The Modern Restaurant Tech Stack: A Guide to Restaurant Management Software & KDS

An up-to-date tech stack can fix anything from the comms between your teams to the inventory woes that forces your bar staff to look your guests in the eye and say those dreaded words: “I’m sorry, but we’ve run out of that”.

Not sure how they can help? Don’t worry. Today, we’re running through the restaurant software that currently keeps restaurants all over the world ticking over with reliability, efficiency, and that best of all words: profitability! We’ll cover:

• What is restaurant management software?

• How restaurants use management software to sell and serve more efficiently

• How a KDS helps restaurants run smoothly

Sound good? Then let’s get going!

What is restaurant management software?

First things first, let’s run through the basics of restaurant management software. This software covers a lot of ground, so we’re breaking it down into behind the scenes and customer-facing tools.

When a restaurant opens for the day, the team have dozens of tasks to take care of. For some, wiping down tables and cleaning, it’s just a case of pulling out the elbow grease and getting the job done. For others, especially managerial tasks, modern computing technology can speed things up. This includes inventory management and ordering, product and menu management, finance management, payroll and staff management. And that’s all before a customer steps through the door.

Behind the scenes restaurant management tools

Here’s a breakdown of what restaurant management software to make sure a business is ready for each sale:

Inventory management and ordering

Inventory issues, whether it’s wastage or stockouts or lost ingredients, is a big profit-killer for restaurants. If you don’t know where your product is, you can’t sell it; if the product is off, you can’t serve it; if you haven’t got it? Well, a restaurant without any food isn’t much of a restaurant! On the other hand, if you and your team spend all of your time trying to stay on top of your inventory, that’s time you’re not spending taking care of customers.

This is what makes POS (point of sale) inventory management software so valuable. They track your stock in real-time, adjusting as you make sales, and even help you order more products quickly and easily so you know what you have without even looking!

POS software helps restaurants track usage patterns, identify when products are likely to sell more so you can stay prepared, and spot waste before it becomes a habit. Many systems, like Epos Now’s, also support automated, historic, or suggested ordering, using historical sales data to forecast demand and flag when it’s time to restock.

You can sort your inventory by supplier or brand in a single click, see what’s running low (Epos Now even gives you automatic updates when a product hits your minimum acceptable level), and download a PO (purchase order) you can send to your supplier in moments. Try it once and you’ll never want to go without it!

The result of having all this software on your side? Fewer 86’d (run out) menu items, lower food costs, less labour spent stock tracking, and far less guesswork for managers!

Product and menu management

Menus don’t have to be the fixed objects your restaurant adheres to for each season. Restaurant management POS software lets you adjust products, prices, promotions and deals minute by minute if you want to.

Running your restaurant on the latest POS software helps you adapt based on all the moving factors that influence your trade, from product and restaurant performance, even to current affairs if the price of potatoes suddenly skyrockets. Either way, a centralised, digital pricing system lets you make amendments and push them live, to digital menus, online ordering platforms, and third-party delivery services.

This isn’t just about pricing either. You can add or remove items, manage modifiers, and run limited-time offers without reprinting menus or retraining staff on the fly. Crucially, POS software can also link menu items to inventory and profitability data, helping restaurants identify bestsellers, low-margin items, and dishes that may look good on paper but underperform in reality. With this data, menus can be optimised not just for taste, but for revenue.

Finance management

Managing restaurant finances can feel very separate from the business of your restaurant floor, and managing them can feel isolating. But POS restaurant management software gives you a dedicated and talented ally, simplifying your financial picture, centralising sales data and expenses, and putting all the right reports in one place.

POS systems record every transaction, in detail, providing clear visibility into how you’re generating revenue, whether it’s card or cash, promotions, wet or dry–all the information you need. But it also tallies sales together to give you daily, weekly, monthly and annual financial data, which includes generating tax reports your accountant will love.

These reports go much further than helping you trade legally. Built-in reporting tools help managers track key metrics like gross profit, average order value, and sales by category or location, so you know what parts of your business need your attention, and maybe a few changes.

Payroll and staff management

Your team are the heart and soul of your restaurant, but they take a lot of maintenance. Managing rotas that suit everybody and get them the hours they need, tallying up their wages and tips, overseeing their duties and restrictions, and monitoring clocking times: it’s a lot of work! Fortunately, restaurant management software helps with this, too. Digitising payroll and staff management automates a lot of this work, and ensures the maths is correct every single time.

Employees can clock in and out through the POS, ensuring accurate timekeeping and reducing time theft or payroll disputes. Managers can build schedules based on forecasted demand, helping avoid overstaffing during quiet periods and understaffing during rushes. Many systems, like Epos Now’s, also support role-based permissions, tip tracking, and performance reporting, giving operators the tools they need to manage labour costs while keeping teams motivated, well paid, and happy in their work!

How restaurants use management software to sell and serve more efficiently

Once service begins, the role of restaurant management software shifts from preparation to performance. Nevertheless, the POS system stays at the heart of it all, acting as a central hub for sales, service, and customer interactions. Whether it’s a fast-paced bar, a full-service restaurant, or something in between, POS software helps teams serve more guests, quickly, and with fewer mistakes. Here’s how:

Processing sales

Speed matters, especially during peak service. Modern POS systems are designed to optimise time at the point of sale, allowing staff to take orders and process payments in just a few taps, so they can spend more time engaging with the customer and upselling.

Key benefits include:

• Intuitive, easy-to-use order screens that reduce training time and order errors
  

• Freedom to incorporate different service styles, from table service to bar tabs to customer credit for regulars
  

• Support for multiple payment methods, including contactless, mobile wallets, and split bills
  

• Automatic tax and service charge calculations to ensure consistency and compliance, plus gratuity options

By reducing manual input and calculations, POS software helps staff focus on guests rather than screens, while ensuring every sale is recorded accurately.

Monitoring tabs, tables, and bookings

In busy venues, it’s easy for things to slip through the cracks: open tabs get forgotten, tables turn slower than anticipated, and walk-ins clash with bookings. POS systems bring clarity by giving staff real-time visibility across the floor and the bar.

With POS table and tab management, teams can:

• Open, transfer, and close tabs seamlessly, even during busy rushes
  

• Track table status at a glance, including seated, ordering, and ready-to-pay
  

• Link bookings to tables to improve seating efficiency and reduce wait times
  

• Identify high-value tables and stalled orders that may need attention

This level of oversight helps keep queues short, speeds up table turns, and ensures no guest feels overlooked.

Running an effective bar operation

Behind the bar, POS software is essential for keeping service flowing. Bartenders ring in drinks, manage rounds, and keep tabs organised without slowing down service. The POS offers a clear structure of categories, food and drink items, sides, for intuitive basket populating. All the while, the POS sends real-time sales data to help managers spot peak periods and top-selling drinks as they happen.

Managing customer profiles and preferences

POS systems also allow restaurants to build customer profiles over time, capturing preferences, sales history, and spending patterns. This helps the restaurant offer more personalised service and smarter marketing.

Benefits include:

• Recognising regulars and their usual orders
  

• Tracking product preferences
  

• Powering loyalty programmes and targeted promotions
  

Making allergen and ingredient information clear

Clear allergen communication isn’t just good service. It’s essential for the safety of your guests. POS software helps staff access accurate, up-to-date ingredient and allergen information directly from the order screen. Visual indicators such as colour-coding and prompts when selecting dishes with allergens in them reduce the risk of mistakes and give staff confidence when answering questions, helping them ensure every guest can order safely and comfortably.

How a KDS helps restaurants run smoothly

If the POS is the heart of a restaurant, the Kitchen Display System (KDS) is the another major organ. It quietly connects the front and back of house, making sure everything is working together neatly as a single unit. A KDS typically appears as a screen displayed prominently in the kitchen or prep area, connecting through the WiFi to the wider restaurant management system, and the bar, so that orders and amendments appear instantly so the chefs can get to work without delay.

At its core, KDS software replaces printed tickets with a clear, digital view of incoming orders. As soon as an order is placed through the POS, it appears instantly on the KDS, organised by station, course, or priority. This removes delays, eliminates handwriting issues, and ensures the kitchen is always working with the most up-to-date information.

Improving kitchen flow and communication

KDS software brings structure to even the busiest services by controlling how orders move through the kitchen. Orders can be routed automatically to the right prep stations, grouped intelligently, and highlighted based on timing or service rules.

Key benefits include:

• Real-time order updates, including modifications and cancellations
  

• Clear visual prioritisation of orders to prevent bottlenecks
  

• Course firing and hold functions to improve pacing
  

• Reduced need for verbal callouts between FOH and BOH

By standardising how orders are displayed and managed, the KDS helps teams stay focused and reduces stress during peak periods.

Boosting speed, accuracy, and consistency

Because KDS software pulls data directly from the POS, it ensures the kitchen sees exactly what the guest ordered, as they order it. Modifiers, dietary notes, and special requests are displayed clearly, reducing the risk of remakes and wasted ingredients. Timers and order ageing tools also help chefs monitor ticket times and maintain consistent service standards across shifts, making sure no guest gets impatient while waiting.

Using data to improve performance

Beyond live service, KDS software feeds valuable data back into the restaurant management system. Managers can review prep times, identify slowdowns by station or menu item, and spot patterns that impact throughput. When combined with POS sales data, this insight helps refine menus, staffing levels, and workflows in the kitchen.

Restaurant management software: essential for any restaurant to modern standards

Restaurants run on more than talent and timing. Now more than ever, they run on technology. From inventory and payroll to point of sale and kitchen operations, a well-connected restaurant management system brings clarity to the chaos of hospitality, and turns everyday service into a smoother, more profitable experience.

POS software helps teams sell faster, serve smarter, and make better decisions, while KDS software ensures the kitchen keeps pace without missing a beat. Together, they form the backbone of a modern restaurant tech stack, and help drive profitability and steer management towards the best decisions heading into the future.