Bean There, Done That!

Turn Payments Data into Profit. Margins Don’t Lie, with Aaron Prosser

Listen Later

In this episode of Bean There Done That, Phil Di Bella sits down with Aaron Prosser (Beyond Payments) to unpack why “gut feel” isn’t enough anymore — especially with café margins hovering around the 3–4% mark. They explore how linking payments + POS data can sharpen staffing, improve cash flow, optimise menus, and build loyalty that actually sticks.

  • “Complacency is not a strategy. Complacency is your strategy for death.” — Phil Di Bella

  • “Increasing your margin by one to two per cent… that’s huge. It’s like an owner’s salary.” — Aaron Prosser

  • “If you don’t take action, nothing happens. If you don’t change, nothing changes.” — Phil Di Bella

    Key topics & themes

    • Data → analysis → strategy → execution as the survival loop for modern hospitality

    • Why linking payments data with item-level POS data is where the “magic” happens

    • Customer profiles and tokenisation: knowing repeat visits and spend without re-asking every time

    • Menu engineering + inventory insights to protect margin and reduce waste

    • Labour as the biggest lever: rostering against real-time sales (and avoiding compliance traps)

    • Cash flow pressures (including Payday Super from 1 July 2026) and why settlement speed matters

    • The future: face + palm payments entering the Clover ecosystem via Wink

      Practical takeaways (you can apply this week)

      • Link payments + POS so you can see repeat visits, average spend, and what actually sells (not what you think sells).

      • Watch labour in real time: sales vs wages is the lever with the most movement — and it’s measurable. (Droppah integrates with Clover and is free up to 10 employees.)

      • Engineer the menu with margin + velocity: keep high-margin items visible, scrap low-margin/low-sales time-wasters, and build smart bundles. (Inventory tools like Restoke focus on live costing + integrations.)

      • Protect cash flow: faster settlement and offline payments reduce the “one outage = one bad day” risk.

      • Prepare for Payday Super (if you’re not already paying super more frequently): it’s scheduled to start 1 July 2026.

        Links & resources mentioned
        • Beyond Payments: https://beyondpayments.com.au/
        • Aaron Prosser (LinkedIn): https://au.linkedin.com/in/aaron-prosser-873b32209
        • Clover POS (Australia): https://www.clover.com/au/
        • Fiserv (Clover parent company info): https://www.fiserv.com/en-nl/who-we-serve/clover.html
        • Wink × Clover biometric payments (press release): https://investors.fiserv.com/news-releases/news-release-details/clover-introduces-identity-based-payments-transform-everyday
        • Droppah × Clover integration (free up to 10 employees): https://www.droppah.com/au/integrations/clover
        • Loyalzoo: https://loyalzoo.com/
        • Restoke: https://www.restoke.ai/
        • ATO Payday Super: https://www.ato.gov.au/about-ato/new-legislation/in-detail/superannuation/payday-superannuation
        • Fair Work Payday Super update: https://www.fairwork.gov.au/newsroom/news/payday-super-new-rules-starting-1-july-2026
        • Fair Work Ombudsman (MADE Establishment case): https://www.fairwork.gov.au/newsroom/media-releases/2019-media-releases/july-2019/20190718-made-establishment-eu-media-release
        • The Coffee Commune: https://www.coffeecommune.com.au/about-us/

          • If you’re running a café (or any transaction-based business), this episode is a blueprint for getting back control: know your numbers, fix the leaks, and buy yourself time back on the floor.

          Listen to Bean There Done That on your favourite podcast app

          Produced by The Podcast Boss https://thepodcastboss.com/

           

           

          ...more
          View all episodesView all episodes
          Download on the App Store
          Bean There, Done That!By The Coffee Commune