Maya by Inputly

Overview

Maya by Inputly connects restaurant sales, recipes, stock and purchasing to forecast ingredient demand and food costs. It suits restaurant operators who want inventory decisions and supplier orders shaped by forecasts, while keeping staff approval in the loop. Its connected workflow is compelling, but the restaurant plan’s price and the product’s approval-first approach may not fit every operation.

Key features

Maya links menu items to recipes and converts forecast sales into ingredient requirements, accounting for batch yields and unit conversions. That makes the forecast useful for stock planning rather than just projecting sales, especially for kitchens managing perishable ingredients. Inventory tracking adds low-stock warnings, suggested reorder points and expiry tracking by perishable lot.

Forecasts draw on a restaurant’s sales history and account for calendars, holidays, paydays, weather and local events. The range of inputs is a strength for operators whose demand shifts with the day or season, though forecasts remain a planning aid rather than a guarantee of what customers will order.

For purchasing, Maya weighs forecast demand against current and in-transit stock, supplier lead times and pack sizes. It drafts supplier orders, rounds quantities to pack sizes, and emails approved orders to verified suppliers. Requiring approval before proposed actions proceed keeps staff in control, though it also means Maya does not remove the need for someone to review its recommendations. Role-based access, audit trails, reversible actions and a one-click kill switch add useful operational controls.

POS connections include Square, Toast, TouchBistro, Clover, SeroPOS and Lightspeed, with custom connections, a REST API and webhooks also listed. Inputly names additional connections including Stripe, Square Payments, WhatsApp Business, Twilio SMS, Salesforce, HubSpot and Calendly. For security, the company states that data is encrypted with AES-256 at rest and TLS 1.3 in transit, admin accounts require multifactor authentication, and tenant data is isolated. SOC 2 Type II is in progress; PCI-DSS, GDPR and CCPA compliance are listed. Payment card data is processed through Stripe and Square rather than passing through Inputly servers.

Pricing

Maya is paid software, with pricing described as starting from $249/mo. The Restaurant — Gold plan is $499 a month, billed $499.00 /mo, and includes 1,000 customer interactions per month across all channels. A customer interaction is a complete conversation; a text interaction restarts after 15 minutes of customer inactivity, while each voice call counts as a new interaction. The cap is worth considering for restaurants handling frequent guest conversations, though the supplied plan information does not describe which Maya restaurant features are included at that price.

Inputly also gives custom pricing for Airlines — Gold and Hotel — Gold, each with 1,000 interactions per month. Other Gold plans target coaching, salons, home services, automobile, retail and Meta Leads + Calls, but those are not restaurant-specific options. There is no free plan, and no trial terms are given, so operators should confirm the applicable restaurant price and scope before committing.

Platforms

Maya is listed for Android, iOS, macOS, Windows, web and API. Native apps are named for the four desktop and mobile operating systems, giving teams several ways to access the system; the API provides another route for custom integrations.

Who it's for

Maya is best suited to restaurants that want to connect sales forecasts to recipes, inventory and purchasing, and have staff available to approve proposed actions. It is less compelling for a small operation seeking a free or clearly low-cost option, or for teams expecting purchasing to run without human review. Inputly describes a broader customer base spanning hospitality, automotive, healthcare, professional services, hotels and airlines, but Maya’s stated functions are restaurant-focused.

Pros and cons

Pro: Recipes translate projected sales into ingredient demand, including batch yields and unit conversions, bridging forecast planning and stock needs.

Pro: Purchase-order drafts account for stock on hand and in transit, lead times and supplier pack sizes, then email approved orders to verified suppliers.

Pro: Approval requirements, audit trails, reversible actions and a kill switch give staff controls over proposed changes.

Con: There is no free plan, and the Restaurant — Gold plan is $499 a month for 1,000 interactions across all channels.

Con: SOC 2 Type II is still in progress, which may matter to buyers who require that certification already to be complete.

Alternatives

For a broader comparison, see Restaurant Demand Forecasting Software. Choose Pourcast Operations instead if its free plan, with venue discovery and 10 AI Analyst uses per month, is a better starting point; its operations suite is not included in that free plan. Vaansa is another option, with a free trial and POS, kitchen display, reservations, rooms and basic analytics on its Starter plan.

Pick Lineup.ai if you want a forecasts-only plan at $79 a month per location with unlimited users and employees. MarginKitchen may suit a single-location buyer who values a daily profit brief and smart prep planner; its listed Single Location plan is $119 a month, billed $1,428 annually, with 14-day access and one user included. Meuze is a further paid alternative with a monthly Starter plan at $150 a month.

Consider OPPI if free early access is the priority; public release is pending. Inpulse may be a better fit when purchasing, inventory, supplier management, orders, loss tracking and multiple locations are the focus. PreciTaste Demand Forecasting is another option for buyers seeking a demand-forecasting product.

Verdict

Maya is a strong fit for restaurants that want one connected path from sales forecasts to ingredient planning and proposed supplier orders, with staff approval and operational controls. The main reason to choose it is that forecast, recipe, inventory and purchasing work together; the main reason to look elsewhere is the absence of a free plan and the 499.00 USD monthly Restaurant — Gold price for a 1,000-interaction allowance.