Holiday Preparation Guide

Did your 2021 fly by as quickly as ours did? We can hardly believe another holiday season is upon us. 

Besides the anticipation of consuming gobs of mashed potatoes with loved ones, there’s also a lot of planning required when you own a happenin’ business like yourself. After all, you can expect a higher volume of customers this time of year, and it’s important to prepare. 

So, we’ve compiled a list of things you can and should be doing in order to prepare—highlighting our suite of awesome features—as well as some ideas that came from some of our hospitality-experienced team members. 

BUT, before you get any further, please note the following:

1. Tax rates change at the beginning of the year. We’ve been on the other end of that surprise before, so just wanted to flag it so you can make an action plan before you have a glass of champagne in your hand and a kazoo in your mouth.
2. Tab sizes max out at 250 orders. If you and your staff find yourselves itching close to 250 orders in one tab, try to split the tab into two. We’ll go over some tab functionality tools and venue management below!

Alright, let’s dive in!

Up first, Arryved features that you should take advantage of this holiday season:

The Donation Feature

One of our newest features enables guests to donate to a good cause at checkout—the Donation Feature! This holiday-cheer-spreader offers 2 different ways to contribute:

Round up: Guests can choose to round up to the nearest dollar of their tab. 

Dollar amounts: You can customize different levels of dollar amounts—say $1, $2, and $5—that guests can choose to tack on to their bill.

You choose the organization to benefit, whether guests can round up or choose a dollar amount, and what the text shows to prompt donations! 

When testing the donation feature with a few of our sites, we saw an average donation of $0.61 per tab using the round-up method, and $2 per tab using the fixed dollar amount method. (Those average stats include all tabs, including those without donations.) Think of the impact this could have on a cause you care about! 

To enable the Donation Feature, reach out to our lovely support team! 

And if you’re looking for some admirable groups in the food and beverage space, we have a helpful list of nonprofits and charitable organizations here. 

Restaurant Workers’ Community Foundation creates opportunities and provides grants to serve restaurant workers.

Dynamic Tab Functionality

Our multi-functional tab capabilities are useful in your day-to-day operations, but these 3 functions come especially in handy with the holiday crowds to come:

Tab tags are tab-naming conventions that can be helpful with large events. If a large group comes in and starts multiple tabs, you can keep them all organized by adding a customized tag name like “Foosball Champions.” This way, you know every tap associated with the group, and if the captain decides to pick up everyone’s tab, it’s easy to find the right ones! Plus, when you’re looking back at reports, you can see how much revenue a particular group brought in. Maybe it’s worthwhile to start inviting foosballers to your taproom more often! 

Split tabs are used for guests that want to pay off a portion of the tab, or just pay for their own part of it when they are ready to leave. Remaining guests can continue to imbibe on the existing tab, and the departing guest can go on their merry way! 

Merged tabs are useful for instances like Captain Foosball picking up the entire team’s tabs. 

Questions? Reach out to our support team for more on how to take advantage of these tab functionalities!

Venue Tracking

This is a great tool to use to manage different areas of your business, like a patio or private room, when you’re hosting special events. Venue tracking is useful for your staff to stay organized, of course, but it’s also great to determine performance when you’re looking back at reports from the event. It can especially come in handy if you’re offering a special menu for the event-goers. 

Online Store

Use Arryved Online to your advantage! People are on the hunt for great gifts, and what better place to buy from than their favorite watering hole?!

Merchandise typically sells better at the end of the year, and boasting your logo and perhaps some Black Friday discounts is a great way to outfit your town in the coolest garb.

Gift cards are just future opportunities to create loyal fans, so you should prepare for the holidays by stocking up on a lot of these. 

Ship It is Arryved’s newest feature and allows you to manage and ship items through Arryved Online! Once enabled, guests see the option to Ship It in the online store, and can send any merchandise or other goodies anywhere in the US! You decide which items in your store are shippable, and which states you’re willing to ship to. It only allows for merchandise mailing for now, but the ability to ship alcohol is down the road! Learn how to enable Ship It by contacting our support team!

Event Deposits

Set up an Event Deposit in your inventory to get ready for upcoming holiday parties! No matter what kind of party you’re entertaining, this is a great tool to make sure you have enough inventory and staff to host your guests. Learn more about setup by contacting our support team!

Now, here are some ideas from Yours Truly:

Pre-package Your Goods

It’s a great idea to pre-package some of your goods, especially if you’re going to be closed for a few days over the holidays. Filling a bunch of crowlers and growlers and promoting a sale on your social media is the perfect way to get gift-givers in your space, and maybe they’ll stop for a pint on the spot!

Ticketed Dine ‘n Drink Events

A special food and beverage tasting event with a pre-fixed menu, limited seating, and ticketed admission creates buzz around your establishment and it can also be a fun event for staff to be a part of! By selling a limited number of tickets, you’re not only allowing your team to properly prepare, but the exclusivity makes it a coveted event to be a part of.

Start small, invite some of your biggest fans, and have a celebration! Afterall, we know hospitality in 2021 wasn’t exactly a walk in the park. 

As always, reach out to our customer support team if you have any questions: [email protected]