The Road to COVID-19 Revenue Recovery for Restaurants

As COVID-19 restrictions across North America laxen, restaurants of all sizes are hopeful to return to pre-pandemic revenue figures and even recover some portion of the lost pandemic revenue. Yet, the National Restaurant Association estimates that despite a prediction of double-digit sales growth for 2021, these high numbers won’t be enough to make up for 2020’s lost sales.

 

Recovery Calls for Change

Most restaurant businesses made significant adaptations to meet the demands of the 2020, such as shifting to online orders and partnering with food delivery services. Many restaurants may look forward to transitioning back to their previous operational methods after the pandemic subsides, but this will not help accelerate revenue. Instead, now is a prime time to realize your pain points, areas of added costs, significant inefficiencies, and opportunities for growth. By conducting this type of high-level audit, you may recognize that your current business management solution is holding you back. 

 

Software for Restaurant-Related Decision-Making

Decisions made each week or even each day can have significant ripple effects on your restaurant’s revenue. With intense seasonal fluctuations and changing consumer demands, it’s critical to have access to accurate, comprehensive, and comprehensible operational and financial data. Instead of spending hours each week articulating data that is already one week old, you should be able to view up-to-minute information, spot immediate concerns, and make quick decisions before it’s too late. A cloud restaurant ERP solution automatically generates real-time reports into customizable dashboards where you can both see a quick summary or easily click areas to see unusual trends. By moving your data onto the cloud, your team can make changes and view reports anytime, anywhere.

 

Investing in Technology Instead of Cutting Costs

“A common misperception is that during the pandemic, or even recovery, it’s better to hunker down and not make any new investments.” — Susan Casella, Head of Hospitality Vertical at Sage Intacct

In many historic cases of economic downturn, businesses that tried to avoid any additional spending as a strategy to recover lost revenue actually remained stagnant. On the other hand, businesses that made investments into technology, marketing, equipment, and other items that were calculated to be necessary, were able to recover faster and get ahead in the industry. 

While staying true to your old recipes may be significant for restaurant success, staying true to legacy operating systems does not contribute to growth. It is crucial to venture down your post-pandemic recovery with a proper business analysis and investments into customized softwares. 

Download the free whitepaper to learn the Top 5 Essentials to Accelerate COVID-19 Revenue Recovery:

Contact us today to learn more about how Sage Intacct or other software solutions can help accelerate growth in your restaurant business.