Starting a restaurant is easy; keeping one running in a sea of competition is the real challenge. A staggering 90% of restaurants fail in the first year.
Know what is the most common thing they all lack? Operational excellence.
By studying and scrutinizing various interviews of different medium-to-high volume restaurant owners and managers, we figured out that the restaurant prosperity formula is not only the food(although it's also important). It is more about leadership management, training, and accountability.
What’s the starting point that would make everything convenient and standardized? Checklists! Checklists! Checklists.
According to restaurant experts, they are key criticals that you’ve got to have in place to ensure that you are scaling your business.
And if you’re thinking, “Well, I’ve tried checklists before and they just didn’t stick,” don’t throw in the towel so soon!
The trouble is, your checklists probably didn’t stick because they were too complex, or didn’t meet your needs.
If you're a restaurant owner still relying on paper checklists to run your day-to-day operations, then you're feeling the pain now more than ever. You know what I'm talking about -- you're scribbling on a greasy clipboard, trying to keep track of countless tasks and deadlines. This is the path to overwork, and it's no wonder you feel drained and unproductive.
Fortunately, there is a more optimal alternative: digital checklists. By converting your checklists into digital formats, you can have more trustworthy and interactive ones. What’s more, it’s a perfect method to become eco-friendly. Not only is it reliable and interactive, you can save the environment by going digital.
Paper checklists are a surefire disaster: inefficiency, mistakes, and headaches galore! And the last thing you need is one more headache -- a surprise audit, or a customer's angry Tweet about food poisoning.
The question isn't whether you can afford a digital checklist. It's whether you can afford not to have one.
When you have an excellent set of management skills and a trustworthy staff that knows and follows the SOPs of your restaurant, you can leave your restaurant without worrying about who will run your restaurant for you.
How does it work? Let’s find out in this post.
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Available for up to 5 users
Premium for $99/month for the first 20 users (with free trial period)
Available on iOS, Android and Web
What is Restaurant Checklist Software?
For a restaurant, getting everything right is critical. When a restaurant isn't on top of its game, the health department, the customers, or the bottom line will let you know about it.
The restaurant checklist software automates the tedious process of checklist management by providing features such as customizable templates, task assignments, and tracking, notifications in real-time, analytics for performance, and reports.
As a shift manager, have you ever assigned a task to a team member, only to find out that their definition of "clean" doesn't quite match yours? For instance, you ask someone to clean the bathroom, and they report back saying it's done, but when you inspect, you find standing water on the sink and water spots on the mirror. You're left thinking, "This is not clean!"
You know the panic feeling when you’re in trouble. That one thing can throw the whole of your day into a negative spiral.
This gap tends to happen when we think others share our cleanliness standards. This assumption can cause misunderstandings and mediocre work. You only write clean bathroom and don't share what that means to you. So the employee only cleaned the bathroom enough so it appeared clean from the door. But that’s not good enough.
You need to bridge this gap by being more specific and detailed in your instructions.
Digital checklist software provides in-depth cleanliness checklists and templates, connected with areas as well as standard operating procedures (SOPs) resulting in consistency. Using this software helps us create a sure and concise guide to your restaurant cleaning tasks.
But that’s not all why restaurant managers are opting for tech-stack. Let’s find out the more areas where it helps.
Why do Managers Need Restaurant Checklist Software?
- Optimize Workflow to Boost Productivity
As Google reports, technology boosts their business operations with 75% of restaurateurs.
One substantial factor of this technology is digital checklists, guaranteeing that every process is accurately inputted such as inventory checks or cleaning procedures, reducing mistakes and redundancies, streamlining your restaurant’s operations, and ultimately leading restaurants to be made more effective as a whole.
The inclusion of digital checklists in your daily workflow can improve time management, streamline team communication, and increase accountability. Shift leads can assign tasks simply and specifically, track progress in real-time, reduce mistakes and misunderstandings, and obtain more time to focus on what truly matters - serving your customers!
- Ensure Consistent Standards across all Locations
Imagine a busy night at your restaurant, with orders flying into the kitchen left and right.
Without a system in place, it’s easy for things to go wrong – a forgotten ingredient, a missed food safety check, an overlooked chore.
However, by using digital checklists, GMs can create a consistent framework of doing precisely the same things, shift after shift, via a cloud-based platform.
Unannounced restaurant food safety inspections, also known as "for-cause" inspections, are occasionally conducted by the USDA, FDA, or local food and health departments.
When a foodborne illness outbreak, complaint from a consumer, or product recall occurs, these inspections may be triggered.
Digital checklists can help you prepare for these unannounced inspections by guaranteeing that your restaurant is always in compliance with food safety regulations.
Digital checklists make it possible for you to swiftly show that your restaurant has a robust in-place food safety program, decreasing the potential of fines, closures, or reputation damage.
- Increased Accountability
Digital checklists can significantly improve staff communication and accountability by providing real-time updates and effectively tracking task completions.
As a result, everyone is on the same page which minimizes misinterpretations and guarantees that duties are being met.
For example, As an area manager you receive a report of an inventory discrepancy at one of your restaurant branches (let’s say #1534).
You race to the scene, only to find no traces of damaged goods within the kitchen. Puzzled, you’re left to wonder what could be happening.
Thankfully, with restaurant checklist software, you have a potent tool to quickly pinpoint and solve the problem. You can quickly log in to your centralized dashboard and instantly assess the real-time situation.
You’ll have access to accurate inventory stock data right at your fingertips, enabling you to zero in on the problem in no time at all.
But, there's more - digital checklists also allow you to efficiently monitor progress, enabling you to quickly identify employee theft. This way, you can keep things running smoothly, even on your busiest nights. Plus, with real-time updates, you can stay on top of things, even when you're not in the kitchen.
- Cut Labor Cost
Restaurants can have a high-cost factor in labor that can account for up to 30% of a restaurant's expenses.
One particular hardship is managing overtime. Overtime can accumulate fast and lead to a loss in profits. Many restaurants do not have a clear view of their labor hours and staffing levels therefore making it challenging to optimize their labor force and costs.
Digital checklists enable restaurants to manage their labor costs and improve profitability.
A manager can analyze the numbers and decide to add an extra person to the schedule during peak hours or revise schedules to avoid paying overtime. By fully understanding costs and schedules, a restaurant can increase profitability and reinvest in its future.
How to Choose the Right Restaurant Checklist Software?
Your selection of a restaurant checklist app can have a major impact on how efficiently and successfully your restaurant runs. With so many choices on the market, it can be challenging to make the right decision.
Here are 5 crucial things to consider when selecting the best restaurant checklist app for your restaurant.
- User-Friendliness
Make sure your team gets everything they need with instant access to every critical checklist, job, training, and more. So instead of worrying about staying accountable and getting behind, you can focus on giving your guests the extraordinary experience they deserve.
Make sure your restaurant checklist software has an uncomplicated layout and is easy to navigate. It should be simple enough to use that even if you have someone who isn't too tech-savvy, they're still able to navigate without any hiccups.
By making it user-friendly, you’ll find your team is adopting the app and using it effectively, which is key for the most successful restaurant operations.
- Customization
Choose an application that enables you to edit and modify your checklists simply as per the need without requiring any specialized knowledge or expensive modifications. It gives you and your team the ability to consistently improve.
This further ensures that your checklists stay always relevant and effective as your restaurant evolves.
Hence it significantly reduces the effort required for this task and also decreases time to react. When menu items change, staff, or operational procedures, your checklists will continue to support your restaurant’s flawless execution.
- Real-Time Updates
As a shift lead, you should receive instant alerts when tasks are completed or overdue, track progress identify bottlenecks in workflows, and keep team members informed and accountable.
This ensures you can quickly respond to problems and deviations from standard operating procedures, improving collaboration and communication across teams and locations.
Make sure the software you choose includes customizable notification settings, so you can receive updates and alerts tailored to your needs and preferences.
- Integrations
The software you decide upon for your restaurant’s checklist must be able to smoothly synchronize with other software systems that you are already using in your restaurant like your inventory management software and your scheduling tools.
This synchronization is key to having a smooth and efficient workflow because it allows for the sharing of data and functionality across systems. For instance, your checklist app can automatically sync with your POS system to update, menu items, pricing, and inventory levels meaning your staff has the most up-to-date information.
- Data Security
Make sure your app meets rigorous security standards and uses sophisticated techniques like encryption, two-factor authentication, and compliance with data protection policies to protect your private information.
This is important.
Why?
Strict compliance with data protection regulations like the GDPR and HIPAA guarantees strict policies are implemented for handling and storing private information, with features such as secure data storage, access controls, and breach response plans.
From Chaos to Control: How Xenia Restaurant Checklist Software Save Managers’ Time and Hassle?
Xenia is an operative execution software that empowers multi-unit restaurant operators with control, visibility, and an interconnected approach between their restaurants to maintain exceptional customer experience as well as high food safety protocols.
Whether this is your first checklist app or your tenth, this restaurant checklist software works for teams of all sizes. Available on Android and Apple products, the app is created to knock out checklists and tasks with speed.
How does Xenia make restaurant GM's life easier?
Glad you asked!
How does Xenia make the life of a restaurant GM easier?
Great question!
Shift Leads and Managers have a lot going on. From ensuring their teams are executing their work efficiently to assisting Field and Team Leads in auditing and CAPA / roll-out SOPs, the list goes on.. but Xenia helps in all of these areas.
- Customized Checklists & Templates
Whether it’s restaurant opening or closing checklists, HACCP logs, or anything in between, the checklist builder and template library have everything you need to get started. You'll be up and running in minutes, not days!
Not to mention, these digital checks include features like unlimited step types, publicly accessible URLs, media attachments, and conditional logic.
Well, what does that mean for you?
Let's say you're using HACCP logs, and you see that the chicken isn't cooked enough. You can assign the task to the right employee, asking for immediate corrective action. For example, automated log alerts will make sure your management team knows about undercooked chicken anywhere in the company.
This helps your team members do their jobs better, save time, and make your whole operation better, all day.
- Brand Standrad Audits
If your premises aren’t clean during a brand-standard audit, the result can be devastating. You can fail the audit, damage your brand, and even lose customers.
However, the consolidated dashboard view of this restaurant checklist app aids General Managers by identifying trends and areas for improvement so they can tackle them before they become a big problem. That way, you can coach and train your staff more efficiently, ensure your brand standards are met, and handily combine all your audits into one simple audit.
Additionally, using your phone or tablet, you can complete digital food safety compliance checklists or SOPs for HACCP and GFSI, which will be eternally recorded in the cloud so that when it’s time to get re-certified, the app will put you right where you left off.
- Record Keeping
As a shift lead, you are accountable for any task and SOP that is finished, but let’s be honest: manual, written reminders are not fun. It is easy to lose track of work in binders, to forget what you should do and what you have already done.
Nevertheless, the document management feature of the app makes it easy to keep track of your team's work.
Users can easily assess completion rates, find areas for improvement, and go date-by-date or day-by-day with no trouble doing all of those things.
And the best part? With the calendar layout in recurring projects, shift managers can scan past efforts and see spots where things aren't getting done.
- Real-Time Collaboration
As a manager, you're no stranger to escalation policies - we're talking texts, messages, and email threads galore! But let's be real, it can get overwhelming trying to keep track of everything. Xenia simplifies the process and makes it easier to manage incidents from start to finish.
So, what do you do when something bad happens? Log in to the relevant checklist and get to work. Report the incident, take pictures, and even escalate it to your owners with a few clicks. And everyone is automatically looped in – rest easy knowing all your stakeholders are in the know.
- Measure Performance Metrics on Mobile
But wait, there's more – the AI Assistant for Sops goes far beyond restaurant teams, it also supports field your field staff, built specifically for district managers, regional managers, and franchise business consultants.
In your line of work, you understand that it can be frustrating to spend hours on tedious tasks like restaurant audits. You would prefer to work on pushing growth and success, but the paperwork and numbers are keeping you back.
The platform lets you focus on what you’re best at. Find problems, see progress, and build solutions with mobile dashboards and real-time metrics at your fingertips. You’ll save days of work, weeks of waiting, and hours of frustration. Instead of being crippled, you’ll be able to take giant steps towards big goals.
Summing it Up
Running a restaurant is a juggling act in itself, what if you had a tool to make things easier? Restaurant checklist software has proven to reduce operational costs, improve customer satisfaction, and provide data-driven insights.
And with the global Restaurant Management Software market booming( is expected to exceed $4819.6 in 2029), it’s the perfect time to get on board.
Streamline Food Safety, Maintenance and Daily Operations with Xenia
Xenia unifies food and beverage operations with tools to standardize, track and measure work across every team, asset and facility.
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Our customers love Xenia's robust use cases including:
Food Safety Management
🌡️ Automatic Temperature Monitoring
Xenia leverages temperature sensors that utilize both Bluetooth and LoRaWAN technology to transmit data reliably to your Xenia account. The monitors work continuously in a range of 40°C to 125°C and an accuracy of +/- 0.4°C. When an temperature deviates from a pre-set acceptable range, management is notified to investigate and resolve.
🔎 Smart Inspection Workflows
Xenia's operations template builder has built in conditional logic into each step. This allows you to trigger actions based on a form response such as creating a corrective action on a failed inspection step, sending a notification to management for out of range meter readings, and much more.
✨ Corrective Actions
Operationalize inspections with fast work order assignment arising from a failed inspection step. All corrective data is stored in the checklist submission for auditing and accountability.
📋 Compliance Reports
View live dashboard summaries of tasks, employee performance, template submissions and more. Filter, organize and export compliance reports to PDF and Excel formats to simplify compliance management.
Maintenance Management
🛠️ Work Orders
Create work orders with associated team, asset, location, priority, category and due date. View live progress reports on each work order, chat with teams, and review resulting template submission, images and notes to improve operations.
🧰 Preventive Maintenance
Create a preventive maintenance calendar to ensure asset uptime is not compromised. Attach images, templates, videos and notes to every task and assign to a team or individual for completion.
📲 QR Codes
Generate and attach QR codes to equipment and facility locations to enable fast and accurate inspections and data logs.
📁 Equipment Work History
View work history for every asset and sub asset in Xenia. Review performance data and enable corrective actions to improve your operation.
Daily Operations
✔️ Checklists & SOPs
Create checklists, SOPs, Inspections and Data Logs to power accountability, training and staff clarity on every task.
📆 Recurring Tasks
Create recurring schedules for review meetings, inspections, cleanings and more.
💪 Team Accountability
Defeat pencil whipping and disorganized responsibility assessments by standardizing operations with Xenia. Track time, collect photos, send messages and ensure high quality work.
📊 Team Performance Reporting
Use Xenia's analytics dashboards to view staff work reports. Filter by asset, location, category or due date and export the report in PDF or Excel
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