Food & Beverage Software in Germany: 10 Providers Compared [2026]

Digitalisation in German hospitality is progressing – but slowly. Whilst most businesses have completed the switch to TSE-compliant POS systems, behind the scenes it often looks very different. Stock management via Excel, orders by phone, inventory with a clipboard. Recipes in folders, costing in your head, purchase prices without comparison. The problem is not a lack of awareness but the confusing provider landscape.

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

We present ten providers that are relevant in Germany, Austria and Switzerland – from the specialist inventory tool to the comprehensive F&B management platform. No ranking, but an honest assessment: what can each solution do, who is it suited for, and where are its limits?

Three categories of F&B software

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

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

The right category depends on where you stand. If you already have a functioning POS system and only want to digitise inventory, you do not need an all-in-one platform. If you are starting from scratch, a modular solution is often the better route.

10 F&B software providers at a glance

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The providers in detail

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

BarBrain is a mobile inventory app from Munich that specialises in fast, precise stock counting in hospitality. Its unique selling point is the slider for opened bottles: instead of guessing how full a bottle still is, you set a slider to the fill level. This is a decisive advantage for bars where opened spirits make up the bulk of the inventory. The app runs on iOS and Android, multiple staff can count in parallel, and the finished inventory report is generated automatically. A product catalogue of over 30,000 items makes manually adding products largely unnecessary. Multi-location is supported, and the target-vs-actual comparison makes shrinkage visible.

Alongside inventory, BarBrain offers recipe management with automatic costing: 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 locations.

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

Price: From €52 per month.

Reference clients: L’Osteria, Schloss Elmau, 25hours Hotels, Enchilada Gruppe.

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2. Gewinnblick – POS system with stock management and costing

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

Best for: Hospitality businesses that want POS and stock management from a single source and value direct supplier connections.

Limitation: Comparatively young provider. Market penetration is still lower than gastronovi or orderbird.

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3. gastronovi – The German all-in-one solution

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

Best for: Mid-sized restaurants and hospitality businesses starting from scratch or looking to replace their existing system entirely. Particularly strong for businesses that want everything from one source.

Price: From €129 per month.

Limitation: The stock management module requires the gastronovi POS system. Anyone who already has a different POS and wants to keep it must switch – or forgo the stock management.

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

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

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

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

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5. MEINbusiness – Controlling platform for operators and tax advisers

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

Best for: Operators who want to keep their numbers under control, and tax advisers with hospitality clients. Particularly relevant for multi-location businesses needing cross-site reports.

Limitation: No operational inventory function, no order management. MEINbusiness sits on the data – the operational recording must happen beforehand.

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6. MarketMan – International back-of-house standard

MarketMan is an internationally established system for inventory, order management and recipe costing. Its strength lies in broad POS integration (Toast, Lightspeed, Square, Clover and more) and automatic stock management: every sale at the POS reduces the stock level in real time. MarketMan now belongs to the Meal Ticket Group and is primarily used in the US and UK.

Best for: International restaurant chains and businesses 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 operation there are closer alternatives.

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7. Choco – Digital ordering platform for hospitality

Berlin-based Choco solves a very specific problem: the 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 feature: Choco is free for operators. The platform monetises on the supplier side.

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

Limitation: Choco is neither an inventory system nor a stock management system. It digitises only the ordering process. For end-to-end stock management it must be combined with other tools.

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8. orderbird – The iPad POS system for hospitality

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 revenue analytics. With orderbird PRO there is an extended version with API access through which third-party software (e.g. for stock management or bookkeeping) 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-operated restaurants.

Limitation: Orderbird does not offer its own stock management or inventory function. For digital stock tracking you need an additional tool such as BarBrain or FoodNotify.

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

Vienna-based FoodNotify is arguably the most comprehensive F&B platform in the German-speaking market. It combines ordering (with direct supplier connections to wholesalers such as Transgourmet or Metro), recipe management with LMIV-compliant allergen labelling, stock management, digital inventory, catering planning and analytics. The result is an end-to-end data flow: what you order feeds into the stock level. What you sell is automatically recorded. 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 multiple locations centrally.

Price: From €174.90 per month.

Limitation: The platform does not include its own POS system. You need an existing POS connected via an interface. For small single-site businesses the feature set may be oversized.

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10. Supy – Enterprise solution for restaurant groups

Dubai-based Supy targets multi-branch hospitality businesses with 5+ locations. The platform combines procurement, inventory management, central-kitchen control and business intelligence. Standout feature: real-time variance analysis across all locations and multi-level approval processes for orders.

Best for: Large restaurant groups and franchise concepts that need centralised control over purchasing and stock management 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 UK. Oversized for German single-site operators.

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Which software suits your business?

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How does it all connect?

In practice, most businesses use not one tool but two to three connected via interfaces. A typical setup for a restaurant:

POS: orderbird or gastronovi (records sales)

Inventory: BarBrain (records stock, compares with target from POS data)

Ordering: Choco (digitises supplier communication)

Controlling: MEINbusiness or your tax adviser 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.

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Frequently asked questions

What is F&B software?

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

How much does F&B software cost in Germany?

The price range is wide. Ordering platforms like Choco are free. Specialist inventory apps like BarBrain start from €52 per month. Modular platforms like gastronovi begin at €129 per month, FoodNotify at €174.90. Enterprise solutions like Supy start from $250 per month. Providers such as Apicbase and MEINbusiness quote 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 source. Combined solutions (orderbird + BarBrain + Choco) are more flexible because you choose the specialist for each area. The combination does, however, require that the tools are connected via interfaces.

Can I test F&B software before committing?

Most providers offer free demos or trial periods. BarBrain, for example, offers 30 days of free access to all features. Use the trial period to run through at least one complete workflow (e.g. a full inventory) with the tool.