you describe your dishes by their ingredients, the food cost of each dish is calculated from its recipe.

How do you know which dishes really pay off?

Revenue per dish does not tell the whole story. Maxilog ranks each dish as Star, Workhorse, Puzzle or Dog according to its sales and margin. You see at a glance what to promote, what to rework and what is better removed from the menu. A heat map of deliveries by zone completes the analysis if you deliver.

How do you manage the team and keep a record of actions?

Roles define what each person can do, and each team member logs in to the terminals with a PIN code. An audit log records every action, including cancellation audits: you know who cancelled a given bill. Orders from every channel (counter, dining room, website, app, kiosk, Uber Eats, Deliveroo) appear in a single list, filterable by channel, status and payment, with refunds and scheduled orders.

And how do you bring customers back?

The marketing module relies on your own restaurant's order history: promo codes, email and push campaigns, and reminders for customers who have stopped ordering. A promotion applies the same way at the till, the kiosk, the waiter terminal and the app. As for loyalty, points are earned with every order; they cannot be exchanged for a discount.

What questions should you ask before choosing management software?

1. Are the menu, orders, team and stock in the same portal, with the same login?
2. Does an out-of-stock item or a price change apply to every channel?
3. Is stock deducted with each order, and can you go down to the recipe?
4. Can you tell who did what, especially for cancellations?
5. Does the data belong to you, and can you export it?
6. What does the quote include?

Maxilog pricing is provided on quote, based on the number of venues, terminals and products. For the till side, read our guide to order-taking software and our comparison of restaurant POS software, or book a demo: we run it on your own menu.