Solutions
Independent Caterers
Giving you control of your business.
Running your own catering business means you're involved in every aspect of ordering, production, delivery and invoicing. Spoonfed’s software is the one-stop solution that introduces efficiency and organisation to the entire process, letting you take back control of your business. Small mistakes are easy to make - and damage your business - eliminate them and grow your business with Spoonfed.
Features
Spoonfed Overview
Catering made simple.
From experience, we know the challenges that you face in the industry and the need for a simple solution that lets you manage everything from one place. We built Spoonfed to achieve this, and are now sharing it with other caterers, helping them to improve their efficiency.
Below are some of the ways that our software will revolutionise the way you work, and improve the service that you offer your customers, encouraging them to keep coming back to you for their corporate catering orders.
Online Order
Put your client in control.
Reduce your own admin while giving your customers more control, by using Spoonfed’s Online Ordering. If you’ve ever felt too busy to answer the phone and worried that it was a customer who might not call back, Online Ordering will be a game-changer. While you log orders received by phone or email, other customers can make orders online, with every detail moving seamlessly through the system, for production and delivery.
There’s no need to ever re-enter details, and repeating, editing, or cancelling an order is the work of a few seconds, rather than trawling through piles of paper. Clearly-labelled allergen and dietary information make it easy for your customers to order, safe in the knowledge that they will get what they want.
Client Management
Closer to your customers.
To get every order right you need to understand your customers. Spoonfed gives you a live feed of orders coming in, and access to detailed customer and menu performance data. Customer information - including multiple contacts, addresses and cost codes - is readily accessible online and in the back-office module. Be prompted with a note about customer preferences every time they order.
Offer a tailored experience by creating menus specific to a single customer, and for additional flexibility there’s the option to override sales tax and minimum order values. And Integration with Mailchimp makes keeping in touch quick and easy.
Client Profiles
Calendar
Plan your way to better catering.
Get your colleagues on the same page with a shared calendar showing all orders, quotes and appointments, updated in the cloud. Filter by site or customer to show only the information you need and click through orders for more information or to easily confirm quotes.
With Spoonfed, you can anticipate and plan for busy periods, with every order automatically fed through to the calendar. Appointments for important events or holidays are visible in advance, letting you plan ahead.
Order and Quote Management
Complete order control.
Spoonfed’s comprehensive order management module gives you easy access to every order - historic and current - with the option to repeat orders. Online ordering is seamlessly integrated with the back office, where you can create orders from phone or email requests. However the order is placed, the customer receives an automatic email confirmation, giving them confidence that the process was successful, and saving you time writing the message yourself.
Order information is transferred through the later stages of production, delivery and invoicing without any re-entering being necessary.
Quote management offers the same level of control, and each quote can be sent live with a click, making quotes easy to monitor and convenient to control, helping to raise your conversion rates. All orders and quotes are visible and accessible in the shared calendar, updated in the cloud.
Production Planning
Produce exactly what your customer wants, without waste.
Great catering delivery means getting every order right. But it also means getting it right first time, accommodating every customer preference, and never having to start from scratch because of an error.
Spoonfed’s flexibility and automation allows you to create the production lists that you need, aggregating similar items so that they can be prepared at the same time, and ensuring that nothing is forgotten. And with special instructions about preferred ingredients or allergy information feeding through the system, there’s no need to worry about forgetting a customer’s preferences.
Delivery Scheduling
A to B, on time, every time.
Producing the perfect food is no good if you can’t deliver it to the right place at the right time. Whether you’re walking the order down the street or loading up a van, Spoonfed helps you plan your resources so that delivery is achieved efficiently, reliably, and on time.
Special delivery instructions are stored from the first entry of an order, and carried through to the delivery person’s assignment sheet. That means that nothing gets forgotten on even the most complex journeys to multiple locations. Delivery sheets are produced at the click of a button, combining all the orders the delivery person will be responsible for, showing the times they need to arrive by, and any specific notes relating to the order.
Billing
Administration made easy.
Spoonfed takes the pain out of billing for you and your customers, who can pay immediately by card through a secure gateway, or add the order to their account, to be invoiced later. You can include multiple orders on one invoice, according to your customer’s requirements.
Integration with popular accounting systems makes it simple to export information the way you need it. And Spoonfed lets you print and email invoices individually or in batches, taking the hassle out of the month-end tasks. Looking at historic invoices is just as easy, with the ability to access past orders at any time.
Multi-Serve
A day’s food in a single order.
When your customer is requesting multiple deliveries over the course of a single day, you want to make the process as easy as possible. The multi-serve functionality handles the entire order - breakfast, lunch, dinners, and beverages - with all the information stored in a single place, delivery and invoicing are a piece of cake.
With multi-serve, your best customers, or new ones organizing an important conference event, can be sure that their trust in you is not misplaced.
API
Linking to other applications.
Connecting with other software systems is at the heart of what we do. Spoonfed will manage your catering orders, effortlessly, but you may want to link it to your recipe costing or procurement system - or accounting solution.
Integrations foster more efficient operations and make your life easy.
We have a number of integrations available already including internet payment gateways, email marketing and accounting but are adding to these all the time. Tell us what you’re looking for and we’ll do our utmost to help.
Case Studies
"Spoonfed has been amazing in helping Sandwich Direct to start taking buffet orders online."
Testimonial: Online Ordering
Sandwich Direct, UK
- Records were often lost or incomplete
- Mistakes were leading to customer complaints and stress
- Tasks like invoicing were time-consuming
With Spoonfed
Hours of time has been saved and mistakes cut out. The stress has been taken out of their operations, while customer online ordering has helped to bring new and repeat orders due to the attractive interface and ease of use. Sandwich Direct experienced a 100% increase in buffet sales in 5 months after launching Spoonfed.
Resources
Capitalising on Drop-off Catering
Drop-off, or ‘corporate’ catering offers bakeries, sandwich retailers and restaurants an opportunity to enter a new market. It can provide significant additional revenue stream, without the need for any additional investment.
capatilisingondropoff.pdf
1286 kB
Tales from a Catering Company Owner
It is often said that ‘experience is the best teacher’. We at Spoonfed have decades of experience of the ebb and flow of the industry, and understand the difficulties faced by caterers on a daily basis. Our owner, Willie Biggart, shares the stories that inspired him to develop Spoonfed.
talesofacaterer.pdf
292 kB
Helpful Tips for Winning More Corporate Catering Business
While the scale and opportunity for year-round repeat orders presented by offering corporate catering make it very attractive for any caterer, in such a crowded marketplace, it is vital that your pitch is well-presented and catches the potential client’s attention. There are several key ingredients to make your bid stand out.
helpfultips.pdf
6369 kB
The Power of Knowing Your Customer
For catering companies looking to fully understand their clients, maximize the service they provide and gain an edge on their competitors, it’s important to make the most of the customer data they have at hand.
thepowerofknowingyourcustomer.pdf
216 kB
FAQs
We know how much Spoonfed helps our customers, so there is no commitment beyond the end of the current month in our standard Terms and Conditions. Because why would you want to leave?! For larger customers, terms can be specifically tailored according to business requirements.
Yes. Hosted by one of the world's leading hosting providers, all Spoonfed data is as safe as it can possibly be with both a primary Data Centre and a Backup Centre in different locations. And of course you retain ownership of all your Standing, Customer and Order data. Please see our Privacy Policy for more information.
You pay for Spoonfed every month. The amount you pay depends on how much you use it, subject to a minimum monthly amount. Contact us for more information about pricing. At the end of each month, we analyze your usage and then bill you. Payment is collected by card, ACH transfer or Direct Debit 7 days after the month end. See Terms and Conditions for full details.
Just a computer (or tablet), an internet connection, and a printer. That's all. We advise running a fairly up to date browser to make sure you get the best from Spoonfed. As it's entirely web (or cloud) based, work from your business, home or anywhere you want.
