What are the opening hours?

Monday 9am - 5:30pm Tuesday 9am - 5:30pm Wednesday 9am - 5:30pm Thursday 9am - 5:30pm Friday 9am - 5:30pm

CostBoss, Athene House, 86 The Broadway, London (2026)

CostBoss™ is a totally new way of keeping control of your revenue and costs, time management, your payroll and people, all geared to making your life easier and less stressful! It also helps you improve communication, boost accountability and track which staff are in and when they arrived from a simple click of the mouse from any location , grow your business without being weighed down with lots o

f time consuming paperwork. CostBoss™ is simple to use, and will become an invaluable tool in making your business more successful, whether you run a bar or restaurant, factory or retail outlets. CostBoss™ is web-based, you don't need to worry about installing software. Just open your web browser and access the system, fuss-free.

29/03/2017

What minimum wage must I pay?

Here at Costboss one of our most important jobs is helping our clients to control their payroll. However, one issue that is outside our control is the statutory minimum wages that must be paid to all employees.

Over the last few years, the National Minimum Wage rates have increased significantly and last April saw the introduction of the National Living Wage. This April for the first time, both the National Minimum Wage and National Living Wage rates increased at the same time. The National Living Wage is the minimum hourly rate that must be paid to those aged 25 or over.

From 1 April 2019 the National Living Wage increased by 47p to £8.21.

The new national minimum wage rates are:
- 21-24 year olds - £7.70 (a rise of 32p)
- 18-20 year olds - £6.15 (a rise of 25p)
- Workers above the school leaving age but under 18 - £4.35 (a rise of 15p)

These rates are recommended by the independent Low Pay Commission and were accepted in full by the government. We are told that there was some discussion on these increases in light of the Brexit vote but ultimately the new pay rates have now come into law. Should the UK economy suffer a severe contraction as a result of Brexit it is possible that future wage increases could be reduced or frozen.

The minimum wage applicable must be paid to all workers including foreign workers eligible to work in the UK. It is important to remember there are penalties for employers that are found to have underpaid their workers together with the risk of criminal prosecutions. HMRC has actively been targeting employers to ensure that they are paying workers what they are entitled to and historically the hospitality sector has proved a successful hunting ground for HMRC.

You may also hear reference to the Living Wage Foundation. The foundation sets a separate living wage that is meant to reflect the real cost of living. These rates are currently set at £9.75 an hour for London and £8.45 for the rest of the UK. These rates are not statutorily binding but over 3,000 businesses across the UK have committed to pay these higher rates including some in the hospitality sector.

The old adage of paying peanuts and getting monkeys may not be as prevalent as was once this case. However, as more organisations sign up to pay more than the minimum wage it may be important to consider what you can do to attract and retain the best staff for your business. Maybe there is an added benefit to paying your staff a little more than your competitors.

23/03/2017

Driving the profitability of your restaurant

Over the last number of years, the explosion in the number of eating establishments including restaurants, takeaways, cafes and even pubs, bars and nightclubs has been relentless. Consumers now have an unbelievable range of options for varied and vibrant food options in almost every city, town and even village across the UK.

More and more people are eating out and household spend on food and drink consumed outside the home continues to grow. However, for restauranteurs the growth in the number of eating establishments has been a double edged sword. At the same time as demand is increasing so is the competition and we are seeing more and more big international and national chains seeking to cash-in on our love of eating out.

This leaves smaller operators having to fight hard for their slice of the pie. At times, like this it is vital to keep an eye on the basics of running a restaurant. For example, the importance of menu selection is often overlooked and can have a huge impact on running costs and profitability.

A restaurant menu must always be written with a firm view to making a profit. A property developer should develop and design a property based on what his buyers want. Similarly, restauranteurs must have in mind what their customer wants and not offer every option under the sun. Too much choice can confuse the customer and waiting staff as well as place unnecessary pressure on the kitchen.

One idea that we have found very useful is to ensure that certain products on the menu are used efficiently. Fresh food items such as chicken and meat are very versatile ingredients that can be a mainstay in many dishes. As these items are perishable and relatively expensive, it is important to ensure that they are fully utilised on the menu. For example, if there is a chicken dish on the menu as a main course the same chicken could also be available as part of a starter or salad course. Any excess stock of perishable items with a limited shelf life could also be used as part of daily specials to help reduce waste and drive profitability.

Stay tuned to our blog for more ideas to help drive the profitability of your restaurant.

13/03/2017

Do you actually understand your business and can you make it even more successful?

Although you may be in business because you love what you make, create or sell it is vital that you have an understanding of the financial aspects in order to survive and thrive. Looking at the finances of your business can be complex and requires a good comprehension of the underlying numbers. Most of us can’t wait for the day when they can drop maths at school and assume that that will be the last they ever see of maths formulae and calculations. But in business, you have to understand your firm’s finances in order to understand how much money you are making.

But it doesn`t end there.

Running a restaurant is complex - you have to be able to price the menu in such a way that you will earn enough money from the meals and drinks you sell to be able to cover all your costs and still have enough money left over for you to live on and make a profit. Once you have done that then you need to build a forecast for the months ahead in order to make sure you have sufficient cash flow to pay the bills when things go quiet.

All marketing, be it adverts, loyalty cards and affiliate websites need to have a mechanism for measuring if you are getting good value for the money spent. This needs to be done alongside other areas such as understanding which menu items are the most profitable, which are the most popular and which seating time is the busiest for you.

The mechanical production of accounts and reports does not help unless you have the ability to interpret what is happening and to take action to remedy or maximise net income.

If you are looking for any form of bank financing to help the development of your business, then the development of a business plan will be a key ingredient. Whilst the basic outline of a business plan describes what you do and how, the guts of the document must be the financial forecasts and plans that demonstrate, to the prospective lender, that you are in control of and fully understand, your business.

You don’t need to worry about doing all of this yourself - your accountant is there to help you pull all relevant information together.

09/03/2017

Is it beneficial hiring temporary workers?

Most successful business owners in the hospitality sector know the importance of hiring and training the right employees. Yet, a common problem exists as many businesses in this sector hire the wrong people and subsequently have a high turnover rate. An incompetent staff can also irreparably damage your current and future customer base.

When you put a big emphasis on finding the right staff, you’ll reduce costs over time and enhance your customer’s experience. Pay extra attention to finding the perfect employees and don’t settle for a warm body. Once hired, train your staff properly and offer training manuals, checklists, goals and incentives to keep them involved. Make sure they are enthusiastic and motivated to pursue your goals and adhere to your restaurant’s unique concept.

This is especially the case with temporary workers who can play an important role in the hospitality sector. Temporary workers can enable your business to adjust more easily and quickly to seasonal demand.

There are several pros and cons to using temporary workers:

Pros

- Easier to handle absences – get the required number of staff when you need them.

- Maintains staff flexibility.

- Test a worker over a period and see if they fit in to your business - ‘try before you buy’.

- The cost of hiring temporary workers is often cheaper than the cost of hiring permanent employees with benefits. In the short term, it is generally more cost-efficient to hire this way.

- Can lead to a long-term positive relationship with a recruitment agency putting you in prime position when good new candidates become available.

Cons

- Every time a temp starts a new work assignment – no matter how skilled or unskilled – a certain amount of training is required. Of course, if the same temp is brought back again, this might not be required.

Morale and employee relations problems can arise when temps work alongside permanent staff, especially if the employee benefits are not the same.

- There can be legal concerns over how temporary staff are contracted related to their status and benefits.

- Reliability can be an issue but this might be a myth rather than a reality.

The same process does not work for everyone. Ultimately there is no right or wrong way to bring in the right member of staff. You have to use the process that works best for you.

17/07/2016

Whether you run a single bar with just a few staff or a chain of restaurants with hundreds of staff CostBoss provides a proven scalable model that easily schedules your staff and automatically records their timesheets within one simple dedicated application.

Concise timesheet and takings data allows you to quickly allocate service charge between your staff and then effortlessly run your payroll without having to use multiple platforms. This system also works with Tronc masters to ensure that you gain the tax advantages from structuring your service charge management correctly.

Our system continuously gathers data throughout the day via our contactless equipment integrating into all major till systems to produce easy to manage reports that provide the transparency you need to identify areas that you can improve and save money. Full permission level control ensures that the right staff see the right level of information, enabling you to delegate tasks without comprising security.

Costboss also caters for all aspects of your holiday management, staff distribution across branches and departments and manages staff records effortlessly.

Address

Athene House, 86 The Broadway
London
NW72

Opening Hours

Monday	9am - 5:30pm
Tuesday	9am - 5:30pm
Wednesday	9am - 5:30pm
Thursday	9am - 5:30pm
Friday	9am - 5:30pm

Website

http://www.costboss.co.uk/

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