How to Keep Your Restaurant Running When Technology Fails

Protect Your Business from Power Outages, System Crashes, and Other Disasters

Picture this: It’s your busiest Friday night. The dining room is packed, orders are flying in, and suddenly—everything goes dark. Your point-of-sale system shuts down, your walk-in cooler stops running, and you can’t process credit cards. What happens next could make or break your business.

If you don’t have a backup plan, you could lose thousands of dollars in a single night. But with the right preparation, you can keep serving customers even when technology fails.

Why Restaurant Owners Need a Backup Plan

Restaurants depend on technology more than almost any other business. When that technology fails, the costs add up fast:

Lost Money Every Minute

Can’t take orders or process payments
Customers leave and go to competitors
Staff stands around waiting instead of working

Food Goes Bad Quickly

Refrigerators and freezers stop working
Expensive inventory spoils in hours
Health department may require you to throw everything away

Important Information Disappears

Employee schedules get lost
Sales records vanish
Vendor contact information becomes unavailable

Safety Problems

Kitchen equipment may malfunction
Emergency lighting fails
Staff doesn’t know what to do

The good news? Most of these problems can be prevented with a simple backup plan.

Step 1: Know Which Systems Matter Most

Not every piece of technology in your restaurant is equally important. Focus your backup efforts on these critical systems:

Internet and Cloud Services

Your internet connection powers most of your daily operations. When it goes down, everything stops. Most restaurants now use cloud-based systems for:

Taking orders
Processing payments
Managing inventory
Scheduling staff

Point-of-Sale (POS) Systems

Your POS system is like the heart of your restaurant. Popular options include:

Square for Restaurants – Easy to use, works on tablets
SpotOn – Built specifically for restaurants
Toast – Handles everything from orders to payroll

Without your POS system, you can’t take orders, split checks, or accept credit cards.

Inventory Management Tools

These systems track your food costs and help prevent waste:

Lightspeed – Tracks ingredients and menu costs
MarketMan – Manages ordering and food costs
SimpleOrder – Connects with vendors automatically

Losing this information means you don’t know what food you have or how much money you’re making.

Employee Management Software

Staff scheduling and payroll systems keep your labor costs under control:

7shifts – Popular scheduling app
Social Schedules – Handles time tracking
When I Work – Simple scheduling tool

Without these systems, you can’t track hours worked or follow labor laws properly.

Refrigeration and Power

Your walk-in coolers and freezers protect thousands of dollars in food inventory. Even a few hours without power can spoil everything.

Step 2: Set Up Automatic Backups

The biggest mistake restaurant owners make is forgetting to back up their data. Automatic backups solve this problem by saving your information without you having to remember.

Cloud Backups Happen Automatically

Most modern restaurant software saves your data to the cloud automatically:

QuickBooks Online – Backs up your financial records
Square – Saves all your sales and customer data
7shifts – Keeps your schedules safe

The advantage of cloud backups is that your data stays safe even if your restaurant burns down or floods.

Local Backups Give You Quick Access

Local backups save copies of your data in your restaurant:

External hard drives
Network storage devices
Secondary computers

Local backups let you get back up and running quickly after small problems, but they won’t help if your building is damaged.

Use Both Types Together

The smartest restaurants use both cloud and local backups. This “hybrid” approach gives you:

Quick recovery from minor problems
Complete protection from major disasters
Multiple copies of important information

Pro Tip: Schedule backups to happen during slow times, like early morning hours. Test your backups every month to make sure they actually work.

Step 3: Prepare for Power Outages

Power outages are the most common problem restaurants face. Here’s how to prepare:

Protect Your Food First

Food safety is your biggest concern during power outages:

Check Your Refrigeration Units

Make sure door seals are tight
Keep thermometers in all coolers and freezers
Know how long food stays safe without power (usually 4 hours for refrigerators, 48 hours for full freezers)

Consider a Backup Generator A generator doesn’t have to power your entire restaurant. Even a small one can:

Keep your walk-in cooler running
Power essential lighting
Run your POS system
Charge phones and tablets

Know Food Safety Rules

Refrigerated food is safe for 4 hours without power
Frozen food stays safe for 48 hours in a full freezer
When in doubt, throw it out

Keep Paper Copies of Important Information

When computers don’t work, you need paper backups:

Staff schedules and contact information
Vendor phone numbers
Emergency procedures
Menu prices (for manual orders)

Store these documents in a waterproof container in an easily accessible location.

Have Manual Payment Options Ready

When your POS system is down, you need other ways to take payments:

Manual credit card machines (ask your credit card processor)
Cash-only procedures
Paper order forms
Calculators for adding up bills

Step 4: Train Your Staff

Your backup plan only works if your employees know what to do. Train your staff on these emergency procedures:

Immediate Safety Steps

When the power goes out, staff should:

Turn off all gas equipment immediately – This prevents dangerous gas leaks
Turn off kitchen appliances – Prevents damage when power comes back
Use emergency lighting – Flashlights and battery-powered lights
Stay calm – Panicked staff make customers nervous

Customer Service During Outages

Your staff should know how to:

Explain the situation to customers calmly
Offer alternatives (like cash-only service)
Apologize for inconvenience
Keep customers informed about progress

Document Everything

Train staff to write down:

Exact time the outage started
What systems are affected
Steps taken to fix problems
When power returned

This information helps with insurance claims and shows health inspectors that you followed proper procedures.

Step 5: Create a Disaster Recovery Plan

A disaster recovery plan is like a playbook for emergencies. It tells everyone exactly what to do when something goes wrong.

Set Time Goals

Decide how long your restaurant can be closed before you start losing serious money:

Recovery Time Objective (RTO): Maximum time you can be closed (usually 2-4 hours for restaurants)
Recovery Point Objective (RPO): How much data you can afford to lose (usually less than 1 hour of sales data)

Plan Your Communication

Create a list of who to contact during emergencies:

All staff members (phone numbers and backup contacts)
Key vendors and suppliers
Insurance company
Local health department
Utilities company
Social media accounts (to update customers)

Assign Responsibilities

Make sure everyone knows their job during an emergency:

Who calls the utility company?
Who handles customer communication?
Who checks food safety?
Who contacts staff?

What to Do After Power Comes Back

Getting the power back doesn’t mean you can immediately reopen. Follow these steps:

Check Food Safety First

Take temperatures in all refrigerators and freezers
Throw away any food that got too warm
Document what you had to discard (for insurance)
Call the health department if you’re unsure about anything

Test All Equipment

Before reopening:

Check that all kitchen equipment works properly
Test your POS system and internet connection
Make sure refrigeration units are cooling properly
Verify that phones and communication systems work

Update Your Customers

Use social media to let customers know:

When you’re open again
If you have limited menu options
Any special deals to make up for the inconvenience

Learn from the Experience

After every outage:

Review what went well and what didn’t
Update your emergency procedures
Retrain staff if needed
Consider upgrading your backup systems

Take Action Today

Don’t wait until disaster strikes. Here’s what you can do this week:

Day 1: List all your critical systems and how long you can survive without each one.

Day 2: Set up automatic backups for your most important data.

Day 3: Create paper copies of essential information (staff contacts, vendor numbers, emergency procedures).

Day 4: Train your key staff on emergency procedures.

Day 5: Test your backup plan during a slow period.

Get Professional Help

Setting up a complete backup and recovery plan can be complicated. At RPM Computing, we help restaurant owners protect their businesses from technology disasters. We can:

Assess your current technology setup
Design a backup plan that fits your budget
Train your staff on emergency procedures
Monitor your systems to prevent problems
Provide 24/7 support when things go wrong

Ready to protect your restaurant? Contact RPM Computing today for a free consultation. We’ll help you create a backup plan that keeps your business running no matter what happens.

Don’t learn about the importance of backups the hard way. Protect your investment, your staff, and your customers by planning ahead.

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