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Success Stories

Southern Proper Hospitality Eliminates 4 Bank Runs A Week With Kickfin

Hospitality Group | Full-service

About the company

Southern Proper operates 23 restaurants. Concepts range from elegant southern gastropub, to Spanish tapas restaurant, to coastal seafood.

Location

Southeastern U.S. (Gyspy Kitchen located in Washington D.C.)

Number of locations

23

Service type

Full service

“We used to go to the bank 3-4 times a week, and we’d walk out with $10,000-$15,000 in cash. Now that we’re using Kickfin, I think I’ve been to the bank once in the past month. As an operator, there’s a sense of security that we no longer need to have that much cash on site.”

Managing Partner,
Southern Proper Hospitality

Key Results

  • Eliminated 3-4 bank trips a week
  • Saved managers 20-30 minutes per shift distributing tips
  • Mitigated risk by reducing volume of cash on premises
  • Strongly preferred by employees over cash/paycard tip payments

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.

“We were excited to jump on Kickfin, and it’s been a great solution for us. The technology aligns with the way things are done today, especially when you think about the younger generations who make up a lot of our workforce. It’s quicker, it’s safer, it’s user friendly.”

Managing Partner,
Southern Proper Hospitality

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