The restaurant library
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Practical guides, tool comparisons, and the research behind them. Start with a question, a job, or the name of a tool.
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649 results to explore
- Glossary
Segmentation
Segmentation is dividing your guests into meaningful groups (lapsed regulars, VIPs, first-timers, big spenders) so you can send each the right message instead of blasting everyone the same thing.
- Glossary
Self-order kiosk
A self-order kiosk is a customer-facing touchscreen where guests place and pay for their own order without a cashier, freeing staff and prompting add-ons every time.
- Glossary
Sentiment analysis
Sentiment analysis is using AI to automatically score whether reviews, messages, and social posts are positive, negative, or neutral, and to surface the themes behind them.
- Glossary
Service charge
A service charge is a mandatory amount, usually a set percentage, that a restaurant adds to the check, distinct from a voluntary tip the guest chooses.
- Glossary
SMS marketing
SMS marketing is sending promotional and transactional text messages, from offers to table-ready alerts, to guests who have opted in to receive them.
- Glossary
Star rating
A star rating is the aggregate 1-to-5 score a restaurant carries on a review platform, the single number a diner (and increasingly an AI assistant) sees first.
- Glossary
Table turn time
Table turn time is the average time a party occupies a table from seating to when it is cleared and ready for the next party.
- Glossary
Third-party delivery
Third-party delivery is order fulfillment through a marketplace app like DoorDash or Uber Eats that brings you demand in exchange for a commission on each order, typically 15 to 30 percent.
- Glossary
Ticket time
Ticket time is the elapsed time from when an order is fired to when it is completed, the core measure of how fast the kitchen turns tickets during service.
- Glossary
Tip pooling
Tip pooling is combining some or all of the staff's tips into a single pot and redistributing it by a set formula, rather than each worker keeping only what they were tipped directly.
- Glossary
Upselling
Upselling is prompting a guest to add to or upgrade their order (a side, a drink, a larger size, a dessert) at the moment they are deciding, lifting the average check.
- Glossary
Virtual brand
A virtual brand is a delivery-only menu concept run out of an existing restaurant's kitchen, sold under a different name purely to reach more customers online.
- Glossary
Voice AI
Voice AI is software that answers phone calls or drive-thru orders in a natural spoken conversation, understanding what a caller wants and responding without a human on the line.
- Glossary
Void
A void is the cancellation of an item or a check on the POS before it is paid, a routine correction that is also one of the most common ways cash and product quietly go missing.
- Glossary
Waitlist
A waitlist is the ordered queue of walk-in guests waiting for a table, now usually run digitally so parties can be quoted an honest wait and texted the moment their table is ready.
- Glossary
Walk-in
A walk-in is a guest who arrives without a reservation hoping to be seated; the same word also names the walk-in cooler, the room-sized refrigerator where a kitchen stores stock.
- Glossary
Webhook
A webhook is an automated message one app sends another the moment an event happens, such as a new order, so systems stay in sync in real time.
- Glossary
Win-back campaign
A win-back campaign is automated email or SMS outreach that re-engages guests who have stopped coming, before they are lost for good.
- Calculators
Restaurant name generator
Generate brandable restaurant name ideas, each with a matching web domain and its availability.
- Templates
Restaurant menu template
Create a restaurant menu with your own dishes, descriptions, and prices, then print or save it as a PDF.
- Templates
Restaurant business plan template
Write a restaurant business plan section by section, with sales and break-even estimates from your own numbers, then print it or save a PDF.
- Calculators
Restaurant startup cost calculator
Estimate what it costs to open a restaurant: an opening budget with contingency and a cash reserve, compared per seat and per square foot with what independent owners spent.
- Calculators
Recipe cost calculator
Cost a recipe ingredient by ingredient, with unit conversions and trim or cooking loss, to get the cost per portion and a suggested menu price.
- Calculators
Menu pricing calculator
Turn plate cost and a target food cost percentage into a suggested menu price.