Managing labour can be tricky – so we thought we would share our experiences. One of the most common problems when managing labour in industries where an hourly wage is earned, is ensuring that employees are only paid for the hours that have been worked and authorised.
Many of PXtech’s customers have identified thousands of pounds of additional labour cost when comparing rotas to actual hours worked but have found the administrative effort in reviewing this on an ongoing basis too onerous. So as a result, we recognised the potential savings that could be delivered through software that could automate this and developed their Plan & Pay solution.
Additional labour issues, such as being able to accurately schedule staff and inform them about their rotas, were also identified for business owners to have better organisation and clarity between both parties.
This is particularly prevalent amongst multi-unit retailers says PXtech’s director Malcolm Mailer, who has experienced such issues first-hand throughout his 30-year tenure in the retail, leisure and fast food industries.
“The only way to control your payroll is to actively monitor the hours claimed by staff,” Malcolm commented. “This is virtually impossible to carry out if you have multiple stores, unless you are prepared to spend many valuable hours manually collating the information!”
With new developments in PXtech’s labour management software Plan & Pay, these problems have been addressed, so that senior management can instantly reduce time-consuming administration tasks and costs, react quickly to any payroll discrepancies, provide a consistent and fair way of payment for staff, and ultimately increase labour productivity.
“Some applications can be bolted onto existing infrastructures for very little outlay, providing a long-term, cost-effective solution,” continued Malcolm. “I have even heard of business owners reporting savings of more than £2,400 each month, having only initially invested a small sum of around £500 for such software – this is certainly a lucrative return on investment that retailers should investigate in 2010.”
In addition to utilising specialist labour management software, business owners should also follow a few more obvious, but necessary pointers of advice:
1. Staff training is crucial in any environment where customer service is key. It must be updated and carried out on a regular basis, particularly in the retail sector and when new EPoS technology is at play.
2. Alert employees to the fact that a labour management software tool is being used to organise payroll and workload, as monitoring activity will save on any staff discrepancies on wages and hours worked.
3. Internal processes must be clear and precise before any employees are approached regarding such discrepancies, so the HR manager must keep up-to-date with ongoing HR changes and regulations.
4. Make sure that the software is scaleable and that it works with the existing hardware, so there is no need for any great upheaval and it will be flexible enough for the future of your business.
5. Finally, whatever steps business owners take to labour management, they must be sure that the financial cost of the solution is viable, updated when necessary, and brings a quick return on investment that will reap rewards for years to come.
Wednesday, 2 June 2010
Monday, 8 February 2010
Exporting Success for PXtech’s Portal
PXtech are proud to announce they have been awarded the prestigious “Midlands Exporter of the Year” title at the 2010 Midlands Business Awards.The IT Solutions Company, who employ 25 people at their new offices on Pride Park in Derby, were presented with the trophy at the competition’s Gala Dinner held at The Hilton Birmingham Metropole in front of 600 business people from around the Midlands region.
Reflecting on a demanding and extremely busy twelve months, Richard Dorf (Managing Director) enthused about how quickly the company had progressed with their export business during 2009.
“I was pleased to accept the Award on behalf of PXtech. It is a great honour for everyone in the Company and a true reflection of all the hard work that our team has put in during a difficult economic period. To deliver a strong export performance when the climate is tough shows a real strength not only in our product range, that delivers tangible financial benefits, but in our people who have met the challenge and delivered outstanding levels of customer service.”
The growth in their export business has been spread evenly throughout the Euro Zone, providing on line Business Intelligence and Fraud Management solutions for customers in France, Spain, Ireland, Italy, Germany, Netherlands & Belgium. The company now supports over 1400 locations on a 24/7 basis and has big plans for the future.
2010 promises to be another fast moving year, with development and partner contracts already signed with UK and overseas companies, who are looking to maximise their profits by integrating PXtech’s innovative solutions into their daily operating procedures.
PXtech – IT Solutions that deliver a clear view of your business.
For more information please contact our Customer Services team on 01332 921300
Thursday, 10 December 2009
PXtech helps to get the world snogging
We have won the contract to supply a complete scalable EPoS solution for the exciting new chain SNOG Pure Frozen Yogurt.
You may remember SNOG hit the UK high street in 2008? It currently has three bustling company-owned shops in London, with another opening in Covent Garden in February 2010.
We will initially be providing SNOG’s South Kensington, Westfield London and Soho shops with EPoS, CCTV and schedule and payment systems, all backed by a 24/7 support facility to allow real time monitoring of POS data such as sales and product mix. Visit our website for more details about these products and services - http://www.pxtech.net/.
We will then go on to provide this package for all new SNOG shops as the destination brand continues its rollout of further UK shops and launches its franchises in Brazil and the Middle East.
SNOG director, Pablo Uribe, explains why they have selected us:
“SNOG decided to work alongside PXtech as they were knowledgeable of the needs of businesses in our sector.”
“Their product and service offer will not only provide us with a great customer-focussed POS, but will also serve as an enterprise solution for the business as it grows and the franchises multiply - enabling us to see exactly how each shop is performing.”
PXtech managing director Richard Dorf believes SNOG will be a big global brand in the near future.
“One visit to a SNOG shop tells you that this will be a globally recognised brand in a few years time.”
“We are excited to be involved from the start, offering a solution that will effectively multiply the capabilities of the SNOG team and future franchisees, allowing them to grow and successfully manage a portfolio of shops very quickly.”
You may remember SNOG hit the UK high street in 2008? It currently has three bustling company-owned shops in London, with another opening in Covent Garden in February 2010.
We will initially be providing SNOG’s South Kensington, Westfield London and Soho shops with EPoS, CCTV and schedule and payment systems, all backed by a 24/7 support facility to allow real time monitoring of POS data such as sales and product mix. Visit our website for more details about these products and services - http://www.pxtech.net/.
We will then go on to provide this package for all new SNOG shops as the destination brand continues its rollout of further UK shops and launches its franchises in Brazil and the Middle East.
SNOG director, Pablo Uribe, explains why they have selected us:
“SNOG decided to work alongside PXtech as they were knowledgeable of the needs of businesses in our sector.”
“Their product and service offer will not only provide us with a great customer-focussed POS, but will also serve as an enterprise solution for the business as it grows and the franchises multiply - enabling us to see exactly how each shop is performing.”
PXtech managing director Richard Dorf believes SNOG will be a big global brand in the near future.
“One visit to a SNOG shop tells you that this will be a globally recognised brand in a few years time.”
“We are excited to be involved from the start, offering a solution that will effectively multiply the capabilities of the SNOG team and future franchisees, allowing them to grow and successfully manage a portfolio of shops very quickly.”
Friday, 13 November 2009
Planning pays dividends thanks to PXtech...
Subway franchisee James Fleck is already seeing cost savings amounting to thousands of pounds a month thanks to new technology from retail IT solutions provider PXtech.
James, who has two outlets in Evesham, has recently implemented PXtech’s Plan & Pay, software specifically designed to manage labour activity and costs while freeing-up significant administration time.
Plan & Pay provides the tools to schedule staff rotas, and when it comes to working out the payroll, offers automatic reconciliation which compares staff clock-in times with the rotas to make sure staff are only paid for when they are there, and when the business owner wants them to be working.
James is also the Subway Development Agent overseeing 60 stores for the Five Counties territory, and has reported a saving of £2,400 each month, meaning that he will save more than £28,000 over a financial year.
He commented: “By letting you see how to optimise your labour cost when you build the schedule, and by automatically verifying the clock-in times against the schedule, it enables you to manage outgoings effectively across a number of outlets.
“As a multi-store owner, Plan & Pay has been instrumental in enabling us to standardise our operations, and has made it easier for us to keep control of the management of the businesses whilst saving us a lot of valuable time and money on costly payroll administration and staff overtime.”
James, who has two outlets in Evesham, has recently implemented PXtech’s Plan & Pay, software specifically designed to manage labour activity and costs while freeing-up significant administration time.
Plan & Pay provides the tools to schedule staff rotas, and when it comes to working out the payroll, offers automatic reconciliation which compares staff clock-in times with the rotas to make sure staff are only paid for when they are there, and when the business owner wants them to be working.
James is also the Subway Development Agent overseeing 60 stores for the Five Counties territory, and has reported a saving of £2,400 each month, meaning that he will save more than £28,000 over a financial year.
He commented: “By letting you see how to optimise your labour cost when you build the schedule, and by automatically verifying the clock-in times against the schedule, it enables you to manage outgoings effectively across a number of outlets.
“As a multi-store owner, Plan & Pay has been instrumental in enabling us to standardise our operations, and has made it easier for us to keep control of the management of the businesses whilst saving us a lot of valuable time and money on costly payroll administration and staff overtime.”
Tuesday, 20 October 2009
PXtech's P3 software is an education for Authority's Early Years service
Intelligent software PXtech is making the sharing of information easier for Early Years services in Derbyshire.
PXtech, has just installed its P3 software system, specially designed to collate information and present it to education professionals in an accessible manner, for Derbyshire County Council’s Early Years services.
It gives each individual user the information they need on a certain topic, together with their actions and early warnings about actions related to their roles and responsibilities.
And not only does the system collate information from the council’s own departments, it also takes information from national sources so that a full picture of a situation can be given.
Richard Dorf, managing director of PXtech, based on Pride Park, Derby, commented: “We are delighted that we have been able to install P3 to assist Derbyshire County Council in this important department.
“The real benefit of P3 is that it takes information from sources, without the need to replace existing operational systems. More than just an information tool, individual users have different levels of access and each is notified when they need to implement an action.”
PXtech, has just installed its P3 software system, specially designed to collate information and present it to education professionals in an accessible manner, for Derbyshire County Council’s Early Years services.
It gives each individual user the information they need on a certain topic, together with their actions and early warnings about actions related to their roles and responsibilities.
And not only does the system collate information from the council’s own departments, it also takes information from national sources so that a full picture of a situation can be given.
Richard Dorf, managing director of PXtech, based on Pride Park, Derby, commented: “We are delighted that we have been able to install P3 to assist Derbyshire County Council in this important department.
“The real benefit of P3 is that it takes information from sources, without the need to replace existing operational systems. More than just an information tool, individual users have different levels of access and each is notified when they need to implement an action.”
Wednesday, 30 September 2009
Awards nomination for PXtech!
The team at PXtech is very proud to announce that the company has been shortlisted for this year’s Retail Systems Awards.
Nominated in the Technology Vendor of the Year category for our continuing work with fast-growing sandwich chain, Subway, we will find out our fate at an Awards Gala Dinner on Thursday 29th October 2009, which will be hosted this year by the comedian Chris Barrie.
Please visit our blog shortly to find out whether we can conquer the stiff-opposition to lift the trophy…
Nominated in the Technology Vendor of the Year category for our continuing work with fast-growing sandwich chain, Subway, we will find out our fate at an Awards Gala Dinner on Thursday 29th October 2009, which will be hosted this year by the comedian Chris Barrie.
Please visit our blog shortly to find out whether we can conquer the stiff-opposition to lift the trophy…
Wednesday, 26 August 2009
Etiquette for improved security
Essential POS etiquette when it comes to security, according to Richard Dorf, MD of PXtech
Employee fraud is one of the many challenges facing retailers none more so in retail environments which are largely cash-based. This is another area where effective use of the EPoS can help retailers to reduce the opportunity for theft.
It’s important that your EPoS system prevents staff trading with the till open, instead only allowing a sale to be rung up when the drawer is closed. Your system should also be capable of tracking adjustments such as price overrides and other opportunities for staff to commit fraud. Set up your systems to recognise these transactions and make them stand out. Such systems can also offer you the opportunity to track your staff and see when they arrive and leave and identify who is managing each transaction.
If your tills are connected to the internet, make sure that they are secure and locked down so that staff cannot access the internet through this connection. The tills need to be connected to transmit sales data, but make sure that this is all that they do. Don’t forget that this is a till and is the most important piece of equipment in the store. It takes the money and this is the reason that you are there - so make it secure.
Employee fraud is one of the many challenges facing retailers none more so in retail environments which are largely cash-based. This is another area where effective use of the EPoS can help retailers to reduce the opportunity for theft.
It’s important that your EPoS system prevents staff trading with the till open, instead only allowing a sale to be rung up when the drawer is closed. Your system should also be capable of tracking adjustments such as price overrides and other opportunities for staff to commit fraud. Set up your systems to recognise these transactions and make them stand out. Such systems can also offer you the opportunity to track your staff and see when they arrive and leave and identify who is managing each transaction.
If your tills are connected to the internet, make sure that they are secure and locked down so that staff cannot access the internet through this connection. The tills need to be connected to transmit sales data, but make sure that this is all that they do. Don’t forget that this is a till and is the most important piece of equipment in the store. It takes the money and this is the reason that you are there - so make it secure.
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