Questions to Ask When Choosing Restaurant Accounting Software – Series Part 3 of 3

This is the final part of our series, the questions you should be asking when choosing restaurant accounting software. Each week we’ve been sharing five questions. 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.

What’s the difference between best-in-class and suite?

Best-in-class accounting software is designed to excel in an individual category or business area. While suite software bundles applications to cover a wide range of areas as a complete solution.

For example, as a best-in-class software, Sage Intacct is devised with deep accounting functionality and vast integration options that integrate it with your existing solutions through its open API.

Do I need a restaurant-focused accounting partner?

As you know, the restaurant industry and its challenges are unique. You need a partner who has walked in your shoes and served up success before.

Tablespoon has been servicing restaurant groups for 15 years and in that time, we’ve seen a lot and helped countless restaurant and hospitality groups. We understand that while you are working hard to build your staff back up, you need to keep running the business. Aligning finance and operations to do more with less is essential. This requires investment in new practices, technologies, and learning new skills.

How long is the implementation process?

This is a tricky question because every restaurant group is unique and has specific requirements and processes. Some have years of data and others don’t. During the discovery phase of the sales cycle, you can share what your current environment looks like, and a good accounting software implementation partner will be able to give you a ballpark estimate of what to expect.

For example, when you are transitioning between accounting systems (such as QuickBooks to Sage Intacct) you have the opportunity to redesign your chart of accounts, reports, and create dashboards that aligns better with your industry. Think of it in the same light as reopening a restaurant – for example, a reopening is the perfect time to redesign the menu. This foundation will set your restaurant group up for success.

Will my implementation partner have experience transitioning me off my legacy accounting software?

The implementation process of a new accounting system is a big deal. Ask what systems your potential implementation partner has transitioned other restaurant groups from. Every system has its nuances and quirks. Finding a partner that has the experience you need can be an essential element of a successful transition.

Does automation matter?

Like most organizations, you are probably dedicating too much time to manual processes. In a recent survey by Mckinsey, employees across all functions spend about one-third of their time on repetitive tasks. That’s just over 13 hours a week that can be reapplied to value-added activities. Or 52 hours a month that you can reduce headcount by – or better yet, channel those 52 hours a month into new tasks to help your business thrive. That’s 52 hours a month to embrace strategic thinking, tackle master plan projects, explore new revenue streams, and perhaps even balance the work/home life dynamic.

When you’re scaling a multi-location or multi-entity restaurant group, accounting automation is a mandatory element to your success. To sustain growth, you need to eliminate as much manual effort as possible so you can manage the evolving needs. For example, Sage Intacct’s modern cloud financial management platform automates and streamlines processes across entities to increase efficiency 25-50%.

Every dollar counts – especially for restaurant groups. Without automation, you are wasting thousands of dollars in productivity and transaction costs.

Want to learn more?

This concludes our series. If you are in the process of looking for new accounting software, or just budgeting the project for next year, do your homework and ask yourself these questions. Book a demo >