Practical guides for running your restaurant and cafe
Short, direct articles from the Loqma team: from opening your cafe, to running it day to day, to protecting your profit - in language that just makes sense.
Latest articles
Restaurant Floor Plan Design: Build Your Floor Map From Ticket Data
A floor plan isn't an interior design decision, it's a data model. Pull your party-size distribution from closed tickets, put a number on seat waste, and turn sections into records that carry their own sales and yield per seat hour.
16 min readGetting startedHow Much Does a Restaurant Make in Saudi Arabia? And Why They Close
There is no single number for how much a restaurant makes in Saudi Arabia. We break down the net out of every 100 with a worked example, and read the signals that come before restaurants close so you catch them early.
16 min readCompliance & taxMandatory Menu Data: Calories, Allergens, Caffeine and Packaged-Product Labels
Calories, allergens, caffeine and VAT-inclusive prices are now mandatory menu data. A practical guide to where each number comes from, how to work it out, and how to show it consistently across every channel.
13 min readOperationsRestaurant Stock Count: Do It Right Without Shutting Down
Your books say 42 kilos of rice and the shelf says less. Learn how to run a stock count in about two hours without closing: full versus cycle counts, worked variance math, and the four questions that find where the gap is going.
9 min readGrowth & profitMenu Engineering: Make Your Menu Push Customers Toward Your Most Profitable Items
Got a long menu but no idea which items actually make money? Menu engineering plots every item on popularity and profitability, then sorts it so you know what to push, reprice, or cut, with a worked example step by step.
6 min readGrowth & profitDelivery App Commission: How Much of Each Order Do You Actually Keep?
The customer pays 60 and the app takes its cut before your costs even start, so what actually reaches your pocket per delivery order? We break down a worked example line by line and hand you a table to run your own margins.
6 min readOperationsRecipe Costing: Know What a Plate Costs You Before You Price It
Pricing by feel or by copying the shop next door? This guide costs a full plate with real numbers, factors in waste, shows the mistake that makes your food cost percentage lie to you in Saudi Arabia, and how to price back from your target.
7 min readGetting startedHow Much Does It Cost to Open a Coffee Shop in Saudi Arabia? Straight Numbers, Not Fluff
How much does it cost to open a coffee shop in Saudi Arabia? Honest planning numbers for two models - a small kiosk and a sit-down cafe - a full cost table, where budgets blow up, and how to build yours in 5 steps.
6 min readGrowth & profitRaising Menu Prices Without Losing Regulars: How Many Customers You Can Afford to Lose
Raising menu prices is a calculation, not a guess. Work out how many units you can afford to lose before you move, then roll the increase out in three measured batches.
14 min readOperationsRunning Your Kitchen: From Order In to Plate Out
A full operating guide to restaurant kitchen management: splitting stations, routing items, ordering the ticket queue, timing plates to land together, and reading the numbers that show you a delay before the customer does.
19 min readGetting startedCloud Kitchens in Saudi Arabia: A Full Restaurant With No Dining Room or Tables
An operational guide to cloud kitchens in Saudi Arabia: what they are, when they win and when a dining room is better, an entry-cost comparison with numbers, and the commission math that decides whether you profit.
8 min readGetting startedYour restaurant opening checklist
A practical checklist to work through item by item before you open your restaurant or cafe, so nothing slips on opening day.
1 min readGrowth & profitCommission or flat subscription POS? The full comparison
We compare the sales-commission model against a flat subscription for POS systems, so you know which one protects your profit long term.
1 min readOperationsHow to Choose the Right POS System for Your Restaurant or Cafe: A Practical Buying Guide
A practical guide for restaurant and cafe owners in Saudi Arabia to pick the right POS: the criteria that actually matter, and how to compare systems without drowning in feature lists.
5 min readCompliance & taxElectronic Invoicing for Restaurants in Saudi Arabia - A Simple Guide
A plain-language guide to e-invoicing for restaurants and cafes in Saudi Arabia: what it is, why it applies to you, the two phases, and how your POS issues a compliant invoice automatically on every sale.
3 min readGetting startedHow to Open a Cafe in Saudi Arabia: From Idea to Your First Order
A practical, step-by-step roadmap to opening a cafe in Saudi Arabia: licensing, location, menu, equipment, your POS, and staff, all the way to your first real order.
5 min readGrowth & profitDelivery App Commissions Eating Your Profit? How to Manage Them Smartly
Delivery-app commissions can eat a big slice of your margin per order. Learn your true cost per order, price delivery items right, and move customers to your own zero-commission channels.
4 min readReady to see Loqma in action?
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