Blackbrook ’ s progressive use of new EPoS and membership technology is paying off handsomely
Based in the heartlands of the league game , Blackbrook Amateur and Junior Rugby League Football Club in St . Helens Merseyside ( www . blackbrookrugby . co . uk ) is one of the biggest and most successful of its kind in the UK . With fifteen Junior and Youth teams in 2017 , Cubs ( ages 4 & 5 ) and two Open Age sides , the club prides itself on giving the opportunity to any youngster , no matter what their ability , the chance to play rugby league . With fully qualified coaches and excellent facilities Blackbrook is a great place to have fun , get fit , meet new friends and learn to play an exciting sport . Fun is the number one priority , in conjunction with the North West Counties ethos of ‘ Sunday is Funday ’. Many of the game ’ s top stars have learned their core skills at Blackbrook , and it ’ s very much a club where everyone ’ s welcome . But that open and welcoming attitude isn ’ t always respected with 100 % honesty , causing the club problems in terms of identifying who is – and who isn ’ t – a member , and to therefore have to restrict membership privileges to the limits of what was a paper-based identification system . Now that ’ s all gone , and as a result of installing a new EPoS and membership system from MHS Group , the club can issue membership cards that its bar tills can identify the individual member , enable discounted prices for drinks , allow higher margins to be charged for visitors ’ orders , and get a much clearer idea of the numbers of members annually . It ’ s also meant that with price privileges , it ’ s now attracting many more members than before , and the club ’ s now looking forward to moving forwards with a much more professional management basis . As the club ’ s treasurer , Aron McMahon takes us through the issues that were facing the club , what they decided to do about them , and what the club ’ s now achieving as a result .
What was the thinking behind , or objectives for , installing this electronic point of sale or EPoS software ? When was the new EPoS system installed ? Aron McMahon : “ The main aim for installing the system was in order to increase membership numbers . Without some sort of ID card system being in place , we found it difficult over many years to try and encourage people to be members .
“ This new system has enabled us to distinguish members from visitors and reward them accordingly . We were also getting to a point where we would ’ ve had to replace our existing till system within the next 12 months anyway , so we thought it an ideal opportunity to source a system which would work for us long term and enable us to move forward as a business . The system was installed on the 9th March 2017 .”
What did you have before eg . stand alone till ( s ), paper based records , etc .? AM : “ We had a Samsung SAM4S SPS1000 till system .”
How did you previously administrate your club ’ s membership details , and handle subscription invoicing etc .? AM : “ This was all done manually by our club secretary , stamping membership cards annually . A book was kept with members ’ names and the date when they renewed .”
Did your club initially ask your members to place a monetary value on their cards , and if so , how much was it ? What discount does the card enable for drinks purchases ? AM : “ No we didn ’ t , however we are encouraging members to do so , as it is so much easier for them and us . We offer a 10 % discount on all drinks to members , but snacks are excluded .”
What has been the take up ie . all , nearly all or some of your members ? AM : “ We ’ ve signed up approximately 200 members , which is a huge increase from previously . We used to only ever get about 40 or 50 people taking out full club membership .
How has the club ’ s cash flow benefited in terms of the amounts of money placed on their cards by the members ? AM : “ In terms of cash flow , because we ’ re not insisting that members put money on their cards , there hasn ’ t been much of a difference . However , our turnover and GP margins have increased due to our being able to charge visitors and non-members higher prices than members .” User behaviour : do your members now find it almost automatic to use their cards at the bar ? AM : “ Yes , the majority of members find it automatic to use their cards . There are however the odd few ‘ as always ’ who regularly forget them and try to use somebody else ’ s card …!
What was the installation like from the club ’ s perspective , ie . very easy , faster than expected , or whatever , etc .? AM : “ The installation was very straightforward from start to finish . MHS Group ’ s Chris Ward offered great advice prior to installing the system and was very thorough and professional on the day of the installation . Prior to the actual installation , the process from the very initial quote / order through Andrew in the office was similarly straightforward and very professionally handled . It made what can be a very anxious time for the club ’ s officers , much easier and very reassuring !”
What do your bar staff think of the EPos or till system compared to the old one ? AM : “ While I haven ’ t asked them directly , they should ’ ve found features like order interruption at busy times , security , speed of order placing , training new or temporary staff , etc ., significantly easier . But I can tell you that the bar staff are overjoyed with the new system . It ’ s so easy to use , once they have found out what products are where on the screens .
“ The main benefit is that staff can actually easily see the products on screen now . Our previous till system had small buttons which had to be pressed and the majority of the time , it was difficult to read them . It ’ s so much easier using ‘ Dallas ’ keys , and enables me to monitor exactly who is serving who . Previously staff used to use each other ’ s numbers … so we could never distinguish individual performances and results !”
Do you run any special promotions due to the built-in flexibility the software offers to set up discount schemes eg . for a limited period , or for the bigger spenders , etc .? AM : “ We currently only offer promotions on certain items , as this is what we previously did . For example , certain drinks are £ 2.50 a pint when super league games are on Sky . We are however keen to run other promotions and discount schemes , to use more of what the EPOS system can offer . We just wanted to start off simply however , so as not to complicate things initially .”
What are your views on MH Systems ’ ( now called MHS Group ) support , as and when it ’ s been required ? AM : “ We have only needed their assistance for a couple of small issues . Any support requests have been dealt with quickly and efficiently .”
Have your original objectives for the EPoS system ’ s purchase and installation been achieved ? AM : “ Yes definitely , even at this early stage . Going forward we plan to use the system more and more , adopting different features , such as the Cobra messaging module .
Would you recommend this software to other rugby clubs ? AM : “ Without a doubt , I would absolutely recommend it and would actively encourage other rugby clubs to use this software .”
As a result of the change to using cards , did the club see a one-off uplift in the bar sales ? This is fairly typical with other installations we ’ ve done . AM : “ Yes , we have seen turnover increase , as I said above , mainly down to the fact that we can now charge visitors and non-members higher prices than previously . www . rugbyclubmag . com 25