Playbook
Restaurant Operations Playbook
A complete guide to setting up operations management for your restaurant in ConfigBiz.
Restaurant operations playbook covering staff scheduling, inventory, supplier management, and daily operations configuration.
Who This Playbook Is For
This playbook is for restaurant owners and operations managers who want ConfigBiz configured to run daily operations without chaos. It covers the capabilities, fields, workflows, and reports that a typical restaurant — quick-service, café, casual or fine-dining — actually uses. Use it as a checklist with your manager and tailor the fields to your menu and labour model.
| Area | Your config decision | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| Menu | Categories, allergen tags, food-cost % per item | Margin live, not at month-end |
| Supplier + PO | Lead time, MOQ, price validity | Replenish without stock-outs |
| Shift | Station, role, station check | Coverage matched to covers |
| Waste | Reason, photo, approver | Shrink visible per day/week |
Key Roles
- Owner/Manager: Oversees operations, approves purchases, reviews reports
- Kitchen Staff: Manages food prep, inventory usage, and quality
- Front-of-House: Handles service, customer interactions, and POS
- Procurement: Manages supplier relationships and purchase orders
Information Flow
Daily operations flow from customer orders → kitchen production → service delivery. Inventory depletes as orders are fulfilled. Purchase orders replenish stock based on par levels and demand forecasts. Expenses track across food cost, labour, and overhead. Reports consolidate daily, weekly, and monthly performance.
Recommended Fields
- Menu Items: name, category, price, food cost %, prep time, available (Y/N), allergen, station
- Suppliers: name, contact, products supplied, payment terms, lead time, rating
- Purchase Orders: supplier, items, quantities, delivery date, status, total, variance
- Shift Schedules: date, time, role, employee, station, status, cover reason
- Daily Count: date, item, starting qty, ending qty, variance, reason, photo
Workflows
| Workflow | Steps | SLA |
|---|---|---|
| Inventory reorder | Daily count → low-stock alert → PO draft → manager approve → supplier send | PO by 11:00 for next-day delivery |
| Supplier order | PO → manager approval → delivery → receiving → stock update | Variance <2% or flag |
| Shift coverage | Open shift → staff claim/assign → manager confirm → attendance | Fill 24h before service |
Reports
- Daily sales vs labour cost
- Food cost percentage by menu item — flag > target +3pp
- Inventory variance report (what disappeared, where)
- Weekly supplier spend and OT hours
Common Mistakes
- Tracking inventory only at the end of the month instead of daily counts
- Not connecting purchase orders to inventory (double data entry)
- Using separate spreadsheets for scheduling and attendance — one roster record that flows to attendance
- Not tracking food cost per menu item, only aggregate
Get Started
Describe your restaurant to LearnBiz AI — covers, stations, suppliers. It recommends a configuration that matches your specific setup and generates a blueprint you can approve before anything is built.