Lessons on Making Big Data Work for Your Restaurant

Big data is on everyone’s lips these days, and every conference has a track or two dedicated to it. As a restaurant owner, you know you probably should pay attention and even do something with it, but where do you start or how do you make sense of it?

This is a short guide to give you some pointers and hopefully get you started on this data journey.

Lesson 1: Data Types 

You have two types of data:

Structured Data: This type of data comes from the different systems you use internally. If you haven’t already explored the systems, most will provide ready-to-consume analytics and reports. Check with your vendors if you are unsure.

The most common sources of structured data in your restaurant are:

Your POS: What menu items are selling, who is buying them and how much they are spending Your accounting software: How much you spend on food, on rent, on electricity, on labor Your suppliers: How much you spend on every item offered in your menu Your reservation system: Repeat…