How Adopting Technology Helped Restaurants Survive and Thrive During the Pandemic
Restaurants and other hospitality businesses were among the hardest hit during the pandemic, and even as infection and hospitalization rates wane, many consumers are hesitant about returning to their pre-pandemic activities. Despite these challenges, businesses have managed to survive and thrive with the help of innovative technologies like Toast, a restaurant-only software solution that addresses point of sale, restaurant operations, kitchen dashboards, online ordering and delivery, and marketing. Though created years before COVID-19 as a means for improving operations, the product has helped restaurants large and small to adapt, minimize contact, improve overall service, and boost profitability.
Born in 2012 in the bars, restaurants, and cafes of Boston, Toast started as an app that eliminated the need to wait for a check. It allowed customers to start a tab and link it directly to their credit card. From there it grew into a comprehensive system that provided Android tablets that servers could carry with them and use to enter orders as well as process payments. The idea was that mobile technology would avoid the need for expensive in-house hardware and software systems. It would cut training time for staff, thus saving valuable money for owners. It also saved servers steps, thus allowing them to assume responsibility for more tables and grow their earnings while providing clients with better service. Finding a way to avoid running back and forth between the table and a terminal to place orders or process payments was a win for everybody. But that was just the beginning.
Because Toast relies on open-source Android technology, the system continued expanding. By the end of 2015 its functions included payroll, inventory management, and multi-location menu controls. it was being used by thousands of restaurants across the country. Then the pandemic struck, and though its founders feared that their single-minded focus on the restaurant industry might mean the end of their successful venture, when restaurants reopened their doors they realized that their product’s flexibility meant they could add new functions in response to the virus. They developed contactless ordering and mobile payments, curbside notifications for takeout, and flat-fee deliveries that limited contact between servers and diners.
According to Perry Quinn, senior vice president of business innovation development for the National Restaurant Association, businesses that adopted a digital presence were the ones that were able to emerge from the pandemic and survive where others closed their doors. “One restaurant I know of, within about four days in March, pivoted to more digital. They turned it on and had 250 orders that day,” he said. “Those that embraced and got in front of the digital side of this, whether it's email, web, mobile, online ordering, etcetera, really hit the ground running as it related to just extending their services to their existing customers.”
Though the slow waning of the virus’s worst effects has calmed fears about signing checks and dining in, the advantages of these innovations have remained, boosting profits and efficiency in restaurants. Establishments that have adopted Toast often have QR codes printed on their receipt, allowing diners who have finished their meal to simply scan the code and pay directly instead of waiting for their server to arrive and process their credit card. That type of convenience is memorable, and brings diners back. The technology is returning to its original mission of improving operations for diners, owners, and staff alike.
Sign up for our newsletter.
Each month, we will send you a roundup of our latest blog content covering the tax and bookkeeping tips & insights you need to know.
We care about the protection of your data.
Junglebooks Affiliate Program
Why Partner with Us?
With years of experience and a team of certified professionals, we deliver exceptional results to our clients.
-
Industry-Leading Expertise
-
Our firm is a leader in the accounting industry, providing comprehensive services that include tax preparation, bookkeeping, financial planning, and business consulting. With years of experience and a team of certified professionals, we deliver exceptional results to our clients.
-
Attractive Commissions
-
We value our affiliates and offer competitive commission rates for every client you refer who signs up for our services. The more clients you refer, the more you earn.
-
Comprehensive Support
-
We provide our affiliates with all the resources needed to succeed, including marketing materials, dedicated support, and regular updates on our services. You’ll have everything you need to effectively promote our firm and earn commissions.
-
Trusted Reputation
-
Our firm has built a solid reputation for excellence and trustworthiness. When you refer clients to us, you can be confident that they will receive the highest level of service and satisfaction.
Frequently Asked Questions
-
This firm prepares tax returns for individuals, partnerships, corporations, estates, trusts, and any entities with tax-reporting requirements. Our firm’s seasoned professionals are experts in all areas of taxation including:
- Individual Returns
- Payroll Tax Issues
- Business Returns
- Sales Tax Returns
- Rental Income Returns
- Business Consultation
- Expatriate Returns
- Fiduciary & Estate Returns
- Corporation Returns
- Bookkeeping
- Partnership Returns
- LLC Returns
-
Our firm offers a full range of planning services including, but not limited to:
- Individual Tax Planning
- Business Tax Planning
- Business Organization
- Rental Properties
- Foreclosures and Repossessions
- Retirement
- Investments
- Sales and Exchanges
- Pension Plans
- Education Planning
- Finance & Refinance Planning
- Home Purchase and Sale Planning
-
We are here for you twelve months a year, not just during tax season. Whether you have a simple tax question, need advice on the tax implications of a business decision, or want clarification on a government notice, feel free to give us a call.
-
We maintain a policy of the strictest confidence concerning our clients’ affairs. You can rest assured that no one will learn about your business or tax status – even relatives, associates or friends who might have referred you to us.