The 10 BEST Restaurant Management Apps | Business Tech Tips - YouTube

It's nearly autumn.,,

Can you believe it? And more than fall leaves and pumpkin spice lattes,

Tech fans like me, want the smell of freshly released smartphone apps!

So stick around for today's business tech tips!

Today we are taking a look at the 10 best restaurant management software apps.

So let's look at them together -

but before we do, subscribe to our channel if you're new to us. And if you are already part of our community.

Welcome back!

Consumers aren't the only ones who get excited about new tech, businesses do too!

As mobile technology becomes more powerful and intelligent,

Many small businesses, including restaurants, reply on mobile hardware and apps that can handle many integral business functions.

Restaurant managers, in particular, have more and more mobile management applications to choose from.

From tablet-based POS systems that can accept customer payments,

to online reservation services that allow customers to get a table with just a tap,

to employee payroll, accounting, and inventory tracking,

modern mobile restaurant software can help you with every task you can imagine.

But with all the different options,

how does a restaurant choose which apps to use?

It's kind of like cooking: too much or too little of any ingredients and the dish is ruined!

similarly, if you use too many apps there can be too much overlap in services, and if you use just one or two you could

be missing out on critical features.

We've put together a list of the top restaurant management apps in terms of both quality as well as

popularity. We've divided them into different categories so you can learn about their features depending on your needs.

First, we have the list of top point of sale, or pos apps,

as they are either complete restaurant management systems, or they can be easily integrated with other management apps.

Let's start with lightspeed restaurant.

Lightspeed restaurant is an app-based iOS POS system.

It's very mobile friendly and offers features such as employee time management and customer table site ordering,

as well as raw ingredient tracking and even a floor planner.

Next, for our android users, we have toast which is a complete pos system for any size of restaurant.

It not only has integrated customer payment processing, it also tracks sales, labor, and inventory,

and organizes all that info into internet accessible reports. It even creates menus!

Next up, for smaller budget-minded restaurants,

we have ShopKeep, a great all-around POS system that can be used for either restaurant or retail

environments. And it's reasonably priced and simple to use. Its

iOS-based software has an easy Apple-centric interface with

customizable registered buttons for your most popular menu items.

Next is another iOS app for small restaurants.

Touchbistro is one of the top best-selling POS apps and while it isn't an all-in-one system like toast...

It's inexpensive, easy to use, and can integrate with other restaurant management software.

It offers table-side ordering as well as menu management,

and does not require a constant internet connection to operate.

Our last POS software item is Breadcrumb, by Upserve,

which could be considered the iOS answer to android's Toast.

It's a fully cloud-based all-in-one POS system and requires no on-premise server.

It has a customizable interface, as well as an offline mode that allows you to keep taking payments, even if your internet goes down.

So there's the top POS apps, but we also have a number of other restaurant management apps to show you.

These apps have a more limited, specific function, such as reservations or email marketing,

and they may be integrated to your POS system or used separately.

Opentable is an online reservation and waitlist system that's easy to use for both restaurants as well as customers.

It can be accessed on smartphone, or tablet or via a web browser.

It does have limited features but costs start at just $0.25 to

$2.50 for each booked guest.

Fivestars is a mobile rewards program. Your customers sign up for the 5 stars loyalty program either at your restaurant,

or via the 5 stars mobile app to earn rewards, and receive promotional offers via text

email or push notifications.

Fivestars also has a lot of slick marketing features that vary depending on which plan you choose.

Whether you want to encourage repeat business or gain a competitive edge on other area restaurants, Fivestars can help you do both.

Quickbooks is an essential accounting software for small businesses and restaurants are no exception!

Recently, it's become more online and mobile-friendly with the introduction of Quickbooks Online.

Besides making accounting tasks simple and affordable for independent restaurants,

cloud-based Quickbooks Online also integrates with the most restaurant pos systems and also offers

easy-to-use payroll management, and purchase order creation, and invoice reconciliation.

Xero is a Quickbooks alternative that costs a lot less with both

iOS and Android apps that can be accessed via any internet-connected device.

Xero doesn't have quite as many features as Quickbooks Online, but users report

it's much easier to navigate and it also integrates with many cloud-based

POS systems.

Finally, we have MailChimp,

which is email marketing software that you can use to boost online promotional efforts for your restaurant.

While most POS apps include some email options, they are usually pretty limited.

With MailChimp's full featured email marketing system,

you can set up automated email campaigns to build customer loyalty,

advertise promotions, and grow your social media following.

MailChimp is entirely cloud-based and also offers mobile apps for iOS and android devices.

There are just the basics of what the right point of sale and restaurant management apps can do for your restaurant business.

To see more details of each app's features and costs, check out our in-depth article linked below!

And come back for our next Maverick Minute "6 crowdfunding platforms for non-profits".

If you can't wait, you can always visit our website at

merchantmaverick.com. See you next week!

If you are interested in other business tech tips, check out our NFC explained video!