Restaurant365 is accounting software for restaurant groups. It keeps the books, handles vendor bills, runs payroll, builds schedules, and tracks inventory and recipes. RestaurantMate covers buying and food cost. It compares your vendors' prices before you order, fills every vendor's online cart from one place, reads your invoices and costs your recipes. It does not keep your books, run payroll or build schedules.
If you run 30 locations with an accounting team, Restaurant365 is built for that job. If you own two or three restaurants and still do most of the buying yourself, RestaurantMate is likely the closer fit. This page explains the difference. Restaurant365 prices and features are as of October 2026.
What is Restaurant365?
Restaurant365 (often shortened to R365) is back-office software made for restaurants. Back office means the office side of the business: the books, the bills and payroll. Its pricing page describes four areas:
- Accounting, with "a restaurant-specific GL and chart of accounts" and automated accounts payable.
- Inventory and purchasing, covering waste, transfers and recipe costing.
- Workforce management, with drag-and-drop scheduling and sales forecasting.
- Payroll and HR, including time tracking and benefits.
Two of those terms come up a lot. The general ledger (GL) is the master record of every dollar that comes in and goes out. It is what your accountant closes each month. Accounts payable (AP) is the money you owe your vendors, and the work of checking and paying those bills.
Its pricing page asks you to request a custom quote. R365's own blog gives the ranges: the Essential plan at $469 to $499 per location per month, and Professional at $689 to $749. Every plan includes unlimited users.
What RestaurantMate does
RestaurantMate is a digital restaurant manager for restaurants and restaurant groups. It works with the vendors you already buy from: large distributors, club stores and local suppliers.
- Prices on the same unit. Each vendor's product gets a price per pound, per ounce or per each, worked out from the vendor's own pack size. Prices are refreshed overnight. How price comparison works
- One cart for every vendor. Send your order to every vendor's online cart from one place. RestaurantMate fills each cart and checks every line, so you can review and check out. The cart is split by vendor and shows each vendor's minimum order.
- Every invoice in one list. Invoices from vendor websites are pulled daily. Vendors who only email invoices send them to your RestaurantMate inbox. You can mark any item damaged, short or wrong, and track it until it's sorted out.
- Counts and recipes. Counts are valued at the prices you paid. Send your recipes in any format (a photo, a PDF, a spreadsheet). RestaurantMate sets them up, clears the obvious ones and asks you only about the unclear ones.
- Sales and labor. Sales come from your POS (point-of-sale system, the register). That works with Toast and SpotOn today, and we add your POS on request. Labor is read from 7shifts and Homebase.
RestaurantMate does not keep a general ledger, pay your bills, run payroll or build schedules. If you need those, you keep your bookkeeper and your scheduling tool alongside it.
Side by side
| Restaurant365 | RestaurantMate | |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | Accounting and back office for restaurant groups | Buying and food cost for restaurants and restaurant groups |
| When you see a vendor's price | From invoices, after you buy. Some vendors can send contract prices through an order guide import (early adopters only) | Before you order. Website vendors are checked overnight on your own login |
| Ordering | Purchase orders by email, or electronically (EDI) to vendors that support it | One cart split by vendor. RestaurantMate fills each vendor's online cart and checks every line; you review and check out |
| Invoices | Yes, through accounts payable automation | Yes. Website invoices pulled daily, emailed invoices through your inbox, or upload 20 files at a time |
| Recipes and food cost | Yes | Yes, from the prices you paid |
| General ledger and bill pay | Yes | Not offered |
| Payroll and scheduling | Yes | Not offered. Reads labor from 7shifts and Homebase |
| POS connections | Broad; many POS systems supported | Toast and SpotOn today; more on request |
| Price per location per month | Essential $469 to $499; Professional $689 to $749 | Free for 60 days, then $99 |
| Setup | Implementation takes "a few weeks to several months"; one-time cost, price not published | $0, done with you. $300 refundable device deposit |
Restaurant365 facts are from its public website and docs, as of October 2026. Sources are listed at the end.
The biggest difference is when you see the price
Restaurant365 learns most of your prices from invoices, which means after you've bought. Its vendor integrations page lists connections for importing invoices, sending purchase orders electronically, and importing order guides to update contract prices. A contract price is the price you have agreed with a distributor. An order guide is your list of the items you usually buy from a vendor. The same page says order guide integrations "are only available for Early Adopters." We did not find a way in R365's public docs to compare your vendors' prices side by side before ordering.
RestaurantMate checks prices first. Each night, the RestaurantMate device in your restaurant signs in to your vendors' websites with your own logins and reads today's prices on your account. Open an item and you see every vendor that sells it, priced per pound or per each. Build an order and the cart shows a savings note on any line where another of your vendors has it for less.
Here is why the same unit matters. These are made-up numbers for two fictional vendors:
| Valley Fresh Produce | Heartland Foodservice | |
|---|---|---|
| Roma tomatoes | 25 lb case, $31.25 | 20 lb case, $27.00 |
| Price per pound | $1.25 | $1.35 |
Heartland's case costs less, so it looks cheaper. Per pound, Valley Fresh costs 10 cents less. At 100 pounds a week, that is $10 a week, or $520 a year, on one item.
Every vendor you already use, through a device in your restaurant
R365's electronic connections depend on what each vendor supports. RestaurantMate works the way you already buy. Vendors with a website connect with your own login. Vendors who only email invoices and price sheets send them to your RestaurantMate inbox, or you connect Gmail or Outlook read-only. Your vendors don't have to sign up for anything. We connect to any vendor you buy from. If we haven't connected one yet, we build it for you, usually within days.
The logins run on the RestaurantMate device, a small computer plugged into your router. Vendor websites block logins from cloud servers, so the device signs in from your restaurant's own internet connection. Your vendor logins are stored privately, used only to sign in to that vendor, and never shown back. The device is a $300 refundable deposit, and one device covers up to two locations. More about the device
Where Restaurant365 is stronger
Restaurant365 does things RestaurantMate does not do, and some of them matter a lot to a growing group.
- Real accounting and payroll in one system. Vendor bills, the general ledger and payroll share one system, so your accountant closes the month where the invoices already are.
- Built for scale. It is made for groups with many locations, and every plan includes unlimited users, so each manager and bookkeeper gets a login.
- A large partner ecosystem. R365 connects to many more POS systems and other tools than RestaurantMate does. RestaurantMate syncs sales from Toast and SpotOn today, and adds yours on request.
- Scheduling and forecasting. R365 builds schedules. RestaurantMate only reads the labor you already track in 7shifts or Homebase.
RestaurantMate is also much newer. It is live in more than 10 restaurants across Columbia (MO), Kansas City, Los Angeles and Boston.
What two locations cost each month
Here is a two-location group, using R365's own published ranges.
| RestaurantMate | Restaurant365 Essential | |
|---|---|---|
| Monthly subscription | Free for 60 days, then $198 ($99 x 2) | $938 to $998 ($469 to $499 x 2) |
| One-time costs | $300 refundable device deposit (one device covers both locations). Setup $0 | Implementation, one-time, price not published |
That is a difference of $740 to $800 a month. It is not a like-for-like comparison. R365's price includes accounting, and RestaurantMate's does not. If you would pay a bookkeeper or buy accounting software either way, add that to RestaurantMate's side before you compare.
A few things to ask R365 for in writing:
- Implementation. R365 says it takes "a few weeks to several months" and is priced separately. No figure is published.
- What each plan includes. Ask which of accounting, payroll, scheduling and accounts payable automation are in the plan you are quoted.
RestaurantMate's price is published: 60 days free with no card, then $99 per location per month. You can leave whenever you like. See pricing
Who should pick which
Pick Restaurant365 if:
- You run many locations, say 30, and have an accounting team that wants one system.
- You want the books, vendor bills, payroll and schedules under one login.
- You can give implementation a few weeks to several months.
Pick RestaurantMate if:
- You own a few locations and do the buying yourself, or with a manager.
- Your bookkeeper already has accounting software they're happy with.
- You want to see which vendor is cheaper before you order.
- You want setup done with you, at no cost.
Miguel runs two restaurants in Los Angeles. RestaurantMate has cut his food purchases by about 10%, and by 20 to 30% on some items where he switched vendors, and his manager gets back 4 to 5 hours a week. When we asked him to wait three weeks for a new version before onboarding his second location, he wrote: "No, it would be great if you could onboard me today. I cannot imagine running my second location without RestaurantMate anymore."
Other Restaurant365 alternatives
If you're looking at Restaurant365 alternatives, three other tools cover parts of the same work. Prices are from each company's own pricing page, as of October 2026.
- MarginEdge reads your invoices and adds bill pay and accounting integrations for $350 per location per month. Prices come from invoices, after you've paid. RestaurantMate vs MarginEdge
- MarketMan does inventory, recipe costing and purchasing, with plans at $249, $299 and from $449 a month (starting prices; check whether they are per location). RestaurantMate vs MarketMan
- xtraCHEF by Toast is Toast's invoice and food cost product, available in the US only and priced by quote through Toast. It fits best if you already run Toast. RestaurantMate vs xtraCHEF
Common questions
Can RestaurantMate replace Restaurant365? Only the buying and food cost side. It does not keep a general ledger, pay bills, run payroll or build schedules.
Can I keep Restaurant365 and add RestaurantMate? Yes, as two separate tools. Your accounting stays where it is.
Will RestaurantMate order without me? No. RestaurantMate fills each vendor's online cart and checks every line. You, or someone you give full ordering access, review and check out.
Try it on your own vendors
Start with 60 days free. No card required. Get started or try the live demo first.
Sources (all as of 2026-10-09)
- Restaurant365 pricing page (modules; custom quote)
- Restaurant365 blog, plan prices, unlimited users, implementation timeline and costs (undated, © 2026)
- Restaurant365 vendor integrations (invoice, purchase order and order guide types; order guides for early adopters only)
- User reviews of Restaurant365 (worth reading for setup experiences)
- MarginEdge pricing
- MarketMan pricing
- xtraCHEF by Toast, tiers and US availability Prices and features checked October 2026 from each company's public website. Product names are trademarks of their owners. RestaurantMate is not affiliated with Restaurant365, MarginEdge, MarketMan or Toast. If something here is out of date, email us and we will fix it.