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Inventory and food cost software review

Fourth Purchase-to-Pay and Inventory

Inventory, recipe costing, supplier ordering and invoice matching for restaurant groups, sold in four editions by quote. Unless your order says otherwise, Fourth's general terms set a three-year term that renews each year, with 90 days' notice.

By FourthParent company: Fourth Enterprises, LLC
Not enough data to score
Fourth also offers: Scheduling and time clock

Not enough verified data yet

We've verified 8 of 12 key facts for this inventory tool. Until we reach 80%, this page shows what we have, with sources, and it isn't a full review.

Our verdict

A purchase-to-pay and inventory system for restaurant groups that buy centrally. Before you sign, ask for the edition price in writing and negotiate the three-year default term, the 90-day notice and the yearly increases.

What we like

  • Inventory counts on mobile (even offline), recipe costing by ingredient and actual vs. theoretical stock control in one product.
  • Three-way matching of invoices, purchase orders and delivery notes, with supplier invoices by EDI or PDF.
  • Central ordering and supplier catalogs for groups that want budget control across every location.
  • Its general terms are public, so you can read the term, renewal and exit rules before you ask for a quote.

What to watch

  • No published price for any of its four editions, and required training is charged separately.
  • Three-year initial term by default, renewals each year with 90 days' notice, and the remaining fees are owed if you leave early.
  • Fourth may raise fees every year, with no cap in its general terms.
  • It does not name which POS systems or accounting software connect to inventory.

How the score breaks down

RTC ScoreNot enough data

Methodology v1.0.0

We could verify less than 60% of what we score, so we don't rank it.

Data completeness52%

We could verify 52% of the scoring data

Strongest points
Inventory counts, Recipe costing, Actual vs. theoretical food cost
Weakest point
Published pricing

Score by criterion

  • 12-month software cost (reference restaurant)Weight 24%No data
  • POS integrationsWeight 8%No data
  • Inventory countsWeight 7%Strongest10.0 out of 10
  • Recipe costingWeight 7%Strongest10.0 out of 10
  • Actual vs. theoretical food costWeight 7%Strongest10.0 out of 10
  • Supplier invoice captureWeight 7%No data
  • Published pricingWeight 6%Weakest0.0 out of 10
  • Initial termWeight 6%0.0 out of 10
  • Sells to a single locationWeight 4%No data
  • Live support channelsWeight 4%6.0 out of 10
  • Purchase orders to suppliersWeight 3%10.0 out of 10
  • Works with more than one POSWeight 3%10.0 out of 10
  • Accounting integrationsWeight 3%No data
  • Leaving earlyWeight 3%2.5 out of 10
  • Notice to avoid renewalWeight 3%0.0 out of 10
  • Paying suppliers (AP)Weight 2%No data
  • Setup help includedWeight 2%3.0 out of 10
  • Bar inventory by weight or pourWeight 1%0.0 out of 10

All the data, with sources

Each value links to its source. "Not published" means the vendor doesn't disclose it; "Unconfirmed" means we looked and couldn't confirm it. Data points we have for fewer than four vendors are left out until we can compare them.

Pricing
Data pointValue
Monthly price (full food cost)Quote onlySource: Fourth (opens in a new tab)Fourth publishes no prices for any of the four editions.
Charged perLocationSource: Fourth (opens in a new tab)Per location as set in the order; the fee for a location may also be tiered by its number of users or employees.
Billing optionsNot publishedSource: Fourth (opens in a new tab)Billing frequency is set in the order.
Invoice-only planUnconfirmedSource: Fourth (opens in a new tab)We looked on its purchasing and inventory pages; Fourth does not say whether one of its four editions covers only purchasing and invoices, or at what price.
Published pricingQuote onlySource: Fourth (opens in a new tab)
Setup or onboarding feeNot publishedSource: Fourth (opens in a new tab)Training is required and charged as a fixed fee due when you sign; professional services are priced in a statement of work. No amounts are published.
POS connection feeUnconfirmedSource: Fourth (opens in a new tab)We looked on its inventory and integration pages; Fourth does not publish a POS connection fee.
Other chargesRequired training at a fixed fee and professional services by statement of work (amounts not published). If you do not renew, you still pay a full month for the month the service ends. Credit card payments may carry a convenience fee. Requests for data outside normal reports carry fees.Source: Fourth (opens in a new tab)
What it does
Data pointValue
Main jobInventory, recipes and invoicesSource: Fourth (opens in a new tab)
Inventory countsIncludedSource: Fourth (opens in a new tab)
Recipe costingIncludedSource: Fourth (opens in a new tab)Listed as a feature of Purchase-to-Pay and Inventory; Fourth does not say which of the four editions include it.
Actual vs. theoretical food costIncludedSource: Fourth (opens in a new tab)
Supplier invoice captureUnconfirmedSource: Fourth (opens in a new tab)Invoices arrive from suppliers by EDI or PDF, or are entered by hand, and are matched against orders and deliveries; Fourth does not say whether it reads invoice photos or how many it processes.
Paying suppliers (AP)UnconfirmedSource: Fourth (opens in a new tab)Fourth says you can pay for orders with integrated vendors and sends approved invoices to your accounting software, but does not document paying suppliers itself or which editions do it.
Purchase orders to suppliersIncludedSource: Fourth (opens in a new tab)
Bar inventory by weight or pourNoSource: Fourth (opens in a new tab)Fourth does not document weighing bottles or counting by pour; we looked on its inventory, purchasing and Purchase-to-Pay pages.
POS and accounting
Data pointValue
Works withSeveral POS systemsSource: Fourth (opens in a new tab)Fourth sells no POS of its own and says the inventory system integrates with yours, without naming which ones.
POS integrationsUnconfirmedSource: Fourth (opens in a new tab)Its integration directory lists POS partners such as Toast, PAR, Lightspeed U Series, Oracle Simphony and MICROS, and NCR Aloha, but describes them for sales forecasting and labor planning; the inventory pages do not name which POS systems feed inventory.
Accounting integrationsUnconfirmedSource: Fourth (opens in a new tab)Fourth says it integrates with your accounting software but does not name which systems.
Size and users
Data pointValue
Minimum locationsUnconfirmedSource: Fourth (opens in a new tab)Fourth publishes no minimum number of locations; we looked on its Purchase-to-Pay, inventory and legal pages.
Users on the planUnconfirmedSource: Fourth (opens in a new tab)The fee per location may be tiered by users or employees; Fourth does not publish how many users an edition includes.
Contract and exit
Data pointValue
Initial term36 monthsSource: Fourth (opens in a new tab)Three years unless your order states another term (General Terms and Conditions, section 6.1).
Automatic renewal12 monthsSource: Fourth (opens in a new tab)
Notice to avoid renewal90 daysSource: Fourth (opens in a new tab)Even when you give notice, you pay a full month for the month the service ends.
Leaving earlyFees left in the termSource: Fourth (opens in a new tab)
Early termination clauseIf you end a subscription before the end of its term, without an uncured material breach by Fourth, you pay right away all remaining subscription fees for the rest of the term plus fees already accrued. Fees are non-cancelable and non-refundable, and quantities cannot be lowered during the term (sections 5.1 and 6.5).Source: Fourth (opens in a new tab)
Right to raise pricesFourth may raise subscription fees for every location in each year of the initial term and of each renewal; the general terms set no cap (section 5.3).Source: Fourth (opens in a new tab)
Your data when you leaveOn requestSource: Fourth (opens in a new tab)You ask in writing and get 14 days of limited access to pull standard reports; if Fourth's staff retrieves the data, it is priced in a statement of work.
Setup and support
Data pointValue
Setup help includedPaid separatelySource: Fourth (opens in a new tab)
Live support channelsPhone, Email or ticketsSource: Fourth (opens in a new tab)Phone lines and a customer success portal for tickets. The support page names inventory only for the UK and for MacromatiX in the US and Canada; it does not list a separate US line for this product.
Live support hours a weekUnconfirmedSource: Fourth (opens in a new tab)The support page does not give US hours for this product; MacromatiX, Fourth's QSR inventory product, is supported 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Eastern on weekdays and 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. on weekends.
Language
Data pointValue
App or dashboard in SpanishUnconfirmedSource: Fourth (opens in a new tab)We looked on its inventory, purchasing and support pages; Fourth does not say what languages the inventory app comes in.
Help center in SpanishUnconfirmedSource: Fourth (opens in a new tab)Its help articles live in a customer portal we could not read without an account.
Support in SpanishNot publishedSource: Fourth (opens in a new tab)Its support page does not mention support in Spanish.
Website in Spanish for the USNoSource: Fourth (opens in a new tab)The website comes in English for the US, the UK and Australia; there is no Spanish version.

More about Fourth Purchase-to-Pay and Inventory

How we score