Integrating catering software is one of the best ways to streamline your online catering business activities. Catering business software automates several business processes and operations, eliminating the manual way of doing business.
The use of catering management software allows you to manage, process, coordinate digitally, and keep track of all business-related tasks for your catering and events business. In addition, catering management software makes managing the different types of catering businesses easy.
Key Takeaway - When starting a catering business, it is essential to implement efficient business systems. Catering software streamlines restaurant operations, reduces labor costs, maximizes time management, and stays on top of all administrative tasks.
There are various catering business software you can use for your business. First, however, let’s look at some of the best online catering software to help you automate and grow catering business.
Catering Management Software: Top Features to Consider
When choosing catering business software, there are several features to look out for. Here are some of them:
- Task management: Easily create tasks and assign them to staff, including to-do lists and one-off jobs, with prompt reminders and the capacity for internal task communication.
- Time management: Employees should be able to clock in and leave, preferably via their mobile devices, and managers should be able to track their workers' working hours.
- Employee Scheduling: Creating and distributing schedules to your workforce, allocating shifts to specific people, and giving employees authority over their plans are all aspects of employee scheduling.
- Calendar Management: Catering management software should come with a digital calendar to make it simple to manage reservations, avoid double bookings, and set up meetings and phone calls.
- Accounting and Billing Management: You should be able to manage your billing and eCommerce accounting processes from your catering software.
- Inventory Management: Inventory control is essential to a catering company. The catering management SaaS provider should offer inventory management features and help you keep track of stock and restaurant supplies.
6 Best Catering Business Software You Need
In this article, we review the six best catering business software. Let’s get started.
- Catering Kitchen Management Software
For the best possible food preparation and delivery times, kitchen management software is essential. The kitchen is the center of activities in a catering business, and it can get chaotic during rush hours.
Catering kitchen management software can make managing and reducing this chaos easy. Online food orders can be made more reliable and high-quality with the help of the appropriate software, which will increase customer experience and loyalty.
Features of Kitchen Management Software
- Tracking orders
- Managing inventory and kitchen supplies
- Preparing and reviewing orders
- Planning menus
- Reporting kitchen performance
Best Kitchen Management Software
- XtraCHEF
- Foodager
- Apicbase
- Catering Booking Software
Having booking software is essential for catering businesses. Customers can simply go online or to your catering eCommerce website to schedule a meeting. In addition, catering booking software can sync with external calendars like Google calendar and Outlook and send automatic reminders and alerts.
Some catering booking software can help streamline how you send your business proposals to customers. In addition, catering booking software is an excellent tool for expanding your catering business into the event industry.
Features of Catering Booking Software
- Responding to emails and invites automatically
- Integrating with Google Calendar, Xero, and QuickBooks
- Modifying the calendar to suit your business
- Assigning tasks to team members
- Tracking your mobile workforce
Best Catering Booking Software
- Octopuspro
- Tripleseat
- Curate
- Total Party Planner
- Catering CRM Software
Customer relationship management is vital to your catering business. Catering CRM software can help capture and track leads and manage already-converted customers.
The right CRM software will assist you in developing and implementing procedures that will promote productivity inside your business and ultimately save you time and money. Additionally, the CRM system can monitor demographics, trends, projections, and any other particulars you may require.
You can also import, combine, and manage relationships with your potential catering clients. Catering CRM software can streamline the way you receive orders and make customer service delivery easier for your team.
Features of Catering CRM Software
- Managing leads and customers
- Automating leads
- Delivering the best customer service
- Managing delivery addresses
- Capturing signatures
- Managing online orders
Best Catering CRM Software
- BlueCart
- Caterease
- Social Tables
- Catering Inventory Software
Catering businesses can better manage excess inventory and take control of their inventory using restaurant inventory management software. You can receive alerts from inventory management software when the stock falls below a predetermined level.
Some catering inventory management software can generate purchase orders automatically or list the things that must be ordered between specific dates. For best results, sync your wholesale distribution management software or warehouse management system with the catering inventory management software.
Features of Catering Inventory Software
- Maintaining an accurate record of inventory
- Checking the variance between the inventory used in a day and what’s left at the end of the day
- Reducing inventory stock quantity automatically once the catering event is over
- Automating restocking and ordering of restaurant supplies
Best Catering Inventory Software
- BlueCart
- GoFrugal
- Pxier
- Accounting Software for Catering Business
Catering account software is essential to managing your billing cycle. Catering accounting software streamlines your accounting and payment processes, from generating invoice templates to accepting secure online payments. As a result, you can spend less time on paperwork and more time creating delicious meals.
With catering accounting software, you can create cost estimates quickly, process invoices from wholesale food distributors, and integrate automated billing features into your website. You can also send automatic notifications to customers for late or failed payments.
Features of Catering Accounting Software
- Accepting payments online
- Creating financial reports
- Tracking and processing payments
- Processing invoices automatically
- Managing recurring payments
- Sending notifications for failed payments
Best Catering Accounting Software
- BlueCart
- FreshBooks
- Zoho
- QuickBooks
- Catering POS Software
Catering POS software can help your catering business reach the target niche without a storefront or brick and mortar store. You can execute large orders on tight deadlines with the right restaurant POS system.
You can manage online ordering, curbside pickup, and delivery effectively. Catering POS software can help you increase the number of menu options. Your restaurant management software and the point-of-sale system can be integrated with your front-of-house, kitchen, and back-office activities.
Features of Catering POS Software
- Reducing wait time
- Integrating loyalty programs
- Managing inventory
- Inventory tracking
- Controlling errors
- Sending reports
- Processing payments
- Managing tables
Best Catering POS Software
- TouchBistro
- Toast
- Square
Frequently Asked Questions About Catering Software
Catering software can automate the way you do business. From making it easy to receive payments online to managing restaurant operations, catering software may be just what you need to transform your catering business ideas.
Let’s answer some frequently asked questions about catering software.
What Is a Catering Software?
Catering software is a tool that helps businesses in the restaurant industry manage catering activities. The catering software automates and streamlines catering operations that are usually done manually. Such processes include inventory management, kitchen management, and billing management.
What are the 7 Functions of Catering?
The following are the seven functions of catering:
- Planning the menu
- Preparing meals
- Setting up the event venue
- Arranging the table and seats
- Serving guests at events, hotels, and remote locations
- Cleaning up after the event
- Ensuring guests are satisfied and comfortable at the event
What Innovations are in Catering?
Here are some innovations in the catering business:
- Mobile ordering
- Kitchen display systems
- Mobile POS systems (MPOS system)
- Virtual kitchens
Simplify Your Business With Automation Tools
Catering management software can make it easier to run your catering business. Increased productivity will invariably result in a better customer experience and satisfaction. Remember to add the budget for your catering software to your catering business plan. With an automated system, you can position your business for success and focus on what you love doing most.