Southern Proper hits their tipping point

Southern Proper Hospitality operates 20+ restaurants across the Southeast. Each concept has been wildly successful — but operationally, cash tip payouts were slowing them down. The costs of managing cash management were piling up: frequent bank runs, tedious tip distribution process, lack of visibility accounting issues — just to name a few.

The team knew cash wasn’t going to cut it — so they signed up for Kickfin shortly after Gypsy Kitchen opened its doors in Washington D.C.

“The thing about restaurants is that a lot of the workforce is made up of younger generations. They’ve grown up with technology that provides instant experiences and a high level of convenience — it’s really all they know. Kickfin is a service that’s in-line with what they need and expect: convenience, speed, safety,” 

“So, so easy.”

The SPH team doesn’t shy away from technology. They have software and systems for every aspect of their operations — from POS to invoicing to accounting to payroll.

“Kickfin stands out from the rest of the tech we’re using. This, by far, has been the easiest program to stand up and use.”

SPH explored other digital tip payment options, but none compared to the functionality and ease of use of Kickfin: no hardware, no integrations required, no predatory fees, and as they put it: “You really only need two fingers to make it work.”

Employees are (big) fans.

Cash management isn’t just an issue for managers and operators. It’s a problem for employees too — because really, no one uses cash any more.

“They’re not paying with cash — they’re doing everything digitally. So when we pay out tips with cash, they have to make their own bank runs, too. In the city, they have to take an Uber or walk to the bank and deposit their money before they can use it. It just makes so much more sense to put it in their account where it ultimately ends up anyway.”

The bottom line

By bringing Kickfin to Gyspy Kitchen, SPH transformed its old-school method of tip distribution into an efficient, automated process. They’ve eliminated their need for an every-other-day bank run, and the amount of cash on premises (and on his people) is dramatically reduced.

And — perhaps most importantly — it’s a huge value add to SPH employees.

“We’re always looking to make our workers’ jobs easier and more convenient. We’ve incorporated Kickfin into our recruiting spiel. New hires are like: Great. That’s a benefit to me.”

Meet Ken and Shane.

For years, these two hospitality pros have helped drive the success of Fabio Viviani  Hospitality. Shane, Head of Operations, and Ken, who’s launched dozens of restaurants alongside Fabio and on his own, know everything there is to know about restaurant operations.

And — as credit card transactions continued to increase in their restaurants — they knew they needed to resolve their tip payment problem, fast.

“We never had enough cash to pay out tips,” Shane said. “Our managers were constantly going to the bank and coming back with $40,000 of cash in their pockets. It’s crazy.”

Managers also were spending way too much time on the (tedious, error-prone) admin tasks that come along with cash management: counting out cash, divvying up tips, running reports.

But inefficiency wasn’t the only concern.

“Cash was a safety risk,” Ken said. “Our managers were walking around with thousands of dollars in their pockets. Servers and bartenders are leaving with a lot of cash every night after getting tipped out.”

Ken and Shane are the first to acknowledge that hospitality can be a grind. Cash was only making life harder for their team, and they knew it was time for a change.

Kickfin for the win.

When one of their partners told them about Kickfin, Ken says it was “a no-brainer.” They quickly signed up for Kickfin and stood it up across multiple locations.

“There was very little hesitation from our employees,” Ken said. “They were actually more excited than anything else. It’s become the standard.”

Ken and Shane said Kickfin has helped their team:

• Solve the “cash problem:” All of the hassle and risk that come with cash tips are eliminated with Kickfin. Cash management is streamlined — no more bank runs or tedious tip distribution, and reporting and tracking are simple. Plus: there’s less cash handling, less cash on the premises, and less cash on their people.
• Keep managers on the floor: Managers want (and need) to be on the floor engaging with guests and overseeing operations — not stuck in the office working on admin tasks, or making trips to the bank. Kickfin allows managers to do the job they were intended to do.
• Cut labor costs: With fewer admin tasks and more efficient tip payment processes, FVH has realized a cost savings with their hourly workers.
• Stay competitive with other employers: FVH employees are happy to get instant tips right where they need them — in their bank accounts. 

Chris McJunkins Hospitality had a problem.

Chris is a seasoned restaurateur who operate a number of successful concepts under his umbrella, including five Walk-On’s locations across two states as well as Cantina Laredo and Windrush Grill in Shreveport, Louisiana.

Cash had become a kink in an otherwise well-oiled machine: more credit card transactions meant less cash on hand, so managers were constantly leaving the floor and going to the bank.

Of course, that was in addition to the other cash headaches that their team had grown accustomed to, like accounting and reporting errors, liability and safety issues, and tip disputes.

An employee-approved solution.

In a tough labor market, Chris wanted to do everything he could to keep his workers safe and satisfied. So, when an employee suggested he take a look at Kickfin, he listened.

And when Chris discovered Kickfin could solve their tip-out troubles for good, he didn’t think twice.

“We’re finding that more and more employees are expecting to get paid out with Kickfin,” Chris said. “They want instant payments, of course — but until Kickfin, cash was the only way to do that.”

Chris said he’s been “beyond impressed” with the level of support that he’s received from the Kickfin team. Restaurant owners get a lot of attention from sales folks — but when a deal actually gets done, it’s always a toss-up as to whether they’ll get the ongoing support they need.

“Suffice it to say, Kickfin has exceeded our expectations when it comes to customer service,” Chris said. “Implementation was quick and easy; part of that’s due to the nature of the technology, but it’s also a testament to the customer success team.”

Chris said that his great service experience didn’t drop off after Kickfin was up and running. “Response time is typically within hours or less, and I’m always able to talk to an actual person when we have a question or request.”