From Order to Kitchen: How Integrated Front- & Back-of-the-House ERPs Eliminate Service Bottlenecks in High-Volume Restaurants
In simple terms, integrated front- and back-of-the-house restaurant systems, which have become must-haves for operations management in the restaurant and the larger F&B (Food and Beverage) sectors, are comprehensive ERP solutions such as QPOS ERP. But what makes them special?
Setting the Scene: Why Do Restaurants Need Integrated Restaurant Management Systems/ ERPs?
The key role of ERPs is to help restaurant owners manage their business end-to-end effortlessly. However, reconciling enterprise data, particularly in high-volume restaurants, is easier said than done when dealing with multiple software platforms.
While standalone systems risk data entry errors, independent but cloud-native software platforms remain too dependent on internet connectivity and data synchronisation cycles.
Therefore, integrated restaurant management software platforms or ERPs become ideal for fast-paced, data-heavy restaurant operations by bringing every business data point to a single touchpoint.
On that note, let’s examine some of the different restaurant management workflows that a robust, all-in-one restaurant back-office software, such as QPOS ERP, can help tackle!
What Is the Role of Holistic Restaurant Management Systems/ERPs in Efficiency Order Management?
Here is a step-by-step breakdown of the order management process:
Place the Order
Whether the order is placed at the cash counter or the table, the ERP-integrated POS terminal or a mobile POS such as a POS tablet takes the order. Self-checkout kiosks are also hardware alternatives for these other Point-of-Sale devices.
Compared to handwritten orders, the digitised process is likely to witness fewer errors at this stage. Incorrect or incomplete orders, as well as order mix-ups, are as embarrassing as unproductive for the staff. Moreover, such incidents also negatively impact customer experience.
However, order-taking accuracy is just the tip of the iceberg as far as the advantages of restaurant back-up software, such as QPOS, are concerned.
Once the Order Is Placed
Thanks to the integrated front- and back-of-the-house restaurant systems, as soon as the order is confirmed by the restaurant executive or the cashier, the following happens simultaneously:
- The POS printer connected to the POS terminal/device in the kitchen instantly prints out the KOT (Kitchen Order Ticket)
- The KOT number is displayed on the KDS (Kitchen Display System), putting a timer on to help the kitchen staff prioritise orders and track their service time
Meanwhile, as the ERP automatically informs the kitchen of the order, the server, i.e., the front-of-the-house staff, could attend to other tables or prompt the customers to try a dessert or beverages, instead of walking back and forth between the kitchen and the service floor.
Another example of ERPs, including QPOS, boosting the productivity of servers while also enhancing customer service quality, is the use case of the waiter app.
Tracking the Order Preparation
When the order is ready to be served, the waiter app, which maps orders against tables, notifies when orders are prepared. Upon notification, the server can take the order to the right customer, preventing any confusion caused by mix-ups.
Billing
For placing orders, the customer’s details are used by the restaurant management system to help personalise the experience, but when it comes to billing, the equation factors in two things:
- KOT linked to the Table
- Possible credit or redemption of loyalty points (if the CRM is ERP-integrated)
As soon as the tab is closed by the waiter, the bill, at least the virtual copy, is generated, followed by QR code generation, in case of UPI payments. Also, restaurant-specific ERPs like QPOS also reconcile cash as well as credit and debit card payments.
In addition to coordinating between the kitchen and restaurant floor, restaurant back-office software platforms also reconcile another key part of operations with accounting, a front-of-the-house task: inventory management, which includes procurement planning, inventory tracking, inventory audits, and reconciling procurement orders with vendor invoices.
How Is Inventory Management Streamlined with Integrated Front- & Back-Of-The-House Restaurant Systems?
Below are different inventory management workflows that restaurant ERPs facilitate:
Upon Procurement and PO Reconciliation
The staff uses a POS scale connected to ERP-powered POS devices to weigh the procured inventory, thus automating the process of tracking and updating the inventory level during procurement. Additionally, advanced restaurant management systems like the AI-driven QPOS ERP use their OCR (Optical Character Recognition) capabilities to parse vendor POs and reconcile the invoice with the inventory received.
Inventory Tracking
When the kitchen staff uses inventory items/ingredients, they too can be, in fact, must be, asked to use the POS scale to regulate overuse and the quality of dishes. Hence, during order preparation, too, the inventory levels are tracked and adjusted accordingly by the business’s restaurant back-office software, which subtracts the amount used from the weight of the batch before it is used.
Inventory Audits
Ideally, the inventory level tracked must be the same as the actual inventory. However, spoilage of perishables and inventory theft are common yet urgent priorities in the F&B industry. During inventory audits:
- Using barcode scanners, item batches are tracked
- Batches are weighed using POS scales after the spoiled items are removed
Any difference between the inventory tracked and the real inventory is the shrinkage. Having tracked shrinkage, QPOS ERP also helps the business calculate revenue leakage, which is later used while determining the overall profitability of the restaurant.
While what we just described is a full-fledged inventory, and restaurants may not have the time to do this regularly, they can perform quick audits using a long-range barcode scanner. Here, too, a powerful restaurant back-office software like QPOS can help.
In case an entire batch is stolen or misplaced beyond the range of the scanner, the audit can indicate the shrinkage immediately.
Naturally, quick, scanner-dependent audits may not detect spoilage, but it remains an industry best practice, particularly for performing FIFO (First In, First Out).
Let’s say a batch of an ingredient is over and there are more than one batch in the pantry, how will the staff know which one to use first? Hence, FIFO is important to ensure that perishables are swiftly used, with limited spoilage. During inventory audits, the staff can reposition batches to ensure that FIFO is upheld.
In terms of theft, businesses have to use the inventory audit enabled by the restaurant management system along with CCTV footage to identify the person(s) stealing.
Inventory Planning
As integrated front- and back-of-the-house restaurant systems, including QPOS ERP, empower users to conduct inventory tracking and audits, deciding the procurement budget, ingredients, and the quantity to be procured becomes easier. The process can be more complex if one considers seasonal demands. To calculate the exact inventory procurement order, QPOS ERP’s Analytics module proves critical. The module uses historical data for forecasting.
Menu control and engineering are also a vital part of inventory planning.
Apart from inventory tracking, restaurant management systems, especially QPOS ERP, also help cooks refer to the prescribed ingredient list and quantity for the standardised dish. The restaurant back-office software’s Recipe Management module aids chefs in referring to the set list of ingredients and their respective quantities.
This QPOS module is also helpful for menu engineering. Depending on the season or the estimated expiry of the inventory, the module of the AI-powered ERP can be used to plan specials, thus preventing overstocking or stockouts.
Curious to know more? Contact us now, and our executives will guide you towards a smart restaurant management journey!
