Some amount of loss is unavoidable in the restaurant industry. Dishes get spilled, or contaminated, or something goes off before you expect it to. Those are some of the costs of doing business in food service. But there are many other ways that loss happens in the food service industry that are much more controllable. By utilizing food and beverage cost control software, you can minimize loss in your kitchen, get costs under control, and help to ensure that your business is profitable.
Monitor Margins
The restaurant and food service industry, more than any other type of business, often operates on razor thin margins. Saving just a few cents on a dish can be the difference between profit and loss. For a restaurant to really know if it’s succeeding or not, it’s important to have a very clear idea of the actual cost of each dish, so that you can make sure it’s being prepared, served, and charged appropriately. If you’re consistently losing a small amount of useable ingredients in every preparation of a meal, that will have a dramatic effect on your bottom line.
Internal Loss
It’s an unfortunate truth that the largest source of loss in any business is internal. Very little of it is malicious, but merely, an opportunity taken. By having processes in place that encourage employees to report all losses as they occur, you are able to keep more accurate inventories, which helps you to create the perception of being watched. Many studies have shown that most people will behave more honestly when know they are being observed. Food and beverage cost control software can help create that perception, and reduce internal loss.
Avoid Spoilage
How often have you reached into your kitchen’s pantry and found an item that you’d absolutely forgotten? One of the important features of great food and beverage cost control software is inventory control. By using software that keeps track of what’s where in your kitchen, you’ll be able to keep track of which foods need to move quickly through the kitchen to avoid being spoiled. You can create dishes which will use up overstock, or put them on special to encourage people to choose them.
Reporting Components
With a small food service business, you might be able to track the basics of your sales and inventory, but as your business gets more complex, it’s impossible to keep track of this without some kind of software; there’s just too much data. Instead of opting for a less specialized software, choose one that will work specifically for your restaurant business. If nothing else, cost control software specialized for the food and beverage industry will have great reporting components that will help you to zero in on where your profits are being lost. The right cost control formulas will help you make sure that you have enough profit margin to keep your business running and profitable, and take a weight off your mind.
Excellent Integration
Don’t waste your time with a software that is going to require you to switch over your accounting programs, or duplicate your work in order to help you out. Make sure that the software you choose fully integrates with your existing data and accounting programs for a truly seamless kitchen software experience. Your time is valuable, and you shouldn’t waste it on busy work.
When you’re looking for a high quality food and beverage cost control software, look for one that combines all of these features to make sure that your kitchen is seamlessly efficient, minimizes loss, and has a clear and consistent understanding of how everything is running.
Feed Your Bottom Line 