Toast Takes Restaurant Management Mobile With ‘Toast Now’

Toast debuted a mobile app that lets restaurateurs manage their eateries on the go.

Toast Now is part of a larger product rollout by the restaurant technology company that includes upgrades to its point-of-sale (POS) system, according to a Wednesday (Nov. 1) press release.

“Toast Now is designed to meet the ever-changing nature of running a restaurant — giving owners and operators the flexibility and control to run their restaurants from anywhere, at any time, ensuring they are constantly connected to what’s going on, whether on-site or a thousand miles away,” the company said in the release.

Beta testing showed users logging into the app around three times more often than the average users of the Toast web portal, per the release. The app offers real-time updates with live sales and labor reporting, as well as a “Manager Log,” which lets owners, operators and managers communicate without having to be at the restaurant.

Meanwhile, Toast has updated its POS tool to include features like “Advanced Table Management,” which offers things like “table timers to help optimize pacing and table turnover and also indicate which tables need attention,” the release said.

When it’s time for evening service with lower lighting, the POS’ table screens now come with dark mode, “allowing the POS to better blend in with the ambiance,” per the release.

The launch is happening as the restaurant industry’s digital shift has taken a slight step backward, as PYMNTS Intelligence found.

The study “How the World Does Digital: Daily Digital Engagement Hits New Heights” showed that while overall digital engagement rose 2.4% year over year, digital engagement in the restaurants category fell 0.1%.

In September, Toast announced the launch of its specialized product offerings, with Toast for Cafes & Bakeries following earlier solutions for hotel restaurants and quick-service restaurants.

“Running a successful cafe or bakery requires meticulous planning and preparation to produce a high volume of great food and drinks daily while also providing lightning-quick service during the morning and afternoon rush,” Toast Co-founder and Chief Operating Officer Aman Narang said at the time. “Toast for Cafes & Bakeries is designed to handle everything from rush times to catering orders, merchandise and more.”