For more than a decade, BP North Urunga has been a family business. Ben Flynn’s parents owned and ran the site on the NSW Mid North Coast, and Ben’s wife Megan started out in the store as a barista before becoming a manager. From 2016, Ben and Megan managed the site together for his parents, and in 2018 they bought the business. Today they run it with a team of 15 staff.
The couple split the work between them. Megan does a lot of the data entry and reconciling in Beacon, while Ben is hands on with ordering stock, stock reports and safety in the store. “Business has been cruising along pretty well,” Ben says.
Through the change of hands, one thing has stayed the same behind the counter. BP North Urunga has run on Beacon’s point of sale system since 2012, when Ben’s father switched the site over soon after taking it on.
Staff Is the Real Challenge
Ask Ben what makes the job hard and his answer is the same one most independent operators would give: staff. “The biggest difficulty is finding new employees who are committed and keen for the job,” he says.
Ben sees the same thing outside the business. He is also a member of his local fire brigade. “It’s the same over there as well,” he says.
With 15 people on the roster, managing the team is a big job in itself: keeping the good staff they have while finding new people good enough to join them.
A Console New Employees Pick Up Quickly
Every new employee also has to learn the console, and that is where the point of sale earns its keep. Ben says new staff find Beacon easy to learn, and it does not take long to get someone serving customers.
Instant Invoice Takes Over a Tedious Job
Keying in supplier invoices line by line, with every product code, quantity and cost price, has long been one of the most tedious jobs in a servo back office. BP North Urunga recently upgraded to Beacon’s Instant Invoice, which integrates with AccountsFlow to read the suppliers’ invoices and load them straight into the system.
“It’s pretty good once you get it set up,” Ben says.
There is some work at the start to get it running, as there is with any change to a back office routine. Once it is set up, a job that used to mean sitting at the desk typing is reduced to checking.
Stock, Prices and Reports in One Place
The Flynns use Beacon across the back office: stocktakes, tracking stock and setting retail prices. Because it all runs through the one system, the reports reflect what is actually happening in the shop.
The latest Beacon update brought those figures front and centre. “With the latest update, it’s live on the screen, and out in the back office too,” Ben says.
Checking In from Anywhere
Ben and Megan don’t need to be standing in the back office to see how the site is going. “We’ve got it on our laptop as well, so we can log in remotely and have a look,” Ben says.
For Megan, it is what makes the juggle work. “Having access to Beacon on our laptop at home means I can juggle things with small kids, like school functions and other activities,” she says. “Once they go to sleep, I can log on and keep my data entry up to date. It helps me fit everything into my day.”
A Familiar Face at Beacon
Fourteen years with one supplier means knowing the people behind it. For Ben, that starts with Megan Oakley, who has been with Beacon from the beginning. “Megan’s great,” he says. “She’s been there from the start.”
Final Word
Asked whether they plan to stay at Urunga for years to come, Ben is honest about the ups and downs of the job. “It can change day by day,” he says. “But we’re still enjoying it.”
And after 14 years on the same system, his verdict on Beacon is just as simple. “It’s easy to use, and it does the job.”
For a single site with 15 staff, that is most of what an owner needs from a point of sale: a console new employees can learn quickly, a back office that takes the tedious jobs off the desk, and figures you can check from wherever you are. At BP North Urunga, Beacon has been doing that since 2012.