KitchenTools Software, Inc. was founded by Michigan natives Keith Hicks and Bill Hicks. Together we have over 40 years of experience in writing custom database software. Keith is a graduate of The University of Michigan with a degree in Electrical Engineering and 20+ years of custom programming under his belt. Bill has a degree in computer science and has spent over 25 years writing software and managing software developers.
The predecessor program to
We feel that KitchenTools PCMS™ is the next step in state of the art professional catering management software. In most industries there are a great many businesses that don't take full advantage of what computers can do for them, often tracking information in multiple systems that don't talk to each other, performing manual calculations and record keeping, and relying almost exclusively on experience based intuition to make business decisions. The latter point often means that one or two owners or employees are irreplaceable and usually over worked. Many such businesses operate in a very low tech way that makes running that business unpredictable, time consuming and not as profitable as possible. Being skilled database developers and problem solvers combined with a very good understanding of the needs of the professional catering industry, it was a natural choice to create this new application.
Mr. Watson is a leader in the industry. He is not only on the cutting edge of technology but also has a great deal of experience from which to draw. Our 15+ year relationship with The Kitchen, Inc. has helped KitchenTools Software, Inc. create a piece of software that significantly surpasses the capabilities of its predecessor. KitchenTools PCMS™ is loaded with features including allowing you to create menu item build-ups and customer menus, generate customizable customer invoices, calculate how much of each supply is needed for the week and automate the printing of customized product labels via BarTender® by Seagull Scientific (which must be purchased separately). This is all done in one sophisticated and intuitive package. See the key features section of this website for more details.
The economy hit the professional catering industry very hard in 2008 and many commercial kitchens that had been around for decades sadly had to close their doors. In addition to The Kitchen, Inc. we had two other customers happily running their businesses with our software, Johnson Industrial Catering in Columbus, OH and Deliwagon in Cleveland, OH. Unfortunately both of those long time businesses fell victim to the recession. After 2008 we strove to get our software out there but industries across the board pulled their belts very tight and stopped most spending that wasn't critical to running their businesses. Our original price was $40,000 per catering business (any number of computers). We dropped it to below $10,000 for a time but again, the economy was too rough on everyone. Spending ground to a halt. KitchenTools PCMS™ is currently undergoing some revisions and we're happy to say that there will be ongoing development. Our current pricing at $25,000 per catering business should be very attractive given what KitchenTools PCMS™ has to offer and how quickly it can pay for itself when used to its fullest. We expect to be at some of the upcoming CCFMA conferences and look forward to meeting some of you in person.
If you have questions or would like more information regarding the pricing or features of KitchenTools PCMS™, please feel free to contact us via our online form, by phone at 248-875-7580 or by email at sa***@**tchentoolssoftware.com. You may also contact Bob Watson at his office in Madison Heights, MI at 248-545-0641. Bob will be happy to answer questions as they relate to the use of KitchenTools PCMS™ and how this software is benefiting his company.
Our goal is not only to write software that handles the needs of the industry in the best possible way but also to provide our customers with all the tools necessary to understand how to integrate KitchenTools PCMS™ into their businesses. This includes things like fully integrated, searchable help, online FAQ and an intuitive user interface.