Best Restaurant Inventory Management Software

Toast packages start at $0/month for one terminal and core features, but can rise north of $300/month depending on how many features, terminals, or hardware add-ons you want. (Note that the free plan has a higher payment processing fee.)

Some Toast POS features that help restaurants manage their inventory include:

• Automatically syncs & updates your inventory as items are sold
• Advanced reporting, including inventory value reports, COGS & variance reports, waste tracking reports
• Menu engineering feature to improve profitability of inventory
• Shelf layout feature that maps inventory count based on kitchen setup
• Inventory software integrations for BevSpot, BrewLogix, Craftable, Marketman, & more

Toast offers various custom-built restaurant-grade POS devices built with an Android OS. A standard Toast Flex countertop kit that includes a terminal, payment reader, and router, is $875. You can also purchase a kit that includes a handheld point of sale terminal for $627 (includes Toast Go 2, wireless access point, and router).

Another option is to pay $0 for your hardware upfront and pay Toast a higher payment processing fee.

Toast’s standard payment processing fee is 2.49% +$0.15 for in-person payments. Online payments are charged at a rate of 3.5% + $0.15

As mentioned, you can get free Toast software and hardware if you pay a higher payment processing fee (2.99% + $0.15). However, for most restaurants, it will make more sense to pay for your hardware and software outright.

Toast requires that you use Toast Payments for credit card processing. The standard Toast contract is two years.

TouchBistro’s $69/month starter package includes basic inventory management and free integration with third-party inventory software apps. You can also purchase various add-ons, such as online ordering ($50/month) and reservation management ($229/month).

Some TouchBistro features specific to restaurant inventory management include:

• Manual ingredient entry with unit of measure, wholesale cost, retail price, and associated recipe(s)
• System automatically tracks ingredients as menu items are sold
• Provides staff with in-service low-stock alerts
• Basic inventory reports
• Includes software integrations for Bevcheck, MarketMan, Craftable, Wisk, FreePour, Optimum Control, & MarginEdge

TouchBistro uses iPad POS hardware. You will have to call TouchBistro for a hardware quote.

TouchBistro is flexible in terms of what payment processor you can use. Some processing options include Square, TSYS, and Worldpay, as well as TouchBistro’s in-house processor, TouchBistro Payments powered by Chase. TouchBistro Payments offers cost-plus pricing (also known as interchange-plus), which is one of the more affordable and transparent payment processing models.

TouchBistro does require a contract (usually one year). Your term length will be included in your contract.

Lightspeed Restaurant plans cost from $189/month and $399+/month. Both plans include advanced inventory management.

Lightspeed Restaurant offers the following restaurant inventory management features:

• Built-in ingredient management with low stock alerts, stock reports, & recipe costing & margins tool
• Real-time inventory deductions & replenishments
• Automatic reordering from suppliers
• Comes with a free version of BevSpot, allowing restaurants to track variance and product loss by item
• Integrates with inventory software including Craftable, Growzer, MarketMan, ORCA, RapidBar, Restaurant365, RESTOCK, BeerSAVER, Whistle, WISK, & other food inventory apps

Lightspeed Restaurant POS hardware is iPad-based. You have the option to source your own components or buy a hardware kit from Lightspeed. For that, you will need to contact Lightspeed for a quote.

Lightspeed integrates with several payment processors and has its own Lightspeed Payments, which offers flat-rate processing at 2.6% + $0.10 or (for users on the Premium plan) a custom payment processing fee.

Lightspeed Restaurant contracts have a standard term of 14 months, but your quote may differ. Your term length will be outlined in your contract.

Besides the free plan, Square For Restaurants also has a $60/month “Plus” plan with a full suite of features. You also have the option to use the free Square For Restaurants plan with a $20/month Square KDS subscription. If you use a mobile POS kit for tableside ordering, you’ll be billed another $50/month.

Yet another option for restaurants who want to use Square is to use the free version of regular Square (Square Point of Sale) with a third-party restaurant inventory management system, such as BevSpot (which also offers a freemium account to Square users) or Shopventory. As mentioned, Square also integrates with TouchBistro.

The free version of Square for Restaurants has very basic inventory capabilities, but they can be enhanced with inventory integrations, including MarketMan, Peachworks, and Yellow Dog Inventory.

If you opt for Square for Restaurants Plus, you’ll get more advanced inventory features, such as auto-86ing and menu reports. 

Square For Restaurants works best with a Square Stand for iPad ($149 without iPad) or Square Register ($799) setup.

You can also use a Square Terminal ($299) or Restaurant Mobile POS Kit ($259) for tableside payments and an Android Microtouch tablet ($599 to $699) for KDS purposes.

Whether you use Square POS, Square for Restaurants Free, or Square for Restaurants Plus, you’ll get Square’s same flat processing rate of 2.6% + $0.10. None of Square’s POS systems integrate with outside payment processors, however.

Square For Restaurants has no contract, which means you can use it on a month-to-month basis and quit at any time.