In 2016, we released a list of the best apps for managing your bar or restaurant (it’s been ages, I know!). Offline media, in general, had their average daily use decrease in the last decade, and downloads of mobile apps from the Apple App Store reached 1.7 billion in the third quarter of 2021. Apps are now a necessity in our daily lives.
We chose 10 Apps using the most relevant factors here at Bizimply when we recommend apps for our customers:
- Positive user reviews;
- Demos and trials are available;
- Price range;
- Product features and benefits.
Curious? Right! Here we go…
BevSpot
Seven years later, BevSpot is still one worth mentioning on our list. Established in 2014, they specialise in food and beverage management for inventory, ordering, invoicing, and insights on restaurant sales data. They are still a great resource for restaurants and bar managers, as they were in 2016. In the last few years, they have also released food inventory plans. They offer free trials!
Note: Their food and beverage plans have different prices, so if you are looking for those, you will have to get in touch with them.
BevSpot’s main features & benefits:
- Beverage and Food Inventory;
- Ordering and billing automation;
- Management of recipes (do you know your pour costs?!);
- Analytics and Reporting;
- Sales Data Insights.
Open Table
When I started my part-time job as a waitress in Dublin, one of the things that caught my attention was seeing my manager build a plan for table organisation using OpenTable. We were a team dedicated to large groups, and my manager would often start our night shift by checking and organising the tables with the tablet in his hands. On top of the well-known reservation feature, OpenTable also has marketing and guest relationship solutions. Sure a great tool for managing your bar or restaurant.
Note: One useful feature is the ability to predict customer numbers for any given day. When creating a schedule with Bizimply, it’s quite handy to have this information with me along with the Bizimply weather forecast. Sunny day? Busy! Loads of covers? Busy! Better schedule an extra barman for that…
OpenTable’s main features & benefits:
- Restaurant reservation software;
- Digital marketing solutions;
- Table management;
- Online ordering;
- Reputation and reviews.
Bizimply
I’ve always had Bizimply on my mind. Probably because of the TimeStation tablet, which was normally the first thing I would see when arriving at the restaurant or having the schedule on MyZimply App every time I needed to check my days off.
Ok, I know… It seems a little bit sneaky to mention our brand on this list. But one has to admit: Here at Bizimply, we have so much confidence in the benefits of our software that we will mention ourselves. Since we give managers the power to run their operations effectively, the list of the best apps for managing bars and restaurants would not be complete without Bizimply.
Bizimply is an all-in-one people and shifts management solution. You will be able to create schedules, track the attendance of your staff, and manage the payroll in just one place. The pricing is based on the number of employees, locations, and products you wish to purchase (so we are always adapting to your needs!). If you are curious, book a demo with one of our sales executives today!
Note: One thing is true: I was always able to reach my manager anytime I needed support. He was not stuck in the office. He was giving us the support we needed. And Bizimply plays a significant role in that. If you are looking to get to know more about how to get the most out of your labour scheduling check out our ultimate guide on hospitality scheduling free Ebook.
Bizimply’s main features & benefits:
- Time and Attendance;
- Employee Scheduling;
- Advanced Timesheets;
- GPS- Clock in;
- Multi-Site Management;
- Training Cards.
Too Good To Go
It’s quite a common thing at the end of the shift… You have a surplus to deal with. Not all pastries were sold; you may think the only solution is throwing them away. Too Good to Go helps you turn unsold food into revenue (and fight against food waste!). The idea of the app is quite straightforward. You register your company and let your customers know that they can collect surprise bags at a predetermined time. They then came to collect the unsold food. It’s a win-win situation for everyone involved.
The app allows you to reach a more diverse range of consumers, and almost 80% of the users who found you through the app come back as full-paying customers, according to their website.
Too Good To Go’s main features & benefits:
- Increase customer reach and Brand Reputation;
- Cost saving;
- Environmental impact;
- Community engagement;
- Pre-ordering and payment;
- Business real-time updates.
GBG
Ok, to be fair on this one, GBG is a company with a diverse target audience. For that matter, I will highlight the feature created thinking about the day-to-day tasks of nightclubs and bars: the GBG ID Scannet. And honestly, it’s handy enough. We know how tricky it is to check IDs on a busy day. Having to be 100% careful to protect our customers, our staff, and our licence. GBG ID Scanner automates this process at your door, bringing a fast fake ID checker and real-time alerts when any of your locations spot fake IDs or problem customers.
Note: GBG blog is jam-packed with information about ID technology and trends that are worth the visit.
GBG Scannet’s main features & benefits:
- Customer ID Matching (Along with Global ID library);
- ISO27001 certified;
- Fake IDs detector;
- Spot troublemakers;
- Real-time security alerts.
Tip Jar
As you are probably aware…Tips have been the topic of much debate in recent months. The UK’s new Fair Tips Bill is currently making its way through Parliament, and the Irish Wages Amendment on tips and gratuities came into effect in 2022. The new tipping legislation and the necessity for compliance with those new laws bring more challenges for managers, while having a record of those wages may be a necessity for your business. There, a platform for tipping without cash might be worth a shot. Something like TipJar.
Letting you focus on guest experience, you can also link employee pay to employee performance (do not forget to record your employee’s performance using the feedback tap on your Bizimply). Tipjar pricing varies depending on the number of venues your restaurant or bar has.
Note: If you are curious to understand the new UK law on fair tips, Tip Jar did a brilliant job on this guide on the tipping legislation in partnership with The Tronc Advisor and is also giving any business that might be interested in understanding this new legislation a free 1-hour consultation with Andy Hamman (tips and tronc expert).
Tip Jar’s main features & benefits:
- Easy Integration with a list of products and software;
- Employee pay can be linked to performance;
- Improvement of team culture and harmony;
- Reduce time in the office.
Soundtrack your Brand
The smell of fresh coffee, the sound that it’s playing while your consumer’s first bite on that dish… As a manager, several small details cannot be taken for granted while performing our daily tasks. They often play an essential role in the consumer experience. One of them is using music to promote your restaurant’s or bar’s personality. That is the main solution Soundtrack My Brand brings.
Ok, you might be thinking “I ALREADY HAVE SPOT…”
But here is why having a company that it’s specialises in other business win the game:
They are aware of the regulations regarding copyright issues and how unsupervised streaming from an employee’s device might influence consumer behaviour. That’s why they are on this list: They offer a streaming service that was created for companies to not worry about those small details but also enjoy the benefits of it. You can also try it for free, as they offer a free trial.
Note: According to the 2021 Study of Background Music held by MRC Data, 83.9% of consumers notice the background music of songs in coffee shops, and 40% stay longer in a business if they like the song. SYB has a cool collection of case studies that shows the importance of their company mission.
SYB’s main features & benefits:
- Spotify playlists and Soundtrack playlists for different business types;
- Custom stations;
- Explicit filter and song block;
- Central control.
Vita Mojo
All right!… It’s time to start service. You have everything ready. Why not automate manual tasks like ordering and taking payments? The growing necessity of automating manual tasks is indeed one of the most important strategies when you need to differentiate yourself from your competitors. Vita Mojo is one good software that was built specifically for the hospitality section and helps your restaurant or bar with solutions that go from digital orders to point of sale and operations management. One of the highlights of that is being able to personalise your consumer experiences and manage all your orders on the same screen.
Vita Mojo’s main features & benefits:
- Digital Ordering;
- Point of Sale and Kitchen;
- Delivery Hub;
- Operation Hub;
- Marketing and Growth.
Tenzo
Let’s face it: Most of the people who were reading this blog post have probably only quickly scanned the main points and are already on another page. Fair. We know we have a really specific type of target audience, and we are proud of that. The fact that you are still here makes it clear that you are concerned about the overall success of your company. You want to stay on top of all the resources available to you.
Tenzo It’s an exciting tool because of that. Analysing the performance of your business is something that all successful companies do. It helps you aggregate, analyse, and report your business performance and predict your future performance as well. It’s like having a second mind to help you find better ways to upsell, forecast demand, and improve labour. They offer free demos so they can understand your company’s needs.
Note: Tenzo just launched their ultimate restaurant performance guide, which is free of charge and a good tool to understand how to increase the performance of your restaurant and bar.
Tenzo’s main features and benefits:
- Aggregate, Analyse, Report and Predict into one place;
- Insights on upselling and labour performance;
- Demand forecasting;
- Compare multi locations.
Surreal
Our list would not be complete without software that would help you manage the entertainment in your restaurant or bar. The main idea here is that you save time with bookings and with the payment of your entertainment staff. The promotions feature is one personal favourite. It not only helps you advertise your events to numerous other customers, but it also helps general SEO-optimised events rank on Google (yeah, the marketing team here loves promotion features—who would have guessed?!)
Surreal’s main features and benefits:
- Booking management;
- Promotions tools;
- Payments.
So there you have it, 10 apps that are practically magic spells for our tech-savvy souls! Technology is still changing the way bars and restaurants are managed, and it has the potential to replace people who are resistant to change. Those who can embrace technology, on the other hand, cannot be replaced.
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