Simple-order
Anthony Dexmier

Anthony likes helping people reach their true potential. Being the victim of his own fears and insecurities in his own business, he has decided to help others create more opportunities.

Savvy food cost management is critical for restaurants. The price you pay for your raw materials should never go above a certain percentage of your net sales. Yet figuring out whether you are meeting your targets or exceeding them can quickly turn into a splitting headache. This is why this article will focus on Simple Order (website here), an inventory management solution that can help restaurant owners lower their costs and simplify their lives.

The reality of food inventory management

The video above shows you a highly organised method to manage your inventory. And while there is no doubt that you can make things work this way, you will never make back the painful number of hours you spend on those spreadsheets.

That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t take food inventory management seriously. Restaurants have merchandise going in and out every single day. While you can afford to stock up on beverages, the highly recommended use of the freshest produce requires that you monitor your inventories frequently. Add to that the fact that some nights are much busier than others, which inevitably makes matters more complicated.  You can indeed drive yourself crazy trying to figure out the optimal inventory you can have.

Not to mention, inventory errors can result in unhappy customers who can’t be served what’s on the menu. They can also make you throw valuable food in the bin. Food waste added up at the end of the year can account for thousands of pounds lost on your bottom line. Ultimately, poor management can be the difference between a thriving business, and a constant struggle.

Inventory management solutions such as Simple Order have been created because some restaurant owners were losing their mind over their inventory. Having a software that can track the merchandise going in and out, as well as estimate the real cost and benefit of each menu item can help your restaurant become a highly profitable and perennial business.

How Simple Order works

Simple order replaces long your piles of spreadsheets with a software that helps you track how much you are spending on your raw materials. It updates your inventories as customers place their orders. And more importantly, it keeps track of every transaction.  This helps you see where you are losing money, and where you are making bank.

Simple order will be particularly useful for restaurant owners with multiple locations. They can set a food budget that the people in charge can’t go over. It can give restaurant owners a bird’s eye view of all the costs and benefits involved in every location and as a whole.

simple-order

In other words, Simple Order allows you to track your inventory and food costs on a day-to-day basis. No more surprise at the end of the month. No more impossible negotiations with your suppliers while you’re trying to fight the fire.

What Simple Order looks like

Simple Order is an app that processes your data to make your life simpler. The app has a variety of functions. You can create menu items and list the ingredients you need for each of them. This way you can have a clear view of the quantities required for every single order your customers place.

 

Simple Order does require a small monthly investment to use their app and system. However, if you track the time you are spending running over your inventory, it makes the investment worth it. You can handle everything from your phone when you’re receiving orders and the entries are cloud based so you can analyse them when you have more time.

As Simple Order helps you manage everything from your phone, you will have way more time for focusing on the well being of your staff and your customers. There is also a lot to be said about improving your quality of life in general by reducing the amount of paper you have to deal with.

Wrap-up

Few restaurants can boast having no waste. And while zero waste is impossible to attain, optimising your costs is always possible. Simple Order is a solution that can not only give you some head space, but also reduce the food and the money you’re wasting every single day. It’s a great way to maximise profits without hurting your customers or your employees.