If you’ve ever had Beacon installed at your site, gone through a hardware replacement, or had a new feature set up across your network, chances are Kesavan was the one overseeing it. And if he was, you probably remember it. He’s one of those rare people in this industry who makes technology feel less like a hurdle and more like a tool that’s actually working for you.
Kesavan Satkunam is the Professional Services Manager at Beacon POS Systems, and he’s been with the business for close to 19 years. His team looks after all project work: overseeing the installation of Beacon at new locations, managing hardware replacements, and implementing new features and functions. It sits alongside Beacon’s Support Team, which handles ongoing support, upgrades and everything covered under their Subscription and Support agreement. In his time at Beacon, Kesavan has also worked across sales, support and testing, which means he’s seen the system from every angle.
A Global Journey That Started Down Under
Kesavan joined Beacon around 18 years ago, shortly after arriving in Australia. What appealed to him at the time was the chance to travel, work internationally, and learn across different parts of the business. Two decades later, that same curiosity still drives him.
“In the early days the role was fluid,” he says. “You weren’t stuck in one department, you got to experience different parts of the business.”
That breadth of experience shows up in the way he works with customers today. He’s not just a technical resource. He’s someone who understands how a service station actually runs, what matters to an owner, and where a POS system can quietly add value.
What Independent Operators Are Asking For
Kesavan has a clear read on how independent operator priorities have shifted over his time at Beacon.
“When I first started, operators were really focused on reconciliation and doing all the due diligence in the back office,” he says. “These days, with time as tight as it is, a lot of independent owners just want the reports to land on their desk without the manual work behind it.”
Automation is the headline theme. With labour costs rising and owners looking to keep staff hours tight, anyone can understand why operators want less manual data entry and more information surfaced automatically. Beacon’s Instant Invoice feature is a good example. Supplier invoices can be imported directly into the system at the click of a button, removing a task that used to eat into back office time every week.
Kesavan is also seeing growing demand for dashboard style reporting, particularly from multi site operators who want to run live KPI comparisons between sites. Think live sales counts, food category performance, and internal competition across locations. It’s the kind of functionality that turns the POS into an operational tool, not just a transaction record.
Why the POS Is the Quiet Workhorse
Ask Kesavan what he’s proudest of when it comes to Beacon’s POS, and his answer is refreshingly practical.
“Our point of sale has one of the lowest downtimes in the market,” he says. “And the interface is designed so that it’s all right in front of you. Most users pick it up without much training at all.”
He’s watched countless new users sit down at a Beacon terminal and work it out on their own, without needing to be walked through every function. In an industry where staff turnover is a reality, that kind of intuitive design saves training time and reduces the number of calls that come through to the team.
Every Operator Is Different
One of the things Kesavan enjoys most about his role is that no two customers are the same. Some owners are fuel focused, chasing volume. Others are food and grocery led, focused on what’s happening inside the shop. Some want to count every can of Coke. Others just want the margin report by Tuesday morning.
“Every independent owner runs their business a bit differently, and they all need different things from the system,” he says. “My job is to understand how they work and then help them get the most out of Beacon based on that.”
That flexibility, backed by someone who genuinely listens, is a big part of why so many Beacon customers stay with the system for years.
A Familiar Face at Industry Events
Kesavan doesn’t travel to sites as much as he used to, but he still oversees every new installation and hardware project that comes through Professional Services. And when he does make it to industry conferences, he enjoys catching up with customers he first installed for 15 years ago.
It’s that kind of continuity, project expertise paired with genuine relationships, that makes Beacon worth a conversation if you’re reviewing your POS setup.