Embers Camping: Streamlining new growth

EPOS system helps to streamline increase in demand for staycations

Embers Camping has been a sustainable holiday destination of choice for more than 140,000 guests since 2013. Embers has grown organically since then and experienced further growth as a result of the increasing demand for staycations in the UK following COVID-19.

Each of their seven sites has a commercial hub incorporating a shop stocked with over 100 products, and a busy Barista coffee stand. Christian Teal, Head of Operations at Embers Camping understood that to harness the opportunities resulting from unplanned growth, he would need to explore ways to streamline the operation, improve day-to-day management, and free up more of his valuable time. It was essential that any change in payments provider or solution should offer significant benefits to be worthwhile.

As a seasonal business only taking payments for 6 months of the year, Embers were initially reluctant to consider a full EPOS system, believing that the costs would be prohibitive and the functionality surplus to requirements. Christian admits that after carrying out thorough research into whether EPOS might be a suitable solution, he was surprised to discover that it cost less than his previous payments solution which was only switched on for the 6 months of the year that they were trading.

At full capacity Embers hosts up to 2,000 guests every week and since incorporating a full EPOS system through RMS, their operation has transformed in terms of the ease with which payments, stock, and staff are managed.

“Having the functionality to manage cashflow, stock, and staff for each site simultaneously from my mobile phone has been transformational for me and the business. The time saved and level of accuracy when it comes to everyday tasks like cashing up, ordering stock or onboarding staff members is a major benefit and has made adopting EPOS the most rewarding business decision we have ever made”. Christian Teal, Embers Camping.

The benefits of upgrading to a fully integrated EPOS system are not limited to multi-site or larger operations, and Christian was quick to add that he would recommend EPOS to businesses of any size, stating “As our business grew, we knew we needed a more robust payments solution and repetitive admin tasks were taking up too much time, but we believed EPOS would be too expensive and complicated to integrate. Our fears were unfounded, and I would urge any business that wants to grow to investigate the cost and benefits of upgrading to EPOS”.

If you are considering whether EPOS might be suitable for your business, request a call back from one of our team or call 01908 359 190, or read our blog post Why do I need to upgrade to EPOS? for more information.