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Click Here to Order Your Gift Cards for the Holiday Season!

New Videos Added to the BEC POS YouTube Channel

* Building a New Sub-menu Into Aloha Table Service *
* Entering an Hourly Employee into Aloha *
* Entering a New Order Item in Aloha Table Service * 

Case Study: Soffritto’s Sells $25K Worth Gift Cards in One Day
Giovanni Panza opened Soffritto Italian Grill in Newark, Delaware in 2005.  As they got off the ground being a new business, they developed innovative ideas around promoting gift cards during “Black Friday” and needed the right technology to help get the most out of his promotion.  He devised a strategy to offer a buy one get one half off sales discount for gift cards at Soffritto on Black Friday. He ran advertisements in the Soffritto eNewsletter, placed ads in the local news journal and promoted the special on the restaurant’s marquis.

On Black Friday, the special ran from 8 am – 3 pm. When Panza opened the doors, there was already a customer there waiting to greet him and purchase gift cards. Over the next seven hours, the restaurant sold over $25,000 in gift card sales. “The process was so smooth and easy with Aloha Stored Value. It only took us about 30 seconds per customer to swipe gift cards, take payment and send the customer on their way,” said Panza. Incremental revenue growth came even after Soffritto completed the Black Friday marketing campaign. Gift card sales through the month of December were not impacted and increased by $5,000. Additionally, 19% of the gift cards sold between November and December were never redeemed.

Wireless Security…Jumbo Shrimp ?
For many, wireless security may seem to be a contradiction in terms. Wireless networks have always been low hanging fruit for criminals to access your business. However, many businesses get into the market of offering free Wi-Fi hot spots to their customers to stay competitive. Some businesses are also using wireless networks to transmit cardholder data, yet very few have any idea how to properly set up or maintain a secure wireless network.

So, how do you ensure your wireless network is not serving an open invitation to criminals ?

•If you have wireless service at your business, ensure that you have implemented a commercial-grade wireless firewall that has the ability to scan for rogue network devices.
•If you are not using the wireless network to process or transmit credit card data, use the firewall to segment your wireless network from your payment application network.
•If you are using your wireless network to transmit cardholder data, implement WPA2 encryption. WEP and WPA are now considered inadequate options for protecting wireless networks.

The benefits of wireless networks may include faster order entry, table side credit card processing and offering your customers the convenience of a public Internet connection. If you decide to embrace this technology, then you must also make sure that your customer data is not compromised. If you cannot manage the technology of maintaining a secure wireless network, then do not hesitate to bring in the appropriate expertise to secure your environment.

11 Ways to Promote Your Gift Cards This Holiday Season 

Click here to access an article on how to promote, sell and maximize the profits of gift cards during the 2010 holiday season.

What’s the Deal?
Whether they discuss it publicly or not, every employer has an employee value proposition or what I like to call “The Deal.” The “deal” is basically what the company promises to provide each employee over the life of their career, and every company is different…Read more.

Money Management:

Controlling Your Cash
Running a cash flow positive restaurant is challenging even in the best of times. But in this Great Recession, marked by customers spending less and banks tightening or even shutting off access to funding, cash flow problems can invade your business, turning your dream of prosperity into the nightmare of barely surviving…Read more