Smarter Finance for Smarter Restaurants: Automate, Consolidate & Grow

Percipient’s Katie Maw looks at how modern finance solutions can  free up time, reduce errors, and empower finance leaders to make data-driven decisions that fuel expansion and improve profitability

According to reports, the restaurant sector’s post pandemic recovery has been one of the toughest.

While every corner of  hospitality has experienced aftershocks, last Autumn’s budget saw food service and dining establishments’ feel the impact of increased wage bills, business rate and VAT increases on already thin margins, leading to more pressure to maximise both profit and expedite the customer experience. As such, cost control has become a dominant lever for success.

Cost optimisation This spotlight on cost optimisation has seen increased scrutiny on ingredients costs, wages, covers and energy as firms balance investment in growth against cashflow and in some cases, simply keeping the doors open. As a result, doing things in the way they’ve always been done no longer passes muster.

Creating an automated and intelligent operation

Automation and financial consolidation can help restaurants streamline operations, gain real-time insights, and drive sustainable growth. However, automation and financial consolidation are not enough in isolation. Analytics and real-time intelligence which point to the optimum scenarios for cost control, profitability and service are integral in this new environment.

Dynamic planning

Driven by the war in Ukraine, Brexit and more unpredictable global supply chains, raw ingredients costs, one of the largest cost bases in the sector, change continuously. Add to this evolving regulatory and taxation frameworks and labour market shortages, and it’s abundantly clear that access to a real time view of how these respective dynamics impact business performance is imperative.The right platform delivers insights and intelligence to ensure any leaks or overspend are mitigated, and patterns can be tracked to plan against demand in the most meaningful way. For example, switching suppliers, or adjusting menus to absorb hikes or reflect seasonality in certain areas can be done in an informed and measured manner.

Available via a dashboard, with tailored reports to explain and support events, this ability to understand operational status at any given point puts you in control and allows for adjustments in real-time.

Simon Rogan’s story With 15 different sites, a £10 million turnover, and ambitions to expand further, Simon Rogan-led Umbel Group is a great example of a restaurant business embracing digital to achieve the optimum balance across cost control, the customer experience and profitability, as Financial Director Chris Gallagher-York explains:

“One bad decision or oversight can wreck a week’s figures, so daily check-ins, supported by weekly meetings are imperative in maintaining focus and keeping everything on track. In a restaurant for example, a small surplus of fresh ingredients, or over-staffing by one, can quickly offset profit levels, and if not adjusted, this can become a trend which poses real risk to performance.

The granularity Sage Intacct gives us ensures we’re on top of every aspect of every operation and entity at every moment. Entry-level systems such as Xero or Quickbooks simply don’t offer this capability and control over the numbers. Ultimately we can pull out and review three and a half years of data in just five minutes, something which prior to using Sage Intacct, would have been impossible. It’s so easy to get information in and out of it, it really has become part of the DNA and driving force of our business.”

A pivotal moment in hospitality Restauranteurs have always been subject to volatility and challenges around cost control but today’s environment really amplifies the impact of these.

The hospitality industry is pinning its hopes on a brighter budget this Autumn. But in the meantime, prioritising effective, dynamic and intelligent financial management is key to stemming costs. Representing the difference between making a profit or a loss, those at the forefront of digital transformation are inevitably in a stronger position to pursue growth irrespective of the measures likely to be outlined in the months ahead.In managing cashflow and investing proportionately in growth, platforms such as Sage Intacct can help squeeze maximum profit from a complex mix of variables, and deliver sustainable growth against a backdrop of hostile dynamics.

To find out more about how we can help contact Katie Maw at Percipient today on 01606 871332 or request a free consultation and discover how Sage Intacct can help you build a smarter restaurant.

Sage Intacct brings specific value to restaurant businesses across the following areas:

Integration

Seamless integration with procurement; HR and front of house systems; UK MTD compliance; scale to underpin growth

Billing

Project accounting supports timesheets and workforce management for live, accurate insights and visibility, as well as supporting more streamlined procurement

Implementation

Fast, modular and typically completed within 12 weeks

User experience

Modern, intuitive and accessible to all business users (not just finance)

Reporting

Out-of-the-box, unlimited dimensions so KPIs from across procurement, food service, labour management, cleaning, maintenance and bar can be added to support granularity and intelligence

Integration

Easy links via Cloud Connect’s API framework to third party procurement; front of house applications and HR

Multi-entity support

Built-in, easy consolidation to support any model or entity size, from independents to small or large chains