Point of Sale Solutions for Food/BBQ Festivals
Have you ever noticed that no matter how much room there is around, everyone always seems to congregate in the kitchen? The simple explanation for this is that people go where the food is. This principle holds true in homes all over the world and is carried over to the masses in the form of the food festival. People go where the food is. When challenged with feeding people that can number in the 10-100,000s, a specific set of challenges arises. Here are a few of the questions we have witnessed within the food festival market.
I’m used to working out of a cash box. Won’t a cash register slow me down?
For people used to performing calculations in their head, it may seem like learning a new system would be cumbersome. Getting a pre-programmed, easy-to-use cash register that can be learned in under 5 minutes can actually make transactions faster.
Some features that speed up transaction times include:
- Add and display totals on screen. For orders consisting of multiple items, totals are easily tracked and displayed. The time taken to commit the order to memory and add the prices together is eliminated along with potential for mathematical error.
- Use preset tender amounts. Streamlining payment options down to one button makes completing a sale and providing change quicker.
How can I track sales data securely and accurately .
Whether you’re a vendor or a festival organizer, accumulating accurate sales data measures profitability. One of the greatest benefits of a cash register is that it ensures all transactions are recorded. Find out which items are the biggest sellers, calculate taxes owed, and reconcile funds collected against recorded totals. This provides a reliable method to verify you are receiving everything for which you are entitled.
How do I handle End of Day data collection efficiently?
If you are trying to coordinate sales data processing among potentially dozens of vendors, finding a means to keep track of all those numbers can be daunting. Often times, data needs to be collected either by physically going to each stand, or waiting for vendors to deliver their own information after they close up for the night. This may be on hand written notes or receipt style paper reports. Either way, someone has to manually enter this information into a database.
For a more efficient method of gathering and saving reports:
- Collect reports on SD card or USB drive. Providing each vendor with a way to digitally capture reports can save a significant amount of time by importing sales figures directly into database software.
- Send reports online with Sterling Bridge. This is particularly useful when settling with vendors at the end of the night. Reports are sent to a secure, online portal where the finance department can access sales data while stand operators finish their closing procedures. By the time the nightly reconciliation rolls around, both parties have the information they need to finish out their business.
How can a cash register help during a cashless event?
For environments that use a ticket system as a means of payment, all the basic functions of a cash register still apply. Instead of programming prices for items, they would use number of tickets per item. Receipts can even be programmed to use a “Tk” in place of a “$” in these cases. Item counts and sales figures are then broken down into tickets instead of dollars. A cash register can also be used in its full capacity to sell the tickets themselves.
For more insights based on our experience with festivals, or for information on how American Metro can help with your upcoming fireworks point of sale needs, contact us any time.
