Operations and data
12 articles from the Katalyst team.
Food cost percentage: how to calculate it, what's normal for your concept, and how to actually move it
The food cost formula done right, 2026 benchmark ranges by restaurant type, theoretical vs. actual variance, and the cost levers ranked by evidence.
The role of real-time reporting in modern restaurant success
Why real-time reporting has become essential — instant sales insights, better labor management, smarter inventory, and data-driven marketing.
How AI-powered reporting improves restaurant profit margins
How AI-powered reporting helps restaurants protect razor-thin profit margins through real-time sales, inventory, labor, and customer insights.
How restaurant intelligence is shaping the future of dining in 2025
How AI-powered analytics, real-time reporting, and 200+ KPIs are reshaping the way restaurants operate, optimize, and grow in 2025.
How AI is revolutionizing restaurant staffing and scheduling
How AI-powered scheduling forecasts demand, automates shift management, and keeps labor costs in check while improving employee retention.
How restaurant owners are cutting costs with AI-powered inventory management
Inventory mismanagement is one of the biggest profit killers in the restaurant industry. Here’s how AI-powered tracking, predictive ordering, and vendor management cut waste and protect margins.
The future of restaurant AI: how smart technology is reshaping the industry
How AI is transforming restaurant management with predictive analytics, automation, and real-time insights — and where the next wave of robotics, voice ordering, and AI marketing is heading.
How reporting and analytics can transform your restaurant business: a data-driven approach
Why reporting and analytics — not gut instincts — drive winning decisions in today’s restaurant business: KPIs to track, data to collect, and how to put it to work.
Restaurant intelligence: the gateway to restaurant analytics
Level 2 of restaurant intelligence — descriptive analytics. How looking back at sales, customers, operations, and finances sets the foundation for everything else.
Restaurant intelligence vs. restaurant analytics: elevate your restaurant’s data game
Restaurant intelligence (RI) describes what happened. Restaurant analytics (RA) predicts and prescribes what to do next. The five-level framework, explained.
Restaurant intelligence and analytics defined: basic reporting
Level 1 of restaurant intelligence — basic POS reporting. The foundation that turns raw data into clear, comparable insights about past performance.
Elevating data quality and tracking with native integrated systems
Why native integrated systems — not bolted-together SaaS stacks — produce the data quality, tracking, and security restaurants need to make confident decisions.