Plenty of questions from a new Finance/Admin guy for a busy restaurant

[ko1]

Hi guys,

My first post here. Along with 3 other partners, I own a busy restaurant dealing with large amount of data. It's nearly 30 days now since we first opened. We have like 160 raw materials and 67 suppliers (and more are being added periodically as we changes our restaurant menu).

We wanted to invest in a restaurant system - having tested trials of 3 different types of software - which cost a bit, I figured, I am better of doing it with Excel which I have some basic knowledge of. After stumbling on this awesome site, I have become more passionate seeing the posts here on chandoo.org.

It's been a month of nightmare with all the data, the organisation, and the presentation to the other partners and mostly big headache to my Admin guy. Given that I try to urgently improve our database - and visual presentation to the other 3 partners, I was wondering if I could pick up some tips from you to reduce our nightmare.

I am concentrating my question now on how to store/collect data on Excel. From many days of browsing this site, I have come to conclude that I need to explore more Data Validation posts here. Is this all? Are there any that I should be looking out for with respect to storing all data.

The purpose now is mostly to make sure that my Admin guy has a template (with some Excel formula/tricks) to input the data correctly. I have picked up Table, Data Validation from this site. I am wondering if there other posts that I should be looking out for to help improve the way we input the data.

Many thanks!

 

[Eloise T]

You may want to consider using a database versus a spreadsheet to compile and track inventory, vendors, suppliers, etc.

You could certainly brute-force Excel to do most anything, but it may simpler to start out using the right tool.

Since you are in the restaurant business, I would think your time would be much better spent finding a solution that someone else has already created just for restaurants and not try to reinvent the wheel.

 

[Chihiro]

There are few open source inventory management system out there. Couple that I've used or set up before.

1. Vtiger - It's a Customer Relationship Management (CRM), but as part of the basic module has inventory management system built in. Also has paid subscription service.
2. Odoo - Has the open source version that you host it locally. Though you will need to support it yourself.

There are few cheap cloud solutions out there as well (cost depends on number of users and transactions, or number of product).

 

[ko1]

@Eloise @Chihiro - thanks. Ideally database yes, but am not familiar to create 1 yet on Access for example, and not yet willing to invest in a paid software. Have tried 3 softwares - but none to my liking and suitably appropriate to the pace and nature of our day to day work where we shop in traditional market with manual invoices - oftentimes, handwritten by the vendor!

 

[bobhc]

You would be better of investing your money and time in a database such as Access, if you use Excel you are going to come up against a mountain of problems (expensive) in trying to force it to do as you wish.
In the future you will realise that Excel is not able to supply you and your staff (Excel was never designed to be a multi user platform) with the database you really need and you will face a very expensive and time consuming period trying to migrate your data from Excel to Access.
Excels security and protection is just about useless and no matter what steps you take to secure your workbooks others will still be able to total and completely screw up your files and more importantly your data.