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Restaurant365 vs. Great Plains: Which Software Suits Your Restaurant Best?

Restaurant365 vs. Great Plains: Which Software Suits Your Restaurant Best?

Picture of Denise Prichard
Denise Prichard

When balancing cost-effectiveness with delivering an outstanding guest experience, the right restaurant management software can make all the difference. Find out how choosing between Restaurant365 versus Great Plains can shape your restaurant’s success. 

Choosing the right software for your restaurant is essential to keeping everything running smoothly, from finances to daily operations. The right solution can save you time, reduce errors, and help your business grow. 

When it comes to software choices, Restaurant365 and Great Plains are two that often come up. Each has its own strengths, but knowing the differences between them is key to finding the best fit for your restaurant. Keep reading to learn what each option brings to the table and get insights to help you determine which one aligns best with your restaurant’s needs. 

Great Plains vs. Restaurant365 — the basics

When comparing the two software platforms, there are a couple key differences that make Great Plains a less ideal choice for restaurants. Since Great Plains isn’t tailored for the restaurant industry, it often requires extensive customizations and extra third-party systems to handle restaurant operations. This drives up costs and complicates setup, as restaurants may need to integrate separate tools to manage daily tasks.  

Additionally, using and setting up Great Plains can be complex and labor-intensive, often requiring a significant investment of time and effort. With support for Great Plains set to end in 2028, businesses will need to switch to a new system eventually. This means that both prospective and current users should start preparing for the transition sooner rather than later. 

On the other hand, Restaurant365 is designed specifically for restaurants, offering a more seamless and intuitive solution. It’s easy to set up and navigate and is essentially a one-stop-shop for all restaurant needs. 

Great Plains Store Operations vs. Restaurant365 Store Operations

Having software that fits the unique needs of the restaurant industry can make a big difference in operational efficiency. When a system is built with restaurants in mind, it makes managing tasks, understanding performance, and making strategic decisions easier, helping everything run more efficiently. 

Unfortunately, Great Plains misses out on important features for scheduling, inventory management, and recipe management, making it less effective for handling the specific challenges restaurants face. 

In contrast, Restaurant365 shines where Great Plains doesn’t quite meet the mark. Its features are designed to simplify daily operations and boost efficiency, including: 

  • Labor forecasting and scheduling: Use historical data to accurately forecast labor needs, allowing you to create optimized schedules that reduce costs and prevent overstaffing or understaffing. 
  • POS-integrated labor tracking: Gain real-time insights into labor performance, helping you manage labor costs effectively and make data-driven decisions. 
  • Employee-facing messaging and scheduling app: Provide your staff with a free, user-friendly app for seamless communication and scheduling. 
  • Intelligent ordering recommendations: Get smart suggestions to prevent stockouts and avoid ordering too much, helping you keep inventory levels just right. 
  • Mobile inventory counts: Easily manage inventory counts from your phone or tablet, using different units of measure and getting real-time updates. 
  • Centralized commissary management: Manage and distribute products from a central hub, ensuring that every location gets what it needs consistently. 
  • Order management and tracking: Place, track, and adjust orders directly in the platform, with automatic updates synced to your accounting system. 
  • Recipe management and pricing: Keep your recipes updated with the latest prices for accurate cost tracking and budgeting. 
  • Waste tracking on the go: Log and monitor waste quickly from your mobile device, making waste management easier and reducing losses. 

Case Study

Taco John’s Franchisee Saves 2.5% on Food Costs in First Year with R365

Great Plains Accounting vs. Restaurant365 Accounting

Tasks like handling invoices and reconciling accounts can be a real chore for restaurant operators, taking time away from other important daily operations and other strategic projects. With automation, these routine tasks—like processing invoices and keeping track of finances—are handled seamlessly, allowing restaurant operators to focus on creating exceptional guest experiences. Plus, clear insights into financial performance make it easier to make smart decisions and drive success. 

Restaurants have unique reporting needs that Great Plains doesn’t always meet. The software struggles with restaurant-specific financial reporting, and its automation integrations are often either costly or lacking. This makes it challenging for operators to efficiently manage their finances while keeping software costs under control. 

Restaurant365 is packed with accounting and automation features designed to make running a restaurant smoother and more efficient. Here’s what it offers: 

  • Seamless point of sale (POS) integration: Automatically pull sales and labor data directly into your general ledger, so you don’t have to worry about manual entry. 
  • Easy invoice processing: Submit invoices in any format, and Restaurant365 will handle accurate entry and review for you. 
  • Connect with over 170 vendors: Easily automate your invoicing with a wide range of vendors through EDI integrations. 
  • Simplified intercompany finances: Automate financial transfers and transactions between different entities, making multi-location management simpler. 
  • Catch invoice discrepancies: Automatically spot and address differences between orders and invoices to prevent costly errors. 
  • Streamlined approval processes: Built-in workflows make it quick and easy to approve invoices and payments while keeping everything accurate. 
  • Automated bank reconciliation: Save time and reduce mistakes with automatic reconciliation and easy report matching. 
  • Effortless cost splitting: Divide costs among different locations with ease, simplifying your accounting. 
  • Consolidated financial reporting: Manage all your locations with a single account to make financial reporting and management straightforward. 

Great Plains Pricing vs. Restaurant365 Pricing

Finding an affordable software solution is crucial for supporting your growth and keeping costs under control. A cost-effective option helps manage expenses more efficiently, allowing you to focus resources where they’re needed most. 

Great Plains usually charges per user, which can restrict access for store-level employees. Their starter pack supports just three users, and adding more comes with significant fees. Plus, if third-party integrations are needed, these costs can quickly add up. 

With Restaurant365, you only pay for what you need, thanks to per-location pricing rather than per-user fees. This means you can add as many users as you want without any extra costs. Plus, with unlimited free support, you’ll always have the assistance you need right at your fingertips, ensuring smooth operations and peace of mind. 

Success starts with Restaurant365

Running a restaurant involves juggling many tasks, from daily operations to inventory management. The right software can make all the difference. While Great Plains provides a toolkit for general accounting, Restaurant365 excels with its all-in-one solution crafted specifically for the restaurant industry. It’s designed to streamline your operations and tackle the unique challenges of running a restaurant more effectively. 

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Restaurant365 bridges the gap between accounting and operations by centralizing all data, helping restaurant operators to become more efficient, accurately forecast, and tackle any challenge or opportunity with speed and accuracy.