Restaurants aren’t always known for having the smoothest behind-the-scenes operations. From juggling online orders and delivery service to catering to in-house diners, the restaurant industry is full of moving parts. Especially in the face of COVID-19 when many restaurants are following social distance guidelines and may be using a ghost kitchen, revamping your operations might seem like an impossible feat.
Whether you’re still relying on a virtual kitchen during the lockdown or you’re going through the reopening process, here are a few things you should keep in mind to operate more effectively.
1. Refine your online ordering.
Takeout is the word of the day. From Doordash to Uber Eats and GrubHub, takeout and delivery apps are booming. Many diners fear virus outbreaks and are relying on delivery to support their favorite businesses and restaurant owners. Many restaurateurs are noticing this and reimagining their customer service model to adapt. With all the technology options available, it’s important to choose one that works well with your kitchen and your POS system. That’s where businesses like Cuboh come in. Cuboh, found at cuboh.com, is working to rethink how businesses view online ordering platforms.
Cuboh provides stronger integrations with your restaurant kitchen and provides business owners with the Swiss Army knife of ordering platforms. Cuboh takes all your online ordering apps and rolls them into one easy-to-use online order management solution. Instead of juggling multiple tablets and accessories to take orders, Cuboh lets you push orders to your POS from all the popular services. You can update delivery times, menu items, and improve your takeout service. It’s like having a bunch of solutions wrapped up into one.
2. Smooth out payroll.
If you’re still relying on Costco checks or Walmart checks and have to make several runs to your financial institution every week, this one is for you. Handling physical deposit slips and check payments is risky these days. With online check printing companies, you can leave the printing and mailing to someone else. Many of these companies can handle business checks and personal checks. Plus, there are added security features to ensure that your personal information isn’t released. It’s more intuitive than handling your own accounting software in-house. Unless you’re incredibly attached to your Quickbooks account, you can improve your overall experience by outsourcing your check printing services.
3. Rethink inventory management.
Especially since you’re relying heavily on take-away food these days, how much of your product doesn’t ever get in the hands of a prep cook? This is likely the result of poor inventory management. By following inventory management best practices each business day, you can work to eliminate waste. If your POS inventory system handles inventory tasks as well, you can get updates in near real-time. That way, you’re focused on the cuisine you’re producing and not how much money you lost in product waste. It also benefits customer experiences by helping your prioritize top sellers.
4. Amplify staff management.
You’ve likely experienced a lot of downtime lately. While downtime isn’t inherently back, most traditional brick-and-mortar restaurants would prefer more traffic during their hours of operation. By running a leaner staff, you can handle the lighter customer base while working toward a revenue increase. Smarter staff management is one of the most reliable ways to improve profit margins, especially during the quarantine. There are some user-friendly programs that can help eateries in several intuitive ways without adding immense costs.
From offering free delivery to increase profits to exploring some new features of your point of sale system, there are many options if you want to streamline how well your business operates. Whether you’re running an online storefront or one of many brick-and-mortar eateries, using the right tools can help.
