It seems that every restaurant manager position comes with the guarantee of 10-hour shifts,  work on weekends and holidays, and a never-ending stream of front-of-house and back-of-house problems to solve. In addition to these responsibilities, managers are usually expected to put in several hours a week of back-office tasks that keep them from overseeing their staff and checking in on their guests.

But technology is changing that story. Managers can now take advantage of tools that enable them to complete administrative work in minutes rather than hours. From creating accessible cloud-based schedules to authorizing approvals anywhere, managers can now run their restaurants easily with technology that works together, rather than struggling with Excel spreadsheets and disjointed legacy POS systems.

In fact, in a 2030 industry report, the National Restaurant Association noted, "Technology will automate traditional tasks. Everything from inventory management to scheduling, payroll, taxes and bill reconciliation will be more automated in the restaurant of the future."

To help restaurants take advantage of this technology, SpotOn has created the Manager Toolkit—a series of short playbooks that provide practical guidance on setting up and using SpotOn's manager-specific tools effectively.

“Dolce by SpotOn provides a bunch of key metrics, like forecasted labor percentage. In the past, you would take a pen and pencil to figure it out. Now all you have to do is make a schedule and metrics populate on a day-by-day basis. It saves nearly two and a half hours most work days.” –Lino Suazo, General Manager, The Bungalow Kitchen

What's in the Manager Toolkit?

While SpotOn offers a comprehensive set of hardware and software solutions for every aspect of your restaurant, the Manger Toolkit focuses on the topics and tools that are important to managers.

• Capital. Restaurants need money to move forward. See if your establishment qualifies for hassle-free and transparent financing that could enable you to expand your seating capacities, buy industrial-grade equipment, or invest in the latest restaurant POS software.
• Reviews. Engaging with customers online is critical to developing your restaurant's reputation and guest experience. Learn how to not only stay on top of your guests' online feedback but also use that feedback to effectively make operational improvements by streamlining the review process from a single dashboard.
• Labor. Keeping your staff coordinated is a major part of your job. Discover how a POS integrated labor management solution can enable you to quickly create employee schedules, manage payroll, and automatically distribute tips.

Coming soon.

• Authorizations. As a manager, you're constantly having to give authorizations at POS terminals. Find out how cloud-based technology can enable you to securely give approvals right from your phone—anytime, anywhere.
• Reporting. Finding the right data you need at the right time is critical to making daily decisions. Who are your top-performing team members? What are today's best-selling items? When are your busiest times of the week? Get fast answers to these questions, and more, through your reporting dashboard.
• Employee self-service. Empowering your staff to access their profile and manage schedules makes your job easier. Enable your team members to swap or pick up shifts, view payroll data, and message management—all from an app on their phones.

Get out of the back office and back on the floor.

When software automates admin tasks, managers can spend less time doing desk work and more time with their guests. But it's not just time you get back—it's the peace of mind that comes with knowing you have the tools and support to keep your operations running smoothly at all times. Managers are the core of a restaurant's daily operations. And when technology takes care of the administrative work, restaurant managers can get back to managing and making their guests' experiences exceptional.