CenterEdge Software Blog

Offer your guests a better sales experience online with a cohesive online store. 

Your online store is a critical component of your sales team. But there is a lot more to effective online sales than simply adding your inventory to an online store. Today’s blog features insights first published in our CenterEdge Help Center by Technical Writer and client eCommerce theming expert Lena Plaut. 

Though she’s been a member of the training team for nearly five years, she also has a wealth of knowledge in this area, with 15 years’ worth of experience in digital media. Read on for Lena’s top tips to help you deliver a better online experience, and be sure to check out other training team blog posts and documentation in the CenterEdge Help Center.

New resources for FEC managers to learn more about personnel, inventory management, Advantage Groups, point of sale, web store, and reporting functionality in your CenterEdge system. 

As you hire or promote new managers to lead your FEC or amusement park, they will need a deeper understanding of your facility management tools to help you operate more effectively. 

That’s why CenterEdge is rolling out a new, four-part manager training series to give new managers comprehensive training of the key software functionality. Each session will last for one hour. 

The series is free for all CenterEdge clients with an active Licensing and Service Agreement (LSA) or a current support agreement. Read on for an overview of what the sessions will cover, and then register for our upcoming event series.

Thoughtful program planning and strategic rollout can make all the difference. 

Now that you’ve heard about some of the key benefits, new CenterEdge tools, and a success story, you’re probably ready to think about setting up a membership program for yourself. 

Today’s interview with CenterEdge client, Zach Johnson of Rev’d Up Fun, will give you terrific insights to help you decide if building a membership program is right for you. 

As we discussed in Part One of this blog series, membership programs could have the potential to bring in a brand new revenue stream for your facility. But do they actually work?

We decided the best way to illustrate program benefits would be to let a CenterEdge operator like you share his results. 

Rev’d Up Fun is a 30,000 square foot state-of-the-art family entertainment center in Woodhaven, Michigan. This family-owned and operated venue features multiple attraction offerings, including Ballocity, axe throwing, laser tag, a ropes course, an XD Dark Ride, bumper cars, and a game zone, as well as a full-service food and beverage offering. 

We sat down with Zach Johnson, Owner, and asked him to share his experience with membership programs and his plans to make memberships a key component of Rev’d Up Fun’s offering.

Before you offer your next birthday party or group event, set your team up for success with these best practices.

We are all hoping to resume normal operations one day soon, and that definitely included being able to offer exciting group events and birthday parties. 

To help you do that, we're expanding on this popular topic from our last user conference, Edge 2020, where attendees learned best practices for managing group events more effectively. 

Schedule your system upgrade now to take advantage of new features.

It’s time now to schedule your upgrade to the latest version of your CenterEdge Advantage software. Our 2021 Long Term Support (LTS) version is available to CenterEdge clients with an active support agreement or LSA.

Having the right questions to ask a prospective credit card processor can help you choose a vendor with your best interests in mind. 

Credit cards likely represent a considerable part of your operating expenses. And just like your facility management system touches every guest and every dollar that enters your facility, your merchant services program can significantly impact your operational efficiency, profitability, and even your guest experience. However, many operators dread searching for a merchant services provider. Why? Because we all know a merchant (or have been one!) who has been duped and taken advantage of by slick salespeople and companies who don’t have their clients’ best interests at heart.

But your credit card processing program is too important to your business to avoid taking the time to consider your options. Knowing the right questions to ask can help you make an informed decision and find a partner you can trust. Here are seven questions to help you make the best decision for your business. 

Consider whether the time is right to dig in to your current merchant services program. 

As a savvy operator, you have a lot of vendor relationships to manage. You have to work with food service, party supply, merchandise, and redemption vendors to analyze inventory usage routinely, forecast future needs, test new products, and examine how well they, and your attractions and programs, are working. Those urgent and important needs don’t leave time for much else. But, it makes sense to review other relationships from time to time, such as making sure that you maximize your CenterEdge partnership by keeping up with the many tools* and training resources available to you. 

Your credit card processing program is another critical partnership that should be reviewed periodically. Read on for five reasons that evaluating this program should be much higher on your to-do list. 

Find out the assumptions that keep your FEC overpaying for merchant services. 

There are many misconceptions regarding merchant services that can cost your business significantly every month and year. But understanding all the ins and outs of credit card processing could be considered a full-time job. That’s why we’re introducing this three-part blog series to help you get to the root of the costs, which types of fees you have control over, how often you should be evaluating your program, and the most important considerations to scrutinize when you decide to dig in. 

Let’s start by tackling the three biggest assumptions about credit card processing that can cost operators like you a lot of money - and what you can do about it. 

Learn how to retire and disable items, discounts, areas, and event types to navigate your system more efficiently.  

As you begin year-end planning, take this opportunity to set up your system more efficiently to save time and effort both in the office and at the front line.

Watch today’s Pro Tip from our CenterEdge Training team to learn how to simplify your CenterEdge Advantage screens and apps by retiring or disabling outdated offerings, discounts, areas, event types, and more.