Posts Tagged ‘Systems Integration’

Make The Balance Sheet Your Friend.

January 2nd, 2009

In these hard economical times - many restaurants report massive losses in revenue - fresh thinking and optimism is needed, to not only survive, but to do well. Maybe a new focus on the benefits of technology is also needed: do you run a weekly balance sheet at your restaurant? A weekly P & L? Well, in order to get that done, you just have to have Restaurant IT (Information Technology) in place, that can do more than just crunch out a daily sales report.

In an article of November 18, 08, published in “Hospitality Technology” Emanuel N. Hilario, CFO of McCormick and Schmick’s sums it up in a neat 3-point-success-formula: : “1) Make the balance sheet your friend, 2) deliver superior ROI and 3) leverage technology.”

As a restaurant IT consultant I often meet people on their way of becoming restaurant owners. They are in that period of deciding the theme, decor, china and silverware, buy kitchen equipment, write a menu, hire a staff and uhh, yes, “we also need a POS”. Often that is delegated to ’someone’ on the team, who has some computer literacy and maybe worked with a POS system in their past. Translation: many restaurant owners miss out on the potential, of defining a clear strategy: what is it, they want to accomplish with their restaurant IT? A POS is just one element, albeit a very important one. What accounting system, which CRM element, which inventory control system?

Systems are top management / owner decisions and should not be delegated down. Without systems a restaurant can not be replicated. If a restaurant owner wants to be able to multiply the formula, systems are the other critical component - next to talent.

Capital preservation is critical in these tough times - how can you monitor your capital if you don’t have an “eye on the ball” and monitor your balance sheet. When it comes to technology Hilario suggests: “Operators do not need to be on the leading edge of technology, but should instead focus on solutions that provide a real-time view of profits and the cash position.”

Translation: you don’t need to be the first on the restaurant row, to have leading edge stuff. You do have to have a robust, reliable and time-tested solution. Does it have a proven track record to allow the kind of integration with other systems, necessary for focused financial management?!

Are all POS Systems created equal? Of course not - it’s like saying all cars are the same, as they all have four wheels with rubber tires… hell, no: a rarely discussed, but critical differentiators of POS systems is their database and its reliability. Not, whether it’s flat-file or SQL or Oracle. But more basic things like “what does it track?” The depth of your database determines, what you can track. What a system doesn’t record, can’t be reported, sent to your inventory or accounting application. Do you know, what you want to track? What are the indicators and metrics you’d like to monitor for your business?

One possible conclusion: working with a qualified IT consultant, who understands the connections between the accounting package, time & attendance and inventory applications and a Point of Sale system can help in designing great restaurant systems - to make the balance sheet your friend, you need to leverage your technology. To make well informed decisions, make sure you consult an expert.

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