Operator resource · Launch edition

Restaurant Tech Stack Audit Checklist

Use this before you add another restaurant software subscription. The goal is not to buy less tech — it is to make sure each tool has an owner, a workflow, a measurable job, and a clean place in the stack.

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1. Map the stack

List the tools touching sales, labor, inventory, ordering, guest comms, and reporting.

2. Score the work

For each tool, name the job it performs and what would be worse without it.

3. Find the gaps

Flag duplicate entry, missing integrations, unclear owners, and reporting nobody trusts.

Part 1 — Stack inventory

POS and payments: POS, handhelds, online ordering, gift cards, payment processor, chargeback workflow.

Labor: scheduling, time clock, payroll handoff, tip pooling, team communication, manager approvals.

Food cost: inventory, invoice capture, recipe costing, vendor ordering, waste tracking, menu engineering.

Guest demand: reservations, waitlist, loyalty, SMS/email, reviews, local listings, direct ordering.

Reporting: daily sales, labor %, prime cost, channel mix, item profitability, manager scorecards.

Part 2 — Questions before a demo

Question	Why it matters
What exact job will this tool replace, improve, or make measurable?	If the answer is vague, the rollout will become “one more login” instead of an operational improvement.
Which person owns this daily?	Good tools still fail when ownership lives between operations, finance, and managers.
What system does it need to integrate with?	POS, payroll, accounting, inventory, and ordering gaps create manual work and bad reporting.
What data has to stay clean?	Menu items, recipes, staff roles, vendor invoices, guest records, and location rules all decay unless someone maintains them.
What would make us cancel after 90 days?	Define failure before the sales process sets the narrative.

Part 3 — Keep / fix / cut

Keep

Tools with a clear owner, used weekly, tied to margin, hours, guest experience, compliance, or reporting the team trusts.

Fix

Useful tools with dirty data, poor setup, weak training, broken integrations, or reports nobody reviews.

Cut or pause

Tools with duplicate workflows, unclear ROI assumptions, no owner, or value that depends on behavior your team cannot sustain.

Red flag: “AI” is not a use case. Ask what workflow changes, what human still reviews the output, and what happens when the system is wrong.

Part 4 — Vendor fit score

Score 0–2 each	What to look for
Workflow fit	Can staff use it during real service without creating a second process?
Integration clarity	Does the vendor plainly explain what connects, what does not, and who maintains it?
Pricing visibility	Can you estimate all-in cost by location, module, transaction, setup, and support?
Manager visibility	Can managers see adoption, exceptions, and failure states without chasing staff?
90-day proof	Can success be measured with sales, labor, waste, guest, or admin-time indicators?

This checklist is informational, not procurement, legal, accounting, or technology advice. Verify vendor details, pricing, integrations, data handling, and contract terms directly before buying.