5 Things Restaurants Need to Do Attract Top Employees

Posted on May 20, 2015 by

Tips to Attract Top Talent to your Restaurant

Image by themuse.com

Drawing from my past stint working as a waitress back in 2013 in NYC, I have learned that in the service or restaurant business, not everyone works just for the money. Indeed money is one of the key motivators, but people are looking for so much more.

Thankfully, the owner of the restaurant I worked at paid attention to his employees in order to keep us happy and working at his restaurant. Hiring the right talent isn’t easy (not everybody is good at service based roles) and retaining the finest employees is even harder.

What can make it even more frustrating is the fact that the restaurant business has one of the highest turn over rates in the private sector- at 66.3% by 2014.

In this article, you will find tips for making your restaurant more appealing to better employees.

To attract the A-players to come work for you, you will need:

A Clear Path to Advancement
It’s important to remember that people are not working for you only because of the money. Most times it is much more than that. Employees want to know if there is a clear path to advancement in your restaurant. Whether it is moving up to a management position or to the next better paying position on the line, they want to know that the job rewards them based on growth and merit, not who they have to suck up to.
The Work Itself
It pays to be at a job that rewards and makes people happy. A great employee culture makes a great first impression where potential employees will think “Wow, what a great place to work in!”. It shows that you care about your employees and treat them like family. It also let’s your customers know that you run a quality restaurant with staff proudly working with you.
Offer a Fair Salary Package.
Restaurant owners should offer a competitive salary package to the employees. Keep in mind that while it does not have to be the highest, it definitely should not be at the bottom.
Well-trained management/ leadership team
Have great team leader or managers. Take the time to teach them to value each employee and guide them to succeed at their jobs. Great leaders also motivate your employees and create loyalty. When people know that your establishment has a superb leadership team and the ideal working environment, people will be waiting in line to come work for you.
Recognition and Take Care of Your Current Employees
It is good to feature your employees on your restaurant website and social media platforms. Focusing on your staff creates a positive environment, where they are happy to be at work. Giving praise for good work is also a good motivator. Sharing this information with the public will let potential employees know that you value good work.

Did you find this blog post useful? Give your comments below.

Find out how PayrollHero can create a great work place culture for your restaurant. We are happy to setup a time to speak further.

iPad Stands: Upgrading your IT infrastructure

Posted on May 20, 2015 by Pragya Gupta

As a tech company, we can’t help but be biased towards cool gadgets and handy apps to boost your productivity. I mean, who even uses paper to take orders at a restaurant anymore?! As a college going kid, I don’t remember the last time I split a bill with a friend using cash. There’s DBS PayLah! for things like that. Paper money?! No way.

You’ve heard it a billion times before: ramping up your IT infrastructure is imperative to taking your business to the next level. Which is why I think this post is essential among our daily PayrollHero blog bites. We won’t be talking about the obvious benefits of revamping your POS systems. What we want to talk about are supporting systems that enable you to do it while looking cool and classy, all at the same time.

The iPad stands for your POS systems require special designing, based on your customers’ ergonomic needs. The most beautiful designs are simple, customizable in order to attach a card reader and focus on the function taking place between the customer and the iPad. The iPad stand can be used for the following:

Restaurants: For customers to reserve tables and order from the menu while waiting in line for tables.

Retail: To facilitate the POS function of iPads. The stand also can be used at strategic locations to encourage customers to participate in promotions or to give more information about a certain product.

Hotels: For self-check in and check out procedures at the door.

heckler design ipad stand for restaurants Let’s go deeper into the designs that suit the above functionalities. Heckler Design’s WindFall Stand is perfect for retailers. With the minimalist design, the stand is sleek and manages to hide all those cumbersome wires, giving a classy and professional look. Depending on the functionality, the WindFall designs include long kiosk stands or frames that can be attached to the wall.

Armodilo_DTC Armodilo is an award winning company that manufactures iPad stands. The designs are simple and smart. They are versatile and can be used for a wide range of functions. The most interesting design is Armadilo’s Sphere. The stand is attached to a desktop surface and can swivel 90 degrees with an optional rotational base. The stand gives a quirky and fun element to the atmosphere, making it a great design for café’s and casual dining locations.

The Square line of iPad stands is clean and the most cost effective. While the customizable features of the stands are limited, the Square design has an inbuilt card reader. It is perfect for users that have already implemented the Square POS software.

The market for iPad stands is relatively new. As the market grows, the functionality of these stands will also expand, making the stand an indispensable part of daily business operations.

Our Top 5 Singapore Food Bloggers

Posted on May 19, 2015 by Pragya Gupta

pablo

Singaporeans are proud of the food scene in the city. And rightly so. With an array of vibrant and diverse options, Singapore blends Asian with Western flavours and goes beyond conventional rules of any cuisine. For restauranteurs without a well-known name on the sign board, it can be difficult to establish themselves as a unique option for customers.

The tech savvy culture in Singapore can be used as a tool for just that. Singaporeans trust food bloggers for their culinary adventures. There are plenty of accredited bloggers out there but we have got some solid advice on whom to follow. Subscribing to these bloggers will help you understand the Singapore culinary environment better so that you can position your restaurant and attract the right customers.

The bloggers mentioned here are in no particular order. We have picked these based on top hits on Google and based on what other bloggers say about them.

LadyIronChef: Personally, this blog has never failed me. LadyIronChef gets it right with its ‘Best Of…’ lists that give you many options for your particular craving: be it a casual Sunday brunch or a late night ice-cream indulgence. As a restauranteur, this is the perfect place to see what other restaurants in your cuisine are doing differently and how they are performing. This blog also gets the highest number of views.
ishootieatipost: This is an award winning blog about Singapore food. From hawker stalls to gourmet dining, this blog has it all. The unique feature in this blog is that you can find featured restaurants based on location. Dr. Leslie Tay, founder of ieatishootipost, has been writing this blog for nearly a decade now and is influential in critiquing food in Singapore. The stunning shots of the dishes taken by Dr. Tay add to the appeal of this blog.
Six&Seven: This blog leans towards fine dining. With a great interface and beautiful pictures, this is a site you want to be featured in if you are trying to get noticed as a restaurant that believes in art just as much as flavour.
DanielFoodDiary: This blog ranks second in terms of number of views per month which makes it a trusted site among foodies. This site is not restricted by fine dining or hawker stalls. It has a wide range of posts about every cuisine available in Singapore. DanielFoodDiary is a great resource for research on food in Singapore because of the sheer wealth of information on the site.
MissTamChiak: This site is very popular for the personal stories told by the blogger: Miss Maureen. It makes for a great read and is highly rated in terms of traffic. The blog explores all aspects of food. It has recipes and lessons on food photography, along with reviews on largely Asian cuisines.

Hope this helps!

Singapore Payroll Software | Video

Posted on May 17, 2015 by Stephen Jagger

Our newest video for Singapore Restaurants and Retailer’s looking to learn more about our time, attendance, roster and payroll platform. What do you think the video? Let us know in the comments below. (PayrollHero.sg)
(30 seconds)

PayrollHero Singapore:

– PayrollHero is eligible for Singapore’s Spring Innovation & Capability Voucher (ICV) – Integrated Solutions (IS) (more details)

– Check out our Singapore specific website at PayrollHero.sg

Singapore Corporate Taxes101

Posted on May 15, 2015 by Pragya Gupta

Singapore Corporate Taxes101 Filing taxes can be a daunting task. Figuring out deductions and what your company is exempted from is complicated enough before you realise that it’s a new financial year, the rules have changed, and now you’re not under the same tax exemptions anymore. We looked around the interwebs for a while and we were stumped. So we decided this problem needs to be fixed.

Over the years, the Singapore government has tried to make the country a tax friendly one for corporates. With a bunch of nifty exemptions, retailers, restauranteurs and growing businesses can breathe a sigh of relief. The government’s got your back. Let’s get down to some important pointers for you to file taxes for your company.

Important Facts:

Rate: The current corporate tax rate is 17%.
Dates:
- Within 3 months of the company’s financial year end, the Estimated Chargeable Income document must be filed and submitted
- Every year in April, the IRAS sends Forms C-S or Form C filing package.
- 30 November: The Paper version of the Corporate Income Tax Form (Forms C-S or Form C) must be submitted. 15 December: The e-File Form of the same document must be submitted. Either the paper or the electronic version must be submitted.
- FormIR8A, which is a statement of an employee’s remuneration, must be issued for each employee by 1 March of every year.
- Your company needs to keep records of transactions for a minimum of 5 years. They must be submitted to IRAS upon request.
Use mytax.iras.gov.sg to file your company’s taxes, check or post objections to your tax assessment and apply for exemptions.
Taxes can be paid via internet banking, SAM, AXS station, Cash/NETS or GIRO.

Estimated Chargeable Income: Are you exempted?

The ECI is used to estimate your company’s taxable income. The IRAS notifies you before your ECI file is due. However, as a tax break, if your ECI is zero or your annual revenue is $1 million or less, then you do not have to submit the ECI, even if you have received a notification for it.

The ECI can be filed at mytax.iras.gov.sg. The government will then notify you on the exact tax amount which you have to pay within a month of the notice.

Corporate Income Tax Form

This is the big one. Here is where you declare your actual income in the financial year. It needs to be filed regardless of what your income looks like. There are two types: Form C-S and Form C. For a company with revenue not more than $1 million, Form C-S must be filed.

Exemptions

This is the part we have all been waiting for. With these exemptions, the government makes it easier on a start-up’s cashflows for a few years at least. Go through it because there is some good news for retailers as well.

Tax Exemptions for Start-ups: Start-up companies enjoy 100% tax exemption for the first $100,000 of chargeable income for 3 years. Another 50% exemption can be exercised on the next $200,000 which effectively means the tax rate is 8.5%.

Partial Tax Exemption: From the fourth year onwards, start-ups can exercise the Partial Tax Exemption. Here, 75% of the first $10,000 is exempted and another 50% on the next $290,000 is exempted.

Expenses before starting your business: The government also exempts taxes on expenses incurred the year before your company’s financial year in which you start your business. For example, if you financial year starts in Jan 1 2014 and your first earnings were on June 1 2014, then you will be exempted on paying taxes for expenses incurred between Jan 1 2013 and Dec 31 2013.

Capital Allowances: This one is great for retailers. You are given a capital allowance on fixed assets like electrical equipment, furniture and other fixtures for you company. This is in place of depreciation which is non-deductible.

E-Commerce

Retailers that create income through e-commerce websites have a set of rules that they need to follow. For a franchisee or a branch in Singapore with a franchisor based in a foreign country, the income generated by a website is not liable to taxation in Singapore. This is true even is the company’s customers are in Singapore or not. Check the links below for more details on taxation on e-commerce-centred business.

We hope this was helpful to you! We have put in some great links with guides to fill up your corporate tax forms. Do comment or drop in your email for more handy information!

Basic Corporate Tax Calculator: https://www.iras.gov.sg/irashome/page.aspx?id=6784

Disclaimer: As always, consult your lawyer or accountant for advice! We are here to help, but your specific situation should be reviewed by a professional with complete knowledge of your situation.

3 Dissatisfactions With Traditional Retail Punch Clock Systems

Posted on May 4, 2015 by

Getting Ridiculously Client Focused!

As part of getting to know PayrollHero and our clients we decided that it was time for me get out of the office and do some “hallway testing” with Singapore retailers. At PayrollHero the team is constantly talking about “getting out of the office”, “hallway testing” and “being ridiculously client focused”. Today, it was my turn.

Getting to know our customer segment in Singapore is important as we continue to get our product out there. We want to know what these retail businesses do for time, attendance, scheduling and payroll. And we really want to get to the bottom of the pains store managers have with their current system.

I set out to speak to outlet or store managers of F&B businesses around the Ocean Financial Center @ Raffles Place.

A lot of Pain!

Indeed! My conversations revealed that out of 6 outlet managers I spoke with today, all of them mentioned dissatisfaction with their current time clock systems for time and attendance.

Here’s why:

The Biometric System (Thumbprint Scanners)

Using this system to clock in and out at the workplace seem to be the most common with majority (4 of 6) of the outlet managers I spoke with today. They revealed that they have been using the biometric systems for employees clocking in and out at work, and are not happy about it. A manager at a salad outlet says that it is an ‘imperfect system’ because the system itself is inaccurate. This comment is also shared with a manager of a bakery chain; who complained that the system sometimes don’t read the thumbprint accurately and records the time down for the wrong employee.Frustrating? Yes! The same outlet manager adds on saying that at times system reads as ‘absent’ as the employee clocks in.
The Punch Card Machine
The major problem one manager at a sushi outlet has with the attendance system is that the punch machine always broken down. In the days it takes for the machine to get fixed, he has to make time to manually clocking in and out his workers on an excel spreadsheet.Security is another concern with punch card machines. The time sheets are collected, then sent to the HR department for payroll processing via post or using a delivery person. What happens if the mail goes missing? All the data on the time sheets is not backed up on a system.
Point-of-Sale (POS) System
This POS system gives employees a 4-digit code to use over the register to clock in and out of work. So what’s the issue? Well, for an outlet manager of a smoothie chain store here at Raffles Place, she is unhappy that she has to do double work – where she will manually keys in the clock in and out data of each employee again on a different system at the end of each week for payroll.She hopes she has a system that connects the time and attendance with payroll to save time!

The Take- Away

This test has revealed to me that plenty of time can be saved if redundancies and “double-work” for the purpose of verification are eliminated. Managers are delighted to work more productively if they had a system that could shorten the process for time and attendance at the outlet and worry less about payroll.

Want to learn more about PayrollHero?

Check out our Singapore Payroll Software website or attend our next event on May 14th 2015.

Restaurant News Recap

Posted on May 1, 2015 by Stephen Jagger

A quick recap of restaurant news from around the world. See anything interesting that we missed? Let us know in the comments below.

Wendy’s fast food chain believed to have shut down all outlets in Singapore (source)

Chipotle is going to stop using GMOs in its food (Source)

The American chain Applebee’s is coming to the Philippines (Source)

McDonald’s is apparently planning to close hundreds of stores (Source)

And of course, if you are looking for restaurant recommendations from the PayrollHero team within walking distance of our offices… Here is where we suggest for Fort Bonifacio, Philippines, Singapore and Whistler, Canada.

Draft Gastropub Philippines Launches PayrollHero

Posted on April 10, 2015 by Stephen Jagger

PayrollHero continues to grow. We are expanding rapidly in the Philippines, have soft launched into Singapore with our official launch only days way and are prepping for our next country.

It is exciting to announce that the FeastBev Group has joined PayrollHero. FeastBev includes the Draft Gastropubs, Black Olive Restaurant, Imperial Ice Bar, The Distillery, Beso and others.
draft pub philippines PayrollHero’s time, attendance, scheduling, HRIS, Philippine payroll and business intelligence platform helps restaurant owners manage their multi-location businesses. Not only does our platform reduce payroll processing time, but it is engaging for the employees, streamlines communication and helps bring transparency to the workplace.

(image from www.asia-bars.com)

Are you interested in learning more about how PayrollHero can help your restaurant, retail, bpo, office or business? Reach out and one of our team would be pleased to speak further.

Attention Singapore Restaurants | Singapore Payroll Software

Posted on March 27, 2015 by Stephen Jagger

Our next event is coming up. On April 14th at 1:30pm we are holding a free event in our Singapore office for restaurant owners and managers who want to learn more about how PayrollHero works within the restaurant industry.

Come learn about PayrollHero’s time, attendance, scheduling, HRIS, business intelligence and Singapore payroll platform and how it can work within your restaurant.

This free event is a perfect way to learn more about PayrollHero and see if there is a fit for your business!

Plus, PayrollHero qualifies for Spring’s Innovation & Capability Voucher (ICV) – Integrated Solutions (IS) – fill in your information here to see if your qualified.

Why should you attend?

1. Learn how PayrollHero’s time/attendance platform eliminates fraud
2. See the platform in action
3. Learn why Krispy Kreme, The Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf and others use PayrollHero
4. Get your questions answered
5. Understand the costs of not having a proper platform in place
6. Plus much more…

Singapore Payroll Software by PayrollHero

Here is what Earl Chua has to say about PayrollHero for his restaurant chain:

8 Restaurant Recommendations in Singapore

Posted on February 19, 2015 by Stephen Jagger

unnamed-1 Since opening our office in Singapore we have had a couple requests about the best places to eat in Singapore. While we are still newbies, but we do have a few spots that we really like.

Here are our (current) 10 top restaurants to visit in Singapore; (in no particular order)

1. Ramen in Singapore is top notch, our team likes all branches of Keisuke but are partial to Tori King.

2. The Study with it’s hidden Library next door. To get into the Library, you need a password. Makes for a really fun night and the whole wall separating the two gets rolled back in the middle of the evening to everyones surprise. (well, not yours cause your reading this)

3. Our engineers like Bah Kut Teh. Tiong Bahru has a few spots that are tasty.

4. Hawkers: Golden Shoe in the CBD. Check our Golden Nur (their egg prata is awesome for breakfast and the chicken briyani for lunch is great). tip: go at 11:30am to avoid big lines.5. Hawkers: Lau Pa Sat in the CBD. Almost everything is awesome. But at 7:00pm they close one of the streets and the skewer vendors come out in full force. tip: tiger beer and chicken skewers are a solid combo.

6. PS Cafe in Tiong Bahru is great. Reasonable (for Singapore) priced wines and great pizzas.

7. Level 33 for drinks is an amazing view. Worth the cost for visitors to get a great perspective of Singapore. (see picture above, taken from their patio)

8. Fresh Fruit from the Arcade next to the Ocean Financial Centre is a great find. Pick whatever fruit you want, they cut it up and serve it in a bag with a skewer. Quick, healthy snacks.

There you have it, check them out, let us know what you think. After a few more months I’m sure we will have found some more great places to eat. Singapore food is amazing! So much variety. Best tip we can give you… try the hawkers, they are awesome, cost effective and fun.

Bonus Points: A Singapore coffee, a Kopi, is great. Tastes more like a mocha and has been described by some of our team as a drink that makes them “bananas”.

If you are ever in Fort Bonifacio, Philippines and looking for a place to eat, check out our restaurant list for there. Some great spots as well.