Restaurant Supplier Management Software UK 2026 | Jelly

Key Takeaways

1. UK hospitality faces 5.1% food inflation and a £12.71 National Living Wage in 2026, so automated supplier management now protects margins.
2. Jelly delivers onboarding in under one week with photo and email invoice scanning, saving 10 to 20 hours monthly versus MarketMan’s 2 to 3 months setup.
3. Automated dish costing cuts a 28-minute spreadsheet task to 3 minutes, with live price alerts and POS/Xero sync for real-time GP visibility.
4. Real users like Amber save £3k to £4k monthly, see 68x ROI, and gain 2 margin points, with simpler workflows than Mews POS and Epos Now.
5. Choose Jelly today to automate supplier management and kitchen controls quickly in volatile 2026 trading conditions.

2026 Cost Pressures Make Automation Non‑Negotiable for UK Hospitality

UK hospitality in 2026 operates under intense regulatory and cost pressure, not just commodity swings. Government policies, including National Living Wage increases and Extended Producer Responsibility regulations, drive 4 to 5% food inflation, with delayed price pass-through effects that continue into summer 2026. EPR regulations increase packaging and operational costs for suppliers, which adds more unpredictability to food cost management.

Manual invoice entry and spreadsheet-based inventory tracking create serious risk in this environment. Automated invoice processing can cut processing time by up to 80%, while it also reduces duplicate payments and helps capture early payment discounts. Real-time gross profit visibility through POS integration allows immediate reactions to supplier price changes, so teams can protect margins before they disappear.

Automation delivers strategic advantages as well as time savings. Zero-entry invoice capture produces accurate data for supplier negotiations. Live margin alerts flag profit leakage early. Integrated systems remove friction between kitchen teams and management by giving everyone the same live numbers. For growing operations, these capabilities form core infrastructure rather than optional efficiency tools.

How Leading Supplier Tools Stack Up for UK Kitchens

Supplier management platforms follow different philosophies, from heavy enterprise suites to focused automation tools. MarketMan ranks highly for ease of use with cloud inventory, POS integrations, and invoice scanning, yet it often needs extensive setup time. Mews POS focuses on hotel restaurants with automated inventory tracking and multi-location support, tailored for hotel F&B teams with PMS integration.

Epos Now offers strong inventory tools with over 100 integrations, positioning itself as a POS-first platform that adds stock control. Traditional Excel workflows still appear in many sites, yet they create major risk during supplier volatility and regulatory change because they rely on manual updates.

Jelly stands out through complete automation and a UK-focused design. MarketMan offers a wide feature set, yet its complex setup can delay value for months. Mews POS supports hotel F&B operations effectively with restaurant automation. Epos Now delivers strong POS performance but still relies on manual invoice processing, which limits its impact during busy periods.

Implementation speed and automation depth create the main gap between tools. Jelly’s 3-minute dish costing, immediate price alerts, and zero-entry invoice processing combine to deliver faster return on investment for growing UK operations than platforms that need long configuration cycles. Schedule a chat to compare these options against your current setup.

Why Jelly Fits Growing UK Kitchens Better Than Complex Suites

Jelly focuses on automation and simplicity so UK hospitality teams can handle 2026 pressures without extra admin. The automated invoice scanning captures every line item from a photo or email upload and records quantity, SKU, price, and tax data with no manual typing. Price Alerts then surface supplier changes quickly, which supports proactive negotiations and credit requests that protect margins during volatile periods.

The Kitchen section turns dish costing from a 28-minute spreadsheet task into a 3-minute guided workflow. Chefs build recipes by clicking ingredients already pulled from scanned invoices, and the system handles unit conversions and calculations. Live dish costing updates margins as new invoices arrive and highlights declining margins in red and improvements in green.

Integration features create a clear commercial edge. Flash Reports combine invoice costs with POS sales data to show daily gross profit performance in one view. Sales Mix analysis highlights the most popular and most profitable dishes, so teams can adjust menus with confidence. Xero integration sends digitised invoices with a single click, which cuts bookkeeping time by 90% and reduces accounts payable errors.

Real-world results confirm these advantages. Amber restaurant in East London saves £3k to £4k every month through Jelly’s automation, achieving a 68x return on investment. Owner Murat Kilic says “Jelly keeps my business alive” because the platform supports fast reactions to supplier changes and tight margin control during busy trading.

Chef feedback shows similar gains. Stuart Noble at Cairn Lodge Hotel cut food costs by 5% in one month by using price alerts during supplier negotiations. Ruth Seggie at The Howard Arms increased gross profit from 60% to 80% with automated cost control and real-time visibility. These outcomes reflect Jelly’s focus on fast value rather than long training programmes and complex feature bundles.

Proven Wins: Time Back, Stronger Margins, Less Kitchen Tension

Automated supplier management with Jelly delivers measurable gains across time, cost, and team alignment. Users regularly report 10 to 20 hours saved each month after removing manual invoice entry, price checking, and spreadsheet-based inventory reconciliation. Teams can then focus on menu development, guest experience, and growth projects instead of admin.

Users also see average gross margin increases of around 2 percentage points within the first three months. Immediate price alerts, accurate dish costing, and live profitability tracking support proactive margin protection instead of late damage control. Amber’s £3k to £4k monthly savings show the potential scale for sites with active supplier management.

Jelly also reduces friction between chefs and owners. Shared dashboards give management direct access to kitchen financial performance, so chefs no longer need to compile manual reports. This transparency builds trust and keeps decision-makers informed without adding extra admin to kitchen teams.

Frequently Asked Questions

Best Simple Inventory Software for UK Pubs

Jelly suits UK pubs that want fast automation through photo-based invoice scanning and automated inventory tracking. The system needs minimal setup and connects with popular UK POS systems such as Square and ePOSnow. Unlike complex enterprise suites, Jelly focuses on core automation that delivers value quickly without long training sessions.

Restaurant Purchasing Software with Live Tracking

Jelly combines automated invoice processing with POS integration to deliver live gross profit tracking. The Flash Report feature shows real-time margin performance by blending invoice costs with POS sales data. This live view supports quick responses to supplier price changes and underperforming menu items.

MarketMan Alternatives for UK Restaurants

Jelly offers simpler onboarding and faster time-to-value than MarketMan’s more complex setup. MarketMan provides a broad feature set, yet Jelly focuses on essential automation that goes live in under one week. Flat £129 monthly pricing per location removes variable costs and setup fees that often appear with enterprise tools.

How Automated Invoice Processing Works in Kitchens

Jelly processes invoices through photo upload or a dedicated email address and automatically digitises each line item, including quantities, SKUs, prices, and tax details. This removes manual data entry and triggers instant price alerts plus automatic cost updates for recipes. Direct Xero integration then delivers around 90% reduction in bookkeeping time.

Supplier Management Features That Matter for Growing Restaurants

Growing restaurants benefit most from automated invoice capture, real-time price alerts, and fast onboarding that does not disrupt service. Reliable integration with existing POS and accounting systems keeps operations stable. Simple interfaces also ensure kitchen teams can adopt the system quickly. Focus on platforms that deliver value within the first week instead of tools that need months of configuration.

Conclusion: Jelly Delivers Fast Automation for 2026 Profit Targets

UK hospitality in 2026 needs supplier management that delivers instant automation and live visibility, not more spreadsheets. Jelly’s mix of speed, simplicity, and deep automation makes it a strong choice for restaurants, pubs, and hotels facing regulatory pressure and supplier volatility.

Implementation speed and automation depth should guide the final decision. Operations that want heavy enterprise features and accept long setup cycles may choose MarketMan or other legacy systems. Businesses that prioritise fast value and simple workflows will find Jelly’s automated approach delivers stronger return on investment through immediate time savings and tighter margin control.

Evidence from live sites confirms Jelly’s impact. Amber’s £3k to £4k monthly savings and Ruth Seggie’s 80% gross profit show consistent, measurable gains for UK hospitality. Book a demo today to reclaim 10 to 20 hours each month and strengthen your margins during 2026’s challenging trading conditions.