Building any type of business is hard. But keeping a restaurant afloat can be particularly grueling.20 percent of restaurants close within a year and 60 percent shutter within five years, according to the U Bureau of Labor Statistics. On top of that, the average full-service restaurant carried $51,863 in debt at the end of last year.The culprits? Labor, overhead…and importantly, the rising cost of food. Restaurant operators are spending up to 13 percent more on food costs alone since the start of last year.“Labor and overhead are largely dictated by the market and regulation, but restaurants can do something about their food spend,” says Florida-based entrepreneur Michael Otis.Otis is working on this food pricing problem with FareFood, a newly-launched app-based startup that allows restaurants to order from multiple food distributors in one place. This helps streamline how suppliers and restaurants connect, making the ordering process easier and more affordable.Know FareFood Fights Food CostsEvery restaurant is different, Otis explained. But each restaurant owner can work with a handful or more of different suppliers which each have their own sales reps, invoicing systems, and processes

TouchBistro announced the launch of its Inventory Management and Labor Management solutions for restaurant operators, following its acquisition of restaurant management software, Peachworks.

Software Solutions Providers and Sales Professionals epitomizing the innovative, inclusive, and dynamic spirit of payments industry will be honored at TRANSACT.WASHINGTON, Feb. 21, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- The Electronic Transaction Association (ETA) is excited to announce the recipients of the 2024 Top 10 Payments ISVs awards and Top Payments Sales Professionals — new this year. The awards honor companies and individuals committed to achieving excellence in the payments industry, including introducing groundbreaking products, adapting to evolving technologies, demonstrating in-depth commitment to customer success, and beyond."We saw so many nominations this year, highlighting the talent, bold ideas, and impact of countless members and organizations in our industry. These were extremely tough decisions, we are proud of the winners and nominees alike and cannot wait to celebrate your success at TRANSACT," said Jodie Kelly, CEO of ETA.Determined by the ETA Industry Affairs Awards and Recognition Committee, winners of the 2024 ETA Top 10 Payments ISVs awards will be recognized at TRANSACT and hosted in the ISV Village sponsored by MAPP Advisors. 2024 ETA Top 10 Payments ISVs winners are:Applova, for changing the game for the restaurant industry with an innovative combination of AI-driven capabilities, personalized customer experiences, and comprehensive business tools.Charge to Charge powered by ISVPay, for building a fully integrated unattended payments platform that closes the gap between the EV charging stations and the consumer with a solution that enables the EV charging OEM to offer payment enablement with their product offering.Exact Payments for enabling SaaS companies to embed payments quickly in their offering, reducing development time and onboarding merchants faster while ensuring reliable settlement and funding, powerful fraud management, fully managed compliance, and complete data security.Jobox for creating a one-stop shop for the home services industry complete with marketplace integration, including AI Dispatch capabilities, complemented by post-payment processing and wallet integration with brick-and-mortar stores.MarketTime, for addressing the complex environment of processing payments to sales agencies and reps in the Gift, Toy, Home and related industries, saving time, saving money and reducing risk.PaymentLOCK for changing the business model within the ISO community with an entirely SaaS-based model, allowing the ISO to manage their merchant's entire payment architecture through highly secure military-grade encryption for in-store and online solutions from the same platform.Paystand for giving businesses the ability to reconcile and pay each other using blockchain in only one banking day, reducing the time, cost, and administrative work.QuoteMachine for redefining the payment process for SMB retailers, ensuring that transactions are not just secure and efficient but also strategically aligned with the sales journey and customer needs while also empowering salespersons to provide a custom solution from initial contact to final payment for high-ticket retail sales.Revolv3 for optimizing the credit card approval process on the first pass and reducing customer churn by combining the rules of issuing and acquiring banks and payment processors with machine learning, ensuring the highest approval rates and effectively preventing false declines.TouchBistro, for continuously investing in an all-in-one POS and restaurant management system that makes running a restaurant easier with solutions that help restauranteurs streamline and simplify their operations.New in 2024 is the Top Sales Professionals Awards, which recognizes 50 top payment salespersons who have demonstrated commitment and passion for achieving excellence.The 2024 winners of the new Top Payments Sales Professionals award are:Dan Akivis, Cross RiverRainer Avanisian, Wells FargoBinnur Avci, WorldpayRob Bast, Humboldt Merchant ServicesBryan Beattie, PSP ServicesJoshua Bryant, FortisConn Byrne, PayrocGina Cermenaro, SquareJeremy Collins, MerchantEDenise Collins, RainforestMyra Crowder, WorldpayMark Davis, US Alliance GroupDeb Dewar, IngenicoSean Douglas, Exact PaymentsArash Dounel, Archer PaymentsKevin Feagan, EverywareRobert Fox, NMIJoe Furlong, WorldPayJim Gabriel, J.P. Morgan ChasePatrick Gallagher, Reliable PaymentsJaclyn Garcia, Talus PayCarlos García Huerta, American ExpressPerryn Holtrop, PayNationAmanda Hottel, J.P