The importance of efficient management in a restaurant: balancing costs, margins, and experience
Running a restaurant is much more than cooking well. It’s about balancing creativity with discipline, flavour with profitability, and emotion with method.
In a sector where margins are tight and competition fierce, efficient management is what separates a successful business from one that merely survives.
Everything starts with controlling operational costs.
A healthy restaurant knows exactly how much it spends and earns, not only in absolute values but as a percentage of total sales.
The ideal benchmarks are clear:
• Food cost (ingredients): between 28% and 35% (linked article)
• Staff costs: between 25% and 30% (linked article)
• General expenses: up to 15% of revenue
When one of these indicators goes off balance, it’s a sign that financial stability needs to be recalibrated.
Small adjustments, such as reviewing suppliers, optimising recipes, or adjusting prices, can recover lost margins.
Inventory is another critical and often undervalued point. Idle stock means idle money, and waste is a silent enemy of profitability.
Carrying out regular inventories and using digital systems integrated with the POS allows you to know what comes in, what goes out, and what is lost.
Automation brings immediate benefits:
• Less waste
• More accurate purchasing
• Better cash flow control
• Stronger supplier negotiations
With this information, managers make decisions based on data, not instinct.
When it comes to menu pricing, balance between perception and margin is key.
If a dish costs €4 to make and you aim for a 70% margin, it should be priced at around €13.30.
However, the final price also depends on the restaurant’s positioning: a more upscale atmosphere with premium service and experience allows for higher margins.
The essential point is to analyse each menu item individually, knowing its cost, margin, and impact on total sales.
Staff costs represent both the heart and the heaviest part of operations.
It’s crucial to align service quality with productivity. Scheduling shifts according to demand peaks, creating versatile teams, and promoting continuous training are fundamental.
Motivation also has a financial impact: a valued team makes fewer mistakes, provides better service, and sells more. Here, management is synonymous with leadership.
All of this converges towards a single goal: protecting margins and ensuring profitability.
Managing margins isn’t just about cutting costs, it’s about knowing where every euro is invested and what return it generates.
Efficient restaurants:
• Know the margin of each dish
• Track the average ticket per customer
• Adjust menus according to demand
• Eliminate low-profit items
• Monitor results in real time
And this is precisely where technology makes the difference.
ZPOS, a specialist in mobility operations and integrated point-of-sale solutions, has created an ecosystem designed for modern restaurants.
With ZPOS, you can implement certified invoicing systems, payment terminals, and management tools, all synchronised in real time.
This allows managers to:
• View margins per product
• Automatically control stock
• Access instant financial reports
• Forecast purchases and correct deviations before they impact results
More than just a tool, it’s a silent partner that transforms data into decisions, and decisions into results.
Running a restaurant is, ultimately, the art of uniting passion and precision. It’s knowing that every choice, from supplier selection to team training, from dish pricing to recipe control, directly influences success.And when that passion is supported by technology and strategic vision, the result is a solid, profitable, and scalable business.
Because today, in hospitality, good management is the most valuable ingredient of all.
👉 Contact us at comercial@zpos.pt or call +351 937 817 997 (national mobile call) to discover how ZPOS can transform your business.
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