It doesn’t have to be difficult to cut away unnecessary costs in your restaurant. With a few small adjustments, you can save a lot more than you think.
1) Focus on free advertisement
Just a few years back, restaurant managers had to spend a lot of money on advertisement and promotion. But now, we have social media platforms! If you don’t already have a social media marketing strategy, you really should start cooking one up as your competitors are probably already out there, feasting on the free advertisement space. Yes, free! And we’re not just talking about getting Facebook likes or re-tweets. It’s so much more than that.
We have gathered some very simple, hands-on tips to start your successful social media strategy – feel free to check them out right here.
2) Lower your inventory volume
Foods and drinks are often the second biggest expense on a restaurant’s budget (right after labor costs), and there is obviously a limit to how much you can cut it down. However, it’s very common for restaurants to have more food in stock than they actually need. So, it makes sense to evaluate your inventory items one by one and hold them up against your sales figures. This way, you can get rid of any excess inventory, you will have less waste and you will be able to focus on selling the products that are actually putting pennies in your money box.
Need help to control your inventory? Then check out the article “Restaurant Management Software – These Are the Ones You Need” in which we will tell you what a perfect inventory management system should include.
3) Buy from local vendors
Another very simple way to cut costs is to buy your produce from local vendors. Get your vegetables from the local farm, buy your meat from the local butcher and purchase your ice cream from the local ice cream vendor. If you spend time on building a good relationship with them, they will very often reduce prices for you – quid pro quo, you know.
This will also enhance your customers’ perception of you as being a good contributor to the community which could result in a loyal customer base (which means a regular income!). Find out how you start building a loyal customer base right here.
4) Use an online employee scheduling system
Most managers spend way too much time on making the employee shift plan. They are sitting there, week after week, tackling useless spreadsheets or wrinkled paper schedules. It takes time, money and effort – and will result in continuous headaches. However, an online employee scheduling system will reduce time spent on employee scheduling and save money on hour registrations. A system like that will enable the employees to book, swap and give away shifts mutually without you having to be much involved. Also, an integrated time clock will ensure that you don’t have to pay for rounded up working hours. Five minutes extra here and there won’t hurt your budget – but imagine if every employee puts down 15 minutes extra every day for a year. Now, that will dig a hole in your account.
However, 95% of those scheduling tools are useless, so be careful which one you choose. If you want to know exactly what a perfect online scheduling system should include, you can download a checklist below – for free, of course.
About Planday
Planday is an online workforce management solution which helps businesses manage their scheduling, HR, salary, communications , etc. We’ve been featured on Techcrunch and other publications like the Huffington Post. For more information, check out blog.planday.com or www.planday.com.