Restaurant marketing data setup checklist
You do not have to replace the systems your restaurant already uses to build a better marketing picture. You do need to know which system holds each part of the guest journey.
Where does a guest leave a trace?
The week before the first measurement review, someone asks a simple question: where is our data? The register belongs to the controller at one location and the general manager at another. The Google Ads account sits under an agency login nobody has used since spring. The reservation book belongs to operations. The website was built by a freelancer who still owns the analytics property. The email list lives in an account created by someone who has since left.
Nothing here is unusual, and nothing is missing. What tends to happen is that the data exists in six places and the ownership is scattered across as many people. The first review stalls on access, not on analysis.
It helps to think of one guest's evening as a trail. They see an ad, visit the website, book a table, arrive, pay a check and, with luck, come back. Each step leaves a trace in a different system. Setting up measurement means knowing which system holds which step and who can open it.
What do you need to know about each system?
- The register. Which point-of-sale system records checks at each location? Who can grant access or arrange an export?
- The ad accounts. Which Google and Meta accounts spend for each brand? Are campaigns named so you can tell which location they serve?
- Reservations and ordering. Where do bookings and online orders happen? Which platform holds them, and who can approve a connection?
- The website. Which pages send guests to book, order, call or get directions? Who can update the tracking and the campaign links?
- Email and SMS. Which tools send messages? Are the links in them tagged the same way every time?
- Locations and brands. Are names, addresses and time zones written the same way in every system, and is it clear who owns each account?
A shared document works well for this: one row per system, with columns for the owner, the person who can approve access, and whether it covers every location. A row you can't fill in is a finding, not a failure. It tells you what to ask for first, and it is much easier to find out now than in the middle of the first review.
Who should own each account?
The business should, not an agency, a freelancer or a former employee. Check this early, because an account owned by someone else is a common reason a setup stalls. You can give an agency or a partner manager access and take it away again. You can't easily take back an account that was never yours.
Name one person on your side who can approve access for each system, and write down who they are.
What counts as what?
Before the first report, agree on plain definitions for the words people will use: a booking, an order, a paid check, a verified marketing sale and a modeled estimate. Decide which locations and dates each report covers, and who checks for missing data or sudden changes. Our guide to Verified, Business and Total revenue covers the last two in detail.
In what order should you connect things?
In stages. Start with the register and the ad accounts, because campaign and register data are useful before every guest path is in place. Then add reservations and online ordering, the website, and the in-venue paths such as codes at the table. As each connection is checked, more of the trail becomes visible.
Don't describe a connection that is still being configured as though it were already delivering verified results. The first report is a baseline, not a verdict on the marketing.
Here is a made-up baseline. Say a three-location group's first report shows that at one location 58% of paid checks can be connected to a booking, a code or an ad click, and at another only 27%. That doesn't mean the second location's marketing is weaker. It more likely means a path is missing there, such as an ordering platform that isn't connected yet. The baseline tells you which connection would improve the next decision most. It is the same coverage question we raise in how to tell if marketing brought in your walk-ins.
Where restauWant comes in
The restauWant app connects to your existing systems and doesn't ask you to replace them. It reads checks directly from Toast and Square, with SpotOn, Lightspeed and Clover on the way and order files accepted in the meantime. It connects to reservation platforms such as Toast Tables, OpenTable, Tock and Resy, and to Google Ads, Meta Ads and Google Analytics. See what connects today on our integrations page. We set the connections up with you on the onboarding call, and your accounts stay yours.
Next step: Fill in the checklist below for one brand, with a name beside every system, and bring it to your setup conversation.
Restaurant marketing data setup
- Name the register at each location and who can grant access or arrange an export.
- List the Google and Meta ad accounts for each brand, and confirm the business owns them.
- Name campaigns by location so spend can be read location by location.
- Note where bookings and online orders happen, and who can approve a connection.
- List the pages that send guests to book, order, call or get directions, and who can change their tracking.
- Confirm who owns the website analytics property.
- List the email and SMS tools, and tag every link the same way.
- Write each location's name, address and time zone once, and use it everywhere.
- Agree the definitions: booking, order, paid check, verified marketing sale, modeled estimate.
- Name one person who checks for missing data and sudden changes, and treat the first report as a baseline.
Do I need to replace my POS or reservation system?
No. Measurement is built on the systems you already use, and your setup stays as it is. The work is knowing which system holds each part of the guest journey.
Which point-of-sale systems connect today?
Toast and Square connect directly. SpotOn, Lightspeed and Clover direct connections are coming, and order files can be uploaded in the app in the meantime.
What access do you need?
Access to the register, the ad accounts, the website and any reservation platform you use, plus a short onboarding call. Someone on your side needs to be able to approve each one, which is why the checklist starts with names.
Can I take your access away later?
Yes. Your accounts stay yours. For example, restauWant is added as a manager on a Google Ads account or as a partner on Meta, and you can remove either whenever you like.
What does the first report show?
A baseline: what can be seen today, how much of each location's activity can be connected to a check, and which connection would improve the next decision most. It is not a verdict on the marketing.
