Preparing for a new financial year can be stressful. From reporting on performance to counting stock and updating pricing, there’s a mountain of work to be done.
If you’re like most of us, much of this work has had to wait until the last minute because you’ve been busy.
To make things easier, we’ve come up with some tips on how Jonas Leisure Envibe leisure management software can save you time and help you get prepped for the year ahead.
Price updates make easy
A new financial year often necessitates an update to pricing. This might include price increases to keep step with inflation and rising operating costs, or price reductions if you’re carrying too much stock or the pricing you’ve set for a product or service is too high.
Envibe makes end of year price adjustments easy by allowing staff to schedule changes ahead of time or update multiple prices at once.
Sales items such as memberships or casual sessions can be updated individually, with changes taking place on pre-set dates, or staff can export a list of products and associated prices so that they can change a large number at once before importing them back into the Envibe system.
“The ability to export and then re-import products in bulk is particularly popular among facilities that have a retail arm,” says Craig Barraclough, Jonas Leisure Product Manager for Envibe.
“On-site stores often stock a large number of products, all with prices that need updating regularly. Having the flexibility to import new pricing into the system in one batch can save hours of staff time and make life simpler.”
Stocktake at speed
Undertaking an end of year stocktake is an important but time-consuming task for many businesses in the leisure sector. In the past this has often been done using pen and paper, and then manually entered into a stock management system.
Modern leisure management software like Envibe can speed up the process by taking away some of the more time-consuming steps in the process. What might previously have taken many days can now be done in a morning or two.
“The Inventory module in Envibe can be used directly from a mobile Windows device, allowing users to walk around a store, select an item they wish to count, and then tap the screen as they count to record stock levels.”
Envibe also integrates with some electronic stock counting devices. This streamlines the process even further by allowing staff to automatically update stock numbers in Envibe by scanning a product barcode and entering current stock levels.
Use trigger messages to communicate with members
Setting up automated email or SMS messaging for your members can improve communication and enhance the customer experience. It can also save staff time.
Jonas Leisure’s Envibe leisure management software includes powerful trigger messaging functionality that can help with all those things.
“Our trigger messaging functionality allows staff to create pre-set messages that are ready to go when they are ‘triggered’ by an event such as a new member joining or a member’s impending membership renewal date,” Mr Barraclough says.
This trigger messaging functionality comes in handy at year’s end, both for sales campaigns and providing general information to members, he says.
For example, an email or SMS can be set up ahead of time to notify members of a price change and scheduled to send on the date when the price change takes effect, or beforehand to give members prior notice.
Likewise, trigger messaging alerting people of a sale or promotion on an item that is overstocked can set up to trigger on a specific date or when a condition is met (e.g. on or just before a member’s birthday).
Use reports for data-driven decision making
The end of the year is a good time to measure performance and reflect on what has and hasn’t worked. Reporting based on accurate data can play an important part in sound decision making.
Mr Barraclough says Envibe makes it easy to generate graphical reports showing year on year financials and performance data. It can also generate many other reports, including ‘utilisation reports’ that which group fitness classes are best attended and which spaces in a facility are most often booked.
“Reports like these can help you better understand your business and get your ducks in a row for the year ahead,” he says. “They can provide critical insights that have the potential to transform the way you do business.”
