Instrumentally, a private music school in the stock-broker belt of Ascot, England, is a departure from traditional, stuffy school-based music lessons, offering flexible timetables, no minimum term, and a welcoming environment in which both pupils and parents enjoy spending time. They also offer a wide range of Starbucks coffee and tea in their spacious reception area.
Vend, which breaks the mould of traditional, stuffy point-of-sale software, was a perfect fit.
Easy customer features.
“The concept for the cafe and reception area was modelled closely on an upmarket hotel lobby or frequent-flyer lounge,” explains David. “Customers want to be able to put everything ‘on their tab’, without the hassle of cash or credit card payments.”
“We wanted to create a relaxed space for parents, like an upmarket hotel lobby or frequent flyer lounge. Vend makes it easy for our customers to put everything on their tab, and they just love that!”
David Chislett Co-founder, Instrumentally
“We were already using Xero Accounting to send monthly statements of account for music lessons, so when we started selling tea and coffee, we looked for a way to easily add these items to the customer’s bill.”
“We found Vend under the Xero Add-Ons, signed up for a free trial account and set everything up ourselves. It was really that easy.”
Instrumentally don’t use a credit card machine or even a cash drawer, just a Windows PC with a touchscreen. Their discerning client-base can work, relax over coffee or catch up with other parents and pupils, without having to get their wallets out.
“The way Vend integrates with Xero is just fantastic. Every sale against a customer in Vend automatically posts through to their account in Xero, and at the end of every month we can quickly add up all receipts and send customers an email statement. Customers just love that.”
Simple inventory and product management.
Tracking down hard-to-find sheet music or instruments for hire takes time and effort, so when customers began asking the Instrumentally team if they could source and sell other items too, Vend made it easy.
“Once we really started using the inventory features in Vend, we discovered how well it would allow us to extend and manage our range of products. Now we also use Vend to order in stock, sell sheet music and books, as well as hire and sell instruments. Again, this is all done automatically, behind the scenes ‘on account’, which suits our customers perfectly.”
Instrumentally runs its entire business online - accounting, reporting, and bookings. Vend is a welcome addition to its stable of cloud business software.
Company Snapshot
Instrumentally music school opened in Ascot, UK, in June 2011, offering a flexible and wide range of lessons in five purpose-built, air-conditioned studios. The Instrumentally team encourages appreciation for music and a love of playing and performing in all students, and provides a generous reception area in which parents can relax, work or catch up over tea, coffee and snacks.
David & Kate have been using Vend at Instrumentally since June 2011.
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