Broadway Hospitality Group Solves for Covid Challenges with Kickfin

Meet Stephen.

Stephen DeSousa is the CEO of Broadway Hospitality Group, a South Boston-based management company that owns and operates the popular Broadway, The Derby, Tavitas and Tavern in the Square restaurants. These eateries are known for their cool, casual and feel-good vibes — a welcoming place for patrons to have fun, hang out, and enjoy great food and drinks.

Before the pandemic, Stephen was handling tips the traditional way: paying out cash on a daily basis. And it wasn’t ideal. Stephen managed $60,000 to $70,000 in cash each week from his home office. He worried about the liability of his employees going back and forth from the bank with all of that cash, and he was constantly coming up negative in the safe count.

Covid brings new tip-out challenges

When the pandemic arrived, BHG acted fast: they immediately ordered thousands of dollars of plexiglass, which helped them maintain 85% of their inside seating. They also created temporary patio space for outdoor seating.

But Stephen knew they needed to do more.

“Our state was in the top three affected by Covid at the beginning, so we had to minimize cash handling due to the germs,” Stephen said. “A lot of restaurants around here are tipping out on payroll, but I didn’t want to come out of the pandemic and struggle with hiring people back. There was already fear of getting sick. To tell employees they’re going to get their tips on payroll every two weeks — that would make everything worse.”

Even waiting a few days for tips seemed problematic during the pandemic. In normal times, employees might leave before managers had time to distribute tips, so it could be two to three days before they got their earnings.

Obviously, that’s not ideal — but with the economic uncertainty that came along with Covid, Stephen wanted a way to instantly tip out every employee, immediately after they clocked out.

Broadway Hospitality Group Gets Kickfin

Stephen says Kickfin solved every tip-out challenge they were dealing with — both during and pre-Covid — and it’s had a huge impact on his company’s operations:

• Instant employee payments: Employees get tipped out directly to their bank accounts, right when their shift ends, so they never have to wait for their earnings.
• Minimal cash handling: Fewer bank (and home office) runs, less room for human error and theft, and no more tip disputes. “With the level of Kickfin’s reporting, there’s complete verification of what the employees are getting, so everything is transparent,” Stephen said.
• Implementation in no time: Setup for all restaurants and employees was easy. Stephen says Kickfin handled most of the technical details, and everyone was up and running within two or three days.

Stephen has made Kickfin a part of his company culture, even incorporating it into his employee handbook and using it as a recruiting tool. And he’s already recommended it to a few of his peers.