42 | FOCUS | CATERING & HOSPITALIT Y Read a related story: click here F
or those unfamiliar with the term, EPoS systems refer to electronic point of sale: the technology
used for recording the sale of good or services to a customer. It’s a key part of running an effective university catering department, and one that is rapidly changing too. “University caterers have to deal with
a huge amount of complexity,” says Tim Burrows, operations manager at the University of Kent. “One of the major complications that we have compared to a restaurant is the issue of dealing with VAT. When you go to a high- street restaurant, VAT will be added to everything on the menu. At a university, students are entitled to have their main meals VAT-exempt. Our till system, therefore, has to be able to work that out. For every transaction we have to establish which category a person fits into – whether they are a student, a member of staff, or a conference guest – and then charge different prices for the same product at the click of a finger.” Burrows also notes the amount of
variation that goes on in terms of the different options modern HE caterers like to offer. “We like to be able to diversify the offers that we make,” he continues. “Not only do we do our set menu and our specials in the campus restaurant, but we allow the students to buy various packages of meals as well. One of these is called the Real Meal Deal, which lets students buy a term’s worth of meals at a discounted price. We also offer combination deals on sandwiches, drinks and a packet of crisps. In addition to that, a lot of our accommodation is bed-and-breakfast, so students are entitled to breakfast as part of their room rate. If they don’t eat breakfast on a certain day that sum is then carried on to the evening meal, which they can then receive a discount on. Our EPoS systems need to be able to keep track of all of this. It would be immensely difficult to do manually. It’s tough to overstate their importance in that way.”
Working together One of the points reiterated over and over while researching this article was the importance of EPoS systems being straightforward and easy to use. This is one of the most positive aspects of modern EPoS technology: while the technology involved has become more complex in terms of its functionality, the actual interface has become simpler than ever. “Most caterers that I have worked with are not necessarily technically savvy in
Karen Barrat
ABOVE: Karen Barrat from Keele University SP E E DY S AL E S To find out about the revolution happening in point of sale
technology, Luke Dormehl spoke with a number of HE catering departments to find out why they pose one of the biggest EPoS challenges in existence
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