10+ Online tools for restaurants

Running a restaurant or catering business can be challenging without the right tools and strategies. Whether you're a small coffee place owner or manage a large restaurant chain, a well-organized work system is crucial. Restaurant owners have to manage many tasks, from inventory and staff scheduling to customer service and marketing, making efficient management tools essential for success. 

Like other businesses, the restaurant industry requires you to achieve goals, such as profitability, while minimizing unnecessary expenses like food waste and customer loss. In this article, we'll explore the main benefits of using technology for restaurants. We also prepared the top 10 best apps for restaurant owners to reach more potential clients and drive your business to success.

How can online tools help restaurants?

Managing a catering or restaurant business involves numerous tasks. Efficiency is crucial, as you must handle a high volume of orders and interact with clients to maintain excellent customer experiences. Time is of the essence, especially since food products have a short shelf life and must be managed carefully to avoid waste. 

Using online platforms can be a game-changer for your restaurant or catering business. They help you streamline operations and save valuable time and energy. You will be able to focus on other crucial aspects of your business by freeing up your resources. Below, you can discover the main advantages of utilizing online platforms in your restaurant business: 

Pros of using online tools for restaurants

✅Improving your food service: Online tools can improve the way restaurants manage their food service operations. By automating order processing, these tools can reduce the time to prepare and serve food. It leads to faster service and reduced client wait times, enhancing their dining experience.

✅Gathering data-driven insights: Using particular tools provides valuable data and analytics, such as sales trends, customer preferences, and feedback from online reviews, helping improve your offerings. Tools can identify popular dishes and customer favorites, enabling restaurants to optimize their menu items and services. 

✅Saving your budget: Cost savings are a significant benefit of using online services in the restaurant industry. These tools streamline operations, reducing the need for manual tasks and optimizing processes. Cafes can save on labor costs by automating ordering systems and employee scheduling.

✅Discovering new marketing trends: Online restaurant tools offer better marketing opportunities by providing features like social media integration, email campaigns, and online reviews. It helps organizations gain a wider audience and increase customer satisfaction.

✅Enhancing customer experience: Your clients can easily order or book tables from their smartphones or computers, saving time and improving convenience. Personalized interactions, like tailored recommendations based on past orders, make customers feel valued and enhance their overall satisfaction. 

10+ Best tools for restaurants

Now that you've learned how great online platforms can be for your business, consider exploring different ones based on their main purposes. Whether they're market research tools for the catering industry or apps for managing online campaigns, choosing the right service is crucial. Here, we've compiled a list of the best 10+ online tools for your restaurant business: 

1. forms.app

The homepage of forms.app

forms.app is an intuitive online form builder designed to simplify the form creation process. Its innovative AI technology enables quick and easy creation of forms, surveys, and quizzes. For restaurant business owners, forms.app is invaluable as it helps them craft online order forms, build forms for food delivery services, and even create customer review surveys. 

Highlights

💡Best known for being an easy-to-use form builder, making it perfect for creating any type of online form essential for restaurant businesses.

forms.app pricing

2. Libro

The homepage of Libro

Libro is one of the best restaurant reservation software that enhances customers' dining experience. It allows restaurants to manage reservations, reduce no-shows, and engage with clients. This platform integrates with Google for easy bookings, offering waitlist and reputation management tools. It is an excellent choice for a restaurant owner because it provides a personalized and profitable dining experience.

Highlights

💡Best known for providing a great reservation system with seamless communication and real-time updates for restaurant operations.

Libro pricing

3. Benchmark Email

The homepage of Benchmark Email

If you want to enhance your marketing strategy with email campaigns, we have a tool just for you. Benchmark Email is an email marketing platform with robust, AI-powered solutions for restaurants to attract more customers and drive sales. It helps companies deliver relevant and appropriate emails to the inbox, manage their audience, and run successful marketing campaigns.

Highlights

💡Best known for making it easy for restaurant businesses to build and send engaging email campaigns.

Benchmark Email pricing

4. MarketMan

The homepage of MarketMan

MarketMan is a cloud-based inventory management platform for cafes and restaurants. It helps streamline inventory processes and improve efficiency. Additionally, it provides portion control tools for your restaurant by inputting ingredient prices and quantities. One of its features is the ability to track inventory in real-time, providing insights into stock levels and expiry dates to prevent overstocking or food waste. 

Highlights

💡Best known for its comprehensive inventory management and purchasing software tailored for the restaurant industry.

MarketMan pricing

5. BevSpot

The homepage of BevSpot

If you're looking for a tool to manage your bar and beverages system, BevSpot is a must-try platform. Specifically tailored for bars, restaurants, and other beverage-centric establishments, BevSpot helps businesses in the hospitality industry optimize their beverage operations, enhance profitability, and maintain control over their beverage programs.  

Highlights

💡Best known for managing bar systems and beverages in the restaurant industry.

BevSpot pricing

6. Movylo

The homepage of Movylo

Movylo is one of the best small business tools that is really helpful in the restaurant and catering industry. It is a valuable customer loyalty solution tailored for local restaurant businesses, offering automated loyalty programs and rewards. Its user-friendly interface and customizable promotions make it an excellent tool for enhancing client engagement and driving repeat business for companies.

Highlights

💡Best known for helping restaurant businesses build and retain a loyal customer base.

Movylo pricing

7. Buffer

The homepage of Buffer

Buffer is a social media management service designed to help restaurant businesses drive traffic, increase engagement, and save time on social media. It offers impressive features for publishing content and analyzing social media performance. By using Buffer, you can schedule posts across multiple platforms and track your performance, saving time for completing other essential tasks. 

Highlights

💡Best known for its excellent social media management features.

Buffer pricing

8. Uniqode

The homepage of Uniqode

Uniqode's all-in-one QR Code Platform & Generator is perfect for restaurants and cafes. It offers a seamless way to boost offline and mobile engagement. Uniqode simplifies the menu creation process with its menu builder, making it quick and easy to set up. This innovative tool helps restaurants adapt to new regulations and customer preferences, enhancing the overall client experience.

Highlights

💡Best known for its innovative QR Code solutions, particularly for restaurant QR Code menus.

Uniqode pricing

Has a free 14-day trial ✅

Billed annually only

9. 7shifts

The homepage of 7shifts

In addition to tools for serving and ordering, effectively managing your employees' schedules is crucial. 7shifts is a robust restaurant scheduling software that addresses the unique scheduling challenges in the restaurant industry. It offers a mobile app for employees to manage their schedules and time-off requests. This tool also provides managers with features for efficient shift management and communication. 

Highlights

💡Best known for efficiently managing and organizing employee schedules.

7shifts pricing

10. Canva

The homepage of Canva

Canva is a fantastic graphic design app that is valuable for restaurant owners, offering an easy way to create visually appealing menus, social media posts, and promotional materials. With its user-friendly interface and vast design elements library, Canva allows restaurants and cafes to showcase their brand and attract new customers.  With this tool, you can improve your restaurant's overall image.

Highlights

💡Best known for its user-friendly graphic design platform for creating excellent designs and visual content.  

Canva pricing

Conclusion

To sum up, there are so many tools for entrepreneurs and businesses that they can use in the restaurant and catering industry. Utilizing them is crucial for organizations, offering benefits like streamlining operations and boosting sales. In this article, we've highlighted the main advantages of these services and showed 10+ best online restaurant tools that will boost your company's success!