Does Excel wear you out? Discover simple alternatives to manage your restaurant’s numbers

Claire Brunaud
Nov 6
4 min read

If you’re a restaurant owner, there’s a good chance you have, somewhere, an Excel file that’s supposed to “centralize everything.”

Sales, costs, margins, stock, ratios, forecasts…

A spreadsheet full of colors, tabs, and formulas that only you (sometimes) understand.

And let’s be honest:

👉 At first, it works.

But over time, the files multiply, numbers stop being up to date, errors pile up, and every update turns into a full-blown mission.

Result: you spend more time managing Excel than managing your restaurant.

Good news: there are now simple, automated, and clear alternatives to track your performance, without spending one evening a week making spreadsheets.

Why Excel Is No Longer Enough

Excel remains a powerful tool… but it has its limits when it comes to managing a living business like a restaurant.

1. The numbers come in too late

Between cash register reports, receipts, stock levels, and supplier invoices, it often takes several days to compile everything.

Result: by the time you look at your KPIs, the service in question is already behind you.

In hospitality, a decision made three days late can cost hundreds of euros.

2. The data is rarely reliable

One wrong cell copy, a deleted formula, a forgotten price… and the entire file becomes wrong.

You think you’re in control, but you’re flying blind.

3. No clear view of actual profitability

Excel shows you sales, maybe margins, but rarely performance by product, service, or day.

You know what you sold, but not what really makes money.

4. Too much time lost “formatting”

Between manual entry, rebuilding charts, and constant updates, Excel quickly becomes a reporting tool, not a management one.

What Restaurateurs Really Need

Before looking for tools, let’s start with the need.

Restaurateurs don’t want to “do data”, they want to understand in 3 minutes how to make more profit.

A good management tool should allow you to:

✅ Visualize sales and margins in real time

✅ Identify the most profitable dishes and drinks

✅ Track changes in average ticket and customer flow

✅ Compare your performance to the market

✅ Act immediately (adjust prices, update offers, schedule staff)

Simple to say… but almost impossible to do in Excel without spending your evenings on it.

Simple Alternatives to Excel for Managing Your Restaurant

1. Connected POS Solutions

More and more POS software now offers integrated dashboards.

They let you track turnover, average ticket, and best-selling products.

But beware: this data is often raw.

It doesn’t tell you why sales dropped or how to fix it.

It’s a good starting point, but not enough to truly manage profitability.

2. Automated Dashboards like Fyre

This is the new generation of management tools.

Fyre connects directly to your POS, automatically retrieves your data, and turns it into clear, actionable insights:

Margin per dish and drink
Profitability by hour (lunch/dinner)
Menu analysis (built-in BCG matrix)
Market comparisons via FyrePulse
Consumption forecasts and trends

All without opening a spreadsheet or copy-pasting a line.

In practice:You see at a glance what’s working, what’s underperforming, and where you can gain a few margin points — today, not in two weeks.

“Fyre replaced four Excel files and half a day of calculations. I spend less time looking for numbers and more time taking action.”— Testimonial from a restaurant owner using Fyre

3. “Hybrid” Solutions (Google Data Studio, Power BI, etc.)

They let you create visual reports from Excel or other data sources.

Powerful, but often too complex for daily restaurant use.

You need to connect, maintain, update them, and know at least the basics of formulas and queries.

In short: great for chains or groups, too heavy for independents.

Why Switching to an Automated Tool Changes Everything

A restaurateur equipped with a true management tool quickly gains three things:

1. Time

No more manual entry, POS exports, or spreadsheet updates.Everything updates automatically, every day.

2. Clarity

The numbers become visual and understandable:you immediately see profitable products, peak hours, and drops in average ticket.

3. Profitability

Restaurants that monitor their numbers closely adjust prices, menus, and teams faster.

Result: +10 to +15% margin within a few weeks, according to Fyre users.

From Excel to Real-Time Decision-Making

Excel has served generations of restaurateurs well, but its time is coming to an end.

Today, management can’t wait until the end of the month.

The most successful restaurateurs are those who:

Have real-time visibility
Understand their numbers in context
Make quick, informed decisions — without relying on a spreadsheet

Fyre was designed exactly for that:to connect data, simplify analysis, and let restaurateurs manage profitability without drowning in numbers.

💙 In summary

Excel isn’t your enemy, but it’s no longer your best ally.

The era of endless spreadsheets and mysterious formulas is over.

The new generation of tools, like Fyre, helps you regain control of your numbers — without sacrificing your evenings.

Because at the end of the day, managing a restaurant isn’t about crunching data. It’s about understanding, deciding, and acting, simply, with the right insights at the right time.