5 Ways Technology Saves You Time and Money When Managing Events

As an event manager, you know how time can disappear when you’re planning, organizing, and executing events. Amidst the constant stream of endless email inquiries, admin to-dos, and follow-up calls, you are inefficiently using valuable time. If you’re focused on producing a successful event without keeping an eye on your budget, your expenses can spiral out of control.

There’s a solution to both of these problems: Technology empowers event managers like you to create more efficient events. In the process of saving time, you’ll have better financial return. Let’s go into five ways technology can save you time, reduce costs, and get rid of your event headaches.

1. Menu management features save time

With technology, all of your menus can be developed and shared in one platform. Tripleseat, the #1 guest and event management software, has a picklist feature to make it simple to determine the food and beverages you need to order based on the menus for upcoming events. Also, you can create menu item categories to keep track of your food, beverage, and other types of event charges for financial breakdowns on event orders and reporting.

2. Reduce food cost and waste with technology

With F&B inventory and ordering processes online, say hello to efficiency and cost savings! You can keep track of how much food you have in stock for your events so you know how much to order next time — and do it all from your phone or tablet. Online inventory solutions go where you go, so you can review your inventory wherever you are — at an event, your restaurant, the kitchen, your house. 

Doing inventory online saves you money, too. It allows you to see at a glance anytime, anywhere what you’re using up quickly, as well as what ingredients are going bad sooner than expected. You can then place more accurate food orders for events when and where it works for you. That means throwing away less food and saving more money. You can watch price trends to see if they’re increasing or decreasing and make decisions about your event menu accordingly.

3. Tech saves time with efficient communication

Trash your sticky notes and email chains. With technology, you can communicate about things like private events with your team in one online (or, ideally, cloud-based) location. Use Tripleseat to create professional-looking documents that are updated in real time, communicate to your team and your clients via email, and access every detail about your events from one dashboard.

You can make sure specific members of your team are assigned to tasks so everyone understands their responsibilities and nothing gets lost in translation. Plus, having message logs on the same platform as the rest of your event info makes it easier to search through past conversations without having to read dozens of email chains. Centralized communication for events streamlines your team’s efforts, and when you’re all on the same page, your event planning and execution operate seamlessly.

Tripleseat’s lead form feature has simplified the event inquiry process immensely for Land & Sea Dept., who manages a group of neighborhood fast-casual restaurants. Read about this success story.

“Tripleseat is the first technology that I’ve interacted with that is very good on the client side and the back-end event manager side.” 

-Ginny Cook, Director of Events, Programming and Partnerships for Land & Sea Dept.

4. Staff events efficiently with technology

A more efficient team and online process lead to fewer people being needed to manage and run events. You can schedule fewer team members to cover event shifts, which means you can keep your restaurant at full speed or invest less money into labor costs. It also allows your private events program to grow in a way that’s manageable and doesn’t require a big hiring increase. Who doesn’t want to increase their event profits simply by having a few fewer hands on the floor?

5. Leverage data and analytics for efficiency and cost savings

With technology, you can always be open for business. Integrating event management apps, software, and even a lead form with your website allows a potential customer to reach out, no matter when they’re browsing. Automation will take over, and you can continue the conversation at your convenience. You stay reachable anytime, anywhere so your business runs on its own.

Save money and make money

When done right, savvy event management can earn you thousands of extra dollars per quarter — especially when paired with efficient technology. More and more restaurant operators and event managers are using technology to streamline their processes and increase their profits. It’s also easier than struggling with old-school manual processes like clipboards, paper notes, voicemails, and Excel spreadsheets. There’s no doubt technology is the way of the future for event management. It’s waiting for people like you — who want to save time and money — to pick it up and use it.

If you’re not a Tripleseat customer and you’re interested in learning more about Tripleseat’s features, schedule a demo at your convenience to take a closer look.