7 Best Central Kitchen Management Software for Multi-Unit Restaurants in 2024

Management
Restaurant
Published on:
October 3, 2024
Read Time:
7
min

Kitchen management software comes in many different shapes and sizes. It adds to the complexity of selecting the ideal solution for you.

In this piece, we will help you narrow down your choices. These days, multi-unit and multi-channel food businesses are the most successful. This implies that you are working with several stakeholders, each with certain data points that they want to highlight.

The COO examines the profit and loss figures, the inventory manager verifies stock counts, the executive chef works in the recipes database, the F&B director handles order forms, and so on.

The demand for a single source of truth that can gather all the data and integrate it coherently has increased dramatically as more individuals use the data to arrange processes for manufacturing, inventory, buying, and even HACCP.

We looked through several software options for central kitchen management and selected five that increase productivity, lower expenses, and promote efficiency to help you make sense of it all.

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Top 7 Central Commercial Kitchen Management Software in 2024

Xenia

Introducing Xenia, the most advanced central commercial kitchen management software on the market.

Xenia, one of the greatest software programs, uses automation, accurate insights, and real-time data to streamline daily multi-unit restaurant operations while lowering expenses and boosting the bottom line.

Xenia makes loss prevention easy by offering advanced tools to address common yet complex difficulties in its day-to-day operations.

The platform acts as a single point of contact for all inputs, workflows, and insights about audits, HACCP compliance, workflow, and inventory management for restaurants with multiple locations. 

Imagine a world in which everything at your restaurant goes off without a hitch. You can stay on top of your game with all the SOP reports, graphs, and charts that Xenia's central restaurant management solution offers. 

No more surprises—just ready-to-eat riches.

Task Management

Tasks performed in a kitchen, such as cleaning, stock-taking, and equipment calibration, if poorly coordinated, can become difficult to manage and easily overlooked.

Xenia enables task delegation and real-time tracking. Managers can schedule deadlines, send reminders, and prioritize tasks via a web-based system with mobile functionality. Notifications ensure clarity on assigned tasks.

Real-time tracking reduces confusion, increases accountability, ensures tasks are completed, and allows resource redirection as needed. This results in cleaner food preparation areas, proper equipment usage, and adherence to standard procedures.

Inventory Management

Xenia allows kitchens to seamlessly track ingredient levels, manage stock across multiple locations, and ensure that resources are optimally used. With real-time tracking and automated updates, kitchen staff can prevent shortages or overstocking, ensuring smooth operations. 

This feature also helps standardize ingredient usage, making sure all branches maintain consistent quality and portions.

Digital Checklists & Forms

Manual checklists and forms completed on paper can be inaccurate and may not contain the most up-to-date data. Additionally, paper-based tracking is inefficient for audits. Xenia automates forms for common tasks like equipment checks, food safety, hygiene checks, and inspections via mobile devices. Checklists can be customized for specific kitchen processes, and progress is recorded centrally.

Digital checklists maintain consistency in protocol implementation across locations, reduce paperwork, and provide better audit documentation. They eliminate errors and allow managers to continuously monitor compliance, enhancing food safety and saving time.

Multi-location Oversight

Delivering consistency in multiple kitchens can be challenging and often requires constant monitoring to ensure hygiene, food safety, and performance standards are met. Xenia consolidates multi-unit restaurant operations across various sites into a single interface, allowing supervisors to distribute tasks, monitor adherence, and oversee processes centrally.

This unified platform helps kitchen chains or companies maintain operational consistency across all outlets. Managers can easily spot issues at different locations and address them before they escalate, ensuring smoother operations and greater compliance.

Analytics & Reporting

With real-time data at your fingertips, managers can track performance metrics like ingredient usage, staff productivity, and overall efficiency across multiple locations. This feature helps identify trends, optimize processes, and make informed decisions quickly. 

Customizable reports allow kitchens to maintain consistent quality and reduce waste, ensuring resources are used effectively. By streamlining reporting, Xenia improves operational oversight, helping central kitchens stay efficient and cost-effective.

Pricing

  • Free Forever: Free for up to 5 users with access to task & work orders, parent assets, internal chats, template builder, etc.
  • Starter: $99 / month for 15 users and comes with a work calendar view, work and template reports, sub-assessments, and sub-locations.
  • Premium: $199 / month for 15 users and offers unbound access to all the core features.
  • Custom: Need something tailored to your organization?
Rated 4.9/5 stars on Capterra
Free Version:
Pricing:
Supported Platforms:
Available for up to 5 users
Starter for $99/month for the first 20 users (with free trial period)
Available on iOS, Android and Web
Free Version:
Available for up to 5 users
Pricing:
Premium for $99/month for the first 20 users (with free trial period)
Supported Platforms:
Available on iOS, Android and Web
Download Xenia app on

Apicbase

Apicbase is a feature-rich food management solution that is ideal for central kitchen administration.

It covers inventory monitoring, recipe management, allergen compliance, and production planning (among others), with the stated purpose to optimize efficiency, compliance, and profitability across food manufacturing.

The central kitchen solution from Apicbase is designed specifically for food service businesses such as restaurants, hotel chains, and catering services.

It offers a multi-outlet management solution fit for expanding and sizable companies.

Key Features

  • Inventory Management: Use software designed for multi-unit restaurants to automate the management of your inventory. Stock food and drink products precisely, right down to the raw components.
  • Procurement: For large-scale food service businesses, Apicbase's procurement software for restaurants features AI-driven demand forecasting and real-time inventory management.
  • HACCP & Tasks Planning: A multi-unit restaurant operations job management system. Plan, check, and record CCPs with drag-and-drop efficiency.

Pricing

  • Request a quote

GoFrugal

With the Gofrugal Central Kitchen Management System, get ready to cook your way to success, unrivaled profitability, and an outstanding brand reputation.

Plan production, transfer stock across locations, manage franchises, minimize waste, and work with vendors in a seamless manner—an experience that will simplify operations going forward!

Orders, invoices, output, trash, and accounting may all be managed centrally with the help of central kitchen management software.

Use ServQuick - iPad and Web POS to provide your customers with an excellent checkout experience.

The WhatsNow mobile app allows you to carry business reports around in your pocket and access them from anywhere at any time.

Key Features

  • Streamlined Production: Establish a clear production schedule and use resources wisely to ensure smooth operations and uniform quality throughout a variety of outlets.
  • Automate Stock Replenishment: Make effective requests for low-stock goods from the central kitchen and handle them straight from the server with our auto-indent tool.
  • Seamless Franchise Management: With centralized kitchen management, you can oversee several franchises, maintain consistent recipes, and maintain your brand's identity throughout all franchises.

Pricing

  • Request a quote

Supy

Transform any branch into a Central Kitchen and allow your company to use internal ordering. Receive, reject, or modify orders; precisely deplete and replace inventory; and demonstrate stock quantities to other branches.

The platform supports bulk production, accurate stock monitoring, and internal inventory replenishment, improving overall operational efficiency. 

With clear order statuses and enhanced communication, it eliminates the need for manual tracking through calls or emails.

This software is ideal for businesses looking to optimize their kitchen operations and scale seamlessly.

Key Features

  • Dedicated Central Kitchen Module: Set up any branch to function similarly to a central kitchen. Orders are received from branches; stock and predicted stock availability are reviewed; orders are then changed, confirmed, or rejected.
  • Clear Order Statuses: Forget about having to send an email, text, or phone to get an update; instead, schedule your operations and productions according to the anticipated arrival hours.
  • Batch Productions & transfers: Increase your operational efficiency by manufacturing and sending these things in large quantities all at once when demand increases when several branches request the same item at the same time. 

Pricing

  • Basic: $99 / Month
  • Premium: $199 / Month
  • Enterprise

Melba

Melba integrates production scheduling, inventory control, and order management into a unified kitchen management platform that simplifies kitchen operations.

Melba centralizes recipe data and makes it easily shared across several sites, enabling central kitchen workers to maximize productivity, minimize waste, and improve quality control. 

The program is designed for chains of restaurants and caterers who want to enhance customer happiness and attain operational excellence through better central kitchen management.

Key Features

  • Menu Engineering: Set up any branch to function similarly to a central kitchen. Orders are received from branches; stock and predicted stock availability are reviewed; orders are then changed, confirmed, or rejected.
  • Clear Order Statuses: Forget about having to send an email, text, or phone to get an update; instead, schedule your operations and productions according to the anticipated arrival hours.
  • Batch Productions & transfers: Increase your operational efficiency by manufacturing and sending these things in large quantities all at once when demand increases when several branches request the same item at the same time. 

Pricing

  • Starter Offer: €99/month (includes 3 popular modules)
  • Simple (Recipes & Sales): €49/month
  • Premium (Recipes & Sales): €99/month
  • Simple (Stocks & Orders): €49/month
  • Premium (Stocks & Orders): €99/month
  • Simple (Traceability): €49/month
  • Premium (Traceability): €99/month
  • Core (Simple): €49/month
  • API (Simple): €49/month
  • API (Pro): €99/month

HashMicro

HashMicro is a multi-industry software developer that offers apps and software specifically designed for central kitchen management.

Procurement, production scheduling, inventory control, distribution, and other areas of food production operations can all be automated and managed by the program.

HashMicro mostly works with companies in Singapore and Malaysia, but it also serves restaurant chains like Wendy's, food manufacturers, and food service providers with several locations.

Key Features

  • Central Kitchen Reports: Provide statistics and metrics-based reports on kitchen production, sales, deliveries, and billing.
  • Inventory Management for Restaurants: Get alerted when your supply runs short by automatically monitoring the quantity, quality, and expiration date of your inventory.
  • Suppliers Management: Keep track of your inventory costs and supplier contracts, then compare them to find the best deal.

Pricing

  • Contact the vendor.

RestroWorks

Experience the power of central kitchen software to effortlessly move commodities, keep costs under control, and optimize inventory management for restaurant's central kitchen and outlets.

With its technology platform, B2B business Restroworks powers the digital transformation of international restaurant chains, enabling over 20,000 locations in over 50 countries.

Front-of-house, back-of-house, out-of-house/integrations, analytics, and CRM are all streamlined within this intuitive platform.

Restroworks is a reliable partner for well-known companies like Taco Bell, Nando's, Carl's Jr., Häagen-Dazs, and Subway.

It guarantees scalable expansion, enhanced productivity, and a consistent customer experience. Restroworks possesses ISO 27001, ISO 27017, SOC2, and GDPR compliance certifications.

Key Features

  • Streamlined Operations: For effective supply chain management, you can move products between your base kitchen and outlets with ease.
  • Organized Inventory: To guarantee smooth and organized transfer operations with outlets, use the indenting flow.
  • Cost control: Utilize recipe reports to monitor your prices and make cost savings.

Pricing

  • Contact the vendor.

What is Central Kitchen Management Software?

The Central Kitchen Management System is a comprehensive software system tailored exclusively for restaurants with multiple locations.

Any restaurant can effectively handle all necessary operations, such as production planning, automatic stock replenishment, franchise management, waste management, and vendor management, if it has this kitchen management software.

Restaurant procedures are optimized and streamlined by an all-in-one platform, resulting in more seamless and effective business operations.

Who Uses Central Kitchen Management Software and Why?

Central production kitchens enable growing businesses to produce food more effectively for their outlets while maintaining quality and consistency.

These kitchens are used by:

  • Meals truck drivers and caterers who cook meals and offer them somewhere else.
  • Bakers, enterprises that make meals, and other food manufacturers.
  • Chains of restaurants and hotels for batch cooking and preliminary preparation. 
  • Big food service companies as primary production locations.

Why Do Central Kitchens Need A Kitchen Management Software? 

Any restaurant with several outlets has its central kitchen at its center: 

  • It is essential to have a central kitchen management system since it allows for improved resource allocation and cost control while preventing stockouts and waste. 
  • Helps create and oversee standardized recipes so that the quality is maintained throughout all locations.
  • Contributes to the enforcement and monitoring of regulatory compliance, resulting in safer food handling procedures
  • Translates to improved customer happiness, prompt deliveries, and expedited order processing for a stronger reputation for the company.
Benefits of Using A Central Kitchen Management Software

Features to Consider In A Central Kitchen Management Software

Key Features To Consider in a Central Kitchen Management System

Bottomline

Choosing the right software can make all the difference in the complicated world of central kitchen administration, either making it easier to run your business efficiently or making it more difficult.

You should think about which of the available solutions best suits your team, your operational style, and your business model. 

Xenia is the central kitchen management software of choice for major food service businesses. By putting your data at the center of everything, you can simplify difficult tasks and concentrate on what matters—creating consistently excellent food efficiently. 

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