Running a pub without proper staff management is like trying to pull a pint with a broken tap – messy, frustrating, and costly. You’re juggling staff rotas on scraps of paper, chasing team members about shifts, and wondering why your best staff seem disengaged. Meanwhile, paid management apps charge you monthly fees that eat into already tight margins.
That’s exactly why we built SmartPubTools – a completely free pub management platform designed by landlords, for landlords. No subscription fees, no hidden costs, just proper tools to help you run your pub more efficiently.
Running this problem at your pub?
Here's the system I use at The Teal Farm to fix it — real-time labour %, cash position, and VAT liability in one dashboard. 30-minute setup. £97 once, no monthly fees.
Get Pub Command Centre — £97 →No monthly fees. 30-day money-back guarantee. Built by a working pub landlord.
What Makes Our Free Pub Management App Different
Our FOH app tackles the biggest headaches you face daily. The staff scheduling feature lets you create and share rotas in minutes, not hours. No more WhatsApp chaos or staff claiming they “never got the message” about their shifts. Everyone gets automatic notifications, and you can make changes on the go.
But here’s where it gets interesting – we’ve built in gamification features that actually work. Our staff leaderboard system tracks performance metrics like sales targets, customer feedback, and shift reliability. Your team can see how they’re doing compared to colleagues, which creates healthy competition and improves standards naturally.
The app also handles holiday requests, availability tracking, and shift swaps – all the admin that usually takes up your valuable time. Instead of spending hours on paperwork, you can focus on what matters: running a great pub and serving customers.
Built for UK Pub Landlords
We understand UK employment law, bank holidays, and the unique challenges of pub management. The app works perfectly whether you’re running a small village local or a busy town centre gastropub. You can manage part-time staff, zero-hour contracts, and the complex scheduling that comes with weekend and evening trading patterns.
The scheduling features account for peak times, quiet periods, and seasonal variations. Your staff can request time off through the app, and you can approve or decline requests instantly. No more sticky notes on the office door or missed holiday requests.
The performance tracking helps identify your star performers and spot potential issues before they become problems. When staff can see their progress and compete with colleagues, motivation improves naturally. Better motivated staff means better service, higher sales, and fewer recruitment headaches.
Ready to simplify your pub management? Download SmartPubTools free today and start managing your team like a pro. Visit smartpubtools.com and get your free account set up in minutes.
Free Tool for UK Pub Landlords
Used daily at Teal Farm Pub, Washington NE38
The Pub Command Centre handles everything in this article — without a spreadsheet.
Wet GP%, dry GP%, labour costs, beer line cleaning logs (12 lines), HACCP temperature checks, stock ordering, weekly P&L. All in one system. Used every shift at Teal Farm where labour runs at 15.1% against a UK pub average of 25-30%.
On a pub taking £900k a year, running labour at 15% instead of 25% is worth roughly £90,000. That is what tracking it daily — every shift, every week — actually looks like.
£97 once. No subscription. No monthly fee. Works on any phone, tablet or laptop. Setup under 10 minutes. Built and used by a Marston’s CRP licensee with a 5-star EHO rating and 180 covers.
See the Pub Command Centre — £97 →
One-off payment. Works on any device. Used by a working licensee, not a software company that’s never pulled a pint.
SmartPubTools FOH App — Free, Forever
Built by a real pub landlord from the North East. Staff gamification, shift tracking, leaderboards and rota tools — free, no subscription, no credit card needed.
📊 Your EPOS tells you what sold. Pub Command Centre tells you whether you made money.
Real-time labour %, cash position and VAT liability in one dashboard. Built by a working pub landlord. £97 once, no monthly fees. 30-day money-back guarantee.
Takes 2 minutes · Free forever · Made for UK pubs
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Running your pub on gut feel?
The Pub Command Centre gives you wet GP%, cellar checks, staff cost and weekly P&L — from your phone, every shift. £97 once. No subscription.
See the Pub Command Centre →