Best-in-Class vs. All-in-One Restaurant Software

When selecting restaurant technology, operators can choose between two primary approaches: purchasing from a single vendor that offers solutions across multiple functional areas (an all-in-one provider), or assembling a technology stack from multiple vendors, each specializing in a specific application—best-in-class providers.

For example, a point-of-sale (POS) vendor that also offers solutions for loyalty, labor

management, and inventory control is typically considered an all-in-one provider. In contrast, a vendor that focuses exclusively on a single application—such as POS, loyalty, labor, or inventory—is generally viewed as a best-in-class provider.

While all-in-one providers offer the advantage of one-stop shopping, they often lack feature depth, integration options, and quality support across individual applications.

Products Designed to Deliver Deeper Functionality

Best-in-class application providers typically deliver the most robust, flexible, and

comprehensive functionality within their specific domain. Their success depends on it. Nearly all investments—time, capital, and institutional knowledge—are directed toward continuously enhancing a single core application.

All-in-one providers, by contrast, tend to concentrate most of their investment on the application that generates the most revenue (or has the most potential). Their resources are finite and they need to prioritize where to deploy resources.

It is also difficult for an all-in-one provider to maintain robust and competitive feature sets across each application. Doing so would require deep domain expertise across multiple disciplines and significant product development resources.

“We went with Toast POS, Ottimate AP Automation, COGS-Well Inventory Control, and NetSuite Accounting because we wanted to control our technology stack. We get the best solution for each area of control.” – Rich Ortiz, Director of Finance, Buzz Hospitality (Ri-Ra Restaurants)

“What we found was a system that is vast in what we're able to do thanks to the amount of reporting and the flexibility COGS-Well makes available to us.” – Jeremy Lanni, Director Ops Tech, &pizza

Integration Flexibility: A Key Advantage of Best-in-Class Systems

Historically, all-in-one platforms held an advantage because they simplified data sharing across applications. Today, modern APIs and cloud-based architectures allow best-in-class solutions to integrate seamlessly with one another—without sacrificing performance, flexibility, or service quality.

Best-in-class providers are also structurally incentivized to integrate broadly. Open integrations enhance the value of their core application, increase customer adoption, and create new partnerships and revenue opportunities.

For all-in-one providers, however, the incentive structure is often reversed. Deep integrations with third-party applications can directly compete with their own native modules, making them less likely to invest in open, flexible integrations.

As a result, buyers often find that best-in-class ecosystems evolve faster and offer greater long-term flexibility as operational needs change.

“COGS-Well was a natural fit to the Ottimate, Toast, and Sage Intacct systems infrastructure that we were building. It easily integrated with our other systems, and it was very easy to implement.” – Jennifer Beougher, CFO, Ruby Slipper Restaurant Group

“We use Toast for our POS, Ottimate for AP Automation, COGS-Well for Inventory Control, and QuickBooks for our accounting. All of the systems are fully integrated and share information automatically." – Noah Kopito, Director of Operations, Mamahuhu Restaurants

The Specialized Support Restaurant Operators Need

Best-in-class providers support a single application, allowing their service teams to develop deep product and domain expertise. This enables them to deliver very consultative, responsive support tailored specifically to that application and your requirements.

By contrast, delivering a high level of expertise across multiple applications is inherently more difficult. The knowledge required to support a point-of-sale system vastly differs from labor scheduling, just as the expertise needed for accounting support differs significantly from inventory management.

One additional support consideration is product customization. If your operation requires customized reporting or modifications to better fit specific workflows, a provider focused on a single application is more likely to have the resources and willingness to help.

“We have done a lot of system implementations over the last few years, and the COGS-Well support team is by far the best we have ever worked with. Any issue we have, any questions we have, their team is always very responsive.” – Danielle Panikiewsky, Director of Finance, Playa Bowls

“COGS-Well’s support is top-notch. Support has been great and very responsive from the start. When we request new features, COGS-Well has been willing to provide them rather than trying to convince us to change our business processes.” – Jennifer Beougher, CFO, Ruby Slipper Restaurants

Choosing Restaurant Tech for Long-Term Success

Choosing between best-in-class and all-in-one restaurant technology ultimately comes

down to priorities. Best-in-class providers tend to deliver deeper functionality, broader integration flexibility, and more specialized support. At the same time, all-in-one providers offer simplicity. For some operators, the convenience of working with a single vendor, a consolidated contract, and on a unified platform may outweigh the value of feature depth or flexibility.

The most important takeaway is that there is no universally right answer—only the solution that best aligns with your operational goals and resources.