What Fourth does

Fourth is a hospitality technology company providing AI-powered cloud-based solutions for workforce management, inventory optimization, HR/payroll, and analytics to restaurant operators. Founded in 1999 and headquartered in London with US operations centered in Austin and an APAC presence in Sydney, Fourth serves 15,000+ customers across 120,000+ restaurant locations globally, including enterprise brands such as Taco Bell, Dunkin', KFC, Pizza Hut, Arby's, Brinker/Chili's, and Whataburger.

The company's technology platform centers on Fourth iQ, a three-layer AI architecture (AI-driven solutions, AI Engine, Data Foundation) trained on 25+ years of proprietary hospitality data. The platform unifies recruiting, payroll, labor scheduling, inventory management, and compliance into a single integrated system. Core products include HotSchedules (workforce management), PeopleMatter (applicant tracking), Fuego (earned wage access and digital tip payouts), WebClock (time and attendance), and inventory management modules derived from acquired brands Adaco, MacromatiX, and Red Book Solutions. The platform integrates with major POS systems (Toast, Oracle Micros, NCR Aloha, PAR Brink) and supply chain partners (Sysco, US Foods), with operational data flows powering AI forecasting (15-minute interval demand prediction), anomaly detection, and a conversational Virtual Assistant.

Fourth operates a sales-led go-to-market targeting enterprise and mid-market multi-location restaurant operators through direct field sales, inside sales, and POS partner referrals. Revenue derives primarily from recurring SaaS subscriptions (workforce and inventory modules) and managed services (HR/payroll processing and PEO co-employment services), with quote-based annual contracts priced per location or per seat. The company maintains offices in Austin (US HQ), London (EMEA HQ), and Sydney (APAC HQ), serving a global customer base across the full restaurant spectrum from quick service to fine dining as well as adjacent hospitality venues such as hotels, pubs, and tour operators.

Name

Fourth

Legal name

Fourth Enterprises LLC., Inc.

Website

https://fourth.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1999

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

251–500 employees

Short description

Fourth is an AI-powered hospitality technology company providing cloud-based workforce management, inventory optimization, HR/payroll, and analytics to 15,000+ restaurant operators across 120,000+ locations globally, including major QSR and casual dining enterprise brands.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Restaurant Workforce and Operations Management Software

NAICS

Custom Computer Programming Services (541511)

SIC

Services-Computer Programming, Data Processing, Etc. (7370)

akta.pro primary industry

End-to-End Enterprise AI Platforms (MLOps & Model Lifecycle Management) (HDAEANAA)

Keywords

• Restaurant workforce management
• Hospitality inventory software
• AI labor forecasting
• HR and payroll services
• Restaurant operations platform

Headquarters

HQ city

London

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Software

Cost components

Technology or R&D, Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Operations, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. SaaS Subscription - Workforce Management: Recurring subscription revenue from HotSchedules workforce management platform including scheduling, time & attendance, and labor compliance. Priced per seat or per location with annual billing cycles. Connected to payroll for integrated operations.
2. SaaS Subscription - Inventory Management: Recurring subscription revenue from AI-powered inventory management solutions including purchasing, recipe management, and production control. Sold as part of the Restaurant Operations Suite or standalone.
3. HR & Payroll Services: Payroll processing, tax administration, and HR management services with dedicated payroll specialists. Revenue generated through per-payroll processing fees and service charges bundled with the PEO offering.
4. PEO Co-Employment Services: Professional Employer Organization services providing co-employment for restaurant workforce including benefits administration, workers' compensation, SUTA management, and HR support. Revenue from service fees that are offset by pooled rates on workers' comp and SUTA.
5. Talent Acquisition (PeopleMatter ATS): Applicant tracking and onboarding software for hourly restaurant workforce, featuring AI-powered programmatic job ad bidding and mobile-first applications. Revenue bundled with the HCM suite.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

Fourth provides an AI-powered, cloud-based platform that unifies workforce management, inventory management, HR/payroll, talent acquisition, and above-store analytics for restaurant and hospitality operators. Its flagship Fourth iQ AI platform and HotSchedules scheduling product serve more than 15,000 customers across 120,000+ locations, with deep POS and supply-chain integrations enabling AI-driven labor forecasting, demand prediction, and inventory optimization.

Product overview

Fourth is an AI-powered hospitality technology company offering an integrated platform for workforce management and inventory optimization. The core architecture consists of Fourth iQ (AI operating system), HotSchedules (workforce management), and inventory management modules, all connected to provide end-to-end restaurant operations control. Fourth iQ serves as the intelligent layer powering forecasting, anomaly detection, and decision guidance across the platform. Supporting modules include HR & Payroll, PeopleMatter (ATS), Fuego (earned wage access/tip payouts), WebClock (time & attendance), Schedule Scoring, Manager LogBook, and Tip Management. The company also offers PEO services and operates acquired brands including Adaco, MacromatiX, and Red Book Solutions. Products are available as individual modules or bundled as the Restaurant Operations Suite for mid-market and Restaurant Operations Suite for Enterprise for large chains.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Fourth iQ: AI-powered platform for restaurant workforce and inventory management, providing forecasting, performance monitoring, and operational optimization
• HotSchedules
• PeopleMatter
• Fuego
• Adaco
• MacromatiX
• Red Book Solutions

Products and services

• Fourth iQ AI-powered operating system for restaurant performance management, combining forecasting, above-store strategy control, and in-store execution guidance through Balanced Scorecards, a Virtual Assistant, Correlation Analysis, and Anomaly Detection. Designed for senior restaurant leaders at multi-location operators.
• HotSchedules Industry-leading workforce management solution for hospitality, covering scheduling, time and attendance, labor compliance, task management, and team communication. Trusted by 2+ million users across 120,000+ locations.
• HR & Payroll End-to-end HR and payroll solution for hospitality, including payroll processing, tax filing, benefits administration, and dedicated HR expert support, integrated with scheduling and timekeeping.
• PeopleMatter AI-powered applicant tracking and onboarding platform designed for hourly restaurant workforces, with mobile-first applications, AI-driven pre-screening, direct-to-interview scheduling, and automated onboarding workflows.
• Fuego Earned wage access and digital tip payout solution that provides on-demand pay access for employees and automates tip distribution with digital payouts, eliminating cash handling.
• WebClock Browser-based employee time clocking system with geo-fencing, buddy-punching prevention, and push notifications for late clock-ins and missed breaks.
• Tip Management Automated tip pooling, distribution, and digital payout solution that connects tip calculations with payroll export and provides employee transparency into earnings.
• Fourth PEO Professional Employer Organization service providing co-employment with payroll administration, benefits, workers' compensation, and HR compliance management for restaurant operators.
• Restaurant Operations Suite Integrated platform package combining workforce management, inventory management, and analytics for restaurant operators, sold as a bundled suite.
• Restaurant Operations Suite for Enterprise Enterprise-grade integrated platform for large multi-location restaurant operators with centralized control, location-level flexibility, Fourth iQ 3.0, advanced analytics, and dedicated support.
• Inventory Management Restaurant inventory management suite covering purchasing, receiving and invoicing, recipe and menu engineering, dynamic production and prep, and operations and cash management, integrated with supply-chain partners and POS systems.

Quantifiable outcome

• 3% profit margin improvement (benchmark)
• +19 more outcomes

Named customers31 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

Yes

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration12 records

AI capability7 records

Feature10 records

Partnerships

Eight partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• SyscocoreTechnology or IntegrationSysco is listed as an integration partner on Fourth's website. Sysco's supply chain data integrates with Fourth's inventory management platform to enable automated purchasing, receiving, and invoicing workflows for restaurant operators.
• US FoodscoreTechnology or IntegrationUS Foods is listed as an integration partner on Fourth's website. Integration enables restaurant operators to sync food and supply purchasing data between US Foods and Fourth's inventory management platform.
• IndeedcoreTechnology or IntegrationIndeed is a job board integration partner for Fourth's PeopleMatter ATS, enabling restaurants to distribute job postings across Indeed's platform directly from Fourth's talent acquisition system, expanding applicant reach.
• SnagajobcoreTechnology or IntegrationSnagajob is a job board integration partner for Fourth's PeopleMatter ATS, enabling restaurant operators to broadcast job postings to Snagajob's hourly workforce job board directly from Fourth's ATS platform.
• ToastcoreTechnology or IntegrationToast is a POS integration partner enabling Fourth to sync employee clock-in/out data with Toast POS, integrate labor data into HotSchedules scheduling and payroll, and connect sales data for AI forecasting accuracy.
• PAR (Brink)coreTechnology or IntegrationPAR Brink POS integration with Fourth enabling bidirectional data flow between PAR's restaurant management POS and Fourth's workforce scheduling, time & attendance, and payroll platform.
• Oracle MicroscoreTechnology or IntegrationOracle Micros POS is referenced as a POS integration partner enabling Fourth to pull sales and labor data from Oracle Micros for AI forecasting accuracy and workforce scheduling optimization.
• NCR AlohacoreTechnology or IntegrationNCR Aloha POS integration referenced as a key partner enabling Fourth to sync employee and sales data from NCR Aloha POS into its workforce management and inventory platform.

Scale indicators20 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Toast: Toast is the leading restaurant POS platform that has aggressively expanded into adjacent operations including workforce management, payroll, and team management. While Toast's primary product is POS, its expanding suite directly competes with Fourth's workforce and inventory management offerings, often as a bundled single-vendor alternative.
• Lightspeed Restaurant: Lightspeed Restaurant is a broader commerce and POS platform that includes some workforce and inventory features for hospitality operators. It's a broad incumbent serving similar multi-location restaurant customers but is not specialized in workforce management the way Fourth is.
• Workday: Workday is a large enterprise HCM and financial management platform that competes in the broader HR/payroll category. While Workday's core focus is enterprise-wide HCM, it represents an alternative for multi-location restaurant operators evaluating enterprise-grade HR and people management systems.
• ADP: ADP is the largest payroll and HR services provider in the US and competes with Fourth's PEO and HR/payroll offerings. While ADP serves all industries rather than specializing in hospitality, it competes for the same payroll processing and HR outsourcing spend from restaurant operators.
• UKG (Ultimate Kronos Group): UKG is a large enterprise workforce management and HCM platform serving multiple industries including hospitality. While UKG operates at a much broader scale than Fourth, its workforce management, scheduling, and time/attendance capabilities compete for the same enterprise restaurant operator contracts.

Emerging players

• Harri: Harri is an emerging restaurant and hospitality workforce management and hiring platform targeting enterprise restaurant operators. While smaller than Fourth, it competes in the same scheduling, hiring, and labor compliance category and has been gaining enterprise traction.

Direct peers

• Crunchtime: Crunchtime is a direct competitor offering restaurant operations management including inventory, food cost, labor, and scheduling. Both companies target multi-location restaurant operators and compete head-to-head in the inventory + labor management category, with Crunchtime being a PE-backed rival.
• 7shifts: 7shifts is a direct competitor in restaurant team management, providing employee scheduling, time tracking, and labor management for restaurants. Both Fourth (via HotSchedules) and 7shifts target the same core use case of restaurant workforce scheduling with overlapping customer profiles in the mid-market segment.
• Restaurant365: Restaurant365 is a cloud-based accounting, inventory, and workforce management platform purpose-built for restaurants. Both Fourth and Restaurant365 serve the same multi-location restaurant operator segment with overlapping inventory and labor management functionality, and are comparable in scale and PE-backed status.
• Deputy: Deputy is a workforce management platform for shift-based businesses including restaurants, retail, and healthcare. While Deputy has a broader vertical focus than Fourth, it directly competes in restaurant scheduling and team management with similar mid-market customer profiles.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles5 records

Subsidiaries6 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds2 records

Investors2 records

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A5 records

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Fourth