📊 A restaurant management software is a suite of digital tools designed to streamline and automate a restaurant's complex daily operations.
💡More than just a single program, it acts as a central command centre, supporting everything from booking and table management to staff scheduling, stock control, and payment processing.
🚀 By integrating these critical functions, this type of restaurant software helps owners reduce costs, improve efficiency, and make smarter, data-driven decisions, ultimately freeing up more time to focus on the guest experience.
In a digital-first world, seamless online reservation management is essential. This feature allows you to take bookings 24/7, manage your floor plan in real-time, control the pace of service, and reduce costly no-shows through deposits and reminders.
A core feature is the ability to link your front-of-house operations with your finances. POS (Point of Sale) integration connects orders, payments, and booking data, providing a unified view of your sales performance and guest spending habits.
3. Staff Scheduling & Shift Management
Labour is one of your highest costs. This feature helps you create efficient staff rotas based on booking forecasts, manage shift swaps, and track hours, ensuring you are never overstaffed during quiet periods or understaffed during a rush.
This feature provides real-time tracking of your stock levels, from individual ingredients to beverage supplies. It helps you control food costs, reduce waste, automate supplier orders, and ensure you never run out of a bestselling dish.
The most powerful software transforms raw data into actionable insights. This feature provides dashboards and reports on key KPIs, such as sales trends, staff performance, and customer behaviour, helping you make informed decisions to improve profitability.
By automating tasks and providing clear data, management software gives you a firm grip on your expenses. It helps you minimise food waste through precise inventory tracking, reduce labour costs with smarter scheduling, and make purchasing decisions that protect your profit margin.
An efficient restaurant is a better restaurant for your guests. Faster, more accurate order taking, seamless booking processes, and personalised service driven by guest data all contribute to a superior dining experience that encourages positive reviews and repeat visits.
When your systems work together, your team can too. Management software reduces manual administrative tasks, improves communication between the kitchen and front-of-house, and provides staff with the information they need to do their jobs effectively, boosting morale and productivity.
TheFork Manager is a comprehensive, all-in-one platform designed specifically for restaurants seeking both operational excellence and business growth.
It uniquely combines a powerful suite of management tools with access to TheFork, one of Europe's largest diner marketplaces.
This dual focus means it not only streamlines your internal processes like reservations, table management, and guest communication, but also actively works to attract new guests and fill your tables, providing a complete solution for the modern UK restaurant.
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Cons |
Pros |
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Requires active engagement with marketing tools to unlock full value. |
The unique combination of management software and a diner marketplace. |
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The feature set may be more extensive than what a very small venue requires. |
A powerful and dedicated focus on the restaurant industry's specific needs. |
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Subscription model may be a different approach for those used to one-off software costs. |
Excellent, multi-layered tools to significantly reduce costly no-shows. |
Lightspeed is a cloud-based POS system that provides a robust platform for managing sales, orders, and payments.
It's a powerful tool for centralising front-of-house and kitchen operations, with a strong focus on providing detailed sales analytics and multi-location management capabilities. While it excels as a POS, its core function is transaction management rather than dedicated reservation or marketing management.
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Cons |
Pros |
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Does not have its own built-in diner marketplace to help attract new guests. |
A powerful and highly-rated all-in-one POS platform. |
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Advanced reservation features often require integration with a third-party partner. |
Excellent for managing complex menus and multi-location operations. |
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The focus is primarily on on-site operations, not external marketing. |
Strong analytics and reporting capabilities. |
Square is a popular and accessible ecosystem of tools for small to medium-sized businesses in the UK.
Square for Restaurants bundles its well-known payment processing with a user-friendly POS, online ordering, and basic reservation features. It's designed to be an affordable, all-in-one solution for cafes, QSRs, and independent restaurants that need a simple yet effective system.
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Cons |
Pros |
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Reservation and table management features are less advanced than specialised systems. |
An incredibly accessible and user-friendly all-in-one platform. |
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Lacks a dedicated marketplace to drive new customer acquisition. |
Transparent and competitive pricing model. |
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The CRM and marketing tools are more basic than dedicated platforms. |
Seamless integration with Square's wider ecosystem of business tools. |
Toast is a restaurant management platform that has gained significant traction in the US and is now available in the UK. It combines POS, payment processing, and back-office management on industry-grade hardware.
Toast is designed to be an end-to-end solution, covering everything from online ordering to staff payroll and inventory.
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Cons |
Pros |
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Can be a more significant upfront investment due to its reliance on proprietary hardware. |
A fully integrated, end-to-end platform for all restaurant operations. |
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Its diner-facing marketplace for discovery is not as established in the UK as other platforms. |
Strong features for online ordering, loyalty, and email marketing. |
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Less flexibility to integrate with third-party reservation systems. |
Excellent reporting and analytics capabilities. |
EPOS Now is a UK-based company providing a cloud-based POS system for the retail and hospitality sectors.
Its restaurant software is designed to be flexible, allowing users to manage orders, payments, and basic inventory from any device. It's known for its extensive app store, which allows restaurants to add specific functionalities as they need them.
Key Features:
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Cons |
Pros |
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Core reservation tools are basic, often requiring a paid app integration for advanced features. |
A flexible and customisable system with a large app marketplace. |
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Does not provide its own marketing platform to help attract new diners. |
Strong UK-based customer support. |
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Some users report that the interface can be less intuitive than competitors. |
Good for both hospitality and retail operations. |
TouchBistro is an iPad-based POS system designed specifically for the restaurant industry.
It offers a comprehensive suite of features that cover not just sales, but also table management, staff scheduling, and menu control. It is designed to be an all-in-one operational tool for the front and back of house.
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Cons |
Pros |
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Advanced reservation management is an add-on module, not a core feature. |
An intuitive and user-friendly iPad interface. |
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Its focus is on optimising on-site operations, not on driving external guest discovery. |
Strong feature set designed specifically for restaurant workflows. |
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The need for multiple add-ons can increase the total cost and complexity. |
Excellent for tableside ordering and improving service speed. |
MarketMan is not a POS or reservation system, but a specialised back-office platform focused entirely on inventory and supplier management.
It helps restaurants streamline their purchasing, control food costs, and manage stock with precision. It is designed to integrate with POS systems to provide a complete picture of profitability.
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Cons |
Pros |
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It is a niche tool and does not manage any front-of-house operations like bookings or service. |
An incredibly powerful tool for controlling food costs and optimising inventory. |
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Requires integration with a separate POS system to be fully effective. |
Excellent for recipe costing and understanding menu profitability. |
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The focus is purely on back-office efficiency, not the guest experience. |
Streamlines the entire purchasing and supplier management process. |
7shifts is a software platform dedicated to solving one of the biggest challenges in hospitality: staff scheduling and team management.
It's designed to help restaurant managers build more efficient rotas, improve team communication, and reduce labour costs. It is not an all-in-one system, but a best-in-class tool for workforce management.
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Cons |
Pros |
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This is a specialised tool for staff, it does not manage customers, bookings, or inventory. |
A good solution for restaurant staff scheduling and management. |
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It is an additional subscription on top of your POS and reservation system. |
Significantly reduces the time managers spend building rotas. |
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Does not provide a unified view of all restaurant operations. |
Excellent mobile app for staff improves team communication and engagement. |
Similar to 7shifts, Deputy is a powerful workforce management and scheduling software used across many industries, including hospitality.
It helps businesses manage everything from rotas and timesheets to team communication. It's a comprehensive tool for ensuring you have the right people in the right place at the right time.
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Cons |
Pros |
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As a general workforce tool, it lacks some restaurant-specific nuances of its competitors. |
Powerful automation and AI features for efficient scheduling. |
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It is another separate system to manage alongside your core restaurant software. |
Strong compliance tools for UK employment regulations. |
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The focus is entirely on managing your team, not your guests or sales. |
Excellent for managing time, attendance, and integrating with payroll. |
FoodHub is a UK-based platform focused primarily on providing online ordering systems for takeaways and restaurants.
It offers a commission-free model, positioning itself as an alternative to the major delivery aggregators. Its software helps restaurants manage their own online orders, whether for collection or local delivery.
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Cons |
Pros |
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Core focus is on takeaway orders, not dine-in reservation or table management. |
Commission-free model can increase profitability on online orders. |
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Lacks a large, built-in marketplace of diners actively searching for dine-in experiences. |
A complete, turnkey solution for managing your own delivery and collection service. |
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Less suitable for restaurants where the primary business is dine-in service. |
Strong focus on the UK market. |
Revel Systems (now part of Shift4) is an iPad-based cloud POS platform that serves a wide range of businesses, with a strong offering for the restaurant industry.
It's a highly scalable and customisable system designed for high-volume and multi-location operations, providing deep reporting and management capabilities.
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Cons |
Pros |
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Can be complex and expensive for small, independent restaurants. |
A highly scalable and powerful enterprise-level POS. |
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The focus is on internal operations and sales, not on attracting new diners from a marketplace. |
Excellent for managing complex, multi-location businesses. |
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The extensive feature set can have a steep learning curve. |
Strong inventory and back-office management features. |
Restaurant365 is a cloud-based back-office platform designed for restaurants.
It connects your POS data with your accounting, inventory, and staff scheduling. It is not a POS itself, but a powerful engine that sits behind it to give operators a complete financial and operational overview of their business.
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Cons |
Pros |
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This is a complex back-office tool and does not handle any guest-facing functions like reservations. |
Provides a unified view of a restaurant's financial and operational health. |
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It is an enterprise-level solution that is not suitable for small independents. |
Integration capabilities with a wide range of POS systems. |
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Requires a significant investment in both time and money to implement properly. |
A best-in-class tool for multi-unit accounting and operations. |
Start by identifying your biggest pain points. Are you struggling with no-shows and need a better reservation system? Is your inventory out of control? Do you need a more efficient way to schedule staff? Be clear on whether your primary need is reservations, POS, inventory, or workforce management.
The best software works seamlessly with the tools you already use. Ensure your chosen platform integrates with your existing POS system, payment gateway, and any delivery apps you use. A lack of integration can create data silos and manual work for your team.
Understand the total cost. Is it a flat monthly subscription, a per-terminal fee, or a per-location cost? Ask about any setup fees, hardware costs, and charges for ongoing support. Choose a model that aligns with your business's budget and growth projections.
The most powerful software is useless if your team struggles to use it. Always request a demo and, if possible, a free trial. Test the interface and workflow to ensure it is intuitive and well-suited to the fast-paced environment of your restaurant.
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Name Software |
Best For |
Key Features |
Price |
Link to Software Website |
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TheFork Manager |
Growth-focused restaurants |
Reservations, Marketplace, CRM |
Tiered Subscription |
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Lightspeed POS |
Multi-location groups |
POS, Analytics, Inventory |
Subscription |
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Square for Restaurants |
Small/Medium independents |
POS, Payments, Ordering |
Free & Paid Plans |
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Toast POS UK |
All-in-one POS solution seekers |
POS, Hardware, Back-office |
Custom Quote |
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EPOS Now |
UK independents |
POS, App Store, Flexibility |
Subscription |
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TouchBistro |
Full-service restaurants |
iPad POS, Tableside Ordering |
Subscription |
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MarketMan |
Cost-control focused venues |
Inventory, Supplier Mgt |
Subscription |
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7shifts |
All restaurants |
Staff Scheduling, Comms |
Free & Paid Plans |
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Deputy |
Complex staffing needs |
AI Scheduling, Workforce Mgt |
Per User/Month |
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FoodHub |
Takeaway-focused venues |
Online Ordering, Delivery |
Fixed Fee |
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Revel Systems (part of Shift4) |
Large chains/franchises |
Enterprise POS, Scalability |
Custom Quote |
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Restaurant365 |
Multi-unit groups |
Accounting, Back-office |
Subscription |
While many tools on this list excel at one specific function - like POS or staff scheduling - TheFork Manager is uniquely positioned as a comprehensive platform designed to both streamline operations and actively drive growth.
Its core difference lies in its powerful combination of sophisticated management software and access to one of Europe's largest diner marketplaces.
This means it doesn't just help you manage the guests you already have; it actively helps you attract new ones. With a deep focus on reservations, smart table management, powerful marketing tools, and industry-leading analytics, it provides a complete ecosystem for the modern UK restaurant looking to thrive.
It is a digital platform that helps restaurants automate and streamline their core operations, including reservations, POS, inventory, staff scheduling, and analytics, all from a central hub.
Core features usually include a reservation or booking system, table management, a point-of-sale (POS) for processing orders and payments, inventory tracking, and staff management tools.
The best software depends on your needs. TheFork Manager is an excellent all-in-one choice for growth, Lightspeed is a top-tier POS, and 7shifts is best-in-class for staff scheduling.
Costs vary widely, from free basic plans to several hundred pounds per month for advanced, all-in-one platforms. Pricing models can be a flat monthly subscription, a per-location fee, or based on the number of terminals.
Yes, absolutely. Modern, affordable cloud-based software can save small restaurant owners a huge amount of time on administrative tasks, reduce costly errors, and provide valuable insights to help them compete effectively.
Many restaurants use integrated reservation systems like TheFork Manager, which combines a management tool with a large diner marketplace to both manage and attract bookings.
POS software is primarily focused on processing sales and payments. A comprehensive restaurant management software is a broader platform that often includes a POS but also integrates other key operations like reservations, inventory, and staff scheduling.
Yes, significantly. It helps reduce costs by minimising food waste through inventory tracking, optimising labour expenses with smart scheduling, and reducing lost revenue from no-shows.
For multi-location restaurants, platforms like Lightspeed, Revel Systems, and Restaurant365 are excellent as they are designed for centralised management, reporting, and scalability across multiple sites.
Modern cloud-based software is designed to be highly intuitive and user-friendly, with clean interfaces and mobile apps. However, it's always recommended to request a demo to ensure it's a good fit for your team.