Restaurant owners, this is for you.
As a business owner, you are probably always thinking of new ways to innovate and optimise your business to keep costs low. Here is a solution that can help you cut down on paperwork, streamline processes and have an overview of your entire operations with just a few clicks.
There are a ton of new restaurants opening year after year in Singapore. All this despite the fact that more than 2000 F&B firms have shuttered between the years 2000 and 2015 – a positive sign that Singaporeans aren’t quitters, but how can you as an F&B owner stay ahead of the pack?
How You’re Probably Running Your Restaurant:
Business Plan
You’ve got your business plan mapped out, a detailed one. You’ll likely want to set yourself apart from your competitors, because despite your fantastic baking skills, there are already dozens of bakeries.
Therefore you probably have a viable business plan based on a logical and simple enough model. You no doubt want to have as much data as possible, since it’s important in finding out more about your market and your competition. Defining your own business will ensure your success.
Staff
You’re running a restaurant, so you probably employ a number of people in various capacities that you keep multiple spreadsheets of to manage shifts and rosters; a weekly task that is time consuming and labour intensive.
You also probably need a different roster for your kitchen crew, your floor staff and your bar staff. The more manpower you employ, the longer this spreadsheet is going to be. You’ll also need to file the sheets and keep them organised so you’ll know exactly how much to pay your part-timers.
There’s probably a Groupchat where news and updates are posted, because every employee needs to know what’s new and what’s going on in the restaurant.
Suppliers
Your ingredients and supplies need to come from somewhere or someone. And you know this someone is going to want to get paid regularly, or you’re not going to have anything much for your customers to munch on.
Aside from that, you’re already taking stock of what you need for each month/fortnight/week. You’re pouring through spreadsheets and communicating with your chefs and/or bar captain constantly so you know what needs to be ordered.
Finance
Now with all your new items and promotional items being pushed and sold, you’ll probably be receiving quite a bit of cash. You possibly have a cool handle on all these transactions (especially where money is concerned) and are trying to stay on top of the handling of the pay-roll for all of your staff, calculating CPF, various other contributions and what not.
Managing these finances are crucial – bank balances, invoices, bills and other expenses are just but one aspect of your business. To keep yourself organised, you’re probably creating different folders and documents in your laptop.
Menu
Menus… they’re not always the easiest to navigate. All these laminated pages that get wet, damaged and sticky. They’re also not very customisable, especially if you’ve got a new promotional item that you’re pushing. But you know this, so you create new seasonal menus and give a bunch of them to your diners.
With more menus though, it means more things that your staff need to remember. You also have to rely on your staff to remember to push the seasonal products if not you would have wasted money printing new menus and purchasing ingredients for your seasonal specials.
Customers
Every restaurant needs diners; they’re one of, if not, the most integral part of the entire business. And you most certainly want to keep them happy. So you keep a handwritten ledger with details of your reservations for the day. A slow but necessary process.
You’re also likely coming to terms with these new takeout options. So many people are using mobile apps to order food these days and you’ve kept yourself ahead of the curve, ensuring you’ve got all takeout orders properly stowed so that no mix-ups happen.
It’s going to get a little busy during peak hours, with walk-ins and a need for quick table turnovers. Your manager needs to be on top of his or her game, answering phone calls, taking reservations and serving guests. It’s not the most ideal situation but you need your team to pull through for you when business is at its peak.
How Restaurants Can Be Run Better:
Say goodbye to mountains of paperwork and manual data entry with Singtel Connected Restaurants.
That’s literally it – the Singtel Connected Restaurant is one system that brings all the necessities of yesterday into one comprehensive platform managed through the ease of mobile devices.
Now imagine being able to share specific data with your managers, your chefs, your service staff and your bar staff all from one device, instead of having to rely on multiple spreadsheets.
Singtel has created an integrated operating system that’s going to take all of yesterday’s unique issues and simplify them for you. Digital menus mean the seasonal specials are always updated and pushed to the customer as a recommendation.
Digital rosters and timesheets link with an automated pay-slip generator so you can remain compliant with MOM guidelines without the hassle of manual calculations. You can even schedule payments to your suppliers so they always deliver your ingredients on time.
Besides making operations easier, Singtel, through HungryGoWhere, will bring you huge pools of potential diners with e-reservations and pre-paid takeaways. This means a solution to sales and marketing on your end. That’s not to say that you’ll never have to plug your own restaurant on your own, but you’ll have a nice helping hand.
Singtel will also provide you with POS cashiers, printers and mobile devices to help you get integrated. All this runs on a reliable and robust WiFi solution to ensure you get maximum uptime for your business. Your customers will also benefit from the WiFi, because we know everyone’s going to need to share images from your restaurant and food instantly on Instagram.
With all your restaurant needs on one device with an integrated solution, you’ll benefit from improved efficiency, ridding you of all the paper and clutter of digital files. With more time on your staff’s and your hands, your restaurant will be able to focus more on your food and your diners, making sure that you keep them coming back.
It’s an upgrade, without all the effort.
Price: Click “Sales Enquiry/Free Trial” on the website for a 60-day free trial. Alternatively, you can call 1800-sme-1111 (1800-763-1111)
