Turn Payments Data into Profit. Margins Don’t Lie, with Aaron Prosser

In this episode of Bean There Done That, Phil Di Bella sits down with Aaron Prosser (Beyond Payments) to unpack why “gut feel” isn’t enough anymore — especially with café margins hovering around the 3–4% mark. They explore how linking payments + POS data can sharpen staffing, improve cash flow, optimise menus, and build loyalty that actually sticks. “Complacency is not a strategy. Complacency is your strategy for death.” — Phil Di Bella “Increasing your margin by one to two per cent… that’s huge. It’s like an owner’s salary.” — Aaron Prosser “If you don’t take action, nothing happens. If you don’t change, nothing changes.” — Phil Di Bella Key topics & themes Data → analysis → strategy → execution as the survival loop for modern hospitality Why linking payments data with item-level POS data is where the “magic” happens Customer profiles and tokenisation: knowing repeat visits and spend without re-asking every time Menu engineering + inventory insights to protect margin and reduce waste Labour as the biggest lever: rostering against real-time sales (and avoiding compliance traps) Cash flow pressures (including Payday Super from 1 July 2026) and why settlement speed matters The future: face + palm payments entering the Clover ecosystem via Wink Practical takeaways (you can apply this week) Link payments + POS so you can see repeat visits, average spend, and what actually sells (not what you think sells). Watch labour in real time: sales vs wages is the lever with the most movement — and it’s measurable. (Droppah integrates with Clover and is free up to 10 employees.) Engineer the menu with margin + velocity: keep high-margin items visible, scrap low-margin/low-sales time-wasters, and build smart bundles. (Inventory tools like Restoke focus on live costing + integrations.) Protect cash flow: faster settlement and offline payments reduce the “one outage = one bad day” risk. Prepare for Payday Super (if you’re not already paying super more frequently): it’s scheduled to start 1 July 2026. Links & resources mentioned Beyond Payments: https://beyondpayments.com.au/ Aaron Prosser (LinkedIn): https://au.linkedin.com/in/aaron-prosser-873b32209 Clover POS (Australia): https://www.clover.com/au/ Fiserv (Clover parent company info): https://www.fiserv.com/en-nl/who-we-serve/clover.html Wink × Clover biometric payments (press release): https://investors.fiserv.com/news-releases/news-release-details/clover-introduces-identity-based-payments-transform-everyday Droppah × Clover integration (free up to 10 employees): https://www.droppah.com/au/integrations/clover Loyalzoo: https://loyalzoo.com/ Restoke: https://www.restoke.ai/ ATO Payday Super: https://www.ato.gov.au/about-ato/new-legislation/in-detail/superannuation/payday-superannuation Fair Work Payday Super update: https://www.fairwork.gov.au/newsroom/news/payday-super-new-rules-starting-1-july-2026 Fair Work Ombudsman (MADE Establishment case): https://www.fairwork.gov.au/newsroom/media-releases/2019-media-releases/july-2019/20190718-made-establishment-eu-media-release The Coffee Commune: https://www.coffeecommune.com.au/about-us/ If you’re running a café (or any transaction-based business), this episode is a blueprint for getting back control: know your numbers, fix the leaks, and buy yourself time back on the floor. Listen to Bean There Done That on your favourite podcast app Produced by The Podcast Boss https://thepodcastboss.com/