App to provide hospitality lifeline

The hospitality industry is facing enormous challenges at present, but a guy from Murrumba Downs hopes an app he’s developed will help get them through these tough times.

Matt Krueger knows first-hand the pain and stress of closing a restaurant and has been on a journey to find a solution.

For the past nine years, he’s been working on the app and with the help of IT specialist David Alley he’s finally been able to launch iChef.

The app gives restaurant and café owners valuable insight into the financial and operational performance of their business.

“Every business needs to focus on the numbers and what affects their business. If the numbers aren’t right, they’re wasting their time,” Matt explains.

Key areas of focus are menu costing, inventory management, food preparation, sales, staff management, function planning and key financial and operational metric analysis.

Matt says many people invest superannuation or life savings in their businesses and it’s a tragedy when they fail.

Collaboration to prove it works

Matt has engaged Samford-based Valid8 Innovations to facilitate trials of the app to prove it works and seek feedback to improve its performance, if needed.

Valid8 CEO and founder Carolyn Grant says her business “in its simplest form it is like a dating site that introduces innovative ideas and solutions to established businesses that have challenges or opportunities that can be met by our innovators”.

She’s connected Matt with Aussie Hunger Group Managing Director and Coolibah Tree Café Director Sam Ohri Puneet, who’s going to trial the app at a number of his sites.

Sam says the program allows business owners to see what they’re spending, what they need to order, reduce waste and make better decisions.

“I think this will help them to understand, because everyone wants to make money. We want the business to make money, but (often) don’t understand how to make money,” he says.

How iChef works

The app gives hospitality business owners the tools they need to succeed in a saturated market.

• iChef Pro removes the guess work when managing a kitchen
• iChef mobile will cost a menu
• The Turnaround management program provides advice and guidance on all facets of the business

“iChef takes the guesswork away. What we want, is to make a difference,” Matt explains.

He knows how people are feeling when they’re under financial pressure, having closed a restaurant of his own and running a catering company in recent years. He’s got more than 30 years in the industry.

“I’m still running a business, so I have to make sure my numbers are good,” Matt says.

“Finding someone willing to help you back in the day, when I needed someone, there was always a huge price tag. I had a full restaurant, but couldn’t pay the bills.”

Matt and David will take on feedback from Sam and others trialing the app and continue to work on the analytics to make it even more helpful, possibly forecasting need.

About Valid8 Innovations

The newly-started venture is providing a much-needed service for innovators, and an opportunity for businesses to tap into business improvement solutions without the internal risk.

It allows new Australian innovators to work with established businesses to run live trials.

“We welcome any business who wishes to list and express their interest in listening to pitches or bringing us a problem or wanting to trial new solutions,” Carolyn says.

Want to know more about Valid8 Innovations? Phone 0437 822 142.

For more information about iChef, head here.

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