It’s more difficult than ever to run a successful bar or restaurant, which brings up questions as to what you can do to get a strong competitive edge. But, the answer could be staring you in the face. Bar Technology could be the tool to get you there. Whether it be taking inventory, ordering product, managing staff, analyzing sales reports, handling reservations and even correctly pricing your drinks, technology can serve to provide you with the important data and resources to make smart decisions.
Here’s why all of your bar’s employees need technology.
Whether you’re an owner who’s right there in the trenches with your staff or you prefer to see the business from a more hands-off, outside perspective, technology can help you get a firmer grasp of how your bar or restaurant is doing in the competitive landscape. Being able to empower your decision-making with real-time, actionable data is a tool worth investing in.
Technology can save your staff hours of time each week, cutting down your labor costs, but it can also provide you with the data you need to run a successful business. As we know, data-driven businesses can more accurately measure costs and profitability.
What if you own more than one location? Bar technology can provide you with insights into how each of your locations is performing. Make comparisons across profitability, products and staff performance. Access information in one place, from wherever you are, which can save you visits to each of your locations or phone calls with accountants.
A visible representation of how your business is doing, besides how full your bar is every night, can be extremely helpful and even critical for general managers. Not only that, but technology can make the day-to-day more effective, with less time spent struggling with compiling sales reports from outdated systems or communicating invoices to the accountants. These types of functions make it much easier to present results to your establishment’s owner.
By using technology, the time savings can be huge, allowing you more time actually overseeing the larger scope of the business, more time with your customers and staff members, and more time to spend on the parts of the job you love.
Imagine being able to judge product based on unbiased, comprehensive sales data rather than depending on what your sales reps tell you or what you think your customers like. That’s what the right technology is able to offer to beverage directors. Choosing product with actual profit value as well as being able to visualize the reasons for the success or failure of a product on the menu can be incredibly powerful when putting together a thriving beverage program.
And as for the painful drink pricing and pour cost calculations that are a part of every menu or new product launch, forget about them. Bar tech will do everything for you.
We understand that working with sluggish and unreliable POS systems can leave scars. But, with the right tools, bar managers won’t have to be stuck at the bar for hours on end doing menial tasks like inventory and ordering, and can be actually focused on improving the day-to-day of the bar. You can also send all your orders simultaneously without having to spend one minute on the phone with sales reps.
Bar technology can also give you critical insights into your product usage. Not sure why your variance is so high on a particular whiskey? Drill into the data and find out how much product you’re missing, what day it disappeared and how this lost product affects your sales.
Why spend hours sorting bottles in the storeroom when what you should be doing is training staff, scheduling your crew and spending important time with your favorite guests? Bar technology can save you and your team hours, helping you hit performance bonuses and deliver results to your manager.
The impact of technology can trickle down to bartenders and bar backs as well. No longer will you be forced to waste hours of your time pulling bottles from all over the bar. You and your managers will be able to use an iPad or smartphone and simultaneously blast through counting the bottles wherever they are stored. Spend less time on inventory and more time perfecting your craft cocktail technique.
And no longer will bar managers be on your back needlessly about missing or wasted product—the right technology will make sure everything is properly accounted for.
Ultimately, as much as we preach the benefits of technology, it simply won’t be for everyone. But, for bars looking to get smart and more profitable, the right technology can help your bar build better processes for the future and gain that competitive edge to thrive where others may fail.
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