5 ways digitizing your back office saves restaurants time and money

Some things never get old, no matter how long it’s been. Like that ice cream flavor you’ve loved since you were a kid, rewatching that classic movie or hanging out with your favorite cousin. Other times, some things become a little outdated (and not just those skinny jeans we’ve had since middle school). But for restaurant operators, getting your back office in order and staying up-to-date are essential for a thriving business.

As a restaurant operator, your back office is probably involved in every area of your daily operations. From inventory management to scheduling and payroll processing, your back office is critical to keeping things running smoothly. But what happens when the old ways of managing your back office make things less efficient? According to one study, 67% of restaurants spend more than 100 hours per year processing payroll manually. That’s equal to more than two full workweeks, a pretty big bite out of your time and money

Before we get into a few ways digitizing your back office can save you both time and money, let’s take a look at a few potential consequences of not digitizing your office.

Three hiccups that can happen in your restaurant when you don't digitize

• Financial loss (from human error and inaccurate data) - Some studies show that, on average, manual inventory counts are only 95% accurate. While this may sound like nothing to raise alarm bells about, even a 5% margin of error, over time, could result in the loss of thousands of dollars.
• Scaling effectively - Scaling in modern times without modern technology is incredibly difficult. Without digital systems, it becomes challenging to manage multiple locations, track performance metrics or standardize processes as your restaurant grows. This lack of scalability can stunt your business's potential for expansion. 
• Limited insights - Without digital systems, it’s harder to gather, analyze and ensure the accuracy of your data. This leaves you blind to trends, customer preferences and areas for improvement where you could be making more money. 

Now that we’ve gone over a few scenarios we want to avoid, let’s take a look at a few ways digitizing your back office saves your restaurant both time and money.

1. Increased efficiency (and fewer hand cramps)

Trying to handle all the moving pieces of your back office manually can easily lead to stress, frustration and burnout (not to mention a few hand cramps). Manual work also slows down your processes, which can eat away at the time you could spend handling other aspects of your business.

When you swap out the manual entry for automated systems, the time it takes to complete tasks like inventory management, payroll and vendor payments can be significantly reduced. Let’s take a look at a real-life example of folks switching out their manual processes for automated:

Automating also translates to cost savings. It not only cuts back on the risk of costly hiccups but also ensures you’re allocating your and your staff’s time intentionally, without having to risk staying later or coming in earlier than expected just to get extra work done. The result? A smoother operation that allows you to do what you do best: run an awesome restaurant operation (without sacrificing a life outside your business to do it).

2. More visibility and control

Automating a few of your processes can have another advantage: giving you a bird’s-eye view of your business. With digital systems, you can track inventory levels, monitor labor costs and analyze sales data in real time, all from one centralized platform. Plus, with automated reporting and data-driven insights, you can stay ahead of challenges and maintain tighter control over your bottom line.

This transparency not only helps spot those hard-to-notice leaks in your business but also helps you take proactive steps to save money and increase efficiency. By replacing manual processes with digital solutions, you’ll get better clarity and more oversight needed to run a more efficient back office and a more profitable business.

3. Reduced expenses

Automating parts of your back office can cut back on more expenses than you think. With automated inventory tracking, you can avoid over-ordering, reduce food waste and ensure that every dollar spent on ingredients is used effectively.

Automated recipe tools centrally manage all of your recipes and give you cost updates in real-time, so changes to your expenses never feel like a jump scare.

Digital tools also provide detailed insights into sales trends, helping you refine your menu to focus on high-performing items and cut back on those that don’t contribute to your bottom line. And automated reporting ensures compliance with tax and regulatory requirements, reducing the risk of costly fines or penalties.

By replacing outdated, manual processes with efficient digital solutions, restaurants can cut unnecessary costs and create a more financially sustainable operation.

4. Reduced errors

Even on our best days, we tend to make mistakes. But when it comes to processes for handling your back office, mistakes can be costly. Whether it’s an innocent typo, a misplaced decimal or a miscalculation, small hiccups can cause your restaurant big problems.

Digital systems eliminate these risks by automating data entry, calculations and reporting, ensuring accuracy every step of the way. For example, automated inventory management tools help track stock levels in real time, preventing costly mistakes such as overstocking or running out of key ingredients due to miscalculations.

Similarly, digital sales tracking ensures that revenue data is recorded correctly, making financial reporting and tax preparation far more reliable. By reducing errors, you won’t only save money but also build a stronger foundation of trust with staff, suppliers and customers.

Managing a restaurant requires a lot of juggling. And when you’re carrying too much, it can slow down business, or worse, cause all the pieces to come crashing down. When you digitize your back office and hand over some of those pieces to automated systems, you not only free up time, reduce stress and save money, but you’re in a much healthier position to juggle the other things that much more effectively. Making that first step towards digitizing isn’t easy (and we all know how much making a change in your restaurant can suck), but with the right tools, the right systems and a few automated procedures, you’ll take your restaurant from just getting by to thriving.