Restaurant digital tools: where to start, and in what order

Where should a restaurant start with digital tools?

Going digital does not mean buying every piece of software on the market. It means putting the right tools where you lose time or customers: the phone ringing in the middle of service, the paper menu you have to reprint, the customer who cannot find you on Google, the booked table that never shows.

The right method: one tool at a time, starting with those that reach customers before they arrive. Every tool should be used every week. A tool set up and then forgotten costs money and brings nothing back.

This guide is part of our Grow a restaurant series.

In what order should you set up digital tools?

Here is the order we recommend for an independent restaurant. It follows the customer’s path: they search, find you, book, come, then come back. Each step has its tool.

Times are rough estimates for a restaurant starting out with simple tools. They vary with the number of tables and the size of the menu.

Why this order?

Because the first tools feed all the others. A good website points to bookings. Bookings fill your customer list. The customer list lets you send the review request. Reviews reassure people who discover your Google listing. If you start with social media while your listing is out of date and nobody can book, you attract attention that never turns into covers.

What about the till?

The till is not in this ranking: you need it from opening day and, in France, it is subject to a tax rule (see below). Choose it early, and check that it can export your sales for your accountant.

Why start with your Google listing and website?

Before they walk in, most customers type the neighbourhood and “restaurant” into their phone. What they see first is your Google listing: the rating, the photos, the hours, the “Directions” button. An incomplete listing or wrong hours lose you customers without you ever knowing.

• Claim your listing and check the category (for example “French restaurant”, “Pizza restaurant”).
• Enter exact hours, plus special hours for bank holidays and your annual closure.
• Add at least 10 recent photos: the dining room, the front, 5 signature dishes, the team.
• Add your menu (a link to your website or photos of the menu).
• Add your booking link and phone number.

Everything is covered in our Google Business Profile guide, and the menu in adding your menu to your Google listing.

The website: one clear page beats a heavy site

A restaurant website does not need ten pages. It must answer four questions in a few seconds: what can I eat, how much does it cost, when are you open, how do I book. Add the address with a map, photos and your legal information. For real examples, see restaurant website examples.

Avoid a PDF menu on its own: it is hard to read on a phone and Google understands it less well than plain text. Write your dishes and prices as text on the page.

Which online booking system should a restaurant choose?

Online bookings are often the tool that pays for itself fastest: they take bookings while you are in the kitchen, at night, on your day off. There are two main families.

Compare on a simple basis: how many covers are booked online each month, times any commission, against a fixed subscription. Our page on restaurant booking software with no commission walks through the maths.

The settings that matter

• Realistic time slots: leave time to reset tables between sittings.
• An instant confirmation email and a reminder the day before: your main weapon against no-shows.
• A written, visible cancellation policy (see our guide and templates).
• A cap on covers per slot so the kitchen is not swamped.

Google reviews and QR menus: how do they fit into service?

Reviews are like cleaning: a little every week beats one big effort a year. Two habits are enough.

1. Ask. A QR code on the bill or the table, a simple sentence at the end of the meal, an email the next day. Our guide to Google reviews for restaurants gives the words and moments that work.
2. Reply. To every review, good or bad, within a few days. A short, personal reply is enough (see replying to Google reviews).

The QR menu: handy, not compulsory

A QR code on the table that opens your online menu lets you change a price or the dish of the day without reprinting, and offer the menu in several languages. Keep a few paper menus: some customers prefer them, and in France a QR code does not replace the price display required by the rules. Those rules are covered in our guide to mandatory restaurant signs in France.

• The online menu is text, readable on a phone, with prices.
• Allergens are shown (see our allergen chart template).
• The QR code is printed large enough (at least 2 cm across) and tested with two different phones.
• The online menu is updated at the same time as the paper one.

Till systems: what is the rule for restaurants in France?

This is the only rule in this guide that can be expensive to ignore. According to the French tax authority, since 1 January 2018 a business that charges VAT, sells to consumers and records payments in till software or a till system must use secure software, and be able to prove it.

• The proof: a certificate issued by an accredited body for your software. Ask your supplier for it and keep it with your papers.
• The penalty: a €7,500 fine if you cannot show that your software meets the conditions.
• Who is not concerned: among others, businesses under the VAT exemption threshold and those that only sell to other businesses.

Before you sign, ask the seller:

• Is the software certified, and can you send me the certificate?
• Can I export my sales for my accountant, with no hidden fees?
• What happens if the internet goes down during service?
• How much do the card terminal and the per-transaction fees cost?

Rules change: check your situation with your accountant before you buy. Outside France, follow your own country’s rules.

Customer list and emails: what does GDPR require?

Every online booking gives you a name, an email, sometimes a birthday or an allergy. That is valuable for bringing customers back, as long as you follow a few simple rules. Here is what the CNIL, the French data protection authority, says.

• Only ask for what you need. Name and phone or email for the booking: yes. Date of birth or postal address: only if you really use them, and with the customer’s agreement.
• Inform people when you collect data. One sentence under the booking form: who keeps the data, why, for how long, and how to ask for it to be deleted.
• Get consent before a promotional email. A tick box, never pre-ticked. Exception: you may email your customers (people who actually bought from you) about similar offers, if they could say no when you collected their details.
• An unsubscribe link in every message, and your restaurant’s name clearly shown as the sender.
• Clean up. The CNIL recommends deleting an inactive customer’s data 3 years after the end of the business relationship.

Read more in GDPR for small businesses. If you want one place for your customers, our page on restaurant CRM explains what it should do.

Sentence to place under your booking form:

Your details are used to manage your booking and to send you a confirmation and a reminder. They are kept by [restaurant name] and never sold. You can ask for them to be deleted at any time at [email address].

[ ] I agree to receive the restaurant’s news by email (once or twice a month, one-click unsubscribe).

What 90-day plan should you follow, and what mistakes should you avoid?

Here is a realistic plan for a restaurant owner with no time to waste. One block per month, an hour or two a week.

The most common mistakes

• Piling up tools. One app for bookings, another for reviews, a third for the website, a fourth for social media: four passwords, four bills, and information that never connects.
• Forgetting updates. Wrong hours on Google or an out-of-date online menu do more harm than no menu at all.
• Handing everything over without looking. Even if someone does it for you, glance at your reviews and bookings every week.
• Training the team last. Show your waiting staff how to see a booking, move a table, ask for a review. Ten minutes before a service is enough.

Once these basics are in place, AI for restaurants can save you time on writing and review replies, and a 12-month marketing plan helps you keep the pace.

The restaurant owner’s guide

Open, run, grow: each stage has its full guide and detailed guides, with their reading time.

This guide for your trade

• Restaurants
• Bars and cafés
• Restaurant website

Go further

• Grow a restaurant: the complete guide
• Restaurant booking software with no commission
• Restaurant CRM: your customer list
• All-in-one restaurant software
• Restaurant QR menu: the guide
• GDPR for small businesses