Time and money top list of problems for restaurants, has Osborne helped?

The survey, commissioned by F&B technology experts Caternet, discovered that ‘time’ and ‘money’ remain the two biggest gripes for restaurants, with 52 per cent of the 200 managers questioned claiming they spend too much time on admin and not enough time doing their actual job.

“To be honest, the results of our research are probably not a huge surprise for most, but are perhaps a gentle reminder of the daily pains we all face together as an industry,” said Caternet’s managing director Jerry Brand.

The third-biggest pain for restaurateurs is the ‘tedious’ stock-take, which continues to cause a headache for more than a quarter of respondents.

Twelve per cent said that quality of supplies and lack of time to compare prices and shop around are also key issues – again linked to this issue of budget control.

New management system​

In response to these industry annoyances, Caternet has launched Daily Data, its new 'farm-to-fork’ online management system for the F&B industry.

Designed to save the issues of ‘time’ and ‘money’ by modernising traditional operational processes, Daily Data reduces the risk of overspending by giving businesses greater visibility and control over their operations via a system workflow of planning, operating and reporting based on live supplier prices.

“The main benefit when switching from other systems or modernising manual ones is that Caternet doesn’t charge any up-front capital,” added Brand. “So operators can be up and running in days paying on a fair charging basis as they go.”

“We have created a paperless environment with live supplier prices that allow people to regain control of their business.

“Whether that means building dynamic recipes and shopping quickly and easily in a ‘one-screen’ setting or via the seamless automation of P&L reporting, payroll and HR tasks, Daily Data has to deal with these real industry issues, and that’s exactly what it does.”

Budget boost​

There was more good news for the restaurant sector to be taken from the 2013 Budget​.​Perhaps the biggest boost for business was the creation of the ‘Employment Allowance', which will take the first £2,000 of the employer national insurance bill off of every company - this means that around 450,000 small businesses across the UK will pay no jobs tax at all.

“The Employment Allowance shows we understand that the way to restore our economic prosperity is to energise the aspirations of workers,” said Osborne. “If you want to work hard and get on, we are on your side. It’s a budget for an aspiration nation.”

Meanwhile, corporation tax on company profits has been cut by a further 1 per cent, and September’s 3p hike in fuel duty has also been cancelled, which could have a positive effect on delivery costs.

Following the delivery of the Budget, BigHospitality caught up with some of the key organisations representing pubs, hotels and restaurants as well as individual operators for their reaction.​​