The Cross Inn boosts operational efficiency with Zonal’s EPoS rental solution

Introducing The Cross Inn

Traditional village pub serving real ales

Independent pub located in Paxton, Berwickshire

Restaurant offering pub classics and daily specials

Focus on locally sourced, fresh produce

“Our existing system just wasn’t up to scratch, lacking in functionality and reliability, sometimes it was a struggle just to pick up a report, and with the amount of extra costs involved it really started to add up.”

Daniel Norris, The Cross Inn

The business challenge

Facing recurring operational challenges and insufficient support from an existing supplier, The Cross Inn began looking for a new EPoS provider that would provide a reliable solution to sit at the heart of the business. The team were also keen to access detailed reports to help them identify opportunities to save time and improve efficiencies, so a robust reporting function was a necessity.

Regular problems with handheld ordering devices not functioning
Service issues meant accessing reports was consistently difficult
Lack of support function from existing provider meant the team were regularly left to work things out on their own
Original ‘cost-effective’ solution worked out to be expensive due to the amount of problems

“Our staff found it incredibly easy to pick up the system, and training has been an easy process for any new starters!”

Daniel Norris, The Cross Inn

The solution

Aware of Zonal’s pedigree within the sector, and with the desire for a reliable, established system, The Cross Inn team chose to use Zonal’s POS Essentials for Independents rental package for a fixed monthly fee. The Cross Inn also implemented Zonal’s Table Management solution, offering the team complete control over their capacity and floorplan. With time being a precious commodity in today’s trading environment, access to a dedicated support function has saved the team hours every week from attempting to resolve issues on their own, as well as a detailed stock reporting function removing a lot of the tedium from their stock management process. Since implementing Zonal’s solutions in the pub, the team have benefitted from:

A reliable, feature-rich EPoS solution with a strong back-office function and simple user experience for front-of-house staff
Fully integrated handheld ordering devices, automatically sending processed orders to the POS without the need for further staff input
Access to detailed reporting functionality
Time and cash savings from a robust stock management module – included as standard with Zonal’s EPoS
A real-time, detailed overview of the restaurant’s floor plan with Table Management
Tighter cash control and time savings with the employee time and attendance module easing the burden of managing staff rotas
A smooth onboarding and roll-out process facilitated by Zonal’s dedicated small business team and an expert project manager
Full access to dedicated support, available 7 days a week, 365 days a year, 8am – 12pm

“The reporting functionality is incredibly useful for us, giving us detailed insight into how the business works which, as a small business, is vital.”

Daniel Norris, The Cross Inn