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Restaurant365 vs. TouchBistro: Which Restaurant Software Should You Choose? 

Restaurant365 vs. TouchBistro: Which Restaurant Software Should You Choose? 

Picture of Clarissa Buch Zilberman
Clarissa Buch Zilberman

Whether you’re scaling a multi-unit empire or perfecting your neighborhood bistro, this comparison will help you choose the right option to keep your restaurant thriving. 

Picture this: Your restaurant running like a well-oiled machine, your team hitting their stride, and your bottom line steadily climbing. That’s what happens when you have the right tools to keep everything on track.  

But not all platforms are created equal. So, we’re breaking down the differences between Restaurant365, a powerful all-in-one restaurant-specific platform, and TouchBistro, a point-of-sale system with extra features for smaller operations. 

TouchBistro Accounting vs. Restaurant365 Accounting

When it comes to accounting, Restaurant365 is in a league of its own. As the only cloud-based, all-in-one restaurant-specific platform, it fully integrates accounting with operations. Key features include: 

  • Automated invoice processing: Capture invoices, track variances, and prevent discrepancies before they escalate. 
  • Real-time data sync: Seamlessly connect sales, labor, and inventory data to your general ledger—no manual work needed. 
  • Built-in approvals and vendor payments: Streamline workflows, ensure compliance, and even generate rebates with vendor payments directly on the platform. 
  • Multi-location cost splitting: Effortlessly allocate costs across locations, reducing accounting headaches. 
  • Bank reconciliation: Reconcile accounts quickly with automated tools, ensuring your records are accurate and up to date. 
  • Budgeting and forecasting: Plan ahead with powerful budgeting tools, giving you insights into potential cost savings and revenue growth opportunities. 
  • Customizable financial reporting: Generate detailed reports tailored to your restaurant’s KPIs, helping you make data-driven decisions with confidence. 


Restaurant365 also supports intercompany transactions, making it a top choice for multi-unit operations and franchises. By centralizing all accounting functions in one place, it empowers operators to focus on growing their business instead of managing disparate systems.
 

TouchBistro, on the other hand, is primarily known as a point-of-sale (POS) solution with additional features for front-of-house management. Unlike Restaurant365, it does not include built-in accounting functionalities, relying instead on integrations with external tools like QuickBooks and Xero to sync sales and financial data. While this may work for smaller restaurants with existing accounting systems, it doesn’t offer the seamless, all-in-one approach that Restaurant365 provides. 

TouchBistro Inventory Management vs. Restaurant365 Inventory Management

For restaurants, inventory isn’t just about tracking what’s in stock—it’s about controlling costs, reducing waste, and maximizing margins. 

Restaurant365 provides a comprehensive inventory management system that facilitates digital counts, ordering, and invoice management, helping restaurants control food costs and reduce waste.  

Here’s a closer look at R365’s inventory management features: 

  • Mobile inventory counts: Use mobile devices to conduct inventory counts with support for multi-unit measurements and real-time syncing—ideal for multi-location restaurants. 
  • Smart ordering recommendations: Prevent stockouts and reduce waste with order suggestions based on historical usage and current inventory levels. 
  • Recipe management with real-time margins: Monitor profit margins dynamically to stay ahead of fluctuating ingredient costs and maintain profitability. 
  • Centralized commissary oversight: Manage commissary operations seamlessly with controlled access and visibility for individual locations. 
  • In-app order tracking: Place, track, and edit orders directly in the platform, with automatic updates flowing into your accounting system. 


TouchBistro offers inventory management as an add-on feature, enabling restaurants to track ingredient levels, monitor food costs, and receive alerts for low-stock items. While helpful, the features are more limited and come with additional costs.
 

TouchBistro Workforce Management vs. Restaurant365 Workforce Management

Managing your staff is more than just creating schedules—it’s about building a team that works efficiently, stays compliant, and feels connected. 

Restaurant365 brings powerful features to the table, all designed to streamline staffing and boost productivity: 

  • Labor forecasting & smart scheduling: Use historical data to predict staffing needs and create optimized schedules that align with sales forecasts, reducing costly overstaffing. 
  • Real-time labor insights: With POS integration, you get up-to-the-minute insights into labor performance, letting you address inefficiencies as they happen. 
  • Built-in compliance tools: Stay ahead of labor laws with features that manage split shifts, tip distribution, and minor work restrictions, protecting your business from costly mistakes. 
  • Employee app for scheduling & communication: Empower your team with a mobile app where they can view schedules, swap shifts, request time off, and stay connected. 

TouchBistro’s workforce management tools cover the basics but lack the depth and advanced features of Restaurant365. With TouchBistro, you can create employee schedules, track time through clock-ins and clock-outs, and monitor performance to identify top contributors.

While these features are helpful for managing a small team, they don’t include critical capabilities like labor forecasting, compliance tools, or integrated support. It also isn’t designed to handle the complexities of multi-location operations, making it less suitable for restaurants that require robust, scalable workforce management solutions.  

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TouchBistro Reporting & Analytics vs. Restaurant365 Reporting & Analytics

The ability to turn raw numbers into actionable insights can be the difference between thriving and merely surviving. Whether you’re looking to uncover hidden costs, forecast trends, or optimize your operations, robust reporting tools are essential.  

Restaurant365 offers extensive reporting and analytics tools, delivering insights into financial performance, sales trends, labor costs, and inventory metrics. Features include: 

  • Customizable dashboards: Build dashboards that highlight the metrics that matter most to your business, from labor costs to inventory performance. 
  • Financial reporting: Gain detailed insights into profit and loss, cash flow, and cost breakdowns to keep your finances on track. 
  • Integrated operational data: Consolidate data from across your operations—sales, labor, and inventory—for a cohesive view of your restaurant’s performance. 
  • Advanced multi-unit reporting: For franchises and multi-location operations, Restaurant365 offers the ability to analyze data across all locations, helping operators identify trends and areas for improvement. 
  • Sales and cost trend analysis: Track sales trends and food costs in real time to make proactive decisions that protect margins. 


TouchBistro provides reporting and analytics features that cover sales performance, inventory levels, and staff productivity. However, TouchBistro’s analytics don’t match Restaurant365’s extensive capabilities, especially those concerning financial reporting and multi-unit analysis.
 

TouchBistro Pricing vs. Restaurant365 Pricing

Restaurant365 offers a flexible, tiered pricing model designed to accommodate restaurants of all sizes and complexities. Its plans provide a comprehensive suite of features, from core accounting to advanced operational tools, allowing operators to choose the solution that best fits their business needs. With an all-in-one approach, Restaurant365 eliminates the need for multiple third-party systems, making it a cost-effective option for restaurants looking to streamline operations and maximize ROI. 

TouchBistro, on the other hand, adopts a modular pricing structure. While the base POS system is affordable, additional features like inventory management, online ordering, and reservations are sold separately, which can drive up costs as more functionalities are added.  

Next steps

When it comes to choosing the right platform for your restaurant, the decision depends on your specific needs and the scale of your operations. Restaurant365 stands out as a comprehensive, all-in-one solution that excels in accounting, inventory, workforce management, and analytics. Its deep integration across these functions makes it a powerful tool for multi-location restaurants and franchises looking for efficiency and scalability. 

TouchBistro, while effective as a POS system with added features, is better suited for smaller operations with simpler needs. Its modular approach offers flexibility, but the lack of seamless integration and advanced capabilities means it may require additional tools to fill the gaps. 

For restaurants aiming to streamline operations, maximize profitability, and grow their business, Restaurant365 offers a level of functionality and value that’s hard to beat.

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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.