Breadsmith Bakery
In today’s uncertain economic environment, starting a small business can be a daunting task. There are a number of things to consider, everything from ordering supplies to employee scheduling and payroll to marketing to filling orders. Paul Cavanaugh knows a thing or two about thriving in an uncertain economy.
Cavanaugh took the plunge in August 2007 and opened up a Breadsmith bakery franchise in Cranford, New Jersey with his wife, Kathy Vastola. The first year of owning a business is always the toughest, yet Paul and Kathy have found some very effective tools to help them manage the day-to-day demands. Their secret? PayGo Point-of-Sale Software. Paul and Kathy have found that using PayGo has boosted their productivity by as much as 50% and has given them an average of two hours back each day by reducing the time-consuming tasks that can tie up the day.
Time is Money.
Any business owner knows that time is money. The less time you have to spend on tedious tasks like invoicing, re-ordering supplies and inventory management means that you can spend more time on things like marketingand customer service, things that can ultimately put more money in your pocket. Paul has found that one of PayGo’s biggest time savers is the way it helps you manage your inventory and easily create invoices. When they first opened, Paul thought they would be able to do everything manually.
“We didn’t think we would have very many inventory items. But then it started adding up; In addition to over 100 different possible breads we make in a rotating menu, we now sell many different items such as jams, jellies, dipping oils, spices, candy, coffee mugs, peanut butter… it really adds up.” said Paul.
By using PayGo, Paul and Kathy are able to organize everything into departments. He can easily see when things are running low, which makes re-ordering a breeze. He can also quickly see what is selling and what is not. Other stores in their industry just don’t have the ability to store all of the necessary information, so while they have to devote time and resources to inventory management, Paul can focus on more important things.
Attention to Detail
He especially likes PayGo’s attention to detail. He should know, too. On top of his duties at Breadsmith, Paul also has PhD in Pharmacology and once had an active research laboratory. He knows that POS systems need to have a very high attention to detail.
“I can see the value in PayGo’s automatic data-collection system. With so many transactions, there is a lot of data to analyze. I come from a scientific background, and I can see that PayGo fits the bill. It’s just a really nice system. I like the simplicity. I can’t see any system that’s easier to use.”
Make Things Productive
Paul has found that PayGo allows him to be a lot more productive. For example, they used to be open during the summer until 7:00 at night. But PayGo told them that they weren’t seeing enough customers at that time of day to justify being open so late. So he adjusted his operating hours and employee scheduling and made the business more productive.
Paul also has found PayGo’s technical support team to be top-of-the-line. Like most business owners, he shopped around before he bought and has seen the kinds of point of sale systems that other people use. “Some of the other systems just looked like they were written in Greek. There was no support, and no help. It was pretty scary.”
Based on their own experiences, Paul and Kathy have some useful tips for people just starting down the road of small business:
Don’t underestimate the need for inventory management. “We thought we were just a tiny little store. We always thought we didn’t need something as powerful as PayGo. But in terms of organization, we sell tens of thousands of items a month, and it never occurred to us that we would be keeping track of that many items.”
Paul and Kathy have found that utilizing a point of sale system as powerful and robust as PayGo has made their business more productive and easier to manage, even in times of economic uncertainty.
PayGo is a solution provider for independent retailers based in Rochester, Minnesota. Our primary focus is on point of sale / retail management software. We also offer a Merchant Account integration, a WooCommerce integration, Digital Marketing Services, and more.