Vivonet Announces Restaurant Accelerator Program

Vivonet launches the 2013 Accelerator Program (www.vivonet.com/accelerator), a POS technology fund for multi-unit restaurants to accelerate their business growth. A total of $150,000 in POS technology credits will be awarded during 2013 to one or more applicants.

Here is what some restaurant executives are saying:

“We saw a 7% sales increase after switching over to Vivonet POS.”

“This is a HUGE forward-leaning opportunity for every operator…and significant technology upgrade.”

“Your dividend for participating will be paid many times over and for many years to come.”

“We noticed a marked improvement in sales reporting and planning. It was information that has allowed us to grow.”

Vivonet’s Accelerator Program helps growing restaurant chains between 20 and 500 locations succeed by giving them access to hardware and software systems that run a powerful Cloud POS platform for managing data across a multi-unit restaurant enterprise. Learn more here: www.vivonet.com/accelerator

The value to multi-unit restaurants is more timely data without the added IT costs.  With Cloud POS a company can view reports on stores and store groups (region, tax, menus) to understand performance at a glance with sales and royalty reporting. Report, compare and understand what drives or hinders restaurants success including data to show location trends and potential areas of theft. A company gains more control of their business by centrally managing menu items, pricing, discounts, coupons, costs and modifiers.

No expensive server infrastructure or expanded IT staff is required. There is no need to over purchase on hardware; with Cloud POS a company can scale as the business grows, avoiding unnecessary capital expenses. Once live, multi-unit restaurants get rapid implementation and support resulting in faster upgrades and less downtime.

Along with technical support, business training and a network of partners, the Accelerator Program brings restaurant executives together with key industry leaders to fully leverage Cloud POS. To date the program has helped a number of multi-unit restaurants accelerate their business and generate millions in transactions.

The Accelerator Program is aimed at the following restaurant chains:
• Between 20 and 500 locations
• Planned growth for 2013
• Interest in the latest enterprise class, Cloud POS

Deadline for the first round of applications is March 31, 2013, click to apply at www.vivonet.com/accelerator.

Nickel Rounding for Canadian Businesses

As of February 4th, 2013, the Government is eliminating the penny from Canada’s coinage system and pennies will no longer be distributed to businesses or banks. Canadians can continue to use pennies to pay for things and the one-cent piece will retain its value indefinitely.

Restaurant operators need to review the information bulletin supplied by the Government and then post this bulletin near their POS terminal so customers are not surprised by these changes. Businesses can also use the toolkit supplied by the Federal government. The bulletin outlines how penny amounts are going to be rounded up or down, so customers can understand why prices will change after February 4th. Electronic transactions such as debit and credit cards do not need to be rounded, and will not be impacted.

Essentially, the rounding will not be performed on single items but on the total bill of sale. If the price ends in a one, two, six, or seven it gets rounded down to 0 or 5; and rounded up if it ends in three, four, eight or nine.

In an open letter, the Canadian Restaurant and Foodservices Association asked the Government to “compensate operators required to incur costs for point-of-sale reprogramming.” It is unknown at the publication of this document whether the Government will be compensating restaurants. Vivonet has been developing a solution for auto “Rounding” at no additional cost for our customers. In the solution, the sales receipt will have the amount rounded up or down according to the guidelines and include the line “Rounding” with the dollar amount added or removed from the bill. (See example on right.). Vivonet will begin rolling out this feature to customers in April. An update on development status will be provided in the March newsletter. Until then, use the guidelines outlined above to adjust pricing.

For More Information

• Visit www.actionplan.gc.ca/penny or call 1-800-O-Canada (622-6232).
• View the CFRA Information here and a more detailed FAQ here.
• Tax Implications for Businesses can be found here.

Vivonet Integrates With Logic Controls Kitchen Display System

Vivonet is pleased to announce the integration of Halo POS with Logic Controls KDS Manager. The KDS Manager sends orders directly from the POS terminal to the kitchen, displaying the information clearly on a wall mounted monitor.

Implementing a KDS system will streamline operations, allowing the front of house to clearly communicate requests to the kitchen staff, and decreases error. This technology eliminates the possibility of illegible orders and lost printed tickets. Items are prepared in a timely manner and completed in the order they arrived to the kitchen. This helps to keep front of house staff on a steady schedule and provide quality service to customers.

Some features of KDS include:

• Order Average Time: The Kitchen Controller screen displays the number of orders prepared and average preparation time for that station.
• Flexible Bump Method: User can select to bump full order or bump a single item.
• Order Alerts: Audible beep when new order is received along with 3 levels of timer alerts.
• Different Order Panel Layout: Up to 4×8 order panels can be displayed on the screen which adjusts to the number of orders shown.
• Orders Routing: Orders can be displayed in different stations based on filter criteria.
• Target Time: Monitor kitchen productivity by setting a target time for order preparation and flashing an alert when an order goes beyond its target.

For pricing and to find out more about our Kitchen Display System and Halo POS, please call our Solution Consultants at 1.866.512.2033x2

Holiday Cookbook Celebrates Clients and Helps UNICEF

This holiday season, Vivonet would like you to celebrate with a selection of our clients most sought-after recipes. We’ve made a holiday cookbook featuring a selection of recipes from restaurants that use our POS system. For every download of this cookbook in December, Vivonet will donate $1 to UNICEF.  Download the Vivonet Holiday Cookbook for FREE here: http://bit.ly/YludKS.

Momofuku Milk Bar, a bakery in NYC, contributed a cinnamon bun recipe that has been referred to as seriously addictive, if you make this for brunch your houseguests will never leave.  The recipe is courtesy Christina Tosi, the ingenious pastry chef behind a restaurant that has been featured in television programs and publications such as The Today Show, The New York Times, Bon Appétit Magazine, O Magazine, and In Style Magazine.

Other submissions include ”Thanksgiving Leftover Grilled Cheese” from THE AMERICAN Grilled Cheese Kitchen in San Francisco,  “Bracciola di Maiale al Gorgonzola” from Specchio Ristorante from the trendy Mission District also in San Francisco, “Banana Bread” from global juice chain Booster Juice, “Sugar Cookie Bars” from Orange Leaf Yogurt and “The Fondue Panini” from Sweet Shop in Los Altos California.

Our mission is to help every restaurant in the world succeed.  Vivonet turns everyday point-of-sale (POS) transactions into valuable and actionable business insights. Each month our experienced team helps thousands of restaurants across North American get the most out of processing hundreds of millions in transactions and data. Our revolutionary product – Halo – combines easy-to-use cloud-based technology with the very best in mobile and social features.

To all restaurants, have a great holiday season and a prosperous 2013.

Time Magazine Profiles Vivonet POS Customer, The Big Salad

Restaurant chains with salad front and center on the menu have been growing rapidly. One chain gaining buzz is “The Big Salad” which uses Vivonet’s POS system, Halo and was recently featured in Time Magazine, Restaurant News and The Detroit News.

The Time magazine article “Salad Restaurant Chains Sprouting Up Even in the ‘Fat Belt’” outlines how John Bornoty, started The Big Salad, along with his wife Beth in 2008.  Customers are able to create their own salads at The Big Salad. But rather than a traditional salad bar, an employee puts the entrée together for the customer. Based on The Big Salad’s success, there are now four locations in Michigan, two more opening in early 2013, and much bigger franchising plans ahead. The Restaurant News reports that The Big Salad’s goal is to have 200 locations within 10 years, all with menus boasting a dizzying variety of salads and 17 million potential combinations of toppings.

Mr. Bornoty goes on to say in The Detroit News article “Michigan businessman expanding salad-centric restaurant chain” that "the trend in the restaurant industry is clearly toward offering fresher, more healthful choices.” John says "The Big Salad was born with an understanding that we have no interest in serving average food quickly but rather by providing the freshest product possible with great customer service in an enjoyable, comfortable and impeccably clean atmosphere."

When asked about Vivonet, Mr. Bornoty describes the POS system as “a superior system that’s easy to use and easy to manage.” Vivonet is proud The Big Salad uses Halo POS. Our mission is to help restaurants succeed by providing a POS system that turn transactions into business insights and new opportunities.

Webinar: 7 Things Every Restaurant Chain Should Know Before Switching POS systems

Hear from the IT Director of a global smoothie chain, Booster Juice, and the 7 things they learned when switching to a cloud-based POS system. In this webinar you’ll learn what worked and what they would do differently. The information will help quick and full serve restaurant chains who are moving to a cloud-based POS system and looking at the best way to make a transition.

Webinar:             7 Things Every Restaurant Chain Should Know Before Switching POS Systems

Date:                   Tuesday, Oct. 30

Time:                   2:00pm (EST) to 2:30pm (EST)

Register:             Click here to register for the webinar and learn more

Topics discussed include;

-          Should head office mandate all franchisees to use the new POS?

-          Who does the configuration of terminals, is it the provider, company, third party?

-          How do you manage issues and updates? What is the escalation procedure?

-          What is the best method to train new franchisees?

In the first year switching to Vivonet’s cloud-based POS, Booster Juice saved $1.5 million dollars. In this 30 minute webinar, Brad Brooks, Executive Director Major Accounts from Vivonet will interview Steven Lee, Director of Information Groups and Technology at Booster Juice.

As of September 2012, over $1 Billion dollars in transactions have been conducted this year by thousands of restaurants using Vivonet’s POS system, Halo.  Vivonet is re-defining POS for the restaurant industry by combining cloud based technology with mobile and social. Our mission is to help every restaurant in the world succeed by turning transactions into insights and opportunities.

Insights that Ignite Growth - Case Study with American Grilled Cheese Kitchen

Overview

American Grilled Cheese Kitchen is a prime example of the enduring American spirit that’s lifting the country from the worst recession in generations. Two friends, laid off from their jobs in San Francisco’s tech industry, took a leap and opened a restaurant. With limited industry experience between them and a still fragile economic climate, it was certainly a risk. But this case study will show how Vivonet’s Halo POS system became an invaluable partner as the restaurant first opened, and continued to help as it skyrocketed to success.

Quote Excerpts 

“Halo is a wonderful product, with everything we need,” 

“It’s a full-serve POS system with every feature the others offered, but at a better price.” 

“It provides a real insight into the business; which sandwiches are selling, how much bacon we need, things like that,”

“It helped to plan expansion, forecast numbers and set goals,” 

To download the full version of this case study in PDF, please CLICK HERE. 

Vivonet to Speak at 2012 Gordon Food Service Food, Tabletop & Supplies Shows

Vivonet will be speaking at the Gordon Food Service Food, Tabletop & Supplies Show on September 19 inLouisville,Kentucky.  Gordon Food Service isNorth America's largest family-owned foodservice distributor. The company will be hosting several shows throughout theU.S.to help their clients see and sample the latest in restaurant, food, and supply trends.

In our presentation, Vivonet will outline how transaction data can be a crystal ball into a restaurant. Having worked with thousands of restaurants throughoutNorth America, Vivonet will share what three things the best restaurants do to increase sales. Attendees will learn how a restaurant can connect with their most valuable customer, use the transaction data to make better decisions and uncover key trends every owner/operator should consider to run a successful restaurant.

Vivonet’s Halo POS system is part of the Gordon Food Service Catalyst suite of industry-leading services and tools that help Gordon Food Service customers grow sales, control costs, comply with regulations and utilize staff more efficiently. Vivonet’s Halo POS system gives restaurants of all sizes the tools, information and knowledge to drill down into all aspects of their business including sales, food costs and labor. Through the cloud, owner/operators of restaurants can access data in real time to find out what items are selling best, when are they being sold and who is doing the best job selling.

The data helps quick and full service restaurant operators to cut costs and boost revenues by identifying opportunities to reduce waste, improve efficiencies, and implement new solutions that stretch dollar further.

Vivonet is re-defining POS for the restaurant industry by combining cloud based technology with mobile and social. Our mission is to help every restaurant in the world succeed by turning transactions into insights and opportunities.

What Every Restaurant Owner Should Know Before Installing a POS system

The biggest mistake restaurant owners make when implementing a POS system is not allocating enough time to build the menu, train the staff and plan the launch. Chivann Kong, an implementation expert at Vivonet has seen too many owners struggle with their POS system because they try to do it all themselves. Chivann recommends that owners “identify one to three other staff members who can learn the system, help with the set-up, educate staff or answer questions when you’re not there.”

Chivann knows what it’s like to be a restaurant owner; he’s worked with thousands of them since starting with Vivonet in January 2008. This month Chivann delivered his 1,000^th POS implementation. He’s part of the professional services team, a group of specialists with restaurant and technology experience, who work with every new client at Vivonet.

Chivann’s focus is predominantly quick and full service enterprise accounts like Cherry Berry, Juice it Up, Yum Yum Donuts, and Opa. He understands the life of Franchise owner, the many demands placed on them, the limited time and the pressure to run a restaurant. According to him, there are four key areas every restaurant owner should know in order to successfully install a POS system.

Optimize the Menu

Every time Chivann builds a menu within a POS system, you learn something new.  Once when working with a 50 location sandwich chain, he noticed that each owner spelled menu items differently. This confusion, made it not only more time consuming to build each menu but he recognized the difficulty head office had in trying to make analyze the sales results.  Chivanns streamlined the menu and created one standard naming convention.

Once live, head office saw an immediate benefit, as information was streamlined and “a breeze” to view. The standardization also greatly improved data accuracy and franchise performance. Head office could now easily identify the top and bottom performing franchises and uncover what’s working or not working, then share findings with franchise owners to help improve their business. In the first quarter of this year, this company has increased revenue 10%.

Plan the Switch

Converting from one POS system to another should be scheduled and planned out to minimize disruption. For many franchise owners, the decision of a POS system is done by head office. Change can be difficult and it’s important that head office works with their franchisees for a smooth transition.  The best conversion Chivann has been a part of was with large donut chain, the head office identified one person to work with each franchise owner and Chivann. The result had stores switching over to Vivonet’s Halo POS in 1 hour. 

Budget the Time

Initially, owners should budget about 4 hours to set-up and adequately learn the POS system and enterprise reporting.  An additional hour should be allocated for each additional location that requires set-up. If you own 3 locations, franchise owners should then budget about 7 hours to get all the stores up and running.

Once you’ve been trained, additional set-ups will take no time at all. In one example Chivann worked with the owner of a multi location yogurt franchise. When that individual was adding another store, the time to work with Chivann was a 5 minute phone call.  The owner knew the system, the menu was already built and he knew how to set-up the POS terminal himself.

Don’t do it all yourself 

As an owner, you should identify one to three others to participate as part of a POS team to learn the system. In creating a team, your knowledge base increases. Having more people know the system helps with training new staff or addressing questions when the owner owns multiple locations or is not available to answer at that moment. 

Keys to Starting a Café or Restaurant

Starting a new café or restaurant is risky business. According to a Dunn and Bradstreet report, the restaurant industry has one of the highest failure rates among the retail and service industries. Beyond the standard location and planning the menu there are two key elements an owner/operator of a restaurant should consider to succeed and avoid becoming one of the 60% who typically fail in the first three years.

The first is to find your niche. At Vivonet we have some very unique clients like;

• Point Street Pianos - a dueling piano bar in Rhode Island
• Sweet P's BBQ – Which includes the  “El Gigante Comida" a 4 lb. BBQ Burrito featured on the television show "Man vs Food"
• Momofuku Milk Bar - The chef David Chang won the James Beard award for best chef in NYC. This is a spinoff of the original restaurant that specializes in desserts, they even differentiate between "cereal milk" and "coffee milk."

The second is to turn your transactions into business insight. In a recent article entitled “How to Open A Specialty Restaurant” featured in the small business section of Fox Business, Kirstin Carey, who owns Scottsdale, Ariz.-based restaurant Nourish (not a client of Vivonet), warns those who want to open their own eatery to treat it like a business, rather than just a restaurant. She goes on to say "Of all the businesses I've owned or been part of, the food industry has to be the easiest one to fail in," she says. "I think it's because many restaurateurs are just so excited about their food or the concept that they don't stop to really run the numbers."

Vivonet could not agree more and a big reason why our clients love working with us because the reporting they see from the transactions conducted through our POS system and use the information to help them run their business. Through a secure website, owners and operators of café’s and restaurants can use their PC to log in and view the performance of their location(s). A few of the reports include;

• Menu Item Report - Know which items are most popular, and use the information to adjust prices, promotion or menu location to maximize revenue
• Comparative Sales Report  -  Review performance by day, week or month to see busy versus slow periods and adjust employee schedules to staff accurately
• Sales and Operations Report – Reduce theft by monitoring  transactions to ensure sales are accounted for and cash to be remitted is accurate

Vivonet is re-defining POS for the restaurant industry by combining cloud based technology with the Internet, mobile and social media. Learn how we can help your business by contacting Sven Winter at swinter@vivonet.com.