On a Mission

Three of the pubs involved in Sell More, Save More this year have entered a new dimension - with the addition of their own EPoS system.

Installed by EPoS champion Mission Integrated Systems, the equipment is already bringing dividends for the pubs involved, keeping them fully on top of both sales and stock control.

Mission is - yes - on a mission to create an affordable and easy-to-use EPoS system for the hospitality market and is working more and more with pubs following success with restaurant brands including Chicago Rib Shack and Roast.

Finance director Simon Green said the installation of the equipment at the Priory Arms in Stockwell, South London, the Cross Keys in Henley, Suffolk and Rose & Crown at Perry Wood in Kent had been very straightforward.

"Our installers were able to complete all the work, including training in two days for each house," he says.

"The Priory Arms was the simplest while the Rose and Crown presented us with a small problem because it is a listed building and we had to run data cables discretely."

But with the system now up and running in the pubs, the licensees are discovering all the ways in which they can profit from using EPoS.

Simon says an EPoS system should now be seen as a must for any new pub - and Sell More, Save More will prove it.

"The system offers the licensees the opportunity to manage stock accurately and quickly and not just from a 'wastage' point of view: to manage staff and to get accurate and up-to-the-minute data on sales, stock levels and margins, which can be used to analysis the business and help develop it," he says.

Managing director Ian Jones adds: "There is so much that pubs can gain by knowing what items sell well or poorly, what days/ times are good or bad and what effect any incentives or promotions are having and when they are most effective."

Ian says even the smallest pub can now make the most of EPoS - and claims any good EPoS system should pay for itself within three years, for any size operation.

"Even just 10 years ago systems like Mission were cost prohibitive for small pubs," he continues. "The cost of these systems has really come down in that period due to hardware costs coming down - and also because of increased competition in the hospitality EPoS market.

"Traditionally EPOS systems suited pub groups more as they offered not just information and control but also added security. Nowadays with a good system like Mission starting at around £1,500 they are seen as an investment."

At the Priory Arms, licensee Graham Bulpett is already making full us of the system, which operates using hardware from Mission's partner J2.

Installation was quick, and the training met that both he and other members of staff have found it "very intuitive and simple to use" after switching from a simple cashtill.

He now has all the information at his fingerprints, and has found it particularly useful in confirming which of his real ales are the biggest sellers.

Watch this space to find out what other benefits the three pubs can drive out of using the system.