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Aircraft Carriers & Dining Programs
Turning around the big old boat of insititional dining
POS So Easy, Even Your Resident Volunteers Will Love Using It!
Nestled in a quaint setting in Hackettstown NJ, Heath Village quietly underwent a transformation in their gift shop earlier this year. Like many Gift Shops and Country Stores at communities across the country, it is run by resident volunteers who, as you might expect, are unlikely suspects for becoming technology evangelists...but that is exactly what happened with the introduction of CARDWATCH.
Print Your Food, Not The order: The new age of atomic food presentation.
Coming to a kitchen near you: Imagine just throwing your ingredients into a machine and out the other end comes a beautiful artistic creation of food delight...that's just what futuristic 3D food printers promise.
Assisted Living Trends in Hospitality
Today’s administrators are challenged with “resident- centered” care that focus on re-creating the residents’ home comforts, daily living routines and opportunities more conducive to socialization. Since food and hospitality is at the heart of senior living communities, it’s also receiving a face-lift...
Forty-Five will get you to Ninety.
45 words of wisdom to live your life by from 90 year old Regina Brett of Cleveland OH.
Credit Cards in your Community
Are Credit Cards the right way to go for your community? Understanding the costs and applications of bank credit cards will help you make an informed decision.
Is your community measuring it's losses?
National Restaurant Association stats indicate more than 4% of your total sales revenue (or 15% of your total annual raw food cost) is lost to employee theft. Is it happening to you? Can you effectively measure it?
Demystifying Technology Investment: Understanding & Determining the Total Cost of Ownership.
So, you have decided to purchase a technology solution to improve services …now what? Before purchasing any system, you must first look beyond the quotes to understand what the true “total cost of ownership” will be for the new system.
Don't Cut IT Out!
Perhaps it comes as no surprise that a Software vendor is suggesting you don't cut your IT spending, but there is method in this madness that can work in your favor, saving you far more than you could have dreamed of cutting.
WARNING!!! Hard Drive Failure Scheduled for 8:30pm EST
...if life where like that, we wouldn't need back-up systems or disaster recovery procedures. The hard truth of the matter is that we do not get advance warning of a hardware failure and when we are caught
under-prepared, getting systems back on line can take days not hours and the cost of lost data and employee productivity to your organization can be crushing.
What's Your Vision?
Far too often we confuse having a "Vision" for our business with our business "Mission". Our "Mission" is based on all the tasks that we need to do to realize our "Vision", but without a clear picture of that vision, you might be on a mission to nowhere!
Windows XP Retires
It is reported that XP has retired as of June 30, 2008 and is now living in an understated penthouse condo at Century Village in Florida with a beautiful Vista of surrounding landscape.
The Month-End Meal Plan Slam
Staggering is no longer just for the inebriated as Food Service Operators in Retirement Communities are discovering the benefits of setting multiple "staggered" renewal dates for their meal plans for different groups of Residents.
The Challenges of Automation in Food Service
In this complex world in which we live, technology has become an integral part of our lives. Running a large Food Service operation is challenging without the right set of tools at your disposal, so more and more we turn to technology to facilitate the collection, exchange and distribution of information that ultimately makes our work (and home) life easier to manage. So how do you move from manual to automated systems and avoid the pitfalls and horror stories we've all heard from colleagues? What happens when you need to automate a large, cumbersome and somewhat unweildly manual process like transaction management, point of sale, meal plans and resident charges for your community?
Just Ask Gary: Why Restaurant POS Systems Won't Pass the Mustard for Your Community.
Some Retirement Community operators believe that a standard Restaurant Point-of-Sale will work just fine for them but experience tells us otherwise.
CARDWATCH and SureQuest's ThreeSquares Partner to Close the Loop on Food Service & Dietary Reporting
This new relationship offers tighter integration and improved functionality for both applications.
CARDWATCH Partners with Point Click Care
Now CARDWATCH offers even more choice for the export of billing charges! Find out what makes Point Click Care one of the most unique solutions available in the long term care software market today! Read the American Baptist Homes of the West 2page case study. (note: requires Acrobat Reader 6.0 or higher)
Just Ask Gary: Meal Plan Trends in Retirement Communities
Conventional wisdom is changing around the entire idea of traditional meal plans.
Catering Season is Open!
With Thanksgiving, Christmas and Hanukkah fast approaching, the catering season has officially begun! If you or your food service team are still struggling with the management & billing of catered events, struggle no more!
CARDWATCH Goes Mobile!
Have you ever wished your wait staff could simply take resident orders right at the table and fire them back to the Kitchen without having to walk back to a POS terminal?
Just Ask Gary..."Enroute to A-La-Carte": Operational Considerations For Spending Plan Management In Your Community.
Gary McMullen runs through the fundamentals of setting up a-la-carte pricing and meal plans.
Why Bank Debit Cards Are Not the Answer for Retirement Communities.
Looking for an inexpensive alternative to handling transactions in your retirement community? A deeper look at Bank Debit Cards reveals it could be a costly option!
The Untold Benefits of Meal Plans in Your Community
While most communities offer some sort of Meal Plan for their residents, there are still many that do not. Read on to discover some of the greatest and often unmentioned benefits of Meal Plans for your residents.
Greystone Communities Selects CARDWATCH as its Recommended Vendor for Meal Plan Management and POS Solutions.
After more than a year of research, investigation and deliberation, Greystone Communities, the 18th largest senior housing manager in the United States, has selected CARDWATCH as its recommended Meal Plan Management and POS application for its more than 100 client communities.
Just Ask Gary...Why restaurant POS solutions don't work in a retirement community.
Gary shares the significant differences between standard (restaurant) POS and Meal Plan Management POS systems for Retirement Communities. Understanding the differences could save you tens of thousands not to mention chronic headaches!
Gift Cards in a Retirement Community?
With recent advances in technology and enormous consumer acceptance, Gift Cards are finding themselves in places they've never been before--and working out extremely well! No longer just for retailers, Retirement Communities are beginning to adopt this offering as a means of increasing revenues and transferring the burden of guest charges away from Residents and back to the guests. See how The Brethren Home Community in New Oxford PA made out with this new initiative.
CARDWATCH and SOS Corporation Serve Up Real PROGRESS for Retirement Communities.
Retail Sytems Group joins forces with SOS Corporation to create a more integrated and complete offering to their mutual clients.
Meal Cost Calculator
"Why do you charge so much for my meal?" If that question sounds all to familiar and you would like help with providing answers, try out this handy meal cost calulator complete with clear, easy-to-read visual charts. (download in XLS format)
Bottom Line Impact of Automated Meal Plan Systems
With the right automated meal plan and POS system in place, retirement communities can enjoy significant cost savings and dramatic revenue improvements of several thousand dollars per month and more.
Which Meal Plan System is best for your community?
As communities grow and residents demand more choice and better value for their dollar, operators are struggling to find the right balance in their meal plan offerings.
The Build-A-Meal" Feature
Get unparalleled flexibility and control from your fixed meal plans by defining exactly what items and their quantity consititutes a meal on plan.
Choosing the Right Application
How to select the best POS and Meal (Spending) Plan Management system for your community.
Do you need a Spending Plan and POS management application in your community?
Eight quick questions to help you figure it all out!
The Economics of Meal Plan Administration
Uncover the two great myths of technology behind retirement communities.