News

Wendy's franchisee implements RTIconnect back office software

August 29, 2012

Allen Properties LLC, a Florida-based Wendy's operator owned by Mike Allen, has implemented RTIconnect back office software.

The system, Allen said, is more accurate, provides more information and is more convenient than his previous system, and it costs less.

Allen switched to RTIconnect by Restaurant Technology Inc. (RTI) to run the back office systems for his four restaurants in Port St. Lucie, Fort Pierce, Jensen Beach and Sebastian, Fla. Transitioning to a new system typically takes a few weeks, as software setup, POS integration and training are completed before a turnkey implementation.

"In our case, because we were already using a back office program that interfaced to our WAND POS, RTI was able to install the software, interface with our POS, do the setup, and we went live just days later — all four stores at the same time," Allen said. "RTIconnect is so simple to use — it's so user-friendly that we were able to use much of the program before our online training sessions. For us, the transition was quicker than anyone expected."

The previous system, he added, was cumbersome to navigate and gave him little confidence in the variance numbers reported. The RTIconnect system allows the operator to navigate through the food cost module, change his own count sheets and inventory frequency, run reports, make changes and manage users without having to use a third party representative.

Having immediate access to variance and inventory information has enabled Allen to lower food cost by an additional three-fourths of a percent at his operations.

"We believe we now save close to $50,000 a year on our four restaurants. Before, I had little confidence in our food variance numbers. Now I do. If the variance is off, I can drill and see exactly where the problem is. I like the ability to make changes and see those changes immediately in my reports," Allen said.

Another advantage, he added, is receiving automatic email alerts on sales. RTIconnect alerts can be either scheduled or triggered by the occurrence of designated events.

Read more about systems and technology.