Cambridge orders integrated EPoS and GMS package
Cambridge RUFC’s members are about to discover the benefits that modern EPoS technology
from MHS Group can deliver, especially when integrated with their club’s existing GMS
software from FSI, which will simultaneously make things less time consuming and more
efficient for the volunteers who run the club.
Popular, televised and well supported as the modern
rugby game may be, it’s easy to overlook the fact that
many rugby clubs in the UK are run on a voluntary basis by
members who feel they need to do their bit for their mates,
members and the community.
So when a club has people who are giving their time
freely, the last thing you want is to have them spending that
time doing things that some decent technology would have
otherwise handled.
By the same token, many rugby clubs have impressive bar
and catering sales, yet without modern EPoS technology,
they can’t get a realistic grip on all that sales data, nor on
the results and bottom line when it comes to helping them
manage their retail margins. That in turn can also impact on
the kind of membership privileges and services the club can
then offer.
Yet when it comes to membership and player data,
many of the same clubs are using the market leading
Game Management System (aka GMS) from First Sports
International (FSI), a software programme which helps clubs
ensure compliance with all sorts of new player data required
by the RFU.
So the solution is obvious: find a market leading and well
proven EPoS system that can be fully integrated with FSI’s
GMS software system…
Available now: GMS and the MHS Group’s EPoS system
That’s exactly what is now available. FSI and the MHS
Group have agreed to work together, and provide a fully
integrated bundle of their specialist software, so that rugby
clubs up and down the country can benefit from all the
advances the bundle offers, lessen the load in terms of time
and effort, and make things better for their members as well.
Cambridge RUFC is one of the first clubs to be installing
the new bundle, and as a GMS user, for their decision
makers it’s been a relatively straightforward move to get the
MHS Group’s widely admired EPoS system as well.
The club has been using sta nd-alone tills, so sales data
wasn’t able to be extracted and analysed at the click of a
mouse. As honorary club secretary Gary Barr explains it: “We
have been wanting to improve our bar-related membership
services for a while, and with the new EPoS system and
four new tills utilising individual membership bar cards, that
objective’s going to be much easier to achieve.”
Differential pricing to benefit members
The MHS Group’s EPoS software will enable the club
to set differential prices for members, so for the first time
the club’s decision makers will be in a position to think
about offering a discount to their members. Potentially, that
will have a positive impact on both the bar margins and on
members’ privileges.
Because each member’s card identifies the card holding
member at the till when an order’s given at the bar, every
member’s purchases and sales can be identified. Using
membership cards will also mean they can top up their cards
with cash or more likely at home via the club’s website, so
as Barr points out: “They won’t have to remember to bring
cash or use their credit cards when they come to the club.
That’s going to make the club much more user friendly and
in keeping with modern lifestyles.”
Events and bookings diary included as part of the
package
Barr’s colleague, honorary treasurer J.J. Jeffrey joins in
the discussion: “As part of the EPoS system, we’re getting
a comprehensive bookings diary as well, so we’ll be able
to handle all our major bookings and events, and even set
up things like table bookings for groups of members and
visitors at the major matches, social events and functions.”
Keep it simple to start with
Jeffrey continues: “We’re going to keep things simple
to begin with, but once we’re thoroughly familiar with what
the new system can do, and what we’d like to do with it, the
possibilities for greater levels of membership benefits are
almost endless.”
Data security and privacy covered, no more duplication
Barr adds: “That said, the great thing about all this is
that all our software will be in the cloud and secure, and
for those of us who help run this club, one that we’re proud
of and which is so much a part of the local community, it’ll
mean we don’t have to spend lots of time chasing bits of
paper or duplicating membership data.”
Barr summarises: “These two systems from FSI and the MHS Group will be fully integrated
to make life simpler and easier in all sorts of ways, and we’re all really looking forward to that!”
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