RESTAURANT AI MANAGERNEW

Restaurant Purchase Approvals: Control Spend Without Slowing the Kitchen

A restaurant purchasing approval workflow decides which orders go straight to the supplier, which a purchaser checks, and which need a manager’s sign-off. In Restaurant AI Manager you set rules by order value, venue, supplier and category, give each venue a weekly budget that counts what’s committed as well as what’s arrived, and every order waits in one purchaser queue — suppliers see nothing until someone sends it.

Approval rules by value, venue, supplier and category — first match wins
Weekly budgets per venue, with committed and projected spend
One purchaser queue: approve, edit, merge, split, send back or send
Orders to suppliers off the preferred list flagged for a check

Try it live as operations manager See Restaurant AI Manager →

Built on Open Pantry ordering — free, and used by 5,000+ venues

Restaurant AI Manager purchaser queue for a restaurant group: orders from two venues awaiting finalisation, the next supplier cut-off, one order flagged as needing the purchaser, and an order showing the share of its venue’s weekly budget while it waits for the group owner’s sign-off

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Built for hospitality venues of every kindRestaurants Cafes Bars Pubs Quick service Catering Production kitchens Fine dining

Head office sees the big order when the invoice lands

Budgets get checked at month end, after the money is spent

A new chef orders from their old supplier at their old supplier’s prices

Every order needs the owner’s OK, so the owner becomes the bottleneck

Approvals happen by text message, with no record of who said yes

An order goes out the moment someone presses send, with no second look

Nobody knows a venue is over budget until Thursday’s deliveries have arrived

From a chef’s order to a supplier, with the right eyes on it

Set the rules once

Rules are checked top to bottom and the first match wins: small orders from preferred suppliers can go straight through, off-list suppliers go to the purchaser, and big orders need a named person’s OK. Anything no rule covers goes to the purchaser.

Give each venue a weekly budget

Budgets can be set by venue, supplier or category. Spend counts deliveries received, orders already with suppliers and orders waiting to be sent, so the figure reflects what’s coming, not just what’s landed.

Orders wait in one queue

Orders from every venue — typed by a chef or drafted from the forecast — wait in the purchaser queue with the next cut-off, the share of the venue’s budget and anything flagged. Suppliers see nothing yet.

The purchaser sends

Approve, edit, merge, split, reject or send back with a note, then send. Suppliers on Open Pantry get it in the app; anyone else gets it by email.

Try it live as operations manager

No sign-up — a demo restaurant group with a guide that shows you around

Rules that read the way you’d say them

Each rule is a plain sentence: “Over $2,000 needs Andrew’s OK”, “Off the preferred list — purchaser checks”. A rule can look at order value, venue, supplier and category, and can auto-approve, send for review or need several sign-offs in turn. Every rule shows how many recent orders it caught and keeps a history of changes, so you can see whether it’s doing its job.

Rules by value, venue, supplier and category
Auto-approve, review, or multi-step sign-off
How many recent orders each rule matched, and its history

Restaurant AI Manager approval rules and budgets: a rule sending orders over $2,000 to the group owner, a rule sending off-list suppliers to the purchaser, and weekly budgets per venue showing the share used, the amount left and one venue over budget

Budgets that count what’s coming

A budget that only counts paid invoices tells you you’re over after it’s too late. Net purchases per venue are deliveries received, less credits, plus or minus transfers — then what’s committed with suppliers and what’s waiting to be sent, giving a projected figure against budget for the week or the month. When a venue is heading over mid-week, it’s flagged while there’s still an order to change.

Net to date, committed, waiting and projected against budget
Credits and transfers between venues counted
Mid-week warning when a venue is heading over

Restaurant AI Manager net purchases versus budget for three venues: net to date, committed, waiting, projected and weekly budget, with one venue projected over its budget

One queue for the purchaser

The purchaser sees every waiting order from every venue in one place, grouped by supplier or sorted by risk, with the next supplier cut-off counting down. Each order shows what share of its venue’s weekly budget it uses and why it’s waiting — flagged by a rule, or waiting for a named sign-off. Clean orders are kept apart from the ones that need a look, so the purchaser starts with what matters.

Every venue’s orders, by supplier or by risk
Next cut-off and budget share on each order
Approve, edit, merge, split, reject, send back or send

Restaurant AI Manager purchaser queue order card: a seafood order for one venue at 69% of its weekly budget, awaiting finalisation and waiting for the group owner’s sign-off, with the time left to the supplier cut-off

Preferred suppliers and invoice limits

Keep a preferred supplier list, and any order to someone else is flagged off-list for the purchaser to check rather than going straight out. The same control carries through to invoices: approval limits let a venue manager approve bills up to a set amount, with finance above it. Each role sees only what it needs — a purchaser, a chef, finance and an area manager each get their own view.

Off-list orders flagged and routed to the purchaser
Invoice approval limits by role
Role-based access across the group

Restaurant AI Manager orders settings showing an off-the-preferred-list rule routed to the purchaser and the preferred suppliers section, where orders to anyone else are flagged off-list

What the approvals cover

Orders typed by the team or drafted from the forecastAny supplier, by emailDeliveries, credits and transfers between venuesSupplier invoices and approval limitsXero and QuickBooks OnlineRole-based access for every venue

Built by the team venues already order with

Christian Abbot

“Open Pantry has created exactly what the restaurant industry needs. Something very easy to use that doesn’t require any upkeep. Their menu costing feature is fantastic and simple enough that any chef or bar manager can use it. I think restaurants that are serious about growing their profit & managing their costs need to consider Open Pantry.”

Group Executive Chef, Australian Venue Company

Chefs Love Open Pantry

Junior Malvern crew x

Thank you OPEN PANTRY, we used to have to use 6 apps to get access to ordering from our suppliers, the fact we can do it all in one has saved an incredible amount of time & effort! We love you!

Tom Pearson

We’ve been using Open Pantry for a few months now and it’s been an absolute lifesaver. We’re short staffed so being able to place all of our orders with all of our suppliers in the one spot is a massive help.

James Evans

So glad this service exists. Has made it so easy for my manager & chefs to order & all payments are settled in one go. The recurring orders & pantry lists are amazing time savers!!

Why not just have the owner approve every order?

Because the owner becomes the reason the fish didn’t arrive. Approving everything treats a $90 bread order the same as a $4,000 wine order, so the important ones get the same quick glance as the rest. Rules let the routine orders through, send the unusual ones to a purchaser and keep the owner’s sign-off for the orders that need it — with the venue’s budget and committed spend on screen when they decide.

Restaurant purchase approvals — questions operators ask

How do I set up purchase approvals for a restaurant group?＋

In Restaurant AI Manager you write approval rules by order value, venue, supplier and category, in the order they should be checked. The first rule that matches decides whether an order goes straight through, goes to the purchaser or needs a named person’s sign-off, and anything no rule covers goes to the purchaser.

Can small orders go straight to the supplier without an approval?＋

Yes. A rule can auto-approve orders under a value you choose, from preferred suppliers or for certain categories, so routine orders aren’t held up. Larger or unusual orders can still be sent for review or multi-step sign-off.

How do weekly purchasing budgets work for each restaurant venue?＋

Each venue gets a weekly budget, and you can also budget by supplier or category. Spend counts deliveries received less credits, plus or minus transfers, and adds orders already with suppliers and orders waiting to be sent, so you see a projected figure against budget rather than just what’s been invoiced.

What happens when a venue is about to go over its purchasing budget?＋

It’s flagged mid-week, while there’s still time to change an order. Each order in the purchaser queue also shows what share of its venue’s weekly budget it uses, so the purchaser can see the effect before sending it.

Can I stop chefs ordering from suppliers that aren’t on our list?＋

You can keep a preferred supplier list, and any order to a supplier outside it is flagged off-list and sent to the purchaser to check before it goes. The order isn’t lost, but it doesn’t reach the supplier until someone has looked at it.

Do suppliers see an order before it has been approved and sent?＋

No. Orders wait in the purchaser queue, and suppliers see nothing until a person sends them. Suppliers on Open Pantry receive it in the app; anyone else receives it by email.

Can different staff have different approval limits for supplier invoices?＋

Yes. Invoice approval limits let, for example, a venue manager approve bills up to a set amount, with finance approving above it. Each role sees only what it needs, and approved bills go to Xero or QuickBooks Online as drafts.

Can I try the purchasing approval workflow before signing up?＋

Yes. The live demo signs you in as the operations manager of a three-venue demo group, with orders waiting in the purchaser queue and venue budgets to look at, and a guide shows you around. There is no free trial; the demo is the whole product, with nothing to sign up for.