Many mobile apps streamline restaurant operations, from managing orders, employees, and customer reviews to handling restaurant reservations and inventory management. In short, restaurant apps make life easier for restaurant owners by simplifying tasks and reducing costs.
Are you curious to know more about how restaurant apps help restaurant owners manage their establishments? Let’s dive into the details!
Whether you are already running a bar, coffee shop, bistro, or fast-food restaurant or considering opening a restaurant, restaurant technology is becoming more common and is used every day.
Restauranteurs use restaurant apps for ordering, inventory management, and streamlining operations to ensure a steady flow of customers coming to their restaurants.
According to the National Restaurant Association report, most full-service customers express comfort in using a smartphone app to place an order (63%) or make payments (55%). Moreover, 62% of full-service customers prefer contactless or mobile payment options for settling the check. In comparison, 57% opt for digital wallets such as Apple Pay, Samsung Pay, Google Wallet, PayPal, or Venmo.
Below, we have prepared a list of the 11 best restaurant apps that cater to restaurant owners’ various needs and preferences.
1. UpMenu Order Taking App
UpMenu’s Order Taking App revolutionizes food order handling by seamlessly integrating all tasks into one user-friendly admin dashboard.
You can stop having manual phone orders as UpMenu consolidates order tracking and report generation onto your smartphone. With instant notifications for new food orders and real-time updates on order status and completion times, you can efficiently manage client requests, all within a single, intuitive interface.
Plus, you access comprehensive sales reports and effortlessly print orders with a few taps, keeping all order details neatly organized and easily accessible.
The app is free and can be downloaded from Google Play and the App Store.
2. UpMenu Mobile App for Restaurants
UpMenu’s mobile app for restaurants offers a versatile solution for businesses to create their own customized restaurant app. With a user-friendly restaurant app builder, establishments can easily add their logo, choose colors, and customize the layout to reflect their unique brand identity.
The app is convenient for restaurant owners and customers. It enables seamless online ordering for pickup and delivery, enhancing customer satisfaction and streamlining operations. Beyond branding customization, the app boasts features like menu items browsing and secure payment processing, providing added benefits for restaurant owners and customers alike.
3. 7Shifts
7shifts is a comprehensive employee scheduling and management app for restaurants and hospitality businesses.
With 7shifts, restaurant owners and managers can effortlessly create and manage staff schedules, communicate with employees, and streamline labor management tasks. The app offers shift swapping, time-off requests, and real-time labor cost tracking, empowering businesses to optimize staffing levels and improve operational efficiency.
4. BevSpot
BevSpot is beverage management software that simplifies inventory management and ordering for bars and restaurants. Its platform allows users to easily track and manage their beverage inventory, streamline ordering processes, and monitor costs in real-time.
Using BevSpot’s recipe tool enables tracking of menu item costs through detailed ingredient-by-ingredient pricing. BevSpot empowers businesses to make decisions, optimize inventory levels, and maximize profitability. Its intuitive interface and comprehensive features make it a great tool for beverage professionals looking to streamline operations.
5. BlueCart
BlueCart is a versatile platform that is available on the web and mobile. It empowers seamless ordering from suppliers and effective inventory management right from your smartphone.
This restaurant management app simplifies ordering by offering access to a network of suppliers or allowing you to add your own. It also facilitates returning excess or damaged products.
6. Hootsuite
Hootsuite is a social media management tool that enables users to schedule posts across multiple social media channels. Users can plan and publish content in advance so as to optimize their social media presence.
Hootsuite’s scheduling feature allows for efficient management of content calendars, ensuring a consistent and timely delivery of posts. Additionally, Hootsuite allows its users to track engagement metrics and monitor conversations in real-time.
7. FoodDocs
FoodDocs revolutionizes restaurant food safety management. It offers a streamlined solution that crafts a smart system in just 15 minutes and a comprehensive HACCP plan in one hour. With its automated hazard analysis and critical control point identification, FoodDocs takes the guesswork out of safety compliance.
8. Restaurant365
Restaurant 365 is an app that helps owners manage inventory, accounting, and people. Thanks to this app, you can optimize your labor and food costs, predict sales, check what works and does not, and implement changes to improve and grow your restaurant business.
9. OpenTable
OpenTable is a cloud-based reservation system for restaurants. It enables restaurant managers and owners to accept or reject the reservations made by their guests, whether they are in a restaurant or somewhere else. They can do this on their mobile phones.
Using OpenTable, you can manage reservations, update table statuses, and offer a waitlist to prevent guests from resigning from the reservation.
10. Evernote
Evernote is a note-taking app that allows restaurant managers and owners to organize ideas, menus, recipes, etc., in one central location. With Evernote, restaurant owners can create digital notebooks to store recipes, track inventory, and jot down customer feedback for quick reference. Evernote is accessible from various devices.
11. Feedly
Feedly is a smart hub for news and articles from all over the Internet. It can be used on any device with Internet access.
Feedly is a game-changer for different businesses. Restaurant owners who want to stay updated with the latest food trends and industry news prefer using it because they can find everything they need in one organized place instead of jumping between multiple websites.
Key Takeaways
- Restaurant apps streamline operational tasks such as order management, reservations, inventory tracking, and staff communication.
- Restaurant apps enable owners to track sales, monitor customer preferences, and identify trends, improving the restaurant’s performance and profitability.
- Restaurant apps for owners can help minimize labor costs, optimize inventory management, and prevent revenue loss by automating processes and reducing manual workload.
- Restaurant apps can be customized to fit the needs of any eatery, from small independents to large chains, with scalable features to support growth and restaurant expansion.
- Restaurant apps often integrate with industry-standard software like POS systems, accounting tools, and delivery platforms, streamlining operations and enhancing efficiency.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
What is the best app for finding restaurants?
The “best” app for finding restaurants can vary based on individual preferences and needs. However, some popular examples of apps include Doordash, Uber Eats, and Grubhub. These apps typically offer features such as user reviews, ratings, photos, and filters for cuisine type, price range, and location, helping users discover and choose restaurants based on their preferences. Here you can check the list of the best food delivery apps.
What should a restaurant app have?
A restaurant app should have several key features to enhance the dining experience for customers and streamline operations for restaurant owners. These features may include:
- Menu browsing and ordering
- Reservation management
- Online payments
- Loyalty programs
- Order tracking
- Customization options
- Communication channels
- Feedback and reviews
- Integration with social media
- Push notifications
Overall, a restaurant app should provide convenience, engagement, and value to both customers and restaurant owners, ultimately enhancing the overall dining experience.
What is a restaurant app?
A restaurant app is an application designed for use in the restaurant industry. Restaurant apps can allow customers to make reservations, browse menus, place orders for delivery or pickup, and even provide feedback or reviews.
From the restaurant management side, restaurant apps can help with tasks like managing online orders and reservations, tracking inventory, analyzing sales data, and communicating with staff.
What are the best restaurant review sites?
Customers have a range of websites and apps available when they’re rating restaurants. Examples of restaurant review sites include Yelp, TripAdvisor, and Eater.
Learn more about restaurant review sites here.
