Today, we have a special treat for everyone. We collaborated with our friends over at xtraCHEF to take a deeper look into the back-of-house data bottleneck and what restaurants can do to turn that challenge into increased performance and profits.
The way xtraCHEF is helping restaurants automate and analyze costs at an ingredient-level is becoming the new standard in restaurant cost management. The worlds between back-of-house and accounting are connected thanks to xtraCHEF and their capabilities.
Let’s be honest here, many restaurants do not capture food costs at a line-item level, especially if you are small business. You have hundreds of other responsibilities and checking the price of every item that comes in the back is low on the priority list. Besides, capturing and monitoring this data is time-consuming, labor-intensive and frankly, prone to frequent human error. But it is one of the most important areas where owners and operators need to be the most vigilant. When you do not look at this data, owner/operators have no idea how fluctuating prices impact their food costs, budgets, and ultimately, profitability.
On the flip-side, let’s say you ARE monitoring, recording and analyzing prices to catch the differences. How long does that take? How many resources and man-hours do you have to dedicate to get an accurate analysis?
The answer: probably too many.
And this is where xtraCHEF comes into play: by uncorking the back-of-house data bottleneck, there are valuable insights that chefs, managers, finance executives, owners and investors can use to improve purchasing decisions: when to buy, how much to buy and how often. Armed with more information, you now know what you need from a vendor perspective. This can also lead into better negotiations and vendor deals (contracted pricing, switching vendors, etc.), making you more efficient and saving you money at the same time. Additionally, knowing what ingredients you have and when, aids in recipe management, menu development, menu pricing and specials.
By digitizing invoices, receipts and all relevant documents, xtraCHEF allows you to house everything in one, easily-accessible place. In turn, analysis becomes more powerful. xtraCHEF has dynamic and interactive dashboards that provide unprecedented visibility into your food costs. Making it easier than ever to track, compare and control costs. They also integrate with plenty of accounting and inventory management systems like: ChefTec, CTUIT, Microsoft Dynamics, QuickBooks, Restarurant365 and more, making this system a seamless addition to any restaurant.
We hope you found this information to be helpful. If you are interested in requesting a demo, click on the link and fill out the form!
