Let's talk about cash for a minute. You know…dinero, clams, bones, bucks even! Spoiler alert, this isn’t really a beer-related article, more a consumer how-to regarding local business support.
If you have paid any amount of attention to current news, and I do mean any amount, economic headlines have trended more negative than positive in regards to you, the consumer. Import tariffs, inflation, layoffs, and don’t even get me started on the price of eggs! Practically every angle of your personal budget has most likely increased for one reason or another.
Frankly as a local business, this is terrifying. Many of our local business brethren would agree it’s tougher than ever to maintain steady profit margins and control rising costs. The “easy” answer from the driver’s seat of the business is simply bump the retail price (the cost to you, the beloved consumer), but there are obvious limits. A $10 cup of coffee would be great for the cafe’s bottom line but best of luck arguing many customers would buy them. Or if we could regularly get away with $20 pints of beer our troubles would be over but we might sell…one? That’s even doubtful.
Alright back to the crux of this article: cash. Cash is king. But you may ask yourself, why is it king? I would answer, “self, here are some reasons we enjoy sharing”:
- There are no processing fees for cash transactions which literally saves a percentage of revenue on each sale, usually around 2.5% - 3% per transaction. That adds up man!
- Immediate access to funds - cash flow is important to any business. Funds from credit transactions are available the next business day at the earliest, which can be problematic if an emergency purchase pops up.
- Tips! Service industry employees largely depend on tipping and cash tips are given directly to the worker immediately. We’ve heard of some businesses “charging” their service staff the processing fees for credit card tips or simply not giving them out at all, we don't feel that's right.
Of course there are financial situations where cash isn’t ideal and cash isn't for everyone, but from a straight up beer drinker perspective we prefer it. It helps us keep our costs in check to ultimately ensure your costs aren’t increased. So next time you’re headed out to your favorite taproom, restaurant, or whatever, consider hitting the ATM first to grab some cash. The business will thank you!
Thanks for continuing to support local businesses in our fair city, it’s important.