The verdict in three sentences
Custom management software for a multi-location restaurant group in Toronto ranges from 30,000 to 65,000 EUR in 2026, depending on the number of sites, food-cost granularity and accounting integrations. The real stake is food-cost control: recovering 3 to 6 points of food margin across several restaurants weighs far more than the software cost. Budget 3 to 6 months to build a POS + stock + scheduling + consolidated reporting core.
Where the budget goes across 6 sites
A restaurant group does not lose money on the licence: it loses it on stock variances, unmonitored margins and poorly-set schedules. Here is the 2026 custom-development breakdown, order of magnitude.
| Module | Role | Range (EUR) | Timeline |
|---|---|---|---|
| POS / checkout | Tickets, payment methods, end-of-day | 7,000 - 15,000 | 4-7 wks |
| Stock management | Inventory, waste, thresholds, orders | 8,000 - 16,000 | 5-8 wks |
| Food cost & margins | Recipe cards, food cost, margin/dish | 6,000 - 14,000 | 4-7 wks |
| Scheduling & HR | Rosters, labour cost, clock-in | 5,000 - 11,000 | 3-6 wks |
| Consolidated reporting | Sales, margin, food cost by site and group | 5,000 - 12,000 | 3-5 wks |
| Accounting integration | Export to accountant, tax | 3,000 - 8,000 | 2-4 wks |
The low end (30,000 EUR) targets 3-4 sites with POS and stock; the high end (65,000 EUR) covers 6+ locations with granular food cost and integrated scheduling.
The real lever: consolidated food cost
Across a group, every recovered food-cost point drops straight to margin. Here are 2026 orders of magnitude for a 6-restaurant Toronto group with 4M EUR of revenue.
| Metric | Before | After software | Annual impact |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average food cost | 31% | 27% | -4 pts |
| Waste / spoilage | 4.5% of purchases | 2.5% of purchases | -2 pts |
| Group annual revenue | 4,000,000 EUR | 4,000,000 EUR | flat |
| Food margin recovered | — | +160,000 EUR | +4% of revenue |
| Inventory hours/month | 48 h | 18 h | -30 h |
| Cash variance/month | 1,900 EUR | 500 EUR | -1,400 EUR |
Four food-cost points on 4M EUR of revenue is 160,000 EUR of margin per year. Even capturing only half of that gain, the 55,000 EUR software pays back in about 8 months.
Need a professional website?
Kolonell builds websites that attract clients, optimized for the Sénégalese market. Free quote in 2 minutes.
Mini case study
Marc, operations director of a 6-restaurant group in Toronto (3.6M EUR revenue). Each manager orders on their own, inventories are on paper and food cost is only calculated at quarter-end. He invests 52,000 EUR in unified software delivered in 5 months. Over 12 months, average food cost drops from 32% to 28%, i.e. 4 pts x 3.6M EUR = 144,000 EUR of recovered margin, plus 15,000 EUR in avoided cash variances. Net return exceeds 100,000 EUR in year one: payback in under 7 months.
FAQ
What budget for a 3-restaurant group? Budget 30,000 to 42,000 EUR for POS + stock + consolidated reporting, delivered in 3 to 4 months. Granular food cost can follow in phase 2.
Do we have to replace the existing POS terminals? Often no: an integration (3,000 to 8,000 EUR) pulls data from your current POS and adds stock, food cost and reporting without replacing hardware.
How many food-cost points can we really gain? Moving from quarterly to daily recipe-card tracking, a 3 to 6 point gain is realistic in year one for a poorly-tooled group.
Does the software handle tax and accounting export? Yes: the integration module exports entries to your accountant with automatic tax breakdown, for around 3,000 to 8,000 EUR.
How much is maintenance? Plan for 15 to 20% of build cost per year, i.e. 4,500 to 13,000 EUR, covering support, enhancements and regulatory updates.
Let's scope your project. Tell us your number of sites, revenue and current food cost: we frame a scope in the 30,000-65,000 EUR range. Detailed quote within 48 h. WhatsApp +221 77 596 93 33.
Mohamed Bah
Fondateur, Kolonell
Passionate about digital and entrepreneurship in Africa, Mohamed has been helping Sénégalese businesses with their digital transformation since 2020. Founder of Kolonell, he believes every SME deserves a professional and accessible online présence.
