The guest ale button
Your pumps change every week. A new guest ale goes on at six on Friday. It is not on the till, because adding a product to the EPOS means logging into the back office, creating the item, setting pint, half and third prices, choosing the right department and adding it to the right screen. Nobody has done it yet.
So staff use the guest ale button, which has one price for all guests, even though this one is stronger and cost more. Some staff use the button for the previous guest, which is still on the screen. At the end of the week the till says you sold a lot of a beer that ran out on Wednesday and none of the one you actually poured.
Why the till lags behind the bar
EPOS systems are set up for a stable product list, with changes made in a back office that only the manager uses. Guest ales turn that assumption over: new products every week, each with its own cost, strength and price. The back office job is small each time but constant, and it happens at the same moment the cask needs to go on.
Pricing is also a judgement made in a hurry. Without a quick way to see what the cask cost per pint, prices get set by feel, and a pricier guest can end up earning less than your house bitter.
There is also a timing mismatch. The cask arrives days before it goes on, which is plenty of time to set up the till, but nothing prompts anyone to do it until the pump clip is on the bar and a customer is waiting.
What a lagging till costs
| Shortcut | Effect |
|---|---|
| Generic guest button | Strong or expensive guests sold at the wrong price |
| Previous guest's button used | Sales recorded against the wrong beer |
| Prices set by feel | Margin on guests varies week to week |
| Old guests left on the till screen | Cluttered screens and wrong presses |
| Sales not matched to products | Stock results and cask sales history unreliable |
Guest ales are often what make a pub worth visiting for cask drinkers. They should be one of the best-run parts of the bar, not the part where the till gives up.
Till lines created from the delivery
- When a guest cask is recorded on delivery, its details come across: beer, brewery, strength, cask size and cost from the invoice or order.
- A suggested price for a pint, half and third is worked out from cost per pint and a margin rule you set, rounded the way you like to price, with bands for stronger or premium beers if you want them.
- You see the suggestion on your phone and approve or change it.
- The product is created in your EPOS through its interface or import feature, in the right department and on a guest ale screen, ready for when the cask goes on.
- When the cask comes off, the product is removed from the till screen, but its sales history is kept.
- Sales by guest beer then feed your cask rotation records and your stock figures.
What can be automated depends on your EPOS. Some systems accept new products from outside, some only by import file, and a few not at all. We check yours and tell you what is realistic.
Friday at six, with a new guest
The cask was delivered on Tuesday. You approved the suggested price on Wednesday. By Friday, the guest is on the till screen with its own buttons for a pint, half and third. Staff ring it through correctly. When it finishes, it drops off the screen and the next guest takes its place. Your sales report shows each guest separately with its margin.
- New guest beers on the till before they go on the bar
- Prices worked out from cost and your margin rule
- Old guests cleared from the till screen
- Sales history for every guest beer
Is your till behind the bar?
- Guest ales are rung through on a generic button.
- Guest prices are set by feel.
- Your till screen has buttons for beers that finished weeks ago.
- Sales reports do not show which guests sold well.
- Only the manager can add products to the EPOS.