There are many factors at play when opening and running a new restaurant business. You have to think about your venue, maintenance staff, floor and kitchen staff, ingredients and supplies, food costing, and more.

Balancing your budget in the restaurant business will be key to your success. Here are some factors to consider to help improve your restaurant’s budget.

Make Sure You Are Staffing Efficiently

This can be a tricky balancing act. You want to have enough staff both in the dining room and the kitchen to provide quick and pleasing customer service, but you also don’t want to over-staff and end up paying for more staff than you need during a quiet period. To mitigate this, it can be helpful to undertake a review period, where you compare your payroll spending versus revenue. If things are not aligned well, consider ways you could make better use of your staff.

Implement Daily Reviews of Business Operations

It is important to review business operations and cash flow on a daily or at least semi-weekly basis in order to catch any issues that may be easily fixed. For example, if a certain special seasonal menu item is not performing well, you can emphasize this to your waitstaff to take care in explaining the specials so that you don’t end up wasting ingredients. Documenting these daily business reviews in a clear and systematic way will also help you build a strong history for your business records to give you a more accurate view review at year-end.

Invest in Energy-Efficient Appliances and Practices

You may not realize how much inefficient appliances could be hurting your restaurant’s budget over time. Investing in energy-efficient bulbs, low-flow faucets and toilets, and energy-efficient appliances for the kitchen, such as the fridges, dishwashers, etc. can really save your restaurant money over time. If possible, have your kitchen staff unplug appliances at the end of the night that are not in use, like mixers, ovens, and stoves, as these items can continue to use energy while plugged in.

Implement a Restaurant Inventory Management System

Restaurant management software is integral to managing your budget. Without effective recipe costing and inventory planning, you could be losing a lot of money each week in wasted or under-sold ingredients. An inventory management software solution can help cut your inventory ordering time in half, boosting the overall efficiency of your business process.

Plan Special Menu Items Strategically

A key tactic in making better use of your inventory, both in the kitchen and in your bar area, is to plan special menu items. This can be a good way to use certain ingredients you may have a surplus of at the end of the month. Special menu items are also a way to continue to surprise your regular customers and keep them wanting more.

Optimum Control is a powerful and easy-to-use inventory management software solution for the hospitality industry. To learn how Optimum Control can help your restaurant save money and make more efficient use of your budget, explore our restaurant inventory solutions today.