CenterEdge Software Blog

Although adding a POS to your business can have many benefits, the key to the system is cash control.  Cash Control comes in many forms, i.e. deposit calculations on cash tills, detailed reporting on cashier activities, security controls on POS actions, and descrepency documentation on expected revenue versus actual.  However, if you are like me, I'd prefer to not have to catch someone being dishonest, and would rather deter them from the possibility.

The past year has been a season of exceptional growth for us here at CenterEdge.  We have nearly doubled our staff – with nearly all of those additions coming in the support department – and have restructured our support and implementation teams to help ensure we continue to provide the high level of support you have become accustomed to.  This pursuit of improving customer support has also led us to implement a new system for managing support and enhancement requests. 

Recently, a lot of excitement has been generated in the roller skating industry by Kids Skate Free.  It is a marketing program being used by skating centers across the country to help drive traffic and increase revenues, with great success.

While I was on vacation a few weeks ago, I finally got to go to a trampoline park that was open. I won’t say whose software they were using, other than to say that they were not using CenterEdge Software. What I will say is that I was stunned at how they managed their liability waivers. For example, after paying for admission, the cashier asked if we had filled out waivers before. I said no, but I am certain that if I had said yes, I would have been able to jump without completing a waiver. So I filled out a paper waiver but he never so much as glanced at it before filing it away.

Last week, we talked about how online ticketing software can help your bottom line. In a nutshell, when you sell tickets online, you’ll be able to sell more tickets, you’ll get access to a new revenue stream with convenience fees and you’ll be able to cut back on front line labor.

It seems strange that online ticketing has only been in the mainstream for a decade or so. For a while, it was mostly concert tickets purchased through Ticketmaster. Then, slowly but surely, movie theatres and some larger parks like theme parks and zoos started to offer tickets online. Now, nearly every entertainment venue from trampoline parks and laser tag facilities to water parks and aquariums offers some type of online ticket sales.

Please join us at the WWA convention on October 3rd and 4th, in booth #1108 as we present our Waterpark Management Software.

Last week, we talked about how redemption software can help you save time. Your time is very important and you would love to be able to spend more time getting customers to come to your facility and less time counting bouncy balls. But today we will talk about the other side of the equation: how redemption software can save you money. Let’s focus on the big 3:

With CenterEdge Advantage 12.1, we released an iPod-based platform for mobile validation of tickets and cards called CenterEdge Mobile.  We recently released a lot of great new features, but this is one of my personal favorites.  It opens up a whole new world of possibilities for parks and family entertainment centers, and does so at a very reasonable cost.

First, lets talk about the device itself.  By using the Apple iPod Touch, we are able to keep the costs down dramatically by taking advantage of Apple's incredibly high production volume.  The iPod simply connects to an internal, private WiFi (wireless) network to communicate with your server.  So anywhere you can get wireless coverage, you can validate tickets and cards.  The only addition to the iPod is a special, ruggedized case that contains a magnetic stripe reader, barcode scanner, and supplemental battery.  It's very small, lightweight, and fits in the palm of your hand.  We can also provide charging cradles to dock them in at the end of the shift.

There are times when working for a company that creates software for family entertainment facilities can interfere with a simple family outing in unexpected ways.  Take my recent foray to a local zoo with my family of 10.  As I waited in what I thought would be the shortest line (Ha!) observing the admissions folks, my mind involuntarily turned to what they could be doing to increase the line speed and get me and my family through the gate before the children completely lost the ability to contain their excitement at seeing the animals.