Most restaurants stay on software they dislike because switching feels risky. Here is the method that removes the risk entirely.
Ask an owner why they are still using a system they complain about weekly, and the answer is almost never that they like it. It is that changing feels dangerous. Menus to rebuild, staff to retrain, and the fear of a Friday night going wrong.
That fear is reasonable. It is also avoidable.
The method: run both, briefly
You do not switch systems the way you flip a light. You run the new one alongside the old one until the new one is boring.
- Menu built first, by someone else. Before anything changes on your floor, your full menu - items, prices, sizes, modifiers - is rebuilt in the new system. You review it, they correct it. This is the longest part and it happens entirely off your floor.
- Parallel running. The new system goes on a spare tablet next to your existing till. Staff try it during quiet periods. If it goes wrong, nothing happens - the real till is right there.
- Go live at a quiet hour. A weekday morning, never a Friday. The old system stays connected but unused for a few days.
- Someone on the phone for the first busy service. Not a help centre article. A person who knows your setup.
Done this way, most restaurants are fully switched inside 48 hours and never stop trading.
What should move with you
- Full menu with prices, categories, sizes and modifiers
- Staff list and roles
- Table or floor layout
- Supplier and stock lists
- Customer contacts, where your current system allows an export
Ask these before you sign anything
The reason switching is painful is usually decisions made when you joined the last system. Do not repeat them:
- How long is the contract, and what does it cost to leave? Multi-year terms with termination fees are common.
- Is the hardware usable elsewhere? Proprietary hardware becomes scrap the day you leave.
- Can I export my data - all of it - whenever I want? Some systems make you download records one at a time.
- How do I cancel? If the answer involves a ticket queue rather than a person, take it seriously.
- Do you take a percentage of my sales?
Timing
Switch during your quietest week of the month, never before a holiday, and never during a period you have marketed heavily. Give yourself a boring fortnight.
Related reading
We do the switch for you
We rebuild your menu, run Orderly alongside your current till until your team is comfortable, and go live on a quiet morning. Free, and you never stop trading. See how migration works.
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