From Frustration to Enlightenment: Understanding R365 Workflows & Approvals in a 200-Location Restaurant Chain
by John Laporte, President, RRFMG Technology Service
Three months ago, if you had asked me what I thought about Restaurant365 (R365), I probably would have sighed, maybe even groaned. As the system trainer for a full-service restaurant chain with over 200 locations, my early days with R365 were defined by confusion, frustration, and endless questions from operators who weren’t seeing costs flow correctly, invoices not updating inventory valuations, and bank deposits that seemed to disappear into the ether.
Fast forward to today, and my perspective has shifted entirely. What felt like a clunky, complex system was actually a highly structured workflow engine—one that simply required us to understand how approvals tie everything together. Once we embraced that R365 is not a passive system but a workflow-driven platform, we unlocked clarity, accountability, and accuracy across the organization.
Let me walk you through what I learned, what tripped us up, and how we now approach workflows and approvals in R365 with confidence.
Why R365 Is Built on Workflows
The single biggest mindset shift was recognizing that R365 is not just a database of transactions—it’s a workflow system. Every major process in a restaurant, from taking physical inventory to closing out the POS at night, kicks off a chain of events inside R365. Each event, or workflow, requires human interaction: confirmation, validation, and approval.
At first, our team resisted this. Approvals felt like “extra clicks” or unnecessary steps. But skipping approvals meant the system couldn’t do its job—our costs weren’t updating, deposits weren’t matching, and variances were slipping through.
Approvals aren’t busywork. They’re checkpoints, forcing the right person to verify the right data at the right time. When approvals are skipped or delayed, workflows stall, and the downstream impact can be huge.
Lesson One: Invoices Drive Inventory Accuracy
One of the earliest pain points we experienced was with vendor invoices. Costs weren’t flowing into our inventory valuation, and managers were frustrated that their COGS reports felt “off.” Here’s what was happening:
-
-
- When a vendor invoice arrives, R365 queues it into the Accounts Payable workflow.
- The invoice is matched line by line against specific purchase items in our system.
- R365 then checks the purchase price against the last known price in the item record.
- If the variance exceeds a threshold (ours is set to 5%), the system throws an error and stops the process.
-
At first, our managers thought this was a glitch. But in reality, it was protecting us. Large price swings should be investigated before approval. Sometimes it was a real vendor price increase, other times it was simply a mis-coded item. The critical moment? Approval. Until that invoice is approved, the updated cost never flows into the purchase item record. And if the cost isn’t updated, the next physical inventory valuation uses stale pricing, creating inaccurate COGS. This explained why our new LTOs (limited-time offers) seemed like profit drains. We were buying new ingredients, but the invoices sat unapproved for weeks. Our books were valuing those items at $0 or outdated prices. Now, with approvals happening daily, our inventory valuation reflects reality.
Lesson Two: DSS Records Are More Than Sales
Another breakthrough came with Daily Sales Summary (DSS) records. At first, managers thought of them as just sales reports flowing in from the POS. But DSS is so much more. Every night, once the POS is polled, R365 generates a DSS record containing:
-
-
- Sales and product mix data
- Credit card batch settlement totals
- Labor time punches
-
The workflow here is straightforward but vital:
-
- Review for Accuracy – If something doesn’t match (a missing credit card batch, labor punch errors, etc.), you fix it in the POS.
- Delete & Re-poll – Once corrected, you can delete the DSS record, and R365 will automatically re-poll and create a corrected version.
- Approve – Once accurate, the DSS must be approved.
Why does this matter? Because the DSS approval pushes data throughout the system. Sales feed into financial reports, labor ties into payroll, and—critically—the credit card settlement links to the deposit that appears in our bank account.
Without approval, our automated “Get Bank Activity” feature couldn’t link bank deposits to DSS records, leaving our reconciliations in limbo. With approvals, our deposits tie out seamlessly.
The Big Picture: Approvals as Accountability
Once I reframed approvals as checkpoints instead of annoyances, everything clicked. The workflow + approval model in R365 creates:
-
-
- Accuracy – No stale costs, no unlinked deposits, no phantom labor hours.
- Accountability – Each approval has an owner, so mistakes don’t get buried.
- Transparency – Leadership can see exactly where in the workflow something is stuck.
- Consistency – With 200 locations, standardization is everything. Approvals enforce process consistency at scale.
-
It’s not just about the software—it’s about building best practices into the DNA of the organization.
Common Pitfalls We Faced (and How We Fixed Them)
- Invoices Sitting in Draft
-
-
- Problem: Managers thought entering invoices was enough.
- Fix: Training emphasized that approval is what updates costs. We now track unapproved invoices daily.
-
- Ignoring DSS Variances
-
-
- Problem: Teams accepted mismatched DSS records without correction.
- Fix: We built a habit of reconciling DSS data before approval, which prevents downstream GL issues.
-
- Bank Deposits Not Linking
-
-
- Problem: Deposits appeared in bank activity but not in GL.
- Fix: Tied it back to unapproved DSS records—approvals solved it.
-
- Over-Delegating Approvals
-
-
- Problem: Some managers delegated everything, creating bottlenecks.
- Fix: Clear role definitions: who approves invoices, who approves DSS, who monitors bank activity.
-
Best Practices We Now Live By
Through trial and error, we’ve landed on some best practices that are making R365 work for us, not against us:
-
-
- Daily Approvals, No Exceptions – Invoices and DSS records are reviewed and approved daily. Waiting even a week creates chaos.
- Variance Threshold Monitoring – Price variances over 5% trigger a conversation with the vendor, not just a system correction.
- Clear Role Ownership – Each workflow has a designated approver. No more “I thought someone else did it.”
- Leverage Automation – Bank activity imports and DSS re-polls save us hours—if we approve records promptly.
- Audit & Feedback Loop – We run weekly audits of unapproved items and coach managers where needed.
-
Final Thoughts: From Skeptic to Believer
Three months ago, I was ready to throw in the towel. The workflows felt rigid, the approvals burdensome, and the system unforgiving. But that frustration was really a symptom of our misunderstanding.
R365 isn’t a system you can halfway use. It’s built on workflows that require consistent approvals. When you lean into that design, the payoff is enormous: accurate inventory, clean financials, reconciled deposits, and accountability at every level.
Now, instead of dreading the flood of questions from operators, I’m teaching them how to see approvals as their superpower. What once felt like unnecessary friction has become the backbone of our financial accuracy and operational discipline.
If you’re rolling out R365—or struggling three months in like we did—my advice is simple: respect the workflow, embrace the approvals, and watch the system transform from a frustration into a foundation.
For more information, please fill out the form below. We’ll circle back with you shortly to discuss your requirements in further detail.
We’d love to Meet You In Person Or Via The Web!
If you have any questions, or just want to learn more about how our services can contribute to your operation’s success, please fill out the form and we’ll respond as soon as we can. Alternatively, call us directly at (818) 888-9579.