Manage your restaurant with your iPad

There's an app for that” has become somewhat of a modern mantra, and as with all things, some of these apps are useful and some of them aren't. In any case, apart from easily connecting everyone, mobile devices have certainly made things a lot easier for many industries. And restaurants are among them. There are many benefits that come with the inclusion of a mobile device, say an iPad, in the daily routine of your establishment. Here are a few reasons why you should consider implementing a system that relies, at least partially, on mobile devices.

atmtx / Foter.com / CC BY-NC-ND

Kitchen and Bar Management

The kitchen is the heart of any restaurant and as such there's always room for improvement. An iPad can come in handy in the following situations:

• Provide chefs with relevant and up-to-date information about food safety and efficiency requirements.
• Use the iPad as a control panel to regulate and monitor things such as power, security (doors and windows) but also inventory and kitchen needs.
• Have access to recipe apps and cookbooks to use as inspiration or reference.
• Help your bartenders improvise or innovate with an app that features drink recipes.

Staff Management

An iPad can help you manage your staff a lot more easily and efficiently than in the old days – no more unnecessary papers, no more confusion about who, when and where.

• Manage shifts, keep track of working hours and wages.
• Perform various training sessions and communicate with your staff via an intranet. Those include safety and information training, skill training and briefings.
• In the Front of the House and iPad can come in handy with a POS (Point of Sale) app that keeps track of sales, orders, bills and product rankings.

Marketing Management

As part of a broader marketing strategy, there's a long list of applications that will optimize how you sell your brand and services to your customers in the most efficient and pleasant way. These include:

• Creating unique and interactive menus that make the dining experience for customers easy, as they provide additional information and high-quality pictures about menu items, as well as suggest food or beverage pairings.
• Ask your customers for their feedback and opinion about your service, the quality of the food and possible improvements that could be made. Customers can also leave their contact information if they would like to sign up for e-mail marketing, promotions, events and updates.
• You can even help keep customers' children occupied through a variety of apps and thus make sure that everyone will enjoy a calm and pleasant meal.
• Make sure your customers don't sit and wait at the entrance until their table is prepared. Hosting apps are meant to help manage waiting lists and seating, create reports about daily stats and establish whether customers are lost, and how many, during peak times.

Budget Management

Last, but certainly not least, is the management of your budget, so that you can stay on top of things and always have a clear idea of your financial situation.

• Create and edit spreadsheets that contain information about your expenses, needs and what you should invest in to improve your restaurant.
• POS apps also come in handy here as most of them usually offer not only to help with orders or bills but also include budgeting information. This can include reports, taxes, charges, tables, charts and statistics.

All of these possibilities are available on one single device which is what makes including some sort of mobile management system worthwhile. It can greatly improve the service and efficiency of your establishment, as well as help you de-clutter your office, your restaurant and, ultimately, your mind. Do you use any apps to manage your restaurant? Do you find them helpful?