Whether we like it or not, everything comes with a cost. Forgetting to put your clothes in the dryer might mean panic blow-drying wet jeans in the morning. Not double-checking your pizza order might leave you with extra pickles instead of extra pickled onions (what, only we’ve done that before?). And when it comes to restaurant operators manually managing their back office, the costs of all that paperwork may be higher than you might think.
Technology can be confusing (anybody else still not sure how to pronounce gif?) Despite this, it still has more than a few advantages that are definitely worth the initial confusion, especially for your back office.
Without smooth, clear processes, you risk letting manual paperwork send your restaurant into unexpected turbulence. But what exactly is the cost of paperwork? Why is it so important for restaurants to digitize? And why is there no Cambro emoji? 😢
Before we explore a few of the hidden costs of paperwork in your restaurant, let’s take a look at when you’ll know it may be time for your restaurant to ditch the paperwork:
You’re always guesstimating - Does checking your numbers feel like a guessing game? Are you constantly in the dark when making important decisions or transactions like reconciling vendor payments? If tracking down the right numbers feels like playing a game of “Where’s Waldo?”, it’s time to digitize.
Now that we’ve gone over a few signs that it might be time to digitize, let’s take a look at a few of the hidden costs of paperwork and why going digital is so important.
As cliché as it may sound, time is money. And when it comes to manual processes, the cost can be high. On payroll alone, restaurant managers can spend an average of 8 hours per week on payroll-related tasks.
This time drain not only pulls focus away from other priorities like engaging with customers or training staff, but also increases the risk of errors, compliance issues and employee dissatisfaction.
When you digitize, you not only reduce the amount of unnecessary dollars going out the window, but also the time that could be spent taking care of one of the many other moving parts of your restaurant. According to one study, digitizing some of your administrative workflow can reduce your tasks by 30%, or roughly 12 hours back in your pocket every week.
P.S✨: Here's an extra resource for more ways digitizing can give you some time back.
There are a lot of hidden costs that come from messing with paperwork in your restaurant, but one that may not get mentioned enough is: you. That is, your stress levels, your sleep schedule and (sometimes) your sanity.
Constantly chasing down invoices can increase your stress more than you may think. One study shows that 76% of restaurant managers experience burnout, citing reasons like juggling multiple roles at once and lacking a work-life balance.
While digitizing won’t take all the craziness out of running a restaurant, it will give you some much-needed time back. Take it from Crooked Hammock Brewery, which, after implementing automated bill payment tools, got back “more time for key initiatives” both for themselves and their accounting team. They also said, “(Bill Pay) also allows us to streamline systems so that we're not doing things more than once. You get it right the first time and that's really great. I'm thrilled that we're finally using the bill pay feature." Don’t tend to every part of your business and neglect an integral part of it: you.
It’s not a secret that restaurants have a notoriously high turnover rate, with some studies showing that the average across restaurants was above 75% in 2025. One hourly, non-management employee can cost upwards of $2,300 to replace. So, it's safe to say your processes should be working with staff to make their job easier.
But when manual paperwork slows down processes, it can frustrate staff, lead to confusion and contribute to intensified burnout and turnover. When you ditch the paperwork, you not only save yourself time and cut back on your own workload, but you also reduce the workload of your staff. On top of that, a digital process can make it far easier to standardize things like staff training, saving you even more time and money. Ready to learn more about how staff can help with financial accuracy as you begin to digitize? Click here.
You may think you and your stuff are the only ones feeling the burn of manual processes, but your customers feel it, too. When paperwork slows down your processes, it also slows down your service.
According to one study, 53% of restaurant complaints mention slow service, which can negatively impact your profits. Think about how much time was saved when you switched from writing paper guest checks to a digital POS system that prints chits for your kitchen. Orders are sent to the kitchen more quickly, meaning your guests experience faster service, servers have more time to check in on guests (meaning guests are better taken care of) and no one has to manually enter sales receipts into their accounting systems. It’s a win-win-win!
When you digitize, you not only increase your efficiency, but you also increase your customer satisfaction and position your business as a place with great food and great service.
When it comes to digitizing, change can be scary. But what’s far scarier are the hidden costs of sticking to manual paperwork. Don’t run the risk of burning yourself or your staff out, losing track of important numbers or being in the dark about where your business stands financially. When you swap the pen and paper for a digital makeover, you save your restaurant money, put valuable time back in your pocket and are able to take better care of one of the most important parts of your life: yourself. Digitizing your processes isn’t just about taking care of business; it’s about taking care of you. Take it from [me].