Independent hospitality tech consultant vs a vendor's consultant

The difference is whose success the advice optimises for. A vendor's consultant, however good, is there to make their product succeed in your venue. An independent consultant is paid by you, recommends against their own involvement when that's the honest answer, and can tell you to keep the system you already have. Both have their place. Knowing which you're talking to is the important part.

What a vendor's consultant is genuinely good for

Nobody knows a product like the people who sell it. For configuration, feature setup and getting the most from a system you've already chosen, the vendor's own people are usually the fastest route, and often free because it protects their subscription. Use them for exactly that.

Where independence starts to matter

Choosing between systems

Ask a till vendor which till you need and you'll get a confident answer. The comparison you actually need, including the option of keeping what you have, only comes from someone with nothing to sell in the category. I don't take referral fees from vendors, and I wrote my own EPOS because nothing on the market did what my venues needed, so I have no reason to flatter anyone's product.

When systems must talk to each other

Integration problems live between vendors, which is precisely where each vendor's responsibility ends. Each side will demonstrate that their end works. An independent sits in the middle, owns the whole join, and holds both sides to what they promised.

When the stakes are commercial, not technical

Contract renewals, investment due diligence, deciding whether the group's next hire is technical: these are business decisions wearing technical clothes. The advice needs to come from your side of the table, from someone who has operated venues and answers only to you.

Questions that reveal which one you're talking to

• Will you ever recommend I keep what I have, or buy nothing?
• Do you receive any fee, discount or kickback from any vendor you recommend?
• Have you run a venue, or only sold to them?
• What happens to your fee if I take your advice and it doesn't work?

Who this is for

• Operators mid-way through a till or bookings decision with three convincing pitches on the table
• Groups whose "free" vendor advice keeps concluding they need more of that vendor
• Founders who want one accountable owner for a cross-vendor problem

What it costs and what to expect

Independent advice is a line item where vendor advice looks free, which is exactly why it's worth interrogating what the free version optimises for. Engagements here are defined and quoted up front after a free call, and the first conversation costs nothing: the contact page books a free 30 minutes. If the honest answer is that your vendor's own team can handle it, that's what you'll hear.