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Four Busy Bars, One Dashboard: How Tiffy Group Raises a Toast to Smooth Multi-Venue Management
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When Tiffy Sze opened Goldilocks Rooftop Bar in 2012, she never imagined that, within a decade, she'd have multiple hospitality venues to her name.
Now, Tiffy Group comprises four thriving venues in Melbourne – Goldilocks, Hunter and Hound, Mirror Mirror and Little Red's – with plans for more on the horizon. Scaling from one bar to four was always going to have its challenges, and while expanding, it became clear to Tiffy that a consolidated business structure was needed as day-to-day operations had simply become too much for one person. "In the beginning, I handled everything myself. But after starting a family, I knew I couldn't be everywhere at once,” says Tiffy.
With multiple venues to oversee, Tiffy needed a centralised team as well as a financial and payments solution that could keep pace. That’s where Zeller’s new multi-entity dashboard came in. It gives Tiffy and her finance team a single login to view all transactions, payments and settlements across every venue. They can see how the group is performing as a whole in real-time, compare venues at a glance, and drill down into the detail at a site or even terminal level.
“I set up Tiffy Group as a head office, with dedicated roles for operations, marketing, functions, and accounts. Having well defined roles and a clear hierarchy has helped streamline the business and let me balance work with family. On top of this, Zeller has changed the way we manage our finances and operational processes, making them faster and more accurate. It’s genuinely made my life easier.”
Cheers to a culture that lasts.
With hospitality notorious for high staff turnover, Tiffy has prioritised building a supportive workplace culture across her venues.
"Happy staff means happy customers. I've always prioritised a friendly, supportive environment where everyone feels valued," she says. "I like to do fun things to keep the team happy and engaged. For example, last year, we took the team to the hot springs in Daylesford for a weekend away, and at night we took over the hotel and played a large-scale murder mystery game in the dark. Fun things like that help keep morale and retention high."
Tiffy believes a positive workplace directly translates to better customer experiences. "People’s energy affects those around them. If staff aren't happy, customers can tell. We make sure staff feel appreciated and offer plenty of growth opportunities, like training and career development whenever we can."
Before Zeller: manual reconciliation headaches.
Before Zeller, Tiffy's team juggled multiple disconnected systems to reconcile the financials of each venue.
"Our bookkeeper had to manually match EFTPOS dockets with POS reports and bank statements every single day. It was slow and tedious, especially across multiple venues," says Tiffy. "Every venue needed to print out dockets, and the bookkeeper had to cross-check everything individually. We tried different EFTPOS providers and systems, but none integrated well with our Impos POS. There were always discrepancies and tech issues, leading to constant frustration."
Tiffy recounts incidents when poor integration created operational chaos: "Some providers promised smooth integration, but it was always a nightmare. Systems went down, tills didn't match, and the kitchen would lose orders. It became obvious that we needed a more reliable solution."
Zeller has changed the way we manage our finances and operational processes, making them faster and more accurate. It’s genuinely made my life easier.
Tiffy Sze, Tiffy Group
Switching to Zeller for streamlined multi-venue management.
After switching to Zeller, Tiffy immediately saw improvements thanks to its seamless integration with Impos and user-friendly multi-entity dashboard.
"Zeller syncs directly with Impos, so transactions match perfectly. It has dramatically cut down errors and removed the daily paperwork headache. Now my bookkeeper and operations manager can log in from the office and quickly see each venue’s finances in one place. No more shuffling through dockets," Tiffy explains. "It's also much easier for me, because I don't have to be the middle person between the venues and our finance team. Everyone can access the information they need directly."
"Before, we had to physically collect dockets from each venue, but now we can handle everything remotely. It’s not just easier, it’s faster and much more reliable. If there's ever an issue, we can spot it instantly in the Zeller Dashboard and resolve it quickly."
When asked if she'd recommend Zeller, Tiffy doesn't hesitate. "Absolutely. To anyone running multiple venues at once, I’d say this: Zeller simplified life for me dramatically, I’m confident it will for you too. Everything’s streamlined, accurate, and easy – it's an absolute no-brainer.”
Saving time – and wages – with Zeller Dashboard.
Reducing reconciliation time has significantly impacted the bottom line for Tiffy Group.
"Zeller has genuinely saved us time, and in hospitality, saving time means saving wages. With less manual reconciliation needed, our bookkeeper can handle things much faster, saving money across the business," she adds. "It has freed up resources we can reinvest elsewhere."
Rising costs, rising standards.
Like most operators, Tiffy has had to navigate a tougher economic climate over the past couple of years, and she’s noticed its impact on customer behaviour.
"With rising interest rates and economic pressures, customers have been more cautious with their spending. It’s definitely been tougher, but we're still performing well because we're not overly expensive. Even if people cut back, they still want a good night out every now and then, and we're there to make those nights memorable."
Instead of seeing the current sluggish consumer spending as a bad thing, Tiffy sees the market pressures as an overall positive force, driving the quality of Melbourne’s hospitality industry up. "These challenging times mean only the best survive. Venues need to offer top-tier experiences to attract customers, and that pushes everyone to improve. We're constantly refining our offerings, service, and value to ensure we stay competitive."
Sky’s the limit for future growth.
Looking ahead, Tiffy Group is continuing to expand. "We've got exciting plans – a new rooftop bar and nightclub here in Melbourne is currently awaiting council approval. We’re extending an existing building to add two new levels, so there's plenty to keep us busy!"
With a strong team in place and efficient tools like Zeller Terminal and Zeller Dashboard supporting the group's growth, Tiffy Group is well-positioned to continue thriving in Melbourne's vibrant hospitality scene. Cheers to that.
