The adoption of new technology in the hospitality industry has been mixed with some operators embracing tech and others in avoidance mode. However Covid-19 has forced many to look at new ways to cope with challenges and Australian owned tech firm, Abacus.co has been there to assist in navigating the journey. This long term Fine Food Exhibitor has been on a journey of its own and is looking forward to major launches in 2022.

Abacus.co is an Australian owned point of sale provider specialising in hospitality with a formidable customer base ranging from single cafes, to large groups including Roll’d and major players such as The Grounds of Alexandra. The Abacus.co team is passionate about assisting hospitality businesses to leverage the opportunities offered by technology and achieve major gains in productivity, streamline operations and ultimately, gain greater profitability.

The effects of Covid have obviously impacted the business, but fortunately the team have taken time to refocus and will enter 2022 in an excellent position. CEO, Peter Ling, said it’s been difficult to see the industry struggle over the past 18 months.

“Being so close to hospitality – if our customers suffer we feel the impact,” said Peter. “Our reason for being in business is to see our customers succeed and thrive so if restaurants stop opening, or lose capacity, it’s very difficult for us to do what we do best,” he said.

Abacus.co is well known as a Fine Food Exhibitor who always has something new to exhibit. The company’s rapid innovation has been a hallmark of its presence at the show and next year will be no different. In fact, the long months of adapting to Covid conditions have created fertile ground for new ideas at Abacus.

“Because we are so versatile we are able to offer various systems that assist in changing conditions,” said Peter. “We don’t rely on POS platforms alone, even though we are best known for these systems. One of our main contributions during Covid was supplying direct online ordering for restaurants which avoid hefty commissions from third party delivery partners,” he said.

With Australia gradually moving into “Covid-Normal” the company is assisting owners to face new challenges.

“The main issue at the moment for owners is a lack of staff,” said Peter. “Owners and managers need to find solutions to serve a large customer base eager to get back to dining in a labour environment where there’s scarcity in all staff from chefs to wait staff,” he said.

Abacus is currently very busy assisting restaurants implement technology systems that provide a work-around for lack of staff including online ordering and at table ordering. A popular solution at present is a hybrid system which allows customers to order at the table but then pay at the counter. This way staff save time, but also have the ability to up-sell and maintain personal service levels.

The in-house development team is constantly innovating, and the company’s latest brain child is a contactless kiosk.

“Kiosks have represented a huge number of enquiries during Covid and we have seen some customers move from a single kiosk to multiple units – one customer has installed five kiosks to cater for their 24 hour trade,” said Peter.

“The challenge for our developers was to find a way to make kiosks contactless to avoid the regular sanitisation that’s associated with individuals constantly touching screens. We will be very excited to show our hovering technology at 2022 Fine Food and show the industry this trail-blazing Aussie tech,” he said.

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See Abacus and discover their range of products at Fine Food Sydney from 8-11 March 2022. Register now!

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