Questions to Ask When Choosing Restaurant Accounting Software – Series Part 1 of 3
Selecting the right accounting software for your restaurant group is not something that you do every day, so it can seem like a daunting task. In fact, 77% of finance leaders do not have the time or resources to find suitable software, even though 85% agree they must continue to invest in finance and accounting systems. It’s no doubt that having a strong financial platform is the backbone to any great business. The right solution will set you up for success and scale with your organization as it grows.
The pandemic has accelerated the need restaurants have to invest more in technology. Gone are the days when on-premises solutions fit the bill. According to the 2022 National Restaurant Association Technology survey, over 50% of restaurants that have not adopted innovative technologies are now looking to do so — especially with emerging trends such as contactless QR codes, online delivery apps, inventory management, all connecting seamlessly to their back-of-house accounting system.
Over the next few weeks, we will release five questions a week as part of a series. Whether you’ve outgrown your accounting software or need a best-in-class suite that correlates better to the restaurant industry, you should be asking some (if not all) of these questions.
Does it have the features I need AND want?
What are your accounting processes? How many restaurants do you have? Different Brands? You need to identify a key list of business requirements and features you need to operate your business. It is important to understand how the system will work before you purchase. If you are not the everyday accounting user, you might want to involve them in the decision-making process. They will be using the software every day, so it is important that they are onboard with the decision.
Will it offer the flexibility that I need?
Your restaurant group is growing and that’s extremely exciting. With more entities comes bigger challenges for both accounting and operations. Managing multiple entities can be complex. Consolidating and comparing finances amongst your entities is not easy. You often have to export data into Excel and manually compare. Manual processes can expose your organization to avoidable errors. Excel errors can cost companies real money, especially when nearly 9 out 10 spreadsheets contain errors.
Many solutions don’t offer a flexible environment for restaurant groups and cannot meet the needs to their back-office teams. The restaurant business has its own set of unique challenges and distinctions, so you need an accounting solution that will provide a flexible environment for constantly changing requirements.
What are your reporting challenges?
Restaurant groups have specific reporting structures and inevitably challenges that go along with them. Give specific use cases of reports that you want to see. What are some of the reports being generated for other restaurant groups? Can you customize different dashboards for different types of users? Do you need a CPA to use the software? Does it offer real-time visibility?
Clear reporting and dashboards enable you to gain the actionable insights needed to move your organization in the right direction. Track prime costs, programs, menu profitability and more, from top to bottom in role-based dashboards.
For instance, many restaurant groups that have adopted a cloud-based platform, like Sage Intacct, have developed real-time dashboards for their management team, so everyone can see the key performance indicators that apply to their department. Others provide access to a broader range of employees so they can view dashboards, enter and approve expenses, and create purchase orders. Some also give lenders, auditors, CPAs, and board members real-time access to key information to build trusted relationships.
Is it scalable?
The right accounting and financial software should enable you to steer your business in ever-changing market conditions. You need to have a good sense of where you are and where you want to go.
Do you know where your restaurant group will be a year from now? Three years? Five years? You need to ask if the system be able to scale with your organization? If you grow significantly or decrease brands, can it handle the change easily?
Will my data be secure?
Using a cloud-based financial system lets you tap into a world-class infrastructure. Your vendor amortizes costs over thousands of customers, so they can maintain world-class infrastructure and provide you with 24x365 operations, continuous backups, disaster recovery, and superior security. This offers you a far higher level of performance, reliability, and security than you may be able to afford on your own.
Most cloud-computing vendors partner with elite data center providers that provide the backbone to their offerings. Find out who those partners are. Where are the data centers located? Do they have business-continuity contingencies? What security standards have they adopted? Can they deliver guaranteed and appropriate levels of uptime? How do they prevent, detect, and remediate physical and network security breaches? Thoroughly evaluate each vendor’s network operations center and technology infrastructure.
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