According to 7shifts, 30% of restaurants use software in their day-to-day operations — but their “apps don’t talk to each other.”
Now, at first glance, having restaurant software that “doesn’t talk” might not seem like a huge deal. Who cares if you have to use multiple apps to achieve the same results, right?
Not quite.
Why small teams need a connected restaurant software stack
It goes without saying that restaurants work best when they’re fast, efficient, and optimized, operating like a well-oiled machine. But when you run disconnected restaurant software, it prevents your business from reaching that gold standard in seamless operations.
Disjointed restaurant software can create a ton of problems for you, your staff, and your business’s bottom line, including:
- Stock or inventory miscalculations, especially if different people use different counting methods
- Availability inconsistencies between book-offs in your scheduling software and email or text requests
- Reporting errors between the software your staff use to clock in, and the software you use for payroll
- Extra time and labor costs while training staff on multiple different software platforms and/or apps
…and more.
So, a restaurant software stack that stays connected and works together isn’t just a nice-to-have for owners and operators who enjoy tech.
It’s a must-have for restaurants that want a seamless, unified experience from front- to back-of-house and everywhere in between, especially in the long term.
- Check out where we expect restaurant software and tech to go this year in our “5 Biggest Restaurant Technology Trends for 2026” blog!
The core elements of a modern restaurant software stack
| Restaurant Software Category | Why It Matters | Example |
| POS & Payments | This restaurant software is the backbone of your operations. It helps you track all the important money stuff (like sales) while also integrating with other essential restaurant software (like kitchen display systems and ordering/loyalty) for a seamless start-to-finish ordering experience. | Square |
| Kitchen Display System (KDS) | A connected KDS is a key restaurant software for syncing your front- and back-of-house operations. A KDS connected with your POS and ordering/loyalty software creates a streamlined experience from app to counter to kitchen — no need for paper tickets, manual entry, or extra touchscreens. | Fresh KDS |
| Ordering & Loyalty | If you want to boost customer experience, then ordering and loyalty restaurant software is a must. A mobile app that syncs with your POS and KDS offers real-time customer updates and speeds up order flow, while built-in loyalty and push notifications turn one-time guests into regulars. | Craver |
| Team Management | Another vital restaurant software is something for team management. This can help simplify tasks like scheduling while giving your employees an easier way to track hours and tips. It can also make payroll way easier if it’s connected to your accounting software! | 7shifts |
| Accounting & Inventory | Restaurant software for accounting and inventory is the final piece to your stack.Accounting and inventory software that connects to your POS system makes for easy bookkeeping and inventory tracking, while KDS integrations can help with expenses and food cost visibility. | QuickBooks |
- Take your restaurant software to the next level with our “Guide to Finding the Perfect Restaurant Technology Partnership” blog!
3 tips for a stress-free restaurant software stack
1 — Don’t try to change everything at once
If you’re moving away from older software (or even paper systems) toward a more connected restaurant software stack, don’t try to change everything about your restaurant software at once.
You’ll feel stressed trying to switch everything over, your team will feel stressed learning a million new things at once, and any issues that pop up will be hard to solve because you won’t know which new thing is causing the problem.
Take things one step— and one new restaurant software — at a time.
2 — Choose software with reliable support
Upgrading your restaurant software is always exciting, but what happens if things stop working? Or if setup isn’t going according to plan? What about if an integration isn’t integrating?
Issues like these are why you should pick restaurant software with strong customer service options. Before signing up for any new software, check out your support options, test the chatbots, or even call customer service and see how it goes.
It’s important to make sure you can actually get help when you need it!
3 — Designate a tech-savvy “champion”
Everyone on your team should know a bit about your new restaurant software — like what it does and how to use it — but not everyone will have the time to learn everything about it.
That’s why it’s a good idea to designate a “champion” for new restaurant software. This person will essentially “own” the software process, from learning all the nitty-gritty details to teaching the rest of the team how to use it.
One point of expertise can streamline the entire restaurant software experience.
Wrap up
Creating the right restaurant software stack for your business isn’t about having as many apps as you can or buying the fanciest tech on the market.
It’s about choosing restaurant software that works together to do more for your business in the day-to-day, whether that’s streamlining scheduling and ordering or improving accuracy with your inventory and bookkeeping.
Ultimately, you can choose whatever restaurant software you want!
Just make sure it works with each other — and it works for you.
