In a year where the unprecedented became precedented, the hospitality industry faced massive challenges. Whilst many businesses have faltered, others have thrived and the key to survival has without a doubt been an ability to adapt, become agile and to be in a position to circumnavigate the ever-changing restrictions and safety measures.
At the very beginning of the first lockdown, when the word furlough was not a part of everyday language, nobody knew how the hospitality industry would survive. However, businesses were quick to adapt their offering; to set up takeaway and delivery services, food boxes and even to offer groceries online. Kitchen CUT developed F+B To Go as a direct response to this. By the beginning of April, the online ordering and payment platform was up and running, available to any business, of any size on any device, for free, providing a contactless, safe trading environment.
As the demand for takeaway and delivery as well as order and pay at table has increased, so the platform has gone from strength to strength. Users can create branded, digital menus that can be embedded on their website, or accessed via link or QR Code. There are fully customisable delivery and collection time slots, item counters (the system will stop taking orders when stock has run out), delivery areas can be defined, and a live production dashboard fully tracks and monitors the order process. In order to keep customers incentivised, businesses can offer promotional codes and discounts which can all be created and processed simply and quickly on the system. Payments are taken online (transaction fees apply) so that the whole process is completely contactless and safe for both staff and customers.
There are no set up fees, no subscription fees for the software and no limits to the number of products on offer. The tool is free to use until January 2021, irrespective of EPOS, Stock system or menu management system. Businesses of any size and any location can sign up on any device and be operational within the hour.
F+B To Go can also be used as part of the Kitchen CUT system which includes purchase to pay, menu costing, inventory management, allergen tracking, nutritional analysis and waste analysis.
The industry will venture tentatively into 2021, hopefully equipped with the tools to stay responsive and agile, ready for whatever challenges may come our way.
To find out more about F+B To Go, please visit https://www.kitchencut.com/fb-to-go
