Managing a Multi-Branch Restaurant: Opening a New Branch

In a multi-branch restaurant the best way is to manage all branches in one database and one panel. Each branch connects with its own menu, prices and stop-list, and reports show each location and the total. Adding a new branch becomes a few days' work, not a month.

Most owners who open a second branch run into the same problem: the website is reconfigured, the bot is reconnected, the POS integration is rebuilt and staff are retrained. Below we explain how to avoid it.

Key points:

• In a scattered setup every new branch is an extra month of work.
• In a single database, adding a branch means connecting and setting up; the rest is ready.
• Reports show each branch and the total, and branches can be compared.

Why is a new branch hard?

Because systems work separately per branch. For each branch the website part, bot, POS connection and reports are set up separately. Reports are separate too: to see which dish is running out in which branch, or who sold how much, you open each one.

As a result a new branch costs an extra month of time and money. The owner doesn't see the whole chain: to answer "which branch is doing well?", reports have to be collected by hand.

What changes in a single system?

All branches work in one database. Each branch has its own menu, price and stop-list, but management is from one panel. An order is routed to the right branch by delivery zone.

For chains Delever gives:

• each branch connects to its own POS (even if branches use different POS systems);
• an order goes to the right branch by zone;
• reports by branch and by brand;
• comparison between branches;
• separation of access rights: for example, a branch manager sees only their own location, while the owner sees everything.

How do you add a new branch?

Adding a new branch is usually four steps: add the branch to the system, connect the POS, set menu and prices, and mark delivery zones. The website, bot and app take the new branch from the existing catalog, so they don't have to be rebuilt.

• Add the branch. Name, address, working hours.
• Connect the POS. iiko, R-Keeper or another: POS integration follows the same process.
• Set menu and prices. Take them from the shared menu and change the branch price if needed.
• Draw delivery zones. Delivery price and minimum order by zone.

Connecting aggregators is separate: the module price is counted per branch (one aggregator is 260,000 UZS per month per branch).

What to look at in the report?

Five numbers per branch: sales, number of orders, average check, delivery time and cancelled orders. Compare them across branches and you see which location is falling behind.

For example, two branches have the same average check, but one has many cancelled orders. So the problem isn't in the menu: it is in the stop-list or kitchen speed. The daily report routine is described in what an owner should see in the morning.

What mistakes should you avoid?

The first mistake is building a separate system for each branch. The second is keeping the menu separately in each branch. The third is showing a branch manager everything or, on the contrary, nothing.

Manage the menu from one source, and let a branch change only what is its own (price, stop-list). Set up access rights from the start.

Conclusion

• Before opening a second branch, list your scattered tools.
• Bring all branches into one database.
• Set up reports by branch and in total.

Also read: one system instead of ten apps. We show how to add a new branch in Delever: delever.io or @delever_bot on Telegram.