COGS Without Inventory
Managing COGS doesn’t have to be a time-consuming ordeal. By shifting your focus from inventory to purchases, you can achieve long-term profitability without the hassle of complex systems.
Why Managing Your Restaurant's Cost of Goods Sold in Real Time is Key to Profitability
In the restaurant business, Cost of Goods Sold (COGS) is one of the most critical metrics. Managing COGS effectively can mean the difference between a thriving operation and one struggling to break even. Even a couple of percentage points up or down can significantly impact your bottom line, so having
The Importance of Running an Efficient Restaurant Operation
The cyclical nature of restaurant operations means that the same processes are repeated day after day to generate revenue. If any of these systems break down, the impact on profitability is immediate and profound.
Change contains risk, but so does the status quo
If you view a chainsaw as a redesigned axe you will fail to see its value. Any technology that applies a radically different solution to a familiar problem faces this issue. It is difficult to understand the implications of a technology you’ve never seen before. Yet you cannot succeed
Simplicity as a business strategy
Simplicity is difficult to achieve. Complexity works its way into our relationships, the way we communicate, the way we frame problems, and the solutions we build. Complexity creeps. Simplicity is a difficult pursuit but it has immense value. Relationships of all types are complex but their foundations are simple; respect,
Restaurants are struggling!
A third of restaurant operators are concerned about the future. It’s easy to see why. Half of foodservice companies are losing money or breaking even. Restaurants visits continue to trend downward and while total spending is on track to be 10% higher than 2022 that increase has been more
Be Opinionated!
I am working on a new feature set for one of our software products. I find myself deciding to be opinionated in the way these features are implemented. That’s a tough call, I’ve found restaurant managers to be opinionated themselves, and stubborn. You are bound to battle with
Recovering credit card fees from tips
Most restaurant bills are paid with electronic money - credit cards dominate. The restaurant pays a 1 - 4% fee to the bank for the privilege of taking credit card payments and therefore is paying a fee on any tips left on credit card - the primary way most customers
Counting Change is Bullshit!
If you have a business that deals in cash, like a restaurant, part of managing the day’s sales is counting change. At restaurants and bars all the front of house staff collect change throughout their shift, and wow do they love to dump that change into their nightly cash-outs!
Tip Committee
Canadian Restaurant Association recommends setting up a staff run tip committee. The committee meets on a regular basis, decides on the strategy for calculating staff share of tips, and distributes the tips to individuals. A tip committee takes the employer out of the equation and fits the definition of “direct”
Restaurant Tip Liability
If the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) deems the tips coming through your restaurant are “controlled” you are on the hook for employment insurance and Canada pension plan for those tips. They must be declared as restaurant income and the tips must be included on the employees T4 slip, along with
Tip Distribution Strategies
Collecting tips into a pool of money and distributing the funds to staff is a standard practice in the restaurant industry. The method of deciding what share of the collective tip pool is distributed to each staff member varies widely. We’ve been collecting the spreadsheets operators use to distribute