How to Avoid Concession Stand Management Problems
Avoid Concession Stand Management Problems and Increase Your Revenue
The concession stand at your swim club can be a profitable revenue channel. However, management of the concession stand can be a hassle. And often falls on the shoulders of a small staff or a third-party company.
Some concessions are very basic and only offer pre-packaged items and simple foods like popcorn and hot dogs. Other concessions are much more complex — referred to as “kitchen concessions” — and offer a menu of foods/meals for their members.
Both models present challenges to efficient management. With the right tools, you can maximize your concession stand’s profitability.
Problems with Swim Club Concession Stand Management
1. Payment
Swim club members can find it inconvenient to carry cash or credit cards with them to the pool. Due to the possibility of theft and/or water damage. For parents — especially those who send their children to the pool with a childcare provider — giving their kids cash to buy concessions may be the last thing on their mind as they plan their day.
In response, many clubs have started offering their members a prepaid option. By funding their family’s concessions account, funds are available to any family member when they want something at the concession stand. The prepaid balance is linked to the club members’ accounts, and they can add funds to it online or at the club.
2. Tracking Inventory
An effective inventory management system is important to the profitability of a concessions stand. If you don’t know where your product is going, there is a high probability that some of it will become lost or stolen.
The most common way for a swim club to track inventory is a manual process of counting and recording inventory numbers on paper or in an Excel sheet. This tedious process leaves plenty of room for error — which makes it impractical for swim clubs.
An electronic point of sale system — a tool designed for this accessible on an iPad — allows your club to record product purchased and concession items sold. That means you can view low inventory items to determine when to restock. And you can compare what you have on hand to what you should have on hand to identify theft and waste.
3. Reporting
Knowing your profit margin for your concession stand allows you to prioritize the revenue channel within your club appropriately. To determine your profit, a club needs to be able to see which items are selling and which are not. You can also determine appropriate prices based on demand and order adequate product quantities.
eSoft Planner addresses all three of these issues. Designed specifically for swim clubs and sports facilities, the eSoft Planner concessions module helps you achieve greater control over this revenue channel. You can offer your members control over their concession account balances, while you gain greater visibility into your inventory and profitability. The software makes reporting much easier. So that you can track what is and isn’t selling, making your concession stand as efficient and profitable as possible.
The expert team at eSoft Planner have worked with thousands of swim club and sports facility owners just like you. We know what it takes to succeed. Our implementation team excels at helping you use the tools to make your dream a success. We love to hear about your plans and be a partner in your vision.
Start the conversation today! Contact us for a custom demo.
