8 Must-Have Apps For Hospitality Businesses

All hospitality businesses need an easy-to-use point of sale system capable of running on an iPad (or any web-enabled device for that matter) to efficiently run their day-to-day operations.

Cloud-based POS software has several in-built features, such as inventory management, reporting and analytics, online ordering and more to help manage all touch points of your business. Plus, an API allows easy integration with other business tools to help with everything from accounting to marketing, delivery and employee management.

Taking the time to analyse your venue’s data and analytics will empower you to optimise all areas of your business, from staff performance to wastage and best selling menu items. Having a live Insights app allows you to access real-time sales data even if you’re off site so you can make snap decisions if necessary. Plus you'll gain detailed insights into all areas of your business, including:

• Sales by channel - understand exactly how much revenue each channel is generating and how much it’s costing. E.g. delivery apps, v pay at the table, v pay at the counter
• Best sellers – know exactly which dishes are most popular, which are the most profitable and which ones are costing too much
• Average spend per table – understand how much a table spends on average and set KPIs for staff to encourage upselling and increase average spend
• One-click reports – get instant insights into everything from daily sales to staff attendance

There are several employee management platforms that can help optimise your employee scheduling and seamlessly integrate with your POS and accounting package.

• Deputy - create sales-driven rosters by comparing employees’ skills, availability and costs relative to sales.
• Tanda - onboard employees, create sales-driven rosters and track attendance.
• Keypay - create rosters to budget with real-time shift costs, import timesheets from your POS and automate payment calculations.

No matter if you want to offer QR table ordering, delivery or order ahead for collection, providing customers with multiple ordering options is a great way to diversify your business and boost sales.

Here are some online ordering apps to consider

• me&u offer contactless table ordering for hospitality venues.
• Mr Yum is a simple yet powerful platform that allows venues to facilitate table ordering, delivery and collection.
• Lightspeed Ordering offers everything from table ordering to collection, delivery and digital menus all from one platform.

Marketing is important for any business, especially if you’re in a competitive industry like hospitality. To make life easier, use one (or all) of these apps to help streamline your marketing efforts:

• Goody offers customer loyalty solutions for hospitality businesses and retailers.
• Hootsuite is a simple tool that makes it easy to manage all your social accounts (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and LinkedIn) from one platform.
• Marsello is an all-in-one marketing platform that lets you create and send customers both one-off and automated marketing messages across SMS, emails and social media.
• Gift-it is an excellent customer acquisition and retention tool that allows you to create and promote vouchers.

With less than 27% of Aussies opting to pay with cash it’s vital to assess customer behaviour and evolving patterns to determine what payment methods to accept and how you’ll process payments in your venue. Here are some payment integrations to consider.

• Albert
• Alipay
• Lightspeed Payments, powered by Tyro
• WeChat Pay
• Westpac Presto Smart

Integrating your accounting software with your POS system helps you break free from the laborious task of accounting by streamlining and automating processes – saving you precious time that can be reinvested in your customers.

The benefits of integrating an accounting app, like Xero, Quickbooks or MYOB with your POS include:

• Automatic Reconciliation – your POS syncs money in/out, tips, revenue, gift cards and more so that you don’t have to.
• Invoicing Accounts – invoices can be paid in your POS and automatically updated within your chosen accounting system. Or vice versa.
• Easy Setup – cruise through the onboarding process.

The hospitality industry is constantly evolving, and new delivery apps are entering the market regularly. However, Uber Eats, DoorDash and Deliveroo are some of Australia’s more prominent and well-established food delivery apps.

While high commission fees are a contentious issue, there are several advantages to partnering with one of these apps. Not only do they enable you to adapt to changing behaviours quickly, but you can also reach more customers than ever before, so you never miss out on a sale.