Your tech stack and subscriptions

Start with the free basics

Before you pay for anything, set up the free tools that hold your plan together. This is where your numbers live until the shop is open.

• Google Sheets and DocsMust haveFree

  Your budget, recipe costs, opening checklist, and staff schedule all start here. Every planning tool in ShopLaunch downloads to a spreadsheet, so this is a natural home for your numbers.

  My take: Do not pay for planning software before you open. A shared Google Drive folder does everything you need, and your accountant can open all of it.

Claim your name online

People look you up before they visit, so get the basics of a web presence in place early. None of this needs to be fancy to start.

• Domain nameMust have$12 to $20 a year

  Register a short, easy-to-spell domain and point it at your site. This is a small annual cost.

  My take: Buy the .com if you can, even if it costs a little more. It is the one address you will print on cups, signs, and the side of the cart for years.

• A simple websiteNice to have$0 to $16 a month

  One clear page with your name, location, hours, and menu is plenty at first. A builder like Squarespace or Carrd lets you edit it yourself.

  My take: Skip the custom build. A one-page site you can update in two minutes beats a beautiful one you have to email someone to change.

• Google Business Profile and YelpMust haveFree

  Both are free and are the first places people check. Claiming them puts your hours, photos, and pin on the map and helps you show up in local search.

  My take: This is the highest-value free hour you will spend. For a walk-up or drive-thru, the map pin brings in more people than any social account.

Point of sale

Your point of sale rings up orders and tracks what sells. You pay through a monthly fee, a percent of each card sale, or both. Match the system to your format, since a cart needs far less than a drive-thru.

• Sq

  SquareMust haveAbout 2.6 to 2.9 percent per tap, no monthly fee to start

  A reader and the free app turn a phone or tablet into a register. The hardware is cheap and you can be taking cards the day it arrives.

  My take: For a cart or a first shop, start on Square. No monthly fee, simple reporting, and no contract while you are still finding your feet.

• T

  Toast or CloverYMMV$0 to $70 a month per terminal, plus card fees

  Heavier systems add monthly plans and hardware in exchange for deeper reporting, kitchen tickets, and drive-thru or table features.

  My take: Only step up once you have a drive-thru, a full kitchen, or more than one register. Before that it is monthly cost you do not need yet.

Write down how you work

Put your standards on paper so quality holds when you are not behind the bar. This is what makes training a first hire painless.

• NotionNice to haveFree for one person, about $10 a month per person for a team

  Keep your standard drinks, opening and closing steps, and recipes in one place your team can search.

  My take: Worth setting up before your first hire, not after. Training from a written open-and-close list is night and day versus showing someone once and hoping.

Talk to your team

Once you have employees, you need a fast way to share schedules and cover shifts. Keep it simple until the team grows.

• SlackYMMVFree to start

  One channel for the crew handles scheduling and shift covers for most shops. The free plan is fine to begin with.

  My take: Honestly, a group text works until you have five or six people. Add Slack when the text thread starts losing schedules and shift covers.

A business phone number

Keep the shop's number separate from your personal cell so you can step away and hand it off later.

• Google VoiceNice to haveFree

  A free number that forwards to your phone keeps the shop off your personal line and is easy to reassign later.

  My take: Good enough for most owners through year one. Set it up the week you start giving the number out.

• Dedicated business lineYMMV$10 to $30 a month

  A paid line adds a shared inbox, business texting, and an auto-attendant for when staff answer calls.

  My take: Skip until someone besides you is answering the phone, or you want to text customers back. The free number covers most first years.

Accounting and payroll

Books and payroll are where lean owners tend to overspend or overwork. Pick the level that fits your time, and remember that hours on admin are hours not spent on product and customers.

• qb

  QuickBooks or PatriotMust have$20 to $40 a month

  Either one handles your books and payroll for a modest monthly fee. Connect your bank feed so transactions flow in on their own.

  My take: Whatever you pick, connect the bank feed on day one. The pain is never the software, it is reconstructing twelve months of receipts at tax time.

• Hire a bookkeeper or payroll serviceYMMVMore than doing it yourself

  A bookkeeper or payroll company costs more but removes filing risk and stress once you have staff.

  My take: Hand off payroll first, not bookkeeping. Payroll tax filing is where a small mistake gets expensive, and it is the cheapest piece to outsource.

Insurance and permits

These are not apps, but they belong in your stack and your budget. Line up general liability insurance, then work your permits in order: health, business, city, then state. ShopLaunch tracks these in the Permits milestone with links for your county.

Buy the must-haves, add the nice-to-haves when they save you time, and leave the YMMV tools until the shop tells you it needs them. Check the whole list again each season as you grow.