The right restaurant management software significantly enhances efficiency and control of operating costs. MarketMan offers tools for automating invoicing, recipe costing, and food cost calculations, making it a popular choice among restaurateurs.
However, with numerous similar systems available, tailored to various types of food service operations and specific use cases, you might ask, ‘Which software is the best fit for my business?’
This article explores MarketMan’s features and assesses their suitability for different restaurant types. We also analyse customer feedback from platforms like G2 and Capterra to highlight the pros and cons users have encountered.
Finally, we will explore the best alternatives to MarketMan, helping you decide which restaurant inventory management platform aligns best with your needs.
MarketMan stores your recipe, ingredient, and inventory data and automates many restaurant management tasks, such as inventory counts, cost calculations, and purchasing. It runs in the cloud, so these functions are available wherever you are on any device.
Here are the most important features of the platform and what they help you do.
Below are the biggest pros and cons of MarketMan’s software, based on user reviews on software comparison websites such as G2 and others.
Overall, users are positive about MarketMan’s capabilities. Several users say MarketMan is easy to use or that it’s easy to train employees to use the system. Many say automation features like invoicing, scanning, and cost calculation are great time-savers. One customer praises the ability to track the costs of inventory items and recipes, saying it allows a restaurant chain to give more specific feedback to managers rather than just “food cost is too high.” The app has been described as helpful and has many functionalities.
Complaints are mainly about the limited support MarketMan offers and the system’s difficulties in managing non-standard operations. One user praised MarketMan as a procurement tool but thought recipe management was too technically complex and error-prone. Another said the system would often crash and mentioned that the MarketMan support team was slow to respond to urgent requests, which left the user unable to use the system. The lack of support was echoed in other reviews. Noteworthy is that while invoice scanning is seen as a pro, some users say the feature isn’t accurate, making the data unreliable.
MarketMan is a versatile tool designed for restaurants of all sizes. It offers valuable insights into inventory management and cost of goods sold (CoGS). The system performs best in a straightforward business setup, such as a restaurant with nine locations, on-site production, and static recipes/menus.
MarketMan has many competitors, including accounting and cost management systems, POS systems with inventory management features, and dedicated inventory and recipe management platforms.
Its top competitor is Apicbase, an end-to-end F&B management platform that integrates with POS systems, suppliers, and BI and offers robust API endpoints to create a streamlined tech ecosystem.
MarketMan works well in all types of restaurants, from small to large. In contrast, Apicbase is explicitly designed to manage the complex operations of multi-site and enterprise-level food service companies, including central kitchens.
Here are the key features Apicbase offers that make it a strong competitor to MarketMan.
MarketMan and Apicbase offer similar services. They are regarded as the leading back-of-house management software, allowing restaurants to create recipes, connect with their POS system and order from suppliers.
MarketMan works great out of the box. However, users find its functionalities somewhat limited for complex operations, such as a head office centrally managing multiple branches or local outlets that order from and receive deliveries from central kitchens.
Apicbase, in contrast, provides a more sophisticated approach to managing recipes and suppliers, offering greater flexibility and deeper insights into menu engineering, stock movements and purchasing.
While smaller companies with hands-on founders may not require these advanced features, larger organisations particularly value the stable and innovative capabilities Apicbase provides.
In comparison to MarketMan, Apicbase has:
Let’s compare MarketMan and Apicbase in more depth.
In Apicbase, each ingredient listed in a recipe is associated with the specific package format offered by the supplier. This feature is significant because it means that when a recipe is used, the inventory system deducts the exact package or portion used, reflecting the actual items as they decrease in stock.
For example, if a recipe calls for 500ml of olive oil, and olive oil is supplied in 1-litre bottles, Apicbase will accurately track the depletion of half a bottle from inventory.
Many restaurant management systems, including MarketMan, simplify stock tracking by depleting either the point-of-sale (POS) items directly sold to customers or the raw materials in generic quantities.
This can make stock depletion somewhat abstract and potentially inaccurate because it doesn’t consider how ingredients are actually packaged and used. Apicbase enhances precision in inventory management by aligning ingredient usage with how ingredients are stored and purchased. This approach ensures accurate inventory levels, minimises waste, and improves ordering efficiency.
Detailed inventory tracking is crucial for Apicbase users, particularly those managing large-scale or multi-location operations. It allows for better financial oversight, reduces discrepancies between theoretical and actual stock levels, and supports more informed purchasing and menu pricing decision-making.
MarketMan requires a workaround to manage semi-finished products within its inventory module. Apicbase, on the other hand, can manage both the raw materials purchased and the semi-finished products created from these materials within its inventory system.
When a semi-finished product (like a sauce or prepped vegetable mix) is produced, the system automatically deducts the raw materials used from the inventory and adds the quantity of the new semi-finished product. This ensures that all ingredient movements are tracked accurately.
For example, if a kitchen produces a batch of marinara sauce, the system will subtract the tomatoes, herbs, and other ingredients from the raw materials stock while adding the completed marinara sauce as a semi-finished product to the inventory.
This is particularly interesting for central production kitchens. The differentiation between purchased goods and produced goods ensures stock records accurately reflect both raw materials and semi-finished goods, minimising discrepancies and preventing issues like overstocking or shortages.
In MarketMan, the central kitchen is treated similarly to an external supplier, which means it is essentially viewed as a source of orderable items. This approach limits its integration with other aspects of restaurant management.
In contrast, Apicbase treats the central kitchen as a fully integrated part of the business, complete with production, stocking, and procurement capabilities synchronised with individual outlets’ purchasing systems.
For Apicbase users, this integrated approach is crucial because it enables accurate tracking of both central production units (CPUs) and individual outlets. It ensures that orders and product movement between the central kitchen and the outlets are recorded in real-time, helping maintain precise inventory records in the central kitchens and outlets.
User reviews suggest that MarketMan’s customer support services are underdeveloped. In contrast, Apicbase has prioritised exceptional customer support to help its users maximise ROI and employee adoption. 35% of Apicbase’s full-time employees are part of the customer success team, making it the second-largest department of the company*. Apicbase offers comprehensive onboarding packs, various channels for inquiries, and extensive online resources. Customers frequently praise the effectiveness of Apicbase’s support processes and Apicbase’s professionalism in general.
One Apicbase customer said: “The team is eager to learn and improve the product based on our feedback. This creates a super valuable relationship where we both grow.”
*Product Development is the largest department, accounting for 55% of FTEs.
In addition to Apicbase, MarketMan’s competitors include top POS providers and restaurant management systems, each with their specialities, advantages, and weaknesses.
Let’s look at MarketMan’s other competitors in more detail.
Restaurant365 is a back-of-house restaurant management software provider focusing on accounting, inventory and scheduling, workforce management, and analytics. It is a popular choice for BOH management, mainly for companies in the US. Although it overlaps with MarketMan on accounting, inventory management, and analytics, it doesn’t have the level of recipe management and food costing features a platform like Apicbase has.
Restroworks is a restaurant management system that focuses on front and back-of-house operations. At its core, it is a POS system that has broadened its offering to include inventory, recipe, and supply chain management tools. It also offers a range of kitchen operations tools, such as a kitchen display system and production management features. Apicbase integrates with Restroworks.
Delaget specialises in data analytics for QSR chains and other restaurants. The software provider competes with MarketMan in terms of helping restaurants uncover inefficiencies using their data and improve operational efficiency.
Micros Symphony from Oracle is a POS system that integrates numerous restaurant management features, from advanced ordering and delivery to inventory management. Oracle is a payments provider, so its focus is more on front-of-house, ordering and payments. As a more general restaurant management system, its inventory management features are less of a competitor to MarketMan than a dedicated system like Apicbase. Both MarketMan and Apicbase integrate with Micros.
Most restaurant inventory management software appears similar at first glance, offering functionalities like storing recipes, managing stock, and ordering from suppliers.
However, the differences lie in how the systems manage the supply chain, raw materials, production processes, outlets, and central kitchens. These differences dictate which software best suits a particular type of restaurant or food service company.
If you need precise inventory monitoring across multiple locations to reduce discrepancies in food costs, consider Apicbase a solid alternative to MarketMan.
Get in touch to see if Apicbase fits your needs.
Did you know a poorly managed menu could cost you thousands in wasted food and…
As your company grows and market demands evolve, your current systems may struggle to keep…
The new CSRD regulations require large food service companies to report on Scope 3 emissions,…
Multi-unit restaurant operators continually work to reduce overhead costs, minimise food waste, and uphold brand…
Ever wonder what it takes to scale a small family-owned restaurant into a fast-growing chain—without…
Next to labour costs and rent, food costs are the highest expense for every restaurant.…