On top of the administrative and financial management of their restaurant, restaurant owners must ensure guest satisfaction, employee well-being, profitability... Here's a to-do list to help you see things more clearly.
13 steps to managing your restaurant
Modern restaurant owners have a lot on their plate. You have to manage a business, pamper your guests, supervise the kitchen, motivate your staff, juggle your accounting and bills… Not to mention the emergencies, accidents and other unforeseen events that can happen at any time.
On top of it all, the health crisis has brought its own set of worries and restrictions. You have to put procedures in place to ensure that sanitary rules are respected. But that’s not all.
You are told that you must stay on the cutting edge of technology or risk being trampled by your competitors. But your job requires so much energy that you don’t really have time to keep up with the latest developments in the field.
Here at sunday, we’ve made it our mission to make the lives of restaurant owners easier. We help them become more efficient and profitable thanks to technology. By working with our clients, we have identified 13 key steps that allow them to become more efficient quickly.
1- Choose the right POS system
It’s the beating heart of your establishment. The main function of a cash register software is to help you record your transactions and simplify your accounting, sure.
A powerful POS system can give you accurate information about your diners’ preferences. This should help you make optimizations to the menu: cross out dishes that are too expensive and are not often ordered and showcase the most popular items.
It would also be an opportunity to set up a digital menu that your guests can consult on their smartphones, by scanning a QR code for example!
3- Rethink your prices
When optimizing your menu, rethink your pricing. Is there a way to increase your margin? Generally speaking, the ingredients of a course should cost you about 30% of its selling price. Thinking about the net margin you are getting for each dish is an important exercise to do regularly.
4- Manage your relationship with your suppliers
It’s fundamental to have a good supplier-restaurateur relationship in order to run a successful restaurant. If the partnership goes well, you have more leeway when it comes to negotiating. More info on supplier relationships in this article!
5- Update your stock-management technique
A smooth relationship with suppliers requires good visibility on inventory and future supply needs. Do you have an inventory management system? Have you explored the possibilities offered by your cash register software in this area?
Good visibility on inventory is key.
6- Make sure your staff are happy
A happy staff (whether waiters or kitchen staff) can do a lot for the success of your restaurant. Your staff are the ones responsible for cooking great food or welcoming your guests.
Guest satisfaction is the best predictor of your restaurant’s success. If they are satisfied, they will come back more often and spread the word. But before trying to improve your guest satisfaction rate, you need to know how to measure it. Here’s how to do it.
8- Build guest loyalty
A satisfied diner will tend to be loyal, it’s true – but you can give them a little boost. Think about setting up a loyalty program in your restaurant, preferably digitalized. More info on loyalty programs here.
Cheers to a nice meal in a restaurant.
9- Keep an eye on your average check size
After you’ve built guest loyalty, it’s the next best thing you can do for your revenue. The average check size is the average amount each one of your guests will spend. Head here to know what you can do to increase it.
10- Grow your social media presence
Want to get the word out about your restaurant, but don’t have the budget for a large-scale marketing campaign? Turn to social media! Instagram is especially suited for restaurant owners because it’s a primarily visual network. It allows you to showcase your food with beautiful photos and much more.
11- Allow click & collect
With the pandemic, click & collect has become really popular. It allows your diners to order online and pick up their food on site. It can be a significant source of revenue for restaurant owners.
12- Adapt your restaurant to social distancing rules
Although the health situation has improved, covid is not completely behind us. If you run your own establishment, you need to ensure that certain social distancing rules are followed to avoid making your restaurant a breeding ground for infections. Using the right technological tools can allow you to go contactless, from reading the menu to paying.
This also holds through in restaurants! Asking for the check, taking out your card or bills… this long process will soon be a thing of the past, thanks to new methods that allow diners to pay their bills on their smartphones, by scanning a QR code.
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