Marketing your Restaurant in Singapore

Posted on January 22, 2016 by Pragya Gupta

pablo (26) Singapore is a fairly saturated market when it comes to the restaurant industry. With high turnover of employees and ever increasing rates for rental space, there are a lot of things that restaurant owners need to worry about. We think that getting your restaurant’s name out to the masses should not be one of them. We’ve got you some easy tips to throw your restaurant into the limelight in Singapore.

Social Media is Everything

If you haven’t figured that out by now, you should get on that ASAP (right after you read this, of course). Singapore loves its apps – social media tops the list on go-to apps. While many restaurants are available on social media platforms, they make the mistake of “simply existing” on Facebook instead of actually creating a social media footprint. It is not enough to sign up to Twitter, follow a bunch of celebrities and change passwords every once in a while. You would rather be proactive and take charge of your restaurant’s image than let the masses do it for you when they realize you are not responding to them, right? For example, Changi Airport is a social media rock star. Their Facebook page is super interactive; Changi responds directly with any customer who writes a good or bad review on their page. Their most recent Star Wars campaign was hugely successful partly because of how well they marketed it on Facebook and other social media channels.

Campaigning on Instagram

There are a number of ways you can expand your social media footprint. For restaurants, there are some obvious channels that can give you bang for buck. For example, apps like Instagram and Pinterest suit restaurants very well because pictures tease the visual senses of your viewers. Trust me, nothing is more powerful than a chocolate lava cake on Instagram. You can have an Instagram campaign with your very own hashtag so you can track your popularity better.

Loyalty Apps

Singapore loves discounts (who doesn’t, really). Loyalty apps – number 2 on Singapore’s favourite type of apps – allow you to get rid of loyalty cards and offer promotions directly through the app. All you need is an iPad to display the QR code for your customers to scan. Your promotions get featured on the app and are sure to increase foot traffic in your restaurant.

Partnerships with companies that deliver food

Instead of allocating resources towards home delivery, you can outsource that to one of the many food delivery companies in Singapore. This has two benefits: Firstly you do not need to worry about the myriad of responsibilities that come with maintaining the resources for delivering food: vehicles, manpower, operating costs, etc. Your food delivery company will take care of it. Secondly, and this is more relevant to bringing your company some recognition, these companies feature you on their website or app. You will be reaching out to a customer base that is beyond your delivery radius with minimal effort.

Sponsorship with universities

This one is for restaurants that are around universities, colleges and schools and want to attract the young crowd. Many restaurants team up with organisations in school to provide welfare drives to students during exams. The concept is to give a little before you receive a lot. Students are always looking for new places to eat around their universities. They are also the most reliable demographic when it comes to word of mouth. Once a student finds a reasonably priced, good place to eat, you can be sure she will bring a whole team of hungry customers the next time around. All it takes is to sponsor a welfare drive and provide some free goodies or meals to students. The returns are guaranteed.

Finally, all these ideas work together in a market that is as tech loving as Singapore. Collaborating and reaching out through apps is definitely the way to go. We hope these ideas help you find your place in Singapore! Let us know about any new ideas that have worked for you!

How to Grow Your Business in 2016 with Social Media Marketing

Posted on January 15, 2016 by Nix Eniego

Growing your business in 2016 won’t be a walk in the park. After all, more and more businesses are popping out literally every second. Make that 3 startups born every second!

Competition will surely be stiffer this year. You’re going to have to exert a lot more effort just to get noticed by potential customers.

It’s going to be an uphill climb just to increase foot traffic to your restaurant. After all, what’s stopping your target customer from checking out your competitor’s profile on Zomato (for restaurants) and choosing them instead?

But today, we’ll do our best to help you learn how you can beat out your competition and drive more sales with ZERO marketing budget.

Yes, you read that right! We’ll be teaching you tips and tricks to boost your sales this 2016 without having to spend a dime on ads.

Let’s begin!

Social Media Marketing

What You Need:

Facebook, Instagram, Twitter Account
Time
Canva account (it’s free!)

How it Works:

Assuming you already have an account on these social media platforms, (if not, go ahead and make one now!), the first thing you have to do is optimize your profile.

Fill in the important details such as company info, a short bio, Operating Hours (for Facebook), and a link to your website.

Here’s a look at well-optimized Social Media pages of restaurants in the Philippines:

Niner Ichi Nana’s Facebook page has everything filled up right: Profile Picture, Cover Photo, Contact Number, and official website.

Consumers nowadays want to know EVERYTHING about what you offer before they buy, so it’s best to have a link to your website so your potential customer can view your menu beforehand and get a better feel of what you have to offer.

It also helps that they know your operating hours and contact details.

Here’s a look at Chili’s Philippines Instagram Account:

Nice looking posts, and as you can see up top, they have a link back to their website.

On Instagram, the Bio / Profile Description is the only place where you can place a link, so it’s a must to have a link back to your website in that section.

Once you’ve fixed up your Social Media Accounts, you can now post updates, and engage with your followers.

It doesn’t matter if you have 30 followers or 30,000; answering questions and providing valuable updates to your followers will go a long way.

Make sure you are posting good quality content on your Social Media pages. Invest on creating nice visuals as it has been proven that posts with images convert higher on Social Media than ones without. Humans are naturally visual creatures, so take advantage of that.

But of course, we did tell you at the start of this post that this guide will allow you to grow your business in 2016 without having to spend. Yet producing great social media posts with nice visuals will require hiring a Graphic Designer…

Not quite!

Thanks to Canva, you don’t need elite photoshop skills or a Graphic Designer on your payroll to produce high quality and visually appealing images.

Canva in action.

As you can see in the image above, there are lots of free templates to choose from. You can also upload your own image, and add your own caption with tons of fonts to choose from.

Here’s me adding a caption to an image I uploaded. It’s simple and easy, you can do it in less than 5 minutes!

And the best part is that all of that is 100% FREE. Canva does offer a paid business version if you want to take things up a notch, so do check out their website for more details.

Now that you have your Social Media Accounts ready, and an awesome tool to do your visuals, now what?

Next step would be to post consistently, and keep growing your following. A good way to do this is to cross-promote your other Social Media profiles.

Here’s how Philippine fashion retail giant Penshoppe does it:

On Facebook:

and Twitter:

The brand is consistently cross-promoting their Social Media profiles which allows them to target and market to different kind of consumers. Do the same and you will be able to grow your fanbase faster.

Pro-Tip: Eventually, as you continue to post, you’ll be able to see when your customers are most active on Social Media. By using Facebook and Twitter’s in-house analytics system and your own experiments and tests, you’ll be able to maximize the reach of your posts even without spending on Social Media ads!

What’s the ROI?

So what’s the ROI of Social Media Marketing?

While there’s no concrete answer to that, it’s not a secret that consumers love to do background checks before they even spend a single peso on your product.

This means that interested customers will be checking your website, Facebook, Instagram, and maybe even your Twitter account. And whatever impression they get from your online presence will dictate whether they want to buy from you.

So you may not be able to circle in a concrete number in terms of ROI, but social media marketing is crucial to growing your business.

You can literally gain customers or lose them just because of your online / social media presence.

By taking these important measures, you can grow your restaurant or retail business in the Philippines this 2016 easily. Now start opening your accounts and get to work! 🙂

P.S. Watch out for our upcoming post on how you can use Zomato to market and drive customers to your restaurant in the Philippines.

Top 5 Dim Sum Restaurants in Singapore

Posted on January 12, 2016 by Pragya Gupta

We love our dim sums and just can’t get enough of it. There are plenty of dim sum restaurants in Singapore – ranging from the hawker center style setting, to the Michelin star outlet.

In this post we bring to you, in no particular order, our Top 5 Dim Sum Choices in Singapore:

Tim Ho Wan

(Credits to www.ladyironchef.com for the photo)

This Hong Kong based franchise’s char siew buns (BBQ pork buns) are to die for. While technically the original Hong Kong outlet was awarded a Michelin star, the Singaporean outlets live up to the name, as proved by the long waiting lines during lunch and dinner.

Perhaps the most affordable Michelin star restaurant chain, Tim Ho Wan serves a limited menu that covers the must-try dishes that any dim sum restaurant should have.

Pro-tip: For a quick and delicious THW experience, you could take-away the char siew buns for $4.50 for three pieces. Some BBQ pork buns while watching TV on your new Netflix account? Couldn’t ask for more….

Victor’s Kitchen

From the Michelin star restaurant to the hawker styled superstar: Victor’s Kitchen has featured in newspapers for years as one of Singapore’s best dim sum restaurants. The little restaurant is tucked away in Sunshine Plaza on Bencoolen Street but the waiting time during lunch hours can go up to an hour long.

Perhaps the best time to visit this place is around 3pm. The golden salted egg yolk lava bun wins hands down as the best dish on the menu.

Hua Ting Restaurant

Hua Ting is another favourite restaurant in Singapore. Reservations typically need to be made two days in advance. The baked mango with chicken tart is a popular dish along with the salted egg yolk lave buns. Hua Ting is slightly more expensive than Tim Ho Wan and Victor’s Kitchen, but certainly makes up for it with flavour.

Yi Dian Xin

Since we’ve covered salted egg yolks pretty comprehensively, let’s talk about some of the other popular dim sum dishes that Yi Dian Xin can boast about. The Xiao Long Bau (dim sum filled with soup) for $3 is worth a try for its delicious soup. Yi Dian Xin is an affordable option that give you value for money when it comes to taste

Peach Garden

(Credits to www.tripadvisor.com for this photo)

Peach Garden is a great place for family dinners or business lunches. There are many outlets around Singapore. The restaurant is not traditionally Chinese, but a mix of Cantonese and Thai, which makes it a unique option in our list. Aside from great dim sums, Peach Garden also serves a delicious carrot cake in XO sauce. The high tea dim sum buffet is a must.

The best dim sum in the city is not restricted to a hawker center or a fancy restaurant. You can find a setting that tickles your fancy and you are sure to find great food that comes along with it.

Watch out for more Top 5 Suggestions from PayrollHero. We would love to hear more about where you get your dim sum fix!

9 Ways to Promote Your Restaurant in the Philippines 2016 Edition

Posted on January 12, 2016 by Nix Eniego

Promoting and growing a restaurant business is easier said than done.

On top of the day-to-day operations of running a restaurant, the actual marketing and getting the word out is also a crucial part of growing the business.

PayrollHero understands the challenges and pain points of restaurant owners. Managing an entire restaurant and keeping not just customers, but also employees, is a lot of work to do. So we’re doing our best to help out and give something back for restaurant owners in the Philippines.

We’ve prepared an infographic on how to promote your restaurant in the Philippines. It’s easy to do, and most importantly, you can take action today!

9 Ways to Promote Your Restaurant in the Philippines

These tips may be just what you need to put your restaurant over the top this 2016.

If you’re a restaurant owner in the Philippines, you can share this with your marketing team or do the dirty work yourself. Eventually, your marketing efforts will pay off and you’ll see an increase in foot traffic to your restaurant.

BONUS: Here’s one restaurant in the Philippines who is nailing it on Social Media. Try and implement the same things to your business and sooner or later you’ll see results.

Keep it locked in on our blog as we offer more and more business tips for your growing your restaurant in 2016. So if you still haven’t, sign up below to be part of our weekly newsletter to get awesome updates delivered straight to your inbox!

If you want to chat about how else you can improve your restaurant processes, such as your HR and payroll, feel free to get in touch with us here: www.payrollhero.ph.

Say Goodbye to your Old Philippine Peso Bills

Posted on December 31, 2015 by Nix Eniego

Better check your wallet and piggy banks right now, because according to the Philippine government, December 31, 2015 will be the last time you can make use of your old bills.

So if you still have some old bills from your last payroll, you better spend it NOW or turn it over to any bank for exchange.

Here’s the full image of the guidelines for your reference:

The government is giving Filipinos one last chance to get rid of these old Philippine peso bills. By 2017, all old paper bills will be rendered useless so don’t forget to turn them over to the nearest bank this coming 2016.

Top New Year’s Resolutions for 2016

Posted on December 31, 2015 by Nix Eniego

Greeting the year ahead will never be complete without the traditional “New Year’s Resolutions”.

From losing weight, to saving lots of money to buy a brand new car, people from around the world welcome the New Year with personal lists of pacts, goals, and promises that serve as a motivation for what’s to come.

Curious to know what people are writing on their list?

Here are some of the Top New Year’s Resolutions of 2016. (infographic from Digimind)

How about you? What are your New Year’s Resolutions for 2016?

Let us know in the comments section below!

Happy New Year!

PayrollHero’s Top 10 Posts of 2015

Posted on December 29, 2015 by Nix Eniego

Time flies by so fast! 2015 is already coming to a close.

In just a few days, we’re waving goodbye to the year that was, as we say Hello to 2016.

We’re excited for the coming year since YOU have tons of stuff to watch out for! We’ll be making more exciting content for you to read, watch, and listen to.

But for now, let’s take a quick look back at PayrollHero’s Top 10 Posts of 2015.

1.) ATM Withdrawal Limits for Philippine Banks

Our most viewed post of 2015 is this quick guide on the ATM Withdrawal Limits for Philippine Banks.

There are a lot of banks in the Philippines and they all have their respective ATM withdrawal limits. On top of that, the banks also charge fees per transaction, so this article gives people a better understanding of which bank to use so that fees can be minimized as much as possible.

2.) How To Prepare An Alphalist for the Philippines

The Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) has issued certain guidelines and basic information requirements in preparing a company’s alphalist… But not everyone knows exactly how to do it.

PayrollHero gives you a quick overview on how to prepare an Alphalist in the Philippines.

3.) 8 Restaurant Recommendations In Fort Bonifacio, Philippines

Because we love you, we’ve listed some of our favorite restaurants in Fort Bonifacio (BGC). Check out our blog post and maybe you can even spend your New Year Celebration in one of these restaurants!

4.) Visit to Manila’s White Cross Children’s Home

Although the team’s trips to White Cross happened in 2014, this story was still one of our top performing blog posts in 2015.

The team documented their journey to White Cross Children’s Home in San Juan, Philippines with lots of pictures. You can see them all in this post.

5.) What is the SSS? (Philippines)

There are thousands of people everyday who search about SSS (Social Security System). And this short blog post gives you an overview of what SSS in the Philippines is all about.

BONUS: For a detailed guide on how to compute your SSS deductions and other payroll concerns, you can download our FREE Payroll Kit here.

6.) Employer Contributions in the Philippines: Home Development Mutual Fund (Pag-IBIG)

Employers also benefit from the wealth of information we share on our blog. In this case, we wrote about PAG-IBIG and how employers (and employees) should handle it.

7.) The Philippines Restaurant Industry at a Glance #infographic

We created an infographic on the Restaurant Industry in the Philippines. It gives you a quick glance on key stats on the restaurant landscape in the Philippines.

Feel free to share this infographic on your own website or social media pages.

8.) Employee Contributions in the Philippines: BIR and SSS

Yet another top performing post about SSS in the Philippines! Check out this blog post, which is more detailed than the one mentioned above.

In this article, we’ve also provided a link to all the necessary BIR forms.

9.) Employer Contributions in the Philippines: PhilHealth

As you may have noticed, PayrollHero blog readers are really loving our quick guides on information about government deductions/benefits.

This one covers everything you need to know about PhilHealth. (Get our FREE PayrollHero Kit here)

10. An Introduction to Domain Driven Design

And lastly, the PayrollHero team was able to enjoy two days of intense training on Domain Driven Design with Kiro Harada.

In this blog post, we shared what we learned from Kiro, so you too can be part of the experience. This learning retreat was attended by team members from Manila, Whistler, and Singapore.

Conclusion

It was an amazing experience for us this 2015. We enjoyed writing and creating awesome content for you guys!

Rest assured that we’ll keep delivering only the best this coming 2016! So don’t forget to visit our blog regularly, okay?

Happy New Year, everyone!

FREE Payroll Kit for All Employees

Posted on December 28, 2015 by Nix Eniego

If you’re an employee and you’re reading this, then you’re in luck!

The PayrollHero team prepared the Ultimate Payroll Kit that answers all your questions and concerns regarding the following topics:

How to Compute 13th Month Pay
How to Compute Holiday Pay & Rest Day Pay
How to Compute your BIR Taxes
How to Compute your Government Deductions (SSS, PAG-IBIG, PhilHealth)
How to Compute Night Differential Pay
How to Compute Your OT Pay

All these and more for FREE! Click here to download your FREE Payroll Guide in the Philippines.

Aside from providing smooth and efficient HR, Time, Attendance, and Payroll processes to businesses, we also provide a wealth of information for employees regarding matters concerning their payroll.

So if you always found yourself making a Google search on “How to Compute 13th Month Pay” or “How much is my SSS deduction”, then our free PayrollHero Kit will do wonders for you.

You won’t have to Google about these payroll concerns in the Philippines ever again. Simply get the guide, keep it in a folder (It’s in PDF format), and consult it whenever you want to know something that concerns your payroll.

Not only do you get a more clear and defined answer to your questions; you also won’t have to bug your company HR with trivial questions anymore. You will be well-equipped with all the basic and necessary info about your payroll. Sounds awesome, right?

So download the free PayrollHero Kit now and learn everything you need to know about your payroll today!

Merry Christmas from PayrollHero

Posted on December 25, 2015 by Stephen Jagger

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Merry Christmas from PayrollHero! Have a fantastic holiday season!

Video Tour of Philippine Payroll on PayrollHero

Posted on December 15, 2015 by Stephen Jagger

Below is a video explainer for how PayrollHero can work within your Philippine business. From setting up schedules, to clocking in and out, resolving attendance and generating payroll.

1. Creating employee schedules on PayrollHero
It is quick and easy to setup schedules for your employees. Depending on your business will depend which scheduling tool you use. Our onboarding team will help setup the processes so that your managers can quickly and easily manage their teams schedules.

Clocking in/out via PayrollHero
Clocking in and out on PayrollHero is a breeze. We have TeamClock for iOS and Android as well as the MyClock Web and TeamClock Chrome. We can setup your account to based on your needs.

Clock in/out details are run through thresholds
We automate your time and attendance policy using our thresholds functionality. All clock in and outs are run through the thresholds to make enforcement of your policies easier. We have thresholds for In early, in late, out early, out late, undertime, unscheduled work, duplicate clock in and duplicate clock out.

Resolving employee attendance infractions
Our resolve attendance functionality enables your managers to quickly and easily resolve infractions that fall outside of the thresholds. Most common is missing clock in and overtime. Each click is recorded as to who resolved what infraction and why.

Enroll employee in Government deductions

Add allowances on PayrollHero

Generate payroll
Generating payroll is simple and rules based. Once the time and attendance has been resolved running the payroll is quick. Below is an example of a Philippine payroll being run.

Other questions that you might have?

Have more questions? Feel free to consult our knowledge-base or reach out and our team would be pleased to speak further about your companies specific needs.