This article reviews the best restaurant health inspection apps available, outlining the features and functions of each and how you can use them to maintain high-quality standards.
Commitment to food safety is the primary responsibility of everyone involved in the restaurant industry. Practice improper food handling, and you risk making people sick and tarnishing your online reputation.
Health code violations also cost a lot of money, not only in fines but in customers. Restaurants with higher health grades attract more customers than those with passing grades.
The good news is that there’s a tool you can use to ensure your food protection, safety, hygiene, and quality retain the best standards at all times.
A restaurant inspection app can help you comply with legal and organizational norms and keep all your employees on track with the right checklists and procedures.
This article will cover the best restaurant inspection apps you can use to earn and maintain that A+ rating.
If you don’t have the time to read through our research, jump down to our quick comparison table.
Our Top Picks
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Best All-in-One Restaurant Inspection App
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Best for analytics
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Best for creating inspection reports
Why trust us?
Our team of unbiased software reviewers follows strict editorial guidelines, and our methodology is clear and open to everyone.
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What to Look For in a Restaurant Inspection App
The best restaurant inspection apps should have the following features to help you simplify your operations:
- Checklists: Your restaurant health inspection app should have to-do lists that will let you streamline workflows for all staff in the front and back of the house.
- Document access: The best app should let you upload food safety standards and guidelines so everyone has access.
- Onboarding Tools: Food preparation and safety training materials and quizzes can help you train and manage your staff.
- Communication Tools: Some apps, like Connecteam, have convenient tools to recognize a job well done and communicate with your team.
- Scheduling Features: These let your team access their schedules from the same app in which they have their checklists.
Connecteam offers all these features conveniently laid out in an all-in-one app. You can use this app to communicate with your team, upload documents to help your employees learn about safety standards, deliver onboarding and training sessions, and more.
The 5 Best Restaurant Inspection Apps of 2024
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Connecteam — Best All-in-One Restaurant Inspection App
Connecteam offers an all-in-one approach to restaurant inspection. You can use it to guide your team through proper food storage and preparation, encourage them to keep the kitchen sparkling clean, set up guides for health inspection, and more.
Connecteam offers an easy interface you can customize to your business, so you don’t need a lot of training to use its features. It also has affordable pricing, top-notch customer service, and the following features to help you pass local health inspection guidelines.
Get Your Team on the Same Page With Checklists
Proper procedures are a must for preventing foodborne illness and passing inspections by local health departments. With Connecteam’s digital checklists, you can ensure your team follows these procedures on every shift.
Connecteam lets you create food safety checklists with instructions for cleanup, food storage, cleaning, labeling, prep, and more. With these, you can make it easier for your team members to follow procedures even in the busiest times.
Moreover, you can use a separate checklist for the front-of-house staff for cleaning, waste storage and removal, and other tasks they can do to keep your restaurant fit for a health inspection at any time.
Use Onboarding and Training Tools to Keep Your Staff in the Know
Knowledge is essential to positive health inspection results. Use Connecteam’s employee training and onboarding features to keep your staff up to date on the latest local health inspection guidelines. You can even create quizzes for food safety and sanitation and train your team on cleaning and handling procedures to hold everyone accountable for food safety.
With Connecteam, you can give quarterly training to every team member to keep your restaurant healthy and safe. Track how many people have taken the training and monitor their progress. If any team members struggle with the training material, you can set up coaching sessions to help bring them up to speed.
Train Your Management Team
Some of the most common health code violations occur because of improperly cleaned restaurant equipment. Your kitchen staff can clean cooktops and other kitchen equipment but might not always check the freezer.
With Connecteam, you can have members of your management team add shift notes to check the freezers or schedule routine maintenance, so you can be sure food is always stored correctly. You can also create automated reminders for kitchen equipment requiring regular tune-ups.
Use Centralized Communication Tools to Distribute Information
Connecteam allows you to store and distribute company information to all team members in one spot. Provide employees access to company handbooks and guidelines, previous health inspection reports, local health department food safety rules and regulations, and more.
Giving your team easy access to rules and regulations on a mobile app creates a food safety culture and better prepares your team for every health inspection.
Use the Chat Feature To Boost Your Team and Celebrate Wins
Along with its checklists and training features, Connecteam’s smart chat feature offers another way to keep in touch with your team. Use it to praise colleagues for great inspection results or offer daily retail food handling tips.
You can even offer rewards and incentives by giving team members tokens to exchange for gift cards. Create a culture of praise so your team members feel valued and motivated to work in your restaurant.
Your team members can also use Connecteam to communicate with each other, send reminders about upcoming inspections or double-check each area of the restaurant to make sure it is up to standard.
Take Advantage of Scheduling Features
Connecteam stands out among many other inspection apps with its employee scheduling features. These allow you to create customized scheduling templates to save your management team time.
Essentially, employee scheduling features let you fill in and share schedules and daily tasks in a few clicks. With Connecteam, your team members can easily swap shifts, access their work time, and clock in and out from their phones. With the location-based time clock, you can be sure your team members are in the restaurant during their shifts.
Choose an Affordable Plan
Connecteam offers affordable plans starting at $29 a month for up to 30 users. If you’re running a small restaurant with less than 10 team members, you can also take advantage of Connecteam’s free small business plan and access the essential features to pass health inspections.
Connecteam lets you try its features free of charge for 14 days to find the best plan for your restaurant.
Connecteam also offers a free for life plan – Get Started Now!
Key Features
Shift notes and checklists
Employee chat feature
Customizable forms
Digital task management
Onboarding and training tools
Employee scheduling features
Recognition and rewards tools
Pros
Easy to use
Great value for the money
Top-notch customer service
Intuitive and customizable
Offers real-time communication between all employees
Cons
Needs internet or wifi access to work
Pricing
Free-for-life plan availablePremium plans start at $29/month for 30 users
14-day free trial, no credit card required
Start your free trial -
GoSpotCheck — Best for analytics
Available on
- Web
- iOS
- Android
GoSpotCheck offers restaurant owners a tool for creating checklists and collecting data. It also allows for logging essential safety information, including freezer temperatures, allergen contamination incidents, and location scorecards. Once owners input the data, GoSpotCheck offers easy-to-read analytics reports for tracking progress.
This software is convenient for walking through the inspection process from a health inspector’s point of view. However, it can be hard to learn for people who aren’t tech-savvy and tends to freeze a lot.
Key Features
- Operational checklists
- Visual data reporting
- Photo sharing capabilities
- Alerts and notifications
Pros
- Comprehensive analytics tools to track progress
- Ability to standardize operations
Cons
- The app often freezes or runs slowly
- It requires a learning curve
Pricing
Contact vendor for price Trial: No Free Plan: No
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SafetyCulture — Best for creating inspection reports
Built for creating inspection checklists, SafetyCulture is a handy tool for health inspectors. With it, they can develop templates for each inspection and convert them to reports.
The app features a drag-and-drop template builder, making the pre-inspection process more efficient. Once a report is complete, an inspector can compile analytics for a thorough report restaurant owners can use to improve their performance. They can easily assign corrective actions and add notes.
Key Features
- Compliance management
- Task assignment
- Customizable inspection templates
- Form design
Pros
- Good customer service team
- Available log machinery checks and maintenance reminders
Cons
- No personalization for each user
- No ability to review an inspector’s report without their login
Pricing
Starts at $19/user/month Trial: Yes Free Plan: Yes
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Leafe — Best for optimizing the kitchen
Available on
- Web
- iOS
- Android
Developed by chefs, Leafe is a UK-based platform that helps chefs manage their kitchens. The app lets you record food temperatures, food storage, and inventory.
With this software, kitchen managers and chefs can help ensure consistency and quality. They can simplify operations by creating opening and closing checklists. However, as of 2023, this app is only available for UK-based companies. Its most affordable pricing option only covers up to five users, which means it’s limited to the management team.
Key Features
- Real-time inventory management
- Temperature recording features
- Compliance analytics
- Delivery tracking
Pros
- Personalized setup and training
- Allergens and cross-contamination tracking and prevention
Cons
- Only available in the United Kingdom
- Many features are only available at higher price points
Pricing
Starts at £31/month for five users Trial: Yes Free Plan: No
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FoodCode-Pro — Best for food safety
Available on
- Web
- iOS
- Android
Built by inspectors for inspectors, FoodCode-Pro offers tools restaurant owners can use to optimize food safety. With it, they can track Food and Drug Administration (FDA) codes and regulations to set the best procedures.
FoodCode-Pro offers food safety dashboards managers can use to see their overall performance and track progress on needed improvements. Its extensive compliance checklists have detailed information for every staff member.
Moreover, FoodCode-Pro offers information on health and safety codes for restaurants by countries and states to help you comply with regulations. It also has a 3D violation search feature employees can use to visualize the inspection process.
Key Features
- FDA food codes
- 3D violation search feature
- Database of state and federal health guidelines
- Food safety checklists
Pros
- Easy compliance with health codes
- The cloud-based platform is easy to set up
Cons
- It’s hard to contact the support team
- The app doesn’t offer any personnel or management features
Pricing
Contact vendor for price Trial: No Free Plan: No
Compare the Best Restaurant Inspection Apps
| Topic |
Start for free
|
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|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Reviews |
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N/A
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N/A
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N/A
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| Pricing |
Starts at just $29/month for the first 30 users
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Contact vendor for price
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Starts at $19/user/month
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Starts at £31/month for five users
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Contact vendor for price
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| Free Trial |
yes
14-day
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no
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yes
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yes
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no
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| Free Plan |
yes
Free Up to 10 users
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no
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yes
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no
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no
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| Use cases |
Best All-in-One Restaurant Inspection App
|
Best for analytics
|
Best for creating inspection reports
|
Best for optimizing the kitchen
|
Best for food safety
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| Available on |
Web, iOS, Android
|
Web, iOS, Android
|
Web, iOS, Android
|
What Is a Restaurant Inspection App?
A restaurant inspection app is a platform kitchen managers and restaurant owners can use to improve food safety and hygiene. These apps allow you to set task lists for team members on each shift so you know they are prepping and storing food and cleaning the kitchen properly.
The best restaurant inspection apps also offer tools you can use to train your staff, keeping them up to speed on health inspection regulations and procedures. Some even let you share rules and regulations with your team directly through the app so they always have food safety protocols on hand.
How Do Restaurant Inspection Apps Work?
Most restaurant inspection apps offer templates to set up checklists for your team. If you are more interested in checklist apps rather than inspection apps, see our guide here on the best restaurant checklist apps. They give you the option of customizing templates for your staff members so they can follow to-do lists that cover cleaning, food preparation, food handling and storage, and safety tasks. Once you set up the checklists, you can add them to team members’ schedules.
Some apps will also allow you to go deeper into prep for health inspections and let you create onboarding courses and training quizzes to keep everyone on your team up to speed.
Quizzing your team on various health code violations and steps for avoiding cross-contamination and food-borne illnesses will make the learning process smoother.
The Benefits of Restaurant Inspection Apps
Depending on your location, the local health department could inspect your restaurant up to four times a year. If you fail during these inspections, you risk paying a hefty fine and even losing your business.
A restaurant inspection app can help you avoid problems with maintaining health standards in compliance with regulations. But that’s not the only benefit of this tool for restaurant owners and managers. Here are some other benefits you can expect to reap when using a restaurant inspection app.
Better Compliance With Health Codes
As mentioned, using a restaurant inspection app helps you better manage your team to think about food safety. As even the smallest oversight could put you at risk for health code violations, using an app with health checklists to remind your team members of their duties and responsibilities will be highly beneficial. It will help you prevent food safety and hygiene issues first and foremost.
Consistent Training Materials
With a restaurant inspection app, you can train everyone on your team the same way. You don’t have to worry about new hires skipping important lessons during busy times and not learning proper cleaning and prep procedures. With the right app, your team members have all their training materials in one place, and you don’t have to rely on your management team to train everyone on all aspects of health.
Creating a More Engaged Workforce
Communication tools available on restaurant health inspection apps, including chat and rewards and incentives (like gift cards or other prizes), let you recognize your team for their achievements on the job. Acknowledging your team and how they contribute to your success can help make them feel more valued and motivated to do a good job.
You can also use the app for company-wide communication, helping ensure that everyone gets the same information across locations.
Easy Scheduling
All-in-one restaurant inspection apps also offer scheduling features your managers can use to simplify employee scheduling. They can use templates to create shifts and get coverage when an employee can’t come to work.
This allows managers to spend more time managing the restaurant and less time sitting in the back office, making lists and schedules manually. Reducing manual tasks and freeing up time for managers will help your team keep essential operations in tip-top shape.
Shift Notes to Keep Staff on Track
Health inspections are unscheduled, so there’s no way to prep your team for inspection day. However, you can still add shift notes to each employee’s work schedule, reminding them how they can contribute to maintaining a restaurant clean and up to health standards.
Setting cleaning goals and offering incentives to people who complete all their hygiene tasks throughout their shifts can go a long way toward enhancing productivity and effectiveness.
How much do restaurant inspection apps cost?
The price of a restaurant inspection app will vary based on its features and how you’re using it. Some apps offer basic plans for free, but these don’t typically have the same features as paid plans. Others charge you based on the number of users.
If you plan for many people to use the app, it could cost you hundreds of dollars monthly. For example, an app that costs $20 per user per month would cost $200 monthly for just 10 users. This cost would add up quickly if you’re running a restaurant with multiple staff members.
Before choosing a restaurant inspection app, consider what features you need and how you want the software to integrate with programs you’re already using. Look for an app that offers a free trial so you can get a sense of how it works before committing to it full-time.
Connecteam’s premium plans start at only $29 monthly for the first 30 users and offers a 14-day trial. For small businesses, there is a 100% free-for-life plan that has all app features for up to 10 users, offering you more bang for the buck than any other software out there.
FAQs
Who Inspects Restaurants in the USA?
In the United States, local health departments guide restaurant health inspections. The state, the country, or the city can inspect your restaurant. In general, larger cities have their own health departments, while smaller agencies may rely on county-level or state-level health inspectors to run health inspections.
Are Restaurants Inspected by OSHA?
In the U.S., the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) sets standards for various industries, including food service. Each restaurant needs to comply with OSHA regulations so its employees and customers can stay safe. Consider, therefore, adding OSHA regulations into a restaurant inspection app as another employee resource.
What Is the Point of Focus During a Health Inspection?
Health inspectors are concerned with food temperature and hazards associated with food preparation. A health inspector will check whether all hazardous foods are stored and cooked at the right temperature. They will also check for food handling, preparation, and other potential safety issues in the restaurant.
The Bottom Line On Restaurant Inspection App
With a restaurant inspection app, your restaurant staff no longer has to worry about health inspections. Because you can use checklists, share training materials, and celebrate team members committed to safety, prepping for and passing a health inspection becomes smooth and easy.
Instead of rushing to clean the restaurant from head to toe because you think you might be due for an inspection, use Connecteam’s features to remind your staff to keep the place spotless and safe at all times. Create a culture of safety and reward your staff for a job well done. When your whole team is trained consistently and committed to food safety, you can pass each health inspection with flying colors.
Want to learn more about how Connecteam can benefit your restaurant? Try Connecteam for free now.