Client Success Story - The Brownstone
A catering business of this magnitude sounds daunting to manage, but The Brownstone found the solution it needed with CBORD®. With the help of CBORD's EventMaster®, The Brownstone has the ability to cater an average of 3,500 events per year, which equates to nearly 300 events per month with annual sales averaging $18 million.
The Brownstone and CBORD
The Brownstone has been using CBORD's catering software for nearly 20 years. Owner Albert Manzo finds EventMaster an absolute necessity for his company's success: "There is really no part of the business that EventMaster does not influence, from the moment a customer calls to inquire about availability to the time the client pays the bill. It is used by my receptionists, valet parkers, production, sales team, chefs, baking, prep team, and the list goes on. It is an absolute necessity to run my business. I don't know how anyone runs a serious catering business without it!"
EventMaster automates many processes that prior to implementation employees had to do manually. Before EventMaster, managers had to memorize long lists of menu codes, but now the software allows them to organize their menus alphabetically, by category, name, code, and so on. A time-consuming task is now only a click away, which also eliminates redundant paperwork. EventMaster can handle more calls, more functions, and can do a lot more. It also simplifies managing multiple events set to occur on the same day at the same time! EventMaster has taken The Brownstone from pen and paper, where the volume of sales was $3 to $4 million, to now, where sales are at $18 million a year. Other benefits and features include the following:
- Easily tracks customer and event information.
- Automatically generates proposals, contracts, and other customer correspondence.
- Eliminates double bookings.
- Manages the scheduling and payment of staff.
- Automatically adjusts menu quantities when guest counts change.
- Manages and bills for third-party goods and services.
- Automates accounts receivable functions including deposits, invoicing, statements, and aging.
Expert Advice
Manzo offers advice to new EventMaster users. He advises others to take the time to implement the system correctly: "When it comes to getting it up and running, CBORD will provide implementation support. They will show you how to implement the system based on your needs."
"I really can't say enough about the implementation and support staff. The diverse backgrounds and knowledgeable CBORD staff make it a pleasure for me to work with The CBORD Group."
The Brownstone's Growth Continues
The Brownstone is currently upgrading to CBORD's EventMaster® PLUS! which integrates with Foodservice Suite® for even more advanced food production needs.
The Brownstone's upgrade includes the food production, recipe management, purchasing, and inventory modules. With these capabilities they will gain further efficiencies, including the following:
- Use of booked events to project precisely how much food and beverage they need to order.
- Ability to send orders directly from their CBORD system to their vendors.
- Capability to have purchasing data update recipe costs so they will have accurate food costs and margins for their events.
- Use of production reports to help organize staff. Production reports sort by Preparation Area and Production Shift for easy, logical sorting of tasks.
- Simplified inventory and ability to identify products that have high variances.
