Building a Restaurant Management System | Case Study

Building a Restaurant Management System for an African- Based Fintech Company

Success Story

About the Client

InTouch is a pan-African fintech company focused on payment solutions and digital service aggregation. It offers a single-account, multi-channel, modular platform supporting 3,000+ businesses and 60,000 TouchPoints across 16 countries. The platform enables secure transactions, real-time reporting, invoicing, mass payments, loyalty programs, and cross-border settlements.

Country:

Senegal

Industry:

Fintech

Business Situation and Requirements

InTouch identified an opportunity to expand into the hospitality sector, where many restaurants still relied on manual processes for reservations and food ordering. These methods often led to longer wait times, booking inconsistencies, and limited customer convenience, while also lacking integrated digital systems and payment technologies to support efficient operations and revenue growth.

To address this, InTouch planned to launch “Restopay,” a tech-enabled solution tailored for restaurant operations. They required an intuitive interface, reservation and order management systems, digital menu integration, secure payment gateway integration, advanced analytics, and a centralized dashboard to streamline operations and improve customer experience.

Through collaborative discussions, Unthinkable and the client defined a comprehensive set of requirements:

Build an intuitive Restopay interface for restaurant staff and customers
Implement reservation management with real-time updates and preference tracking
Integrate digital menus with images, descriptions, and pricing details
Develop order management for processing, tracking, and fulfillment
Integrate InTouch payment gateway for secure, seamless transactions
Enable analytics, reporting, and a centralized dashboard for operations management

Solution

The project began with a collaborative “Discover and Frame Workshop,” where Unthinkable’s business analysts and the InTouch team aligned on product vision and requirements. This phase helped define a clear product roadmap tailored to business goals and operational needs.

Following this, design and engineering teams worked on user research, journey mapping, and architecture planning. The solution was built using Angular, Java, MySQL, and Firebase, ensuring scalability, security, and real-time performance. The platform focused on simplifying restaurant operations while improving customer experience through integrated digital workflows.

Reservation Management

Enable table booking with real-time availability and preferred dining time selection
Allow staff to manage reservations and seating arrangements in real time
Generate unique reservation codes for tracking and identification purposes
Provide filters to view reservations by date, time, and status

Reservation Management

Food Ordering System

Allow customers to browse menus, customize dishes, and place orders digitally
Support multiple menus with dynamic updates for different meal times
Provide detailed descriptions, images, and add-on options for items
Track order status in real time for staff and customers

Food Ordering System

Room Service

Enable guests to place room service orders with delivery time preferences
Capture room details and route orders directly to service staff
Allow requests for additional services and amenities within the app
Integrate room service orders with billing for accurate processing

Room Service

Planned Order Management

Allow customers to schedule orders in advance for events or occasions
Enable the selection of dishes, timing, and special instructions easily
Highlight scheduled orders for kitchen and staff preparation workflows
Send reminders and notifications to ensure timely execution

Planned Order Management

Delivery Management

Manage in-house and third-party delivery orders efficiently
Generate QR codes for tracking delivery status and accuracy
Assign delivery tasks and track progress in real time
Provide customers with live updates on delivery status

Delivery Management

Admin Panel

Provide a dashboard for monitoring orders, reservations, and customer feedback
Enable menu updates, pricing changes, and availability management
Support staff role assignment, performance tracking, and payroll management
Ensure data security and compliance with robust system controls

Admin Panel

Chef Portal

Display incoming orders in real time based on priority and preparation time
Allow chefs to update dish status from preparation to completion
Provide clear visibility into the kitchen workflow and order queue
Improve coordination between the kitchen and service staff

Chef Portal

Waiter Portal

Enable waiters to manage tables, orders, and customer requests efficiently
Support split billing, tips handling, and special instructions management
Provide real-time communication with the kitchen and management teams
Improve service speed, accuracy, and overall customer experience

Waiter Portal

Impact

The restaurant management solution delivered measurable outcomes for InTouch’s operations. Over 45 restaurants were onboarded onto the platform, with more than 10,000 successful orders processed. By digitizing reservations, ordering, and delivery workflows, the system reduced manual effort and improved overall operational efficiency.

The platform also enabled staff to focus more on customer service. Based on these results, InTouch continued the collaboration, expanding the solution with additional features such as loyalty programs, timed discounts, and promotional codes.