For independent US restaurants who do volume.
Direct ordering, KDS, loyalty, marketplace economics — written by the team building FoodyOS.
Owner.com pricing in 2026: what it costs and what is included
Owner.com pricing as published, October 2026: Flexible $249/mo, Flat Rate $499/mo, the per-order fees, and what its POS costs.
ChowNow pricing in 2026: plans, setup fee and card rates
ChowNow pricing as published, October 2026: Launch from $229/mo, Grow from $319/mo, Elevate from $409/mo, plus setup and 2.95% + 29¢ card fees.
Do you need a separate website if you have a POS?
A POS and a DoorDash listing don't give you a website you own. When a direct-ordering site is worth it, when a website vendor isn't, and how to tell.
Apple Wallet loyalty cards for restaurants
Apple Wallet (Passbook) loyalty cards for restaurants: how the pass works, how points update over the air, what ships today. iPhone only, no Google Wallet.
Print kitchen tickets without proprietary hardware
Any ESC/POS thermal printer — Star Micronics, Bixolon, Epson, generic — driven from tablets you already own, over your local network (Wi-Fi or wired).
Restaurant inventory management software in 2026
MarketMan publishes $249 to $449 a month. BlueCart, xtraCHEF and Restaurant365 publish no price. What each inventory tool does, October 2026.
Staff scheduling tools for restaurants in 2026
7shifts, Homebase, Sling and When I Work compared for restaurants — features, pricing, payroll integration and labor compliance, with cited sources.
Front-of-house table management best practices
How to run a host stand in 2026 — waitlist, reservations and table turn-time — plus the reservation platforms US restaurants actually use.
Restaurant financial reporting and COGS in 2026
COGS, prime cost, ideal vs actual food cost and the P&L integrations that matter — Restaurant365, MarginEdge, xtraCHEF, QuickBooks. With IRS sources.
Restaurant food safety and FSMA 204 tech in 2026
HACCP, FDA Food Code 2022, FSMA Rule 204 traceability, allergen flow, temperature monitoring — what to actually buy. With FDA + USDA primary sources.
Why FoodyOS restaurants bring their own Stripe
We stay out of your payment flow. How connecting your own Stripe account to FoodyOS works, why we built it that way, and what it saves you.
In-house delivery vs DoorDash Drive
DoorDash Drive and Uber Direct fees vs running your own drivers — the real math, the ops cost, where FoodyOS dispatch fits, and when to keep a fleet.
Restaurant management system buying guide 2026
An RMS isn't a POS — it's POS, KDS, online ordering, delivery dispatch, hostess and loyalty in one. How to evaluate one without a hardware contract.
Direct ordering vs DoorDash and Grubhub
Why direct ordering wins on retention and unit economics — and how to run it alongside the marketplaces instead of fighting them, with a worked example.
How to stop paying third-party delivery fees
A six-month plan to move from marketplace-heavy to direct-heavy ordering using channels you already own: Google, Instagram, receipts, QR codes, WhatsApp.
Kitchen display system buying guide
Per-ticket timers, drag-to-reorder, recall, course timing and allergen highlighting — what separates a real KDS from a screen showing paper tickets.
Run a restaurant loyalty program without an app
Phone-number-indexed loyalty beats app-based loyalty for almost every independent. Why the Starbucks model doesn't apply — plus a 4-week playbook.