The verdict in three sentences
For a multi-site restaurant group in Abidjan, a custom management solution costs between 4,000,000 and 10,000,000 FCFA in 2026, versus a SaaS POS at 25,000-60,000 FCFA/month per location. Custom is justified when centralizing stock, margins and revenue across several outlets becomes unmanageable on separate tools. Below two restaurants, a market cloud POS is the right choice; beyond three, the investment pays off in 10 to 16 months.
Modules and what they return
A group doesn't buy a POS, it buys consolidated control: seeing in real time each site's margins, stockouts, shrinkage and most profitable sales channel. Here are the modules and their economic impact.
| Module | Indicative cost (FCFA) | Main gain |
|---|---|---|
| Multi-site connected POS | 1,200,000 - 2,500,000 | Consolidated real-time revenue |
| Centralized stock management | 800,000 - 1,800,000 | -20 to -30% food waste |
| Per-dish margin tracking | 600,000 - 1,200,000 | Optimized menus, controlled food cost |
| Proprietary click and collect | 1,000,000 - 2,000,000 | 0% commission vs 15-30% aggregators |
| Management dashboard | 400,000 - 900,000 | Decisions per site, per day |
| Wave/OM payment integration | 300,000 - 700,000 | Native mobile collection |
Proprietary click and collect is often the most profitable item: it replaces aggregators (Glovo, Yango and others) that charge 15 to 30% per order.
ROI per restaurant: the real 2026 figures
The classic mistake is reasoning on the software price. You must reason on recovered margin per location. Here's a 2026 order of magnitude for a site doing 60,000,000 FCFA annual revenue.
| Lever | Annual impact per restaurant |
|---|---|
| Reduced food waste (food cost) | +1,800,000 FCFA |
| Aggregator commissions avoided (click & collect) | +2,400,000 FCFA |
| Margins optimized via per-dish tracking | +1,200,000 FCFA |
| Administrative time saved | +900,000 FCFA |
| Estimated total gain per restaurant | +6,300,000 FCFA/year |
For a group of four restaurants, cumulative annual gain nears 25,000,000 FCFA, meaning an 8,000,000 FCFA solution pays off in under 5 months of full operation.
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Mini case study
Adjoua, operations director of a group of four restaurants in Abidjan (Cocody, Plateau, Marcory, Riviera), currently runs four independent POS systems and stock on spreadsheets. She invests 7,500,000 FCFA in a custom solution with connected POS, centralized stock and proprietary click and collect.
Within six months, food waste drops 26%, and 40% of takeaway orders move to the owned channel instead of aggregators. Estimated first full-year gain: about 19,000,000 FCFA across the four sites. The investment is repaid in under 5 months, before even counting recovered administrative time.
FAQ
From how many locations does custom become profitable? Generally from three restaurants. With one or two sites, a SaaS POS at 25,000-60,000 FCFA/month is enough and avoids a heavy investment.
How long to build the solution? Expect 4 to 6 months: scoping, development, site-by-site rollout and staff training. A pilot on one restaurant before scaling reduces risk.
Is proprietary click and collect worth the cost? Yes as soon as takeaway volume is significant: avoiding 15 to 30% aggregator commission often repays the module in under a year on a single site.
Can Wave and Orange Money be integrated into the POS? Yes, natively. Mobile collection is built into the click and collect checkout and the in-room POS, with automatic reconciliation.
What annual maintenance should you plan? Between 600,000 and 1,500,000 FCFA/year depending on the number of sites: hosting, updates, support and menu or module changes.
Let's scope your project. Tell us your number of locations, your revenue per site and your takeaway volume: we'll scope a connected POS and proprietary click and collect sized for your margin. 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.
