Restaurant Lighting

The Top 5 Cost Reductions for QSR - Quick Serve Restaurants

Subscribe to Email Updates

As a quick serve restaurant or QSR, you need to always keep an eye on your bottom line. The difference between a successful month and one that leaves you struggling can be as simple as a few changes to your overall restaurant structure. By following these strategies, you can reduce your overall operating costs and make it easier for you to balance your restaurant's budget.

Strategy #1: Cut Food Waste

At a estimated 18 cents per meal, the cost of food waste adds up fast! When your restaurant throws away food at the end of the night--or, hopefully, donates it to those who need it--or tosses food that has gone bad, you're not just wasting food. You're also losing money!

In order to reduce food waste, learn to better estimate the supplies that your restaurant really needs. Avoid cooking extra quantities of food late at night or during slow times to help cut down on the amount of unnecessary food that's prepared each day. Reducing the size of your menu and eliminating dishes that use food items that aren't used in other areas can also help decrease food waste. 

Strategy #2: Control Staff on Site

Are you keeping half a dozen unnecessary people in your restaurant through the slowest time of the day? Do you find that you often have employees sitting around with nothing to do?

There's a careful balance that will help ensure that you have the right number of employees on hand without putting you in the position of paying employees to stand around. Carefully evaluate how you can better structure your schedules to help protect your restaurant's finances. 

Strategy #3: Use LED Lighting

QSR led lighting

Your energy bill is likely one of the biggest drains on your restaurant budget. By taking a quick walk around your restaurant, you'll quickly notice one big area in which you can experience substantial savings: your lighting.

LED lighting can significantly reduce the amount of energy necessary to light up your restaurant, leaving you with substantial cost savings each month. Many restaurant owners and managers miss out on the benefits of LED lighting due to increased upfront cost. LED lighting, however, typically lasts longer and costs less. 

MultiSite LED focuses on LED light conversions for multi-location QSR businesses across the United States. Check out our case studies to see the dramatic benefits of switching to LED lighting.

Strategy #4: Proper Hiring Practices

Did you know that your hiring processes can save or lose your company money? When you have high amounts of employee turnover, you waste a great deal of time and resources bringing in new employees.

Each new employee must also be trained to work in your restaurant, leading to further high costs. By streamlining your hiring process and making sure that you properly evaluate new employees, you can put your restaurant in a better position to save money throughout the hiring process. 

Strategy #5: Check Your Marketing

Are your marketing practices hemorrhaging money? Are you still using outdated practices like billboards to help reach out to customers who might be interested in your restaurant, but ignoring the benefits of inbound marketing?

Take a close look at your marketing strategies. Make sure that they are effectively keeping up with the times and actually reaching customers who are interested in your restaurant. Look for ways to reach customers where they are, and remove marketing strategies that worked in the past, but which are no longer helping to meet the goals of your restaurant. The better you can control your marketing dollars, the more benefits you'll experience. 

Saving money for your QSR is critical to your ability to continue to operate. If you need help securing LED lighting for your restaurant or you want to know more about energy-saving measures that can help reduce your overall costs, contact us today to learn more about how we can help shape your restaurant expenses for the better. 

quick serve restaurants