Whether you are running a large catering company or are just starting out, finding the right catering software can help you run your business more efficiently and save time. However, there are a lot of options on the market, so it is important to take into account your needs and the top priorities of your business before deciding which one to purchase.
Organizing Your Events:
Catering software should provide you with a number of tools to manage your events, from creating menus to organizing staff and preparing invoices. Often, these solutions also have mobile apps for your catering crew to use on-the-go so that they can access all of the information they need at any given moment (including a full calendar to see all of your events and their dates).
Event Management:
Having an organized event schedule is essential to running a successful catering operation. Thankfully, there are many cloud-based systems that can help you keep track of your events and prepare for them. These programs typically include a scheduling widget, a calendar for tracking events and the ability to send out notifications or reminders to your team members about specific events, as well as a design tool to make it easy to flesh out your event plans.
Booking Management:
Managing your bookings is crucial to your success, and so it is important that the software you choose has a comprehensive calendar with automations for bookings and room and space reservations. Ideally, this software will be able to sync with any other digital calendars that you may already use in your workplace.
Payment Processing:
Getting paid quickly is essential for a small or start-up catering business, and so it is important that your software provides a variety of options to process credit card payments. In addition, look for platforms that offer online ordering setups to streamline order intake and processing.
Inventory:
Keeping track of all the ingredients and equipment you need for your catering operations is a critical part of ensuring that you have enough food to deliver to your customers, so it’s important that your caterer management software offers inventory management tools to keep your shelves stocked with everything you need. Some platforms offer a feature called inventory synchronization, which automatically updates inventory levels across all your locations as you place orders with different suppliers.
Employees:
The best catering and banquet management software will allow your employees to clock in and out of work and be logged into the system if they need to leave for an appointment or vacation. This way, your staff can be kept accountable and you can save money by minimizing labor costs.
A good catering and banquet management software will also help you to organize your kitchen, allowing you to streamline your processes from planning meals to cooking them. Some systems even integrate with your POS or point-of-sale systems to make it easier for you to keep track of your food inventory and delivery.
