Food & beverage software in Germany: 10 providers at a glance [2026]

Digitalisation in German hospitality is progressing – but slowly. While most venues have now completed the switch to TSE-compliant POS systems, things often look different behind the scenes. Inventory management in Excel, orders by phone, stocktaking with a clipboard. Recipes in folders, costing in your head, purchase prices without comparison. The problem isn’t a lack of awareness, but a confusing provider landscape.

F&B software is not a homogeneous market. The term covers POS systems, inventory management systems, stocktaking apps, ordering platforms, recipe management tools and all-in-one platforms – often with overlaps, sometimes with gaps. This article sorts out the field.

We present ten providers that are relevant in Germany, Austria and Switzerland – from the specialised stocktaking tool to the comprehensive F&B management platform. Not a ranking, but an honest assessment: what can each solution do, who is it suitable for, and where are its limits?

Three categories of F&B software

Before you compare providers, you need to understand what kind of software you need. The market can be roughly divided into three categories:

1. Specialist solutions: Software that covers one area excellently. Examples: pure stocktaking apps, pure POS systems, pure ordering platforms. Advantage: quick roll-out, low price, high specialisation. Disadvantage: a standalone solution that has to be connected to other tools.
2. Modular platforms: Systems that offer several functional areas as modules. You start with what you need and expand later. Examples: Gastronovi, FoodNotify, Gewinnblick. Advantage: everything from one provider, data flows together. Disadvantage: higher complexity, often dependence on the provider’s POS system.
3. Back-of-house platforms: Software that focuses on the processes behind the scenes – inventory management, stocktaking, purchasing, recipe costing – and connects to the existing POS system via interfaces. Examples: BarBrain, Apicbase, MarketMan. Advantage: leaves your existing POS system alone. Disadvantage: no POS system included.

The right category depends on where you stand. If you already have a working POS system and only want to digitise your stocktake, you don’t need an all-in-one platform. If you’re starting from scratch, you’re often better off with a modular solution.

10 F&B software providers at a glance

The providers in detail

1. BarBrain – stocktaking specialist for bars, restaurants and hotels

BarBrain is a mobile stocktaking app from Munich that specialises in fast, precise stock counts in hospitality. Its unique selling point is the slider for opened bottles: instead of estimating how full a bottle still is, you set a slider to the fill level. That’s a decisive advantage for bars, where opened spirits make up the bulk of the inventory. The app runs on iOS and Android, several team members can count in parallel, and the finished stocktake report is available automatically. A product catalogue with more than 30,000 items makes creating products by hand largely unnecessary. Multi-location is supported; with the POS integration, the target-vs-actual comparison makes shrinkage visible.

In addition to stocktaking, BarBrain offers recipe management with automatic costing as an add-on (€29 per month): you enter your recipes with ingredients and quantities, and the app calculates the cost of goods per portion. An integrated purchase price comparison also provides transparency on how your suppliers’ prices are developing – across all sites.

Best for: Individual bars, cocktail bars, restaurants and hotels that want to digitise their stocktake without immediately introducing a complete inventory management system.

Price: From €52 per month.

Reference customers: Schloss Elmau, Ory Bar at the Mandarin Oriental Munich, Usagi Munich, Enchilada Gruppe.

2. Gewinnblick – POS system with inventory management and costing

Gewinnblick positions itself as a complete solution for hospitality, combining a POS system with inventory management, costing, purchasing and staff planning. Particularly noteworthy: the interfaces to wholesalers such as Transgourmet, Metro and Service-Bund as well as the integration with FoodNotify and Apicbase for extended F&B functionality.

Best for: Hospitality businesses that want POS and inventory management from one provider and value a direct supplier connection.

Limitation: A comparatively young provider. Market penetration is still lower than for Gastronovi or orderbird.

3. Gastronovi – the German all-in-one solution

Gastronovi from Bremen is one of the few true all-in-one solutions for hospitality in Germany. The platform combines POS, inventory management, costing, staff planning, a website builder, an ordering system and table reservations in one cloud-based solution. All modules interlock: what is sold at the POS reduces stock. What is ordered in inventory management flows into costing.

Best for: Medium-sized restaurants and hospitality businesses that are starting from scratch or want to replace their existing system completely. Particularly strong for venues that want everything from one provider.

Price: The first POS licence costs €69 per month, the second to fifth €59 each and from the sixth €49 each; billing is per device used. On top of that comes the cloud TSE at €14 per site. Modules are charged per venue, for example inventory management for €129 plus a one-off €199 onboarding fee, or alternatively on the success-based plan from €39. According to the provider, the annual plan saves 17%. (As of 11 Sep 2026, source: provider’s price overview.)

Limitation: The inventory management requires use of the Gastronovi POS system. If you already have another POS system and want to keep it, you have to switch POS – or do without the inventory management.

4. Apicbase – back-of-house for multi-unit restaurants

Apicbase is a Belgian platform specialising in menu engineering and the traceability of recipes. The software automatically calculates the food costs of every single ingredient in every dish, compares theoretical with actual consumption and provides dashboards for management. Via interfaces, Apicbase connects to common POS systems and ERP solutions.

Best for: Multi-unit restaurant groups and franchise concepts that want to manage their recipes centrally and benchmark food costs across all sites.

Limitation: The focus is on food, not beverages. For bars with complex spirits inventories there are more specialised solutions. DACH support is available, but it’s not the primary market.

5. MEINbusiness – controlling platform for operators and accountants

MEINbusiness takes a different approach from most tools on this list. Instead of managing operational processes (ordering, stocktaking), the software focuses on business controlling. It digitises incoming invoices, links them to staff and POS data and automatically generates metrics such as cost-of-goods ratio, contribution margins and staff productivity.

Best for: Operators who want to keep their numbers under control, and accountants who look after hospitality clients. Particularly relevant for multi-location businesses that need cross-site reports.

Limitation: No operational stocktaking function, no order management. MEINbusiness sits on top of the data – the operational recording has to happen beforehand.

6. MarketMan – the international back-of-house standard

MarketMan is an internationally established system for stocktaking, order management and recipe costing. Its strength lies in broad POS integration (Toast, Lightspeed, Square, Clover and others) and automatic stock tracking: every sale at the POS reduces stock in real time. MarketMan is now part of the Meal Ticket Group and is mainly used in the USA and UK.

Best for: International restaurant chains and venues with English-speaking teams looking for a proven system with strong POS integration.

Limitation: German-language support and connections to German suppliers are limited. For a purely DACH-based venue there are closer alternatives.

7. Choco – digital ordering platform for operators

Choco from Berlin solves a very specific problem: communication between operator and supplier. Instead of ordering by phone, WhatsApp or fax, everything runs through an app. Order history, chat with the supplier, invoice management – all in one place. The special thing: Choco is free for operators. The platform is financed by the supplier side.

Best for: Any hospitality business that wants to digitise its ordering processes – regardless of size. As a complement to a stocktaking or inventory management system, not as a replacement.

Limitation: Choco is not a stocktaking system and not an inventory management system. It only digitises the ordering process. For end-to-end inventory management it has to be combined with other tools.

8. orderbird – the iPad POS system for operators

Orderbird is one of the best-known POS systems for hospitality in Germany. The iPad-based solution covers order taking, table management, payment processing and basic sales analysis. orderbird PRO is an extended version with API access, through which third-party software (for example for inventory management or accounting) can be connected.

Best for: Small and medium-sized hospitality businesses looking for a reliable, easy-to-use POS system. Particularly popular with cafés, bars and owner-managed restaurants.

Limitation: Orderbird offers no inventory management or stocktaking function of its own. For digital stock tracking you need an additional tool such as BarBrain or FoodNotify.

9. FoodNotify – F&B management platform for the DACH region

FoodNotify from Vienna is probably the most comprehensive F&B platform in the German-speaking region. It combines ordering (with direct supplier connections to wholesalers such as Transgourmet or Metro), recipe management with LMIV-compliant allergen labelling, inventory management, digital stocktaking, catering planning and analytics. The result is a continuous flow of data: what you order flows into your stock. What you sell is booked automatically. What you put on the menu is documented for allergens.

Best for: Hotel chains, contract catering, catering companies and larger hospitality businesses that want to manage several sites centrally.

Price: From €174.90 per month.

Limitation: The platform does not offer its own POS system. You need an existing POS that is connected via an interface. For small single venues the range of functions may be oversized.

10. Supy – enterprise solution for restaurant groups

Supy from Dubai is aimed at multi-branch hospitality businesses with 5+ sites. The platform combines procurement, stocktaking management, central kitchen control and business intelligence. Strong points: real-time variance analysis across all sites and multi-level approval processes for orders.

Best for: Large restaurant groups and franchise concepts that need central control over purchasing and stock tracking across all sites.

Price: From $250 per month.

Limitation: DACH is not the primary market. Support and integrations are optimised for the Middle East and the UK. Oversized for German single venues.

Which software suits your venue?

How does it all fit together?

In practice, most venues don’t use one tool but two or three, connected via interfaces. A typical set-up for a restaurant:

POS: orderbird or Gastronovi (records sales)

Stocktaking: BarBrain (records stock; with the POS integration, target-vs-actual comparison with POS data)

Ordering: Choco (digitises supplier communication)

Controlling: MEINbusiness or your accountant via DATEV

What matters is that the systems talk to each other. When choosing, check which interfaces a tool offers – and whether your existing POS system is supported.

Frequently asked questions

What is F&B software?

F&B stands for food & beverage. F&B software refers to all digital tools that support operators and hoteliers in managing their food and beverage operations. This includes stocktaking, inventory management, order management, recipe costing, controlling and more.

What does F&B software cost in Germany?

The price range is wide. Ordering platforms like Choco are free. Specialised stocktaking apps like BarBrain start from €52 per month. Modular platforms like Gastronovi start at €69 per month for the first POS licence, with modules such as inventory management (€129) added separately; FoodNotify starts from €174.90. Enterprise solutions like Supy start from $250 per month. Providers such as Apicbase and MEINbusiness price individually.

Do I need an all-in-one system or can I combine tools?

Both work. An all-in-one system (Gastronovi, Gewinnblick) is simpler because everything comes from one provider. Combined solutions (orderbird + BarBrain + Choco) are more flexible because you choose the specialist for each area. Combining them does, however, require the tools to be connected via interfaces.

Can I test F&B software before deciding?

Most providers offer free demos or trial periods. BarBrain, for example, you can test free and without obligation for 30 days. Use the trial period to run through at least one complete workflow (e.g. a full stocktake) with the tool.