10 digital solutions to boost efficiency in your restaurant

Since restaurants reopened on May 19, they've been working at a hectic pace. With the French eating more meals away from home, and warmer temperatures, the influx of customers has never been greater. But solutions have emerged to help you save time and gain operational efficiency within your restaurant.

Following the reopening, bookings at The Fork increased 20-fold. The French continue to for "the welcome, the service and the atmosphere". after the long months of closure until May. So you have to keep satisfying them by concentrating on your core business: serving good food and pleasing customers. In order not to become overwhelmed, it becomes necessary and possible to remove the technical aspects that don't add value to the customer experience. Numerous digital solutions have emerged to help restaurateurs improve efficiency before, during and after service. But which solutions should you choose? And how do you choose? Here's an overview of the most reliable tools for your establishment.

1. MalouApp: gaining customers before any other step

90% of French people choose their restaurant online. So, even before trying to increase efficiency in your restaurant, professionals need to make themselves visible and attractive on all the platforms where customers are searching. But optimizing your online presence is complex, and requires time and know-how that many professionals lack. Yet everyone needs online visibility.

MalouApp helps restaurateurs increase their online visibility to convert more customers.

• What's it all about? A single interface to find your strategic keywords, update your information everywhere in one click, manage your customer reviews, moderate your social accounts, track your performance, be guided in the creation of content for social media and plan your publications. Connected to every channel (Google, Tripadvisor, Instagram, Facebook, Yelp, Apple Plan, Mapstr...) in real time, the MalouApp centralizes all your information in a single application.
• Why adopt it? Save time by managing your business from a single interface, gain visibility by improving your local referencing and e-reputation, and win customers.
• At what price? A monthly subscription that adapts to your needs.

2. Stoquemarket: from procurement to inventory management

Making your restaurant more efficient starts with the selection of suppliers. Many restaurateurs use different suppliers, which can quickly become a waste of time. Delays in delivery, cancellations, unavailability of products, ordering errors... and this, for every supplier. But it's hard to find all the quality, eco-responsible products you need from a single source. So how do you go about it?

Stoquemarket offers restaurateurs a single interface for ordering all their products from carefully selected suppliers.

• What's it all about? An intuitive application, available from your smartphone, tablet or computer, to select and buy all the products you need. Create your favorite lists with automatically updated prices. A single application that brings together suppliers and distributors of quality, original, organic and local products of all kinds.
• Why adopt it? Save time on procurement, reduce stock losses and gain visibility on invoices. Gain in efficiency thanks to centralized global management.
• How much does it cost? Free and without obligation!

3. Snapshift: organize your schedule intelligently for 100% efficiency in your restaurant

Restaurant working hours vary from one employee to the next, to ensure service at every meal. And these schedules often differ according to the unexpected and the customers present in the restaurant. Situations with too many or too few waiters can occur regularly. It becomes difficult to keep track of the hours worked by each person. How can you distribute your staff fairly? How can you save time and avoid payroll errors?

Snapshift takes care of the planning of your teams with its connected software that integrates with your payroll tool.

• What's it all about? Software that lets you create, manage and adjust schedules according to availability, contracts, etc., while instantly alerting staff, tracking lateness and absences, and monitoring performance.
• Why adopt it? Optimize payroll for greater efficiency and profitability, ensure employee satisfaction and automate payslips.
• At what price? Free, no-obligation 7-day trial.

4. Libeo makes accounting child's play

Managing invoices remains a recurring problem. If a restaurateur outsources accounting, he'll have less visibility over his expenses. However, they don't have the time to manage it themselves. Between invoices sent by e-mail and those sent by post, some disappear, leading suppliers to send you reminders. How can you pay all your invoices on time without spending too much time on them?

Libéo takes the load off your shoulders with a single interface that consolidates your invoices and lets you monitor your finances in real time.

• What's it all about? A simple platform that dematerializes your invoices, organizes them intelligently and schedules payments in total security, made after your validation. Synchronized with your bank account, the platform also displays the status of your finances in real time.
• Why adopt it? Stop wasting time so you can concentrate on your core business, maintain a relationship of trust with your suppliers and keep an eye on your cash flow.
• At what price? Free standard package or premium subscription.

5. Agicap: for controlled, anticipated cash flow

Closing the month with a positive balance sheet: an unavoidable anxiety for a restaurateur. Why not remove this stress from your daily routine? In the restaurant business, cash flow is essential to keep your business running. But to ensure your restaurant's profitability, you need to anticipate and control your sales!

Take your cash management even further with Agicap. Forecast your finances to make the right decisions.

• What's it all about? Intuitive software, connected to your bank and invoicing tools, which displays your financial situation in real time, according to the category of cash in or out, simulates the impact of various scenarios on your cash flow, and provides you with reliable forecasts.
• Why adopt it? Save time and money in developing your financial strategy. Visualize your cash flow at all times to make your restaurant more profitable.
• At what price? A no-obligation subscription at a price that suits your needs!

6. Siouplait: creation of your online ordering module for greater efficiency in your restaurant, even from a distance

The ban on room service has forced restaurateurs to introduce takeaway and delivery sales, getting consumers used to this new meal format. It's a way of eating that remains part of everyone's daily routine, despite the reopening. But it's a way of eating that requires a very different kind of organization from traditional catering. So where do we start? Without losing sight of its identity? How can we make this business profitable without being overwhelmed by commissions?

Siouplait puts everything in place to continue serving your customers via click&collect and delivery.

• What's it all about? An online ordering module specific to your establishment and accessible directly from your website. Integrated with all your tools, the solution takes care of the entire ordering process, keeps customers informed by personalized e-mail or SMS, and offers instant payment.
• Why adopt it? Adapt your business to the current context without wasting time and straying from your core values. Benefit from a new source of income.
• At what price? 75€/month and if you come from Malou, 50€ for the first 3 months, with no commitment.

7. Zelty and Tiller: the cash register as a new friend

A paper order form that leads to oversights and errors, conflicts with the kitchen and lost sales, reduces your operational efficiency. Many things can happen to slow down service: a dish is no longer available, customers want to split the bill, others want to change tables... How do you deal with these unforeseen events and keep service flowing?

Zelty Caisse supports you every step of the way, from ordering to table management and collection.

• What's it all about? A simple cash register, but also the most accomplished, which integrates order taking and collection, reservation book, seating plan and delivery interface, and is complete with numerous functions. A cash register instantly connected to the kitchen.
• Why adopt it? Streamline service to boost productivity, improve the customer experience and that of your staff, both in the dining room and in the kitchen.
• At what price? Non-binding subscription. Prices vary according to integration.

Tiller installs an innovative cash register with features that simplify your life and push you to go even further in managing your restaurant.

• What's it all about? A cash register with an intuitive design and multiple functions. 3D seating plan, reservation book, personalized menu... for simplified ordering and collection. Sales reports, product top/flop, performance tracking... for optimized analysis and management.
• Why adopt it? To be quicker and more efficient, but also to adapt your offer to previous periods.
• At what price? 79e per month, with personalized support from start to finish.

8. Deliverect and Rushour: more efficient restaurant and remote sales services

As mentioned above, consumers continue to rely on delivery and takeaway. Habits that have been established and that remain despite the reopening. So it's important to get to grips with these new channels. To maximize sales, restaurateurs are using several delivery platforms, and there are more and more players on the market. So you need to equip yourself with tools for each platform, at the risk of being overwhelmed?

Deliverect integrates all your delivery channels with your POS system for optimized multi-channel management.

• What's it all about? An all-in-one solution that consolidates your online orders from all the platforms where you are present, updates your menus on them with a single click, and makes your remote sales performance available.
• Why adopt it? Turn your delivery and click&collect business into a profitable, value-added activity.
• At what price? From 49 euros per month.

Rushour clearly defines the solution it offers restaurateurs: "one tablet, one printer, all your orders".

• What's it all about? Orders placed on all your platforms are gathered on the Rushour tablet and printed directly. The solution enables you to modify your menu instantly wherever it is accessible, and keeps you informed of your performance in real time.
• Why adopt it? Continue to offer delivery and take-away services without disrupting front-of-house service.
• At what price? From 49 euros per month.

These different solutions are not incompatible; on the contrary, they complement each other. The choice of solutions depends on your needs.Depending on your restaurant's identity and values, certain contact points don't stimulate the customer experience, but rather hinder your restaurant's efficiency. It's these friction points that you need to digitize to drive your business forward. Outside your restaurant, however, gaining visibility and notoriety is a necessity for any type of establishment wishing to win customers.

Even better? Lightspeed: a complete suite of services

What if you could centralize all the services you need for greater efficiency in a single software package?

Lightspeed is a single box that lets you :

• Manage floor plan and tables
• Invoice and collect payments directly
• Set up an ordering and/or payment system at the table
• Receive your delivery orders
• Observe performance to anticipate
• And many more features to discover here

Lightspeed integrates everything you need into a single device. There's no better way to improve efficiency in your restaurant!

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