Finding the right restaurant inspection app will inevitably help you better maintain health and safety within your kitchen. While running a restaurant is a challenge, finding the right tools shouldn’t have to be.

We’ve looked at several options for restaurant inspection software, and we will share what we found with you here today, so let’s dive right in.

Choosing Restaurant Inspection App Software

Why Choose 1st Reporting

We’ll review everything you should consider, but if we’re going to just cut to the chase, you’ll want to look at the 1st Reporting app.

Our mobile application works with Microsoft Teams® and is easily customizable. Due to the customization, you can ensure you have the exact processes in place, just how you want to meet your standards.

Getting Started

How do you choose which technology will help you the most? There are many different types of software, all scratching to get a moment of your attention so they can tell you they are the best. 

But what apps are going to be helpful to you? And are there ways we can narrow down the differences between needs and wants? After all, when looking at software for restaurant businesses, it’s easy to get caught up in all that glitters. We’ll have to start with defining the objectives for an application.

Defining Objectives for Restaurant Inspection Applications

The first thing you need to consider is whether the software handles all of your objectives. Furthermore, you should look for customizable software to ensure that everything you want is there.

Restaurant Health And Safety Standards

Restaurant Inspection Frequency And Penalties For Non-Compliance

We need to be clear about a few things. First, restaurant health and safety compliance inspections are typically regulated at the state or provincial level. Take a look at the table below. The information came from a research report in Connecticut 2008 regarding other states’ restaurant inspection policies. Not all states are represented, so use this for purposes only.

State	Regulatory Body	Inspection Frequency	Penalties
MA	Dept. of Public Health, Division of Food and Drugs	Every six months, but the regulatory authority can increase the interval between inspections beyond six months based on a written risk-based inspection schedule approved by the health department and uniformly applied throughout the jurisdiction.	– Notice of violation (“NOV”, administrative summons) for NYC Health Code, State Sanitary Code, or other applicable law violations. NOV can result in monetary penalties as determined by the department’s administrative tribunal.
MD	Health & Mental Hygiene Dept (HMHD), Community Health Administration, Food Control Div.	Violations are misdemeanors ● 1st offense: fine up to $1,000, imprisonment up to 90 days, or both ● 2nd offense: fine up to $2,500, imprisonment up to 1 year, or both Plus civil penalty of up to $5,000 and possible license suspension or revocation	Critical item violation: Must correct during the inspection and implement corrective action. Non-critical violation: the permit holder must correct by date and time agreed to but no later than 90 days after inspection. Imminent health hazard: The establishment must immediately discontinue operations.- Deny, suspend, or revoke food establishment registration for just cause ● Fine not exceeding $100, or prison term of up to 3 months for a first offense, ● Fine not exceeding $200, or prison term up to 6 mos. For second offense ● Fine not exceeding $500, or prison term up to one year for third and subsequent offenses.
MN	Health Dept., Div. of Environmental Health, Food Safety Center	Varies, depending on risk category (but delegated city or county boards can ask for alternate compliance methods): High-risk:  ● At least once every 12 months Medium-risk: ● At least every 18 months Low-risk: ● At least once every 24 months No established schedule for mobile food units, food carts, and seasonal and special event stands.	Up to $1,000 for each day a violation persists Up to $10,000, one year in prison, or both for intentional or repeated violations
NJ	Health & Senior Services Dept. (HSSD), Consumer & Environmental Health Services Div.	As often as the inspecting agency deems necessary.	$50 to $1,000 civil penalty for each offense
NY	Dept. of Health and Mental Hygiene	Unannounced annual inspection.	● At least every six months ● A restaurant that fails to attain a minimum acceptable inspection score must be inspected quarterly until it attains an acceptable score for four consecutive quarters
OR	Human Services Dept, Food, Pool, & Lodging Health & Safety Sec.	Critical item violation: Must correct during the inspection and implement corrective action. Non-critical violation: the permit holder must correct by the date and time agreed to but no later than 90 days after inspection. Imminent health hazard: The establishment must immediately discontinue operations.- Deny, suspend, or revoke food establishment registration for just cause ● Fine not exceeding $100, or prison term of up to 3 months for a first offense, ● Fine not exceeding $200, or prison term up to 6 mos. For second offense ● Fine not exceeding $500, or prison term up to one year for third and subsequent offenses.	● Up to $1,250 or $2,500, depending on the type of establishment ● Up to $500 per day for failure to cease operations after being closed for not correcting critical violations ● Dept. can impose civil penalties for some violations
RI	Dept. of Health, Office of Food Protection	● Based on the food establishment’s history of compliance with the RI Food Code and its potential as a “vector of food borne illness.”	If inspection criteria are not met (a certain score with no critical violations), the establishment is asked to close voluntarily until it can open again in full compliance.
VT	Vermont Department of Health, Division of Health Protection, Food and Lodging Program	At all reasonable times.	If inspection criteria are not met (a certain score with no critical violations), the establishment is asked to voluntarily close until it can open again in full compliance.

Source: John Kasprak, Senior Attorney, Saul Spigel, Chief Analyst, OLR Research Report, July 23, 2008, Connecticut General Assembly. Accessed March 3, 2022.

As you can see from the table above, the frequency of inspections in the noted states ranges from any time to once a year or so. And fines can be stiff, going up to $10,000, restaurant closures, and even prison time in extreme cases.

Similar to the United States, a similar approach to government regulation of inspections falls upon regional and municipal jurisdictions in Canada. And similarly, the frequency of those inspections is up to each jurisdiction to manage and decide.

A study found that the frequency of inspections had little to no effect on restaurants’ overall health and safety compliance. What did affect how much those restaurants prioritized health and safety in their operations?

How To Manage Unknown Inspections

Fines, restaurant closures, and other such penalties make one want to ensure their restaurant is tip-top. Never mind trying to maintain a public identity as a clean restaurant. 

According to a study in Philadelphia, chain restaurants had significantly fewer violations per inspection than non-chain restaurants. The reason? One could assume that chain restaurants practice standardized procedures. These procedures include rigorous health and safety inspections and processes. It’s one way that the more prominent companies attempt to ensure the best conditions in their facilities.

Assuming you want to maintain the best conditions within your establishment, let’s look at one of the best ways to manage the situation. That solution is to conduct your restaurant health inspections regularly. You can use a downloadable template, like our Restaurant Inspection Checklist, or if moving into a more efficient technological solution, you should consider our app, 1st Reporting. However, do you know what to look for in an inspection app?

Restaurant Inspection Apps And What To Look For

Maintaining your health and safety policies within your restaurant isn’t always easy. So it’s essential to choose the right kind of solution. What you should look for in a restaurant inspection app is one that works and fits well with your business. Because your business isn’t the same as the business next door, and your solutions don’t need to be either.

Customization In A Restaurant Inspection App Is Critical

The first thing to look for in a restaurant app can customize to your restaurant’s specific needs. Technology should not force you into its parameters. You should be able to adapt it to yours.

A food inspection app, or rather one used in a food preparation environment, must allow your business to uphold the quality standards you need for your restaurant’s food safety. But not every restaurant serves the same types of foods or prepares those foods in the same ways.

Due to the potential differences a successful restaurant may have compared to its competition, ensuring that your restaurant inspection app is relevant is critical. Whether using a printed hard copy of a restaurant inspection checklist or the preferred digital tool, it has to work with your processes, not someone else’s.

From scheduled inspections to reviewing inspection reports, restaurant managers can find their jobs a lot easier when a customized report is available. It’s yet another reason why customization is such an essential factor to consider when deciding on a restaurant inspection app.

Automation

Documenting safety and quality standards is enough work. Then trying to keep track of paper forms and collected data can be quite a headache when numerous templates and printed documents are involved. Not only that but the dynamic nature of the restaurant business ensures that losing a form is easy.

Automation can save many problems if implemented as a part of your inspection processes’ critical infrastructure. When digital inspections include automation stages programmed into the process, it’s possible to use this to your restaurant’s advantage efficiently.

Automated processes like sharing documents like a digital inspection or a restaurant cleanliness report allow you to turn rudimentary tasks into automated processes saving you time and money. For example, the 1st Reporting app has the ability to provide automated notifications upon report submission. Consider the ability to have your team members submit washroom cleanliness reports or daily restaurant inspection checklists. You can get a notification sent the moment your team submits their report.

Consider what automation can do for things like training new staff. Combining the customization of a platform like 1st with automation, you have robust process documentation and tracking machine.

You could provide new staff with checklists to cover effective standard operating procedures. When your team completes these routine tasks, they complete your custom checklist in digital format. The result is an increase in service quality due to increased food safety documentation.

Trend Analysis of Inspection Data

The restaurant’s potential to monitor cleanliness, health, and safety allows for robust data analytics to point out weaknesses in the restaurant’s safety operations. A good restaurant inspection app will provide this much-needed support to your restaurant. Proper analytics helps to control hazards, mitigate and avoid fines, ensure cleanliness and a safe environment, and help you genuinely understand the maximum potential for your corrective actions.

Efficiency Is Increased Using A Restaurant Inspection App

A good restaurant inspection app should not be time-consuming. Maybe your first digital inspection with a new app will take longer while you learn to navigate the system successfully. However, when you’re in the middle of a restaurant opening, the last thing you need is an inefficient way of performing your health inspection.

Added Value,

A good restaurant inspection app will offer more than just a digital or hard copy of a checklist. It should provide value-added features that make your job as a restaurant manager easier. It could be in the form of the following:

• Automated reporting
• Pre-made checklists for different types of restaurants or situations
• Trend analysis of audit data
• Efficient data management and reporting

When choosing an app, be sure to consider all the features it offers to get the most value for your money. If you’re unsure which app is best for you, ask around or research the internet. The right app can make your life as a restaurant manager much easier.

Our Top Pick?

You’ll find that the 1st Reporting app handles all the features you need for a restaurant inspection app. We’ve developed the app with your safety inspections in mind. We’ve covered you, from restaurant procedures to health and safety inspections. Give the 1st Reporting app a try and discover why so many other restaurant managers are happy they made the switch.