• Business Growth & Optimisation

8 Free Apps to Help Your Restaurant Succeed

6 min. read13.09.2021
By Team Zeller

Attract customers and manage your venue with a swipe of your finger.

A reality of the modern age is that everyone has a mobile phone, and more often than not it’s on their person. Though often a source of distraction, your mobile phone can help to manage your business and streamline day-to-day tasks — if used correctly.

Whether you run a fine-dining restaurant, sandwich shop, fish and chipper, or franchise, there are a number of free apps available to help propel your business to the next level. Each of the below mobile apps is available for free, and can help hospitality merchants with different tasks such as staff rostering, social media, general venue management, and more.

Keep reading to discover eight free apps that will make your life easier.

1. Canva

Tasks: Marketing, social media content

Devices: Android, iOS and desktop

Price: Freel, with the option to upgrade to Pro for $165 a year

Canva is an easy-to-use graphic design program that gives you the tools to whip up social media posts, posters, flyers, business cards, logos and more. The app includes ready-made templates, which you can drop your own imagery and other visual assets into. Or, tap into Canva's extensive library. You can also upgrade to the premium version, which gives access to design services.

This app can help you get more consistent social posts and signage, doing the work of a marketing professional for free. It even has templates for designing your restaurant menu. They provide video tutorials on how to use each feature even if you’re a design novice.

2. Homebase

Tasks: Rostering, staff communication, clocking on/off

Devices: Android and iOS

Price: Free, with subscriptions starting from $26.95 a month

This handy app allows you to schedule and track work schedules for every employee on your roster. At its most basic level, Homebase provides a visual tool for building flexible and interactive rosters that can be sent out to employees and synced with their own calendars.

Homebase can also provide you, as an employer, visibility of everyone’s total hours — as well as overtime and breaks. The app automatically calculates labour costs up to the minute, to help you understand your staffing expenses and identify opportunities to improve operations and overall efficiency.

Another key feature of the app is that it provides a space for communicating with your whole team — making it easy for employees to swap shifts, where required. The headache of finding staff last minute is not an easy one to fix, but by providing a space for staff to communicate, it is one you can streamline. This will be especially important as businesses reopen after lockdown, as staff need to feel supported to call in sick when they are unwell.

3. Sprout Social

Tasks: Social media management

Devices: Android, iOS, and desktop

Price: Free, with membership plans starting from $99 per month

Sprout Social provides one core place to carry out all of your social media activity. If your business has an active presence on a few social media platforms, Sprout Social will likely save you time (and frustrating) clicking from one to another.

Not only does this app allow you to schedule, publish and manage social media posts across multiple channels, it also provides an analysis of how your social media marketing is performing.

Sprout Social’s analytic tools let you compare your business page’s success against the competition, and suggests ways to engage with more consumers. This is will ensure you are reaching the right diners, in the best way possible.

4. SurveyMonkey

Tasks: Market research

Devices: Android and iOS

Price: Free, with team plans available from $23 a month

Get real-time feedback on what diners think about your venue, staff and food with SurveyMonkey’s simple survey app. There are templates you can use to gain insight into their favourite dish or what meal deal they'd like to see — or you can create your very own questions to send off via email, text or on social media.

This app also allows you to search and compare the results of your surveys, charting data in charts and tables to help you easily understand the results and use them in a meaningful way for your business.

SurveyMonkey is particularly useful for those merchants considering growing their restaurant or cafe business, and have accrued a list of customer emails or have another way of reaching engaged customers — such as via social media. You might consider asking customers at which price point they would upgrade to a meal deal, or if they would participate in a loyalty card program, and then use the answers to improve the way you market your business.

5. Mailchimp

For: Email marketing

Devices: Android and iOS

Price: Free, with premium plans from $13 a month

Mailchimp is an email marketing platform that allows you to schedule and monitor your ongoing communication strategy. In a nutshell, Mailchimp enables you to reach your customers in a quick and cost-effective manner – you can send up to 12,000 emails to 2,000 subscribers each month for free – and also provides detailed insights about who is opening your emails and what is capturing their interest.

Never used an email marketing platform before? Mailchimp is a great place to start. Built-in templates are available for you to tweak to suit your brand colours, and you can even download email sign-up forms to share via your social channels to grow your audience.

Once you've grown an engaged list of email subscribers, it's a great way to send regular announcements — or a monthly newsletter with news from the kitchen, special recipes and the like.

6. Australian Taxation Office

Tasks: Tax and super management

Devices: Android and iOS

Price: Free

End of financial year is a tedious time for merchants, however the Australian Tax Office app can help alleviate some of the pressure. It allows you to record and manage your income and expenses, keep track of your super, documents your deductions, and set up notifications for key lodgement and payment dates for your business.

Small business benchmarks are built in to the app, making it easy to compare your performance against others in the hospitality industry. Or, if you've just started operations, these figures can help in setting goals.

7. Asana

Tasks: Task management

Devices: Android, iOS and desktop

Price: Free, with subscriptions for premium features starting at $14.99 per month

Whether you're focussed on a big project (such as opening a new restaurant or expanding your business), or you have regular tasks you want help managing (such as processing staff pay), Asana can help you stay on top of it. It acts like a virtual, collaborative to-do list available to everyone involved in the action.

The Asana app allows you to plan, organise and keep track of how you're progressing towards your goals, as well as providing a forum for all relevant communication and updates, all in one place. It will benefit your business by letting you organise tasks by priority, assign different jobs to different employees, and providing a visual timeline of how the project is going.

8. Dropbox

Tasks: File storage and sharing

Devices: Android, iOS and desktop

Price: Free up to 2GB of storage, or $17.50 per month for up to 2TB of storage

There might be any number of files you wish to share with staff – from workplace health and safety guidelines, your sick leave policy, draft menus and more. Installing the Dropbox app will allow you to provide access to documents, images and videos with anyone else in the business.

You can edit files even when offline, and changes can be seen across the business. For example, upload your roster as a spreadsheet to allow employees to see when a shift is changed. The app also allows for photos and videos to be automatically backed up and saved for easy organisation.

There’s an app for almost everything. While it’s not necessary to rely on an app for every single aspect of running your business, there are certain apps that can help improve efficiency and ease workload — which can help you grow your business in the long run.

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Meet Zeller: we’re reimagining banking for Australian businesses

Accepting payments, managing your finances, and paying recipients should be simple. Unfortunately, this isn’t always the case. Our research shows the majority of Australian business owners are dissatisfied with their business banking. The truth is, most merchant services solutions aren’t built to help your business thrive. That’s where Zeller comes in. Today, we’re launching Zeller — giving Australian merchants affordable, accessible, and innovative tools that enable businesses to get paid, access their money, and manage cash flow — without ever having to set foot inside a bank. We’re reimagining business banking through powerful new technology, backed up by local support and personalised service. An innovative SME alternative to business banking “Innovative” isn’t a word usually heard in the context of merchant services. Finding integrated financial solutions to grow and support your business often requires you to weave together multiple products from different providers, which typically means longer processing times, more paperwork, and a more frustrating experience. Large enterprises benefit from financial solutions tailored to their specific needs; traditional banks have shown that they’re more than willing to pour resources into supporting big business. However, this comes at a cost to the everyday Aussies behind our small to medium sized businesses. SME owners are typically forced to fit the traditional banking mold, suffering through archaic onboarding processes only to be hit with high fees, lock-in contracts, and slow processing times when the paperwork is complete. For new business owners, this can present what seems like an insurmountable hurdle to starting and growing a venture. With 67% of businesses stating they would prefer a non-Big 4 bank, it’s clear that Australian business banking is fundamentally broken. A lack of innovation from the incumbents means merchants like you are overlooked and underserved, at a time when they should be thriving. Businesses need new tools, technology, and support to grow. And that’s why we built Zeller. What’s in the box Zeller is all-in-one payments and finance solution for Australian businesses. It helps to accelerate your business cash flow by giving you a next-generation EFTPOS terminal, a free business transaction account, and free business Mastercard, all in one box. 1. Zeller Terminal Our research revealed that 71% of business owners using clunky EFTPOS terminals regularly consider switching providers. High costs and expensive fees, slow deposits that impact cash flow, and a lack of local support are all common reasons for businesses looking to switch. The majority of Australian business owners are dissatisfied with outdated EFTPOS technology currently on the market. Zeller Terminal is an all-in-one card payment and EFTPOS solution. Our next-gen payment terminal allows you to accept every payment from every customer – Zeller Terminal accepts contactless devices, contactless cards, chip cards, magstripe cards, and will soon also accept alternative payment methods such as Alipay and ZipPay. As new payment methods continue to emerge and shape the way Australians pay for products and services, Zeller Terminal will adapt to support Australian businesses to grow. Read more about Zeller Terminal . 2. Zeller Transaction Account We understand that being able to effectively manage and access your cash flow is key to the long-term survival of your business.  That’s why we make sure your funds are available as quickly as possible after taking payment from a customer. Zeller Transaction Account is included free when you sign up for Zeller. Your account is instantly ready to use, giving you real-time visibility over your settlements and spending — no lengthy paperwork required. When you take payment through Zeller Terminal, funds are settled directly into your free Zeller Transaction Account within the day. You also have the option of sweeping your funds into any existing bank account, and they’ll be accessible as soon as your bank allows. Read more about Zeller Transaction Account . 3. Zeller Mastercard By giving you the tools to accept payments, store and settle funds, and spend your money, we're significantly reducing the time it takes for you to get access to your funds. According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics, more than 60% of small businesses close within their first three years — and the most cited cause for business failure is poor cash flow. As a business owner, fast access to your funds to pay your staff, suppliers, or buy product, is imperative. Read more about Zeller Mastercard . By seamlessly combining these services into a fully integrated solution, Zeller significantly reduces the time businesses spend on finding a merchant services provider, completing lengthy applications, getting set up, and connecting disparate payments and financial services solutions — all while speeding up your business’s cash flow. Watch the video to see how Zeller works in more detail. Your business, your way Merchant services should work the way your business needs, allowing you to pick and choose the business banking products you need to sustain and grow a profitable business. With Zeller, you have the option to choose the parts you need – Zeller Terminal, Zeller Transaction Account, and Zeller Mastercard work just as powerfully together as an integrated solution as they do alongside your existing products. Learn more about our EFTPOS machines and how our newly launched products are changing business banking for the better.

Zeller Terminal: Your EFTPOS Payments Solution, and So Much More

Meet your newest recruit: a sleek, reliable multitasker that takes payments, processes sales, cuts costs, grows tips, splits bills, and boosts your brand. Once upon a time,  EFTPOS terminals did one thing: accept card payments. In 2024, they have become the beating heart of a business’s finances, incorporating myriad tools and features to help merchants not only deal with the increasing volume of card payments, but also make informed business decisions, deliver premium and branded customer service, and get you paid faster. Zeller Terminal is one such device that’s leading the way in payment technology in Australia. Integrated into Zeller’s financial ecosystem, which offers a  point-of-sale system ,  transaction account  and  savings account ,  debit cards  and  corporate cards , a  contact directory  and  mobile app , Zeller EFTPOS Terminal is a key component of an all-in-one system that gives businesses real-time visibility of their cash position, important sales insights, and near-instant access to their funds. So much more than an EFTPOS machine, Zeller Terminal is a key growth driver for your business, and below, we explain twelve reasons why. Top 12 benefits of Zeller Terminal 1. It saves your business money. Zeller Terminal is yours to own outright for the low cost of $99, or $199 if you choose Zeller Terminal 2, which comes with a built-in point-of-sale system. There are no monthly rental fees, no lock-in contracts, and no hidden costs. Once you start taking payments, you will only ever incur a 1.4% transaction fee for all card types – including AMEX – or 1.7% for over-the-phone transactions. Plus, with Zeller Terminal’s flexible surcharging capability, you can choose to pass on all or part of your merchant fee to the customer. Unlike many merchant services providers which lock you into surcharging for an added fee, Zeller’s zero-cost EFTPOS  option can be turned on, off, or customised at the press of a button. 2. It accepts every payment method. Zeller Terminal gives your customers the option to pay however is most convenient for them. To make payment, a customer can: tap their smartphone, watch, or other  NFC-enabled device  to the terminal tap their contactless debit and credit cards to the terminal insert a chip card into Zeller Terminal and, if needed, securely enter their PIN swipe their card and enter their PIN, or sign directly on the screen (available on Zeller Terminal 1 only) call you and read their card details over the phone 3. It simplifies checkout with a free, built-in point-of-sale system. Traditional point-of-sale software can be costly to growing businesses, which is why Zeller Terminal 2 incorporates a simple POS solution right into the hardware, for free:  Zeller POS Lite . Designed for micro, small, and mobile businesses, this easy-to-use POS solution records sales and delivers a fast and secure customer checkout experience. With Zeller POS Lite, you can: Manage a library of items directly on the terminal or via Zeller Dashboard or App Customise your product offering with modifiers and variants Design your home screen grid to allow quick access to frequently used items Generate itemised receipts which customers can receive via email, SMS, or QR code View detailed sales reports to understand what you are selling and when Create and manage discounts Get set up instantly – Zeller POS Lite comes automatically installed on Zeller Terminal 2 4. It boosts your brand with customisable receipts and screensavers. Zeller ensures your brand is central to the payment process by allowing you to customise both your receipts and your machine’s screensaver. Whether they’re printed or sent digitally as an email or SMS, Zeller receipts can incorporate a custom image at the top of the receipt, as well as business details, social media handles, a brief message or returns policy. Similarly, Zeller Terminal’s large digital screen can be customised with an image of your choice, allowing you to engage your customers with your brand while you scan their items or pull up their order on your point-of-sale. Much more than a simple payment device, Zeller Terminal is an innovative marketing tool that can be leveraged to instil your brand messaging. Customise your Terminal screensaver and your receipt to align with your brand. 5. It splits payments. Gone are the days of making your customers get out their phone calculator to figure out who owes what after a group meal. Zeller Terminal’s  Split Payments  functionality gives customers the option of splitting by custom value or by number of people. Not only is this more convenient for your patrons, but it speeds up the payment process, freeing up the EFTPOS terminal for it to be used by other staff. Additionally, by giving each individual customer the option to pay their share, it gives them all the opportunity to provide a tip. Everyone tips differently, so by giving more power to each customer, it is not only a more democratic process, it's likely to result in cumulatively greater tips for your business. 6. It settles the bill, tableside. Zeller Terminal’s  Pay at Table  feature is revolutionising the dining experience. Where before waitstaff would have to jostle between the diner’s table and the point-of-sale machine to settle a bill, Zeller Terminal now allows you to see total outstanding bills, take payments and close tables — all on one device. Rather than the customer paying at the counter or finalising the bill in the traditional, time-consuming manner, waitstaff can deliver the bill and the mobile payment device, all at the same time. The status of a table is updated in real time and synced across all machines, reducing human error and optimising the whole operation. 7. It makes processing refunds easy. Zeller Terminal supports both complete and partial refunds – and you, as a business owner, have the ability to restrict who can provide a customer with a refund. It’s an added level of protection for your business. Refunding a payment doesn’t cost your business anything; Zeller doesn’t charge any additional fees for refunding a customer. 7. It gives you real-time insights. Track key metrics from your Zeller Terminal in your own Zeller Dashboard or on  Zeller App . By providing powerful real-time data and a searchable transaction history, Zeller equips you with the tools you need to better manage cash flow, identify cost-saving opportunities and sales patterns. With most payment services providers, daily transaction information is unavailable until totals are tallied up at close of business — and important business information can only be found in a monthly merchant services statement. Having the ability to see how your business is performing at a glance enables you to quickly understand your short-term cash flow, progress sales targets to meet (and outperform) business objectives, and ultimately make smarter business decisions. 9. It gets you paid faster with same-day settlements. When you settle your funds into a Zeller Transaction Account, your day’s takings from Zeller Terminal will be deposited into your account the very same night, 365 days a year. If you choose to settle your funds into a third-party bank account, you will receive them the next business day. Speeding up the settlement process means you have access to your funds faster, helping to keep your cash flow healthy, and helping to avoid delays to wage payments or supply orders. 10. It can be controlled remotely. If your business operates across multiple locations, you need an easy way to manage your EFTPOS payment terminals. Every one of your Zeller Terminals can be controlled from your Zeller account, ensuring consistency across your entire operation. Update your staff permissions, enable and disable surcharging, update the information on your receipts, and more from one easy, online location. 11. It increases your tips. Zeller Terminal makes it easy for customers to leave a tip. This is particularly useful for hospitality businesses — you don’t have to enable the feature, but the functionality is there. You can configure your Zeller Terminal to provide a range of tipping options, either prompting a customer to leave a tip calculated on a percentage of their purchase or allowing them to enter a custom amount. This is a proven tactic, designed to grow tips for your business. 12. It reduces paper with digital and QR code receipts. A recent study* revealed that Australia produces 10.6 billion paper receipts annually, but because of their chemical coating, none of them can be recycled. With consumers and businesses becoming increasingly aware of their environmental footprint, many are choosing digital receipts as a convenient and sustainable alternative. Zeller Terminal embraces this step forward by offering customers the choice to have their receipts sent via email or SMS (available on both terminal models), or they can quickly scan a QR code which appears on-screen after the payment has been processed and download their receipt directly to their smartphone (Zeller Terminal 2 only). *‘Life Journey of an Average Receipt’ report, commissioned by Slyp, undertaken by the University of Technology Sydney (UTS). Plus protection for your business. Zeller uses end-to-end encryption and industry best practices to protect transactions from the time they are taken at the terminal to the time your money is received. Whether you choose to use an open or secured Wi-Fi connection or a mobile broadband-based connection, all the information Zeller processes is encrypted to our servers. Our team adheres to industry best practices in cybersecurity and threat management, constantly monitoring transactions for suspicious activity and blocking fraudulent transactions. When payment disputes occur, our team of experts deals with the bank for you, helping you avoid costly chargebacks. We’re always looking ahead. Our team of developers are hard at work, continuously building new functionality to give your business an edge. That's why, when you sign up for Zeller, there are no lock-in contracts or commitments. We know you’ll love our solution enough to never want to leave. Learn more about how  Zeller Terminal  can help your business grow by accepting every card payment, quickly and securely, for one low rate. By sharing your details with us, we may contact you from time to time. 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