New offering brings together HotSchedules, Fourth HR & Payroll, and MacromatiX into one connected back-of-house solution powered by AI
Fourth, the leader in back-of-house technology solutions for restaurants, announced the launch of the Restaurant Operations Suite. Powered by Fourth iQ, the Restaurant Operations Suite brings together HotSchedules Workforce Management, Fourth HR & Payroll, and MacromatiX Inventory Management into one connected solution for multi-location restaurant owners, operators and managers.
The Restaurant Operations Suite is a single place for restaurant owners / operators, above-store and in-store managers to manage their back-of-house scheduling, labor compliance, HR, payroll, earned wage access, and inventory. Powered by AI, the suite empowers managers with real-time above store insights and recommendations for in store actions that drive profitability at each location.
Across the Fourth customer base, on average, customers are seeing a 3-5% increase in profit, 5% reduction in labor costs, and 20% reduction in cost of goods sold.
“Restaurant managers are at the center of everything—but they’re stretched thin, constantly shifting between a variety of manual tasks like scheduling, payroll, and making inventory decisions.” said Clinton Anderson, CEO at Fourth. “The Restaurant Operations Suite enables restaurant managers, area coaches and operations managers to spend less time on manual work and instead focus on leading their teams and delivering a better customer experience at each location.”
“Embracing the Fourth solution has become a strategically important initiative for our business as we look for new ways to increase operational efficiency to deliver great customer and family member experiences,” said Jerry Phillips, VP of Technology at Whataburger. “With Fourth, we have a partner with deep industry expertise and the right technology to help us embed AI across our back-office operations.”
The latest release delivers a wide range of new capabilities aimed at improving manager productivity and reducing operational complexity:
- Above Store Real-Time Dashboards offer instant visibility into operational KPIs across each location, allowing teams to drive in store actions and proactively address issues before they affect customer experience or profitability.
- Digital Tip Payouts automate tip distributions, reduce manual work and cash handling (saving up to 80% of a manager’s time with tip calculation and distribution), and improve employee satisfaction with fast, accurate payments.
- Forecast Manager provides a single view of forecasted demand at each location so you can improve coordination, planning and deployment of labor and inventory decisions.
- AI Demand Forecasting engine that enables managers to reduce labor inefficiencies, improve cost control, and increase margins by adjusting staffing and inventory levels based on real-time demand patterns (with customers seeing 20%+ increase in forecast accuracy).
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“With over 25 years serving the restaurant industry, we’ve seen firsthand the pressure restaurant managers face every day. The Restaurant Operations Suite is our answer to that challenge—putting modern tools and AI-powered guidance directly in their hands,” said Christian Berthelsen, Chief Technology Officer at Fourth. “It’s not just about reducing admin work—it’s about unlocking better decisions, faster responses, and stronger performance across every location.”
To learn more, visit the Fourth website. Additionally, the Fourth team will be at the Restaurant Leadership Conference in Phoenix from April 14-16 (Booth 238). Clinton Anderson, CEO of Fourth, will also be leading a panel at the show with Brinker International and The Flynn Group on how restaurant owners/operators can improve profit by making managers more productive with AI and data.