How a mobile app helps manage restaurant orders

11-09-24Read Time: 10 min

Paper menus, phone reservations, and printed receipts – all of these components of traditional restaurant service are becoming a thing of the past. Modern restaurants and cafes are moving more and more services online – not only ordering food for delivery, but also electronic menus, table reservations, smartphone payments, loyalty cards and much more. The optimal tool for realizing such opportunities is a mobile restaurant application. Visitors download the application to their smartphones and can enjoy all the benefits of mobile service while visiting the restaurant and ordering online.

Restaurant order management functionality in the mobile application

The application for restaurant business is not only a user-friendly interface, but also a multifunctional administrative panel that allows you to automate workflows and easily manage orders, reservations, payments, customers.

Menu Editor

The administrator uses the Editor to manage the electronic menu – adding and deleting categories, filling in dish pages, uploading photos, updating descriptions, adjusting prices. Changes made are immediately reflected in the user menu, so the catalog is always up to date.

Order Processing

The Order Management section displays the list of customer requests, divided into delivery to an address, ordering at an institution, and self-delivery. The table contains the customer’s data, online payment status, table number or delivery address. The system automatically creates a queue of orders and forwards them to cooks, administrators, waiters for processing.

Table Reservation Management

The administrator determines table availability and accepts reservation requests from customers. The interactive map clearly displays the occupancy of each table, the time and duration of the reservation, pre-booking information, and individual customer requests. If necessary, the administrator immediately closes tables and limits reservations.

Loyalty Program Tools

The mobile application is used to implement a loyalty program – bonus system, cashback, personalization of offers, etc. The set of mechanisms to be used by the restaurant is agreed upon at the stage of mobile application development. Within the selected systems and basic settings, the administrator independently manages the parameters of the loyalty program – sets discounts, launches personalized push mailings, and defines promotional dishes in accordance with the marketing strategy.

Integrations

A mobile application is not a standalone program that exists independently from other services. The application is integrated with the website, CRM system, accounting programs, POS systems for cafe and restaurant automation – Syrve, Poster and other software for running a restaurant business. This allows to optimize work processes and ensure synchronous operation of all platforms. Examples of integration:

• Automatic real-time updating of menus on the website and in the app;
• Synchronize orders from all locations;
• Maintain a single customer base in the CRM system and mobile application;
• Transfer online payment data to accounting programs.

Reporting and Statistics

The mobile application becomes a unique tool for collecting statistics, reporting and maintaining analytics to optimize and improve marketing strategy. Analyzing real numbers of orders, customers and payments provides valuable insights and knowledge:

• Loyalty program effectiveness;
• Portrait of the target group;
• Popularity of dishes;
• Seasonality of demand;
• Effectiveness of pricing policy;
• The ratio of in-store, self-checkout, and delivery orders;
• Busiest hours;
• Average check;
• Average length of visit;
• User participation in the application;
• Staff efficiency.

Different levels of access

Each user group has a different level of access:

• Managers receive and process orders;
• Waiters and kitchen staff see the queue of incoming orders;
• Admins edit menus and application content;
• The marketing department adjusts the terms of the loyalty program;
• Accounting has access to online payment statistics.

The manager gets a complete picture – statistics, reports, data on the work of each department, effectiveness of marketing strategy implementation, financial indicators.

Mobile application interface for restaurant visitors

Visitors get a convenient mobile interface with everything they need to enjoy quality service – electronic menu, order and reservation buttons, online payment, bonus account and other useful options. The QR code to access the mobile application is placed on tables, promotional materials, the restaurant’s website and social networks so that new visitors can log in and start using it at the right time.

Interactive electronic menu

The mobile application creates a section of the electronic menu with photos, prices, rating of dishes and drinks. Each item has a unique description, list of ingredients, calories and other characteristics. A short video can be added to each dish for more attractive presentation. The menu is designed as a convenient catalog with the ability to filter items by category or composition, search by keywords, sort by price, and add selected dishes to the shopping cart. New products, discounted items, special offers are specially marked or placed in a separate section. The customer can add a dish to favorites to return to it later.

Order placement: at the facility, pick-up, delivery

A visitor can place an order in two ways – by calling a waiter using a special button in the app, or by ordering selected dishes from the electronic menu. An online order from the app reaches the administrator immediately and is automatically sent to the kitchen with the table number and payment status. Dishes for takeaway and delivery are ordered in the same way. The customer selects the desired items from the electronic menu, pays online and specifies the method of receiving the order. The smartphone receives a confirmation, the application tracks the status of execution – ready, on the way, arrived, received. All processes are automated, the user receives services with a few clicks.

Online Payment

The mobile application integrates with secure electronic payment services, allowing customers to pay for orders directly from a smartphone by manually entering card details or using Apple Pay and Google Pay. The system automatically generates invoices that can be shared among multiple diners. After payment, the customer receives an electronic receipt. Modern acquiring systems ensure complete security of online payments and confidentiality of users’ payment data. The functionality allows for partial or full payment of orders with rewards, if required by the loyalty program.

Table Reservations and Room Rentals

A separate section with an interactive diagram of the room is created in the mobile app for booking tables. The user selects convenient seats, specifies the time and number of guests required, makes a pre-order and, if necessary, makes a reservation. The restaurant administration receives the request, can manage the reservation, set up automatic or manual confirmation of the request. The application can also provide the possibility of renting an entire room online for an event or celebration – the user checks the calendar of available dates and leaves a request. The administrator provides feedback and discusses the details.

Push Notifications

The option of push notifications allows you to keep in touch with your customers – notify them when their orders are ready, offer them discounts, inform them about new menu items and changes in the restaurant, invite them to take part in promotions, remind them about incomplete payments, etc. Pop-up messages attract users and encourage them to return to the application.

Personal Cabinet

All stages of the client’s interaction with the institution are reproduced in the personal cabinet. In addition to the user’s personal and contact data, it stores the history of orders and payments, previous and next reservations, favorite dishes, bonus account, support chat and help section. The structure of the personal account is similar to the mobile online store, but adapted to the specifics of restaurant services.

Bonus Account and Cashback

A personal rewards account is created in myAlpari, with automatic accrual of rewards or cashback from each payment. Accumulated points can be used to partially pay for orders, exchange them for discounts or purchase certain promotional dishes. The customer can see the history of bonus accruals and expenditures and manage his virtual savings independently.

Customer Support Chat

Asking a question, writing a thank-you note, or lodging a complaint can all be done through a special form in the mobile application. If a restaurant does not have the resources to organize permanent operator support, an artificial intelligence chatbot is launched to answer frequently asked questions and, if necessary, forward complex requests to the administrator.

News Section

The News section publishes announcements of cultural and entertainment events, concerts, parties that take place in the restaurant. The events page includes a form for quick table reservation or online ticket purchase. You can also use the news section to announce menu updates, the launch of promotions, the opening of new branches, job openings, and other useful information.

Why it pays to manage restaurant orders with a mobile app

Increase visitor loyalty

A convenient mobile tool for choosing dishes, placing orders, making payments and participating in promotions is an ideal opportunity to satisfy a demanding customer, increase the trust of the audience and raise your rating against your competitors. In today’s realities, having a branded application is an absolute plus for a restaurant’s image, a sign of respectability and professional care for customers.

Increase in sales, increase in the average check

The mobile application simplifies the process of selecting dishes and placing orders, which positively impacts user activity and increases user engagement. A structured, interactive menu combined with attractive promotions encourages customers to add more items to their order, increasing the average check.

Improve customer service efficiency

The automated order management system minimizes the human factor, reduces the probability of errors and confusion, increases the accuracy of each team member’s work. The staff works more coherently and efficiently, the workload of waiters, cooks and managers is optimized, control is simplified, downtime and irrational working hours are reduced.

Customer retention and return, building a loyal audience

The mobile application becomes a “restaurant in a smartphone” for users, where they can place an order, have it delivered, pay for it, and ask questions of the management. Periodically, the application reminds you with push notifications, makes attractive personalized offers, invites you to return to the restaurant and offers a pleasant reward. Such an unobtrusive but effective reminder allows you to retain your existing audience and bring back past visitors. The bonus system and other loyalty program tools implemented in the application also contribute to customer retention.

Broad analytical capabilities

The mobile application analyzes the behavior of visitors in the application, collects figures of orders and payments, generates statistical reports on various parameters. This information helps to find errors in the management and organization of processes, to identify reserves for increasing profits and business development, to establish communication mechanisms with the audience and to optimize the pricing policy. In terms of analytical base, one mobile application can replace several programs for accounting of payments, clients and orders.

Powerful tools for loyalty program development

A mobile application allows for close communication with the customer, so it can become an excellent platform for launching promotions, introducing a bonus and cashback system, and creating personalized offers. Marketers have a wide scope for professional creativity and idea generation, while the mobile application takes care of all the routine technical components – it automates processes, makes calculations, launches mailings and communicates with the audience.

Our KitApp team offers complete solutions for the rapid launch of mobile applications for cafes and restaurants – platforms with customization, personal design and optimized functionality. Leave a request on the website and get more information about our mobile products for the hospitality industry.