Restaurant365 Acquires Restaurant Training Platform ExpandShare

Restaurant management platform Restaurant365 finalized its acquisition of ExpandShare.

The deal gives the company access to a learning management system designed to help restaurants deliver and track training content, according to a Tuesday (April 9) press release.

“Guest satisfaction is paramount to restaurant success, and the main driver for both is capable employees who carry a strong company culture to customers,” Restaurant365 Co-founder and CEO Tony Smith said in the release. “We’re thrilled to offer this invaluable learning tool to the 40,000 locations we serve.”

ExpandShare’s mobile platform helps managers save time by making resources available to staff at the right place and time, according to the release. It features a course builder and a marketplace of prepared industry courses and templates in more than 80 languages.

“We’re grateful to join Restaurant365 in its mission to integrate and streamline restaurant workforce management, alongside accounting and store operations, on a single platform,” said ExpandShare founder Eric Harsh in the release. “We’ve seen the importance of labor investment and development in recent years and are excited to help restaurants further strengthen their teams, operations and bottom lines.”

Speaking with PYMNTS last year, Smith said restaurant operators are looking for specialization in their software solutions, as well as breadth in terms of specific capabilities.

“Restaurants really value an all-in-one because they’re not usually technologists, and so they want to simplify,” he said at the time.

Aside from restaurant-specific, unified solutions, restaurateurs are also looking for tools that allow them to work more intelligently and efficiently. Smith noted that the two most-requested capabilities are those that simplify workforce management and provide restaurants with greater visibility into key metrics.

Restaurants need help keeping customers as happy, as many of them seem to be shying away from eating out. Nearly half of all consumers earning less than $50,000 per year have cut back on their restaurant visits.

Earlier this year, Restaurant365 added a tip automation tool to its platform, designed to improve payroll accuracy and efficiency for restaurant leaders, letting restaurant managers set customizable rules to streamline tip payouts, payroll and compliance.