Best Restaurant Data Analytics Software

Managing your restaurant data analytics is a good business practice. However, it can also be a time-consuming and detail-oriented task.

If you want to keep your accounts balanced and know how well your restaurant is performing, you need to invest in the best restaurant data analytics software you can find. 

It’s difficult to analyze your business performance without a digital trail of information, but the best restaurant data analytics software products available on the market help simplify complex information and provide you with better insight into your business.

With so many different restaurant data analytics software options on the market, it can be hard to decide which is best for your unique restaurant. In this article, we'll look at some of the best data analytics software apps available in 2023, and discuss the features and benefits that make them stand out in the crowded market. Choose which restaurant data analytics software is the best option for your business based on the pros and cons and see if it fits your budget.

Top restaurant data analytics software options

• MarginEdge

• xtraCHEF by Toast

• Posist

• Restaurant365

• Zenput

• MarketMan

• Craftable

• Apicbase

Choosing the best restaurant data analytics software — what should you look for?

The best restaurant data analytics software is efficient and simple to use so that you can easily understand the analytics and download necessary reports on your data. Restaurant data analytics can provide helpful insight into your business' performance that will allow you to discover any problems that may be affecting your cash flow or profitability. Using the best restaurant data analytic software you can streamline the efficiency of your operations and potentially save both time and money while also obtaining accurate, digital records of your profit and loss, recipe costs, and labor and wages.

Knowing this information is crucial to how your business performs and restaurant data analytic software will help you bring your business to the next level.

Before you read through the best restaurant data analytics software options available to you, consider taking a moment to determine your problem areas with the way you currently manage or obtain your business analytics. As you read through the pros and cons of the best restaurant data analytic software below, consider which one will help you achieve your goals and give you the type of data on your business you want to obtain.

MarginEdge

Built by former restaurant owners for restaurant owners, MarginEdge is deeply rooted in providing a service that helps simplify all the complexities of running a business and reduce the number of annoying office tasks that managers or business owners need to do.

Pros of MarginEdge

• Easily integrates with various POS platforms

• The implementation team assists with data upload and trains users on the software

• Assists with identifying issues causing higher food costs and suggests areas of improvement and solutions to assist you with problem-solving

Cons of MarginEdge

• Can be difficult to use for more complex invoices
• Does not eliminate time to write out recipes and upload inventory or recipe breakdowns
• Some users report that setup is time-consuming
• Limited customer support hours

Price of MarginEdge

MarginEdge starts at $300 per month and does not have setup or integration fees.

xtraCHEF by Toast

xtraCHEF by Toast offers precise restaurant costing tools including invoice automation, recipe costing, and inventory management directly tied to your purchasing trends to help improve productivity and increase profits.

Pros of xtraCHEF by Toast

• Seamless and easy to integrate with other software, including Toast POS

• Free mobile app for faster inventory counting

• Financial reporting on inventory with suggested shopping lists (currently in beta)

Cons of xtraCHEF by Toast

• Requires actual inventory counts to run reports: does not provide perpetual inventory

Price of xtraCHEF by Toast

Starts at $179 per location per month.

Posist

Posist is a cloud-based restaurant software platform that helps food and beverage businesses streamline front-of-house, back-of-house, and out-of-house operations.

Pros of Posist

• Easy to use and configure

• Users report that the implementation team is very helpful

• Allows users to test promotions across various stores, brands, and formats as well as optimize pricing and menu mix by sales channel to maximize profitability

Cons of Posist

• Does not offer a free trial

• Report formatting doesn't offer much flexibility

• Does not auto-calculate required inventory or stock

Price of Posist

Unfortunately, Posist does not publicly disclose pricing information. They provide a custom price plan based on your business size and they do not offer a free or trial plan.

Restaurant 365

Restaurant365 is a SaaS accounting and operations platform specifically for restaurants. It offers restaurant inventory management software that integrates with your POS, vendors, and banks to simplify inventory and reporting.

Pros of Restaurant 365

• Provides in-depth data insight on your restaurant’s accounting and inventory

• Permission settings allow restaurant owners to control information access on a user level

• Ability to customize reports for your needs

Cons of Restaurant 365

• The mobile app is not as user-friendly as others on the market

• Extensive onboarding and training are required to learn the software

• Expensive packages that do not include workforce-relevant software (i.e. HR, payroll, and hiring)

Price of Restaurant 365

$435/month for the essential package or $635/month for the professional package.

Zenput

Zenput is an operations execution platform for restaurants that helps automate operating procedures to elevate team execution. 

Pros of Zenput

• Helps to streamline operations across multiple units and locations

• Customizable forms for your specific business needs

• Mobile app for iOS, Android, and Windows

• Easy to use and navigate with a helpful form set-up process

• Monitor and gauge the quality of team performance and identify issues

Cons of Zenput

• Tailored for large, multi-location restaurants and may not be the right fit for small businesses

• It's a broad tool used by retail, convenience stores, grocers, and more which may result in features your restaurant does not need

• No calendar management or collaboration tools

• Can be difficult to add or edit users

Price of Zenput

Zenput starts at $40 per month per location.

MarketMan

A cloud-based software, MarketMan offers restaurants solutions for inventory and supply management including budgeting, purchasing, order optimization, food costs, ordering handling, catalog and supplier management.

Pros of MarketMan

• Ability to track costs of inventory and menu items to determine exact breakdown of costs per menu item and their profit margins

• Excellent COGs tracking and inventory reporting with insight into waste, theft, over portioning and provides solutions for improvement

• Easy and straightforward to navigate and use across multiple locations

Cons of MarketMan

• Lengthy process for setting up the system

• The technical setup is possibly too difficult for the average employee or chef to use and may require training

Price of MarketMan

MarketMan offers three pricing levels with its cheapest option at $127 per month per location. The professional level costs $169 per month per location and its ultimate pricing level is $339 per month per location.

Craftable

Craftable is a complete restaurant data analytics management software designed to drive profit and reduce labor costs for restaurants. It was designed to help you control all features for your bar or menu to keep a better eye on variance and recipe costs.

Pros of Craftable

• Straightforward and easy-to-use software

• Houses purchasing, receiving, and inventory audits in one location

• Integrates with many POS platforms, time clocks, accounting platforms, and more 

• Allows you to track revenue in real time and monitor sales with labor to properly staff and support your restaurant's best performance

Cons of Craftable

• Must pay for a higher cost tier to have multi-location oversight

• Users report a difficult and time-consuming process when adding data across all locations

• Complex onboarding process

Price of Craftable

Craftable pricing starts at $99.99 per month for the lowest tier. They offer a premium level for $149.99 per month as well as a pro level for $199.99 per month.

Apicbase

Apicbase is restaurant data analytics management software that allows you to run multiple restaurants by centralizing your operations in one place.

Pros of Apicbase

• Real-time insights on food and labor costs and sales margins for multiple locations

• Helps restaurant owners cut food waste with data-driven inventory tools

• Easy to navigate with a user-friendly design

Cons of Apicbase

• Data insights are not as customizable as other options on the market

Price of Apicbase

Apicbase starts at $149 per month but offers other package options and will provide a custom quote based on your business size.

What’s the best restaurant data analytics software for your specific business?

Toast's cloud-based all-in-one restaurant platform allows restaurant owners and operators to dig into their sales and access data analytics that provide insight into their business performance — from anywhere, at any time.

Toast POS offers real-time reporting and analytics, but when paired with xtraCHEF by Toast restaurant owners can take control of their bottom line with insights that save time and boost their returns on every dollar earned.

Regardless of which data analytics platform your choose for your restaurant, it's important to make data-driven decisions and stay aware of how your restaurant is performing. 

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