The complete software stack for a growing craft brewery
This representative 4-pillar catalog scenario shows options for an 18-person craft brewery & taproom. Review each source, cost input, and assumption against your own needs before choosing vendors.
This representative catalog scenario is not a quote, observed spend, or guaranteed result.
Estimated difference: $50,364/yr
Arithmetic: ($7,200 current input − $3,003 catalog stack) × 12. This is an illustrative catalog scenario, not a quote, observed customer spend, or guaranteed savings.
Your 4-pillar stack blueprint
This software stack is designed to streamline your 18-person brewery's operations from the taproom to the back office. Toast and Untappd will drive sales and customer engagement directly at your location, while Podium and Mailchimp will extend that reach through online reviews and targeted marketing campaigns. Ekos and Ollie will manage your beer production and distribution efficiently, ensuring you have the right product where it needs to be, while 7shifts optimizes your staff's schedules. For financial and administrative tasks, QuickBooks Online, Gusto, Ramp, and Bill.com provide robust accounting, payroll, and expense management, all integrated with Stripe for seamless online payments. Finally, Google Workspace, 1Password, Huntress, and DocuSign offer essential tools for secure communication, productivity, and essential business processes.
Sales & Marketing
Taproom & Restaurant POS, Order Management
Consolidates: legacy cash register, handwritten tabs, separate standalone card terminal
$220/moBeer Discovery & Taproom Marketing
Consolidates: printed/chalkboard tap lists, manual new-release announcements, word-of-mouth-only beer discovery
$50/moCustomer Messaging & Review Management
Consolidates: manual review requests, separate SMS app, unanswered social DMs
$329/moEmail & SMS Marketing Automation
Consolidates: manual email blasts, printed flyers, no-show event reminder calls
$65/moMeta Ads (Facebook & Instagram)
Local Pay-Per-Lead Advertising
Consolidates: print/direct mail advertising, flyer campaigns, manual ad-hoc social boosting
$800/mo
Core Operations
Brewery Production, Inventory & Distribution Management
Consolidates: spreadsheet batch logs, manual keg tracking, paper distributor order sheets
$500/moDistributor & Retailer B2B Ordering Portal
Consolidates: phone/email wholesale ordering, manual order entry from distributor emails
$150/moStaff Scheduling & Labor Management
Consolidates: paper/whiteboard schedules, group-text shift swaps, manual labor cost spreadsheets
$70/mo
Finance
Core accounting & bookkeeping
Consolidates: manual/spreadsheet bookkeeping, separate AR tracking for wholesale accounts
$90/mo- $200/mo
Corporate cards & expense management
Consolidates: personal reimbursement/manual expense reports, shared company debit cards
$0/moAccounts payable & bill pay automation
Consolidates: manual check writing, paper vendor invoice tracking
$99/moOnline payment processing
Consolidates: no online payment acceptance, manual invoice payment collection
$0/mo
Administration & Security
Google Workspace (Business Standard)
Business email hosting & productivity suite
Consolidates: personal Gmail accounts for business use, ad-hoc video conferencing tools
$170/moPassword manager
Consolidates: passwords in a shared spreadsheet, sticky notes at the register
$95/moEndpoint detection & response / managed security
Consolidates: free/consumer antivirus, unmonitored POS terminals
$85/moE-signature & document workflow
Consolidates: printing and scanning paper contracts, emailing PDFs back and forth for signature
$80/mo
Our picks, and why
Toast
Fits teams of 3-60 employees, consolidates legacy cash register, handwritten tabs, separate standalone card terminal — chosen over 1 other taproom & restaurant pos, order management option in our catalog.
Runner-up: Square for Restaurants
Untappd for Business
Fits teams of 1-50 employees, consolidates printed/chalkboard tap lists, manual new-release announcements, word-of-mouth-only beer discovery.
Podium
Fits teams of 5-50 employees, consolidates manual review requests, separate SMS app, unanswered social DMs.
Mailchimp
Fits teams of 1-50 employees, consolidates manual email blasts, printed flyers, no-show event reminder calls.
Meta Ads (Facebook & Instagram)
Fits teams of 1-50 employees, consolidates print/direct mail advertising, flyer campaigns, manual ad-hoc social boosting.
Ekos
Fits teams of 5-150 employees, consolidates spreadsheet batch logs, manual keg tracking, paper distributor order sheets — chosen over 1 other brewery production, inventory & distribution management option in our catalog.
Runner-up: Breww
Ollie
Fits teams of 3-100 employees, consolidates phone/email wholesale ordering, manual order entry from distributor emails.
7shifts
Fits teams of 5-100 employees, consolidates paper/whiteboard schedules, group-text shift swaps, manual labor cost spreadsheets.
QuickBooks Online (Plus)
Fits teams of 1-25 employees, consolidates manual/spreadsheet bookkeeping, separate AR tracking for wholesale accounts.
Gusto (Plus)
Fits teams of 2-50 employees, consolidates manual payroll processing, legacy ADP/Paychex contracts.
Ramp
Fits teams of 3-200 employees, consolidates personal reimbursement/manual expense reports, shared company debit cards.
Bill.com
Fits teams of 5-100 employees, consolidates manual check writing, paper vendor invoice tracking.
Stripe
Fits teams of 1-200 employees, consolidates no online payment acceptance, manual invoice payment collection.
Google Workspace (Business Standard)
Fits teams of 3-50 employees, consolidates personal Gmail accounts for business use, ad-hoc video conferencing tools.
1Password Business
Fits teams of 3-75 employees, consolidates passwords in a shared spreadsheet, sticky notes at the register.
Huntress Managed EDR
Fits teams of 5-100 employees, consolidates free/consumer antivirus, unmonitored POS terminals.
DocuSign
Fits teams of 2-60 employees, consolidates printing and scanning paper contracts, emailing PDFs back and forth for signature.
Every tool we evaluated for a craft brewery
Our engine picks one winner per category based on your size — here's the full shortlist it chose from, including the runners-up and who they're actually built for.
Sales & Marketing
| Tool | Category | Best fit | Cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| ToastOur pick for this size | Taproom & Restaurant POS, Order Management | 3-60 employees | $220/mo |
| Square for Restaurants | Taproom & Restaurant POS, Order Management | 1-20 employees | $89/mo |
| Untappd for BusinessOur pick for this size | Beer Discovery & Taproom Marketing | 1-50 employees | $50/mo |
| PodiumOur pick for this size | Customer Messaging & Review Management | 5-50 employees | $329/mo |
| MailchimpOur pick for this size | Email & SMS Marketing Automation | 1-50 employees | $65/mo |
| Meta Ads (Facebook & Instagram)Our pick for this size | Local Pay-Per-Lead Advertising | 1-50 employees | $800/mo |
Core Operations
| Tool | Category | Best fit | Cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| EkosOur pick for this size | Brewery Production, Inventory & Distribution Management | 5-150 employees | $500/mo |
| Breww | Brewery Production, Inventory & Distribution Management | 3-80 employees | $400/mo |
| OllieOur pick for this size | Distributor & Retailer B2B Ordering Portal | 3-100 employees | $150/mo |
| 7shiftsOur pick for this size | Staff Scheduling & Labor Management | 5-100 employees | $70/mo |
Finance
| Tool | Category | Best fit | Cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| QuickBooks Online (Plus)Our pick for this size | Core accounting & bookkeeping | 1-25 employees | $90/mo |
| Gusto (Plus)Our pick for this size | Payroll & HR | 2-50 employees | $200/mo |
| RampOur pick for this size | Corporate cards & expense management | 3-200 employees | $0/mo |
| Bill.comOur pick for this size | Accounts payable & bill pay automation | 5-100 employees | $99/mo |
| StripeOur pick for this size | Online payment processing | 1-200 employees | $0/mo |
Administration & Security
| Tool | Category | Best fit | Cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Google Workspace (Business Standard)Our pick for this size | Business email hosting & productivity suite | 3-50 employees | $170/mo |
| 1Password BusinessOur pick for this size | Password manager | 3-75 employees | $95/mo |
| Huntress Managed EDROur pick for this size | Endpoint detection & response / managed security | 5-100 employees | $85/mo |
| DocuSignOur pick for this size | E-signature & document workflow | 2-60 employees | $80/mo |
- What Should an 18-Person Brewery Actually Pay for Software?
- Toast vs. Square for Restaurants: Which One Actually Fits Your Brewery Taproom?
- Ekos vs. Breww: Which Brewery Management Platform Actually Fits Your Operation?
- Signs Your Brewery Has SaaS Sprawl (And What It's Costing You)
- Software Integration Guide for a Brewery
Trades and businesses that share tools with craft brewery.
Frequently asked questions
How much does software cost for a small business in this industry?
It depends on your team size, but a genuinely optimized stack for a 10-15 person business typically runs $2,000-4,000/mo across all four pillars (sales & marketing, operations, finance, admin & security). We regularly see businesses paying 50-100% more than that because of overlapping tools, enterprise-tier subscriptions sized for larger teams, or never renegotiated pricing. Run the free audit to see your exact number.
What's the biggest source of software overspend in this industry?
The most common pattern is paying for two tools that do the same job — a legacy platform and a newer one that was added during a transition but never replaced the old one. The second most common is running an enterprise-tier platform sized for a much larger operation when a lighter alternative covers 95% of the functionality at a third of the cost.
How is BusinessAdvisor.Guide's recommendation different from a 'best software' list?
Most 'best software' lists rank tools by affiliate commission, not fit. Our engine is structurally blind to who pays us — the ranking code and the commission data live in separate, non-importing parts of our codebase. The engine ranks purely on your team-size fit and integration density, not on which vendor pays the biggest bounty.
Do I have to buy through BusinessAdvisor.Guide to use the blueprint?
No. The blueprint tells you exactly which tools to run and why. Adopting through our link just attaches your account so the rebate gets credited to you instead of going unclaimed. The recommendation is the same either way.
Compare your craft brewery inputs
Use this representative catalog scenario as a starting point, then verify current vendor details.