Let me tell you something - every extra click your team makes on an order is a click they didn't need to make. And during a busy catering week, those clicks add up to real minutes you don't have.
That's why, starting Wednesday, September 16, we're rolling out three new payment enhancements - exclusive to our CaterPay customers - built to strip out the busywork around getting paid.
Here's the problem we kept hearing: your team takes the order, then has to leave it, go dig up the customer's info in the CRM, send a separate request for their card, wait around for a notification, come back, and then remember to attach the card to the order.
That's five steps to do one thing.
Now it's one.
Select Credit Card Requested as the payment method right on the order. Hit Place Your Order. Done. CaterZen automatically emails the customer a secure link to add their card - no extra steps on your end.
Once they submit it:
No leaving the order. No waiting around. No manually hunting down the new card and selecting it yourself.
And to be clear - this doesn't charge anything the moment you select it. It requests the card, attaches it once submitted, and then processes on your schedule, same as always.
We're also not leaving you guessing. Every day at 10:00 AM, you'll get a report showing any upcoming orders where you've selected Credit Card Requested but the customer hasn't submitted a card yet. Same recipient rules as your other card notifications - so the right person sees it.
Customer needs a nudge? Open the order, go to Order Functions, and hit Send Card on File Request Email. Send it again as many times as you need.
Need to run a manual charge? Stop hunting for the payment screen.
Make a Payment now lives right in the Order Functions dropdown. Click it, and CaterZen takes you straight to the payment screen for that order.
That's about six clicks you don't have to make anymore. Six clicks, every single time you process a manual payment. Multiply that across a busy week and tell me that's not real time back in your day.
You know the drill. Customer's got three cards on file, and all you've got to go on is "Visa ending in 4412." Which one's the corporate card? Which one's hers? You're guessing.
Not anymore.
Give each saved card a nickname - "Boss's Card," "Personal Card," whatever makes sense to your team. It shows up right next to the card type and last four digits in the CRM, Order Entry, and Make a Payment screens.
No more guessing. Your team grabs the right card the first time.
Fewer clicks. Less manual follow-up. More time back in your day to do the things that actually grow your catering business.
Take it from me - the businesses that win aren't the ones working harder on the busywork. They're the ones who get the busywork out of the way so they can focus on selling and serving customers.
Questions, or need help getting set up? Reach out to the CaterZen Support Team. We've got you.
Everything in this post, you could do yourself with a credit card authorization form, a filing cabinet, and enough discipline to never misplace a card or forget to run a charge. Most operators don't have that discipline - not because they're lazy, but because they're busy running a business.
CaterZen just makes it simple.
Getting paid has always come down to how easy you make it for the customer to say yes.
Now your team doesn't have to chase it down.
Already a CaterZen customer but not on CaterPay yet? Reach out and get these three enhancements the day they go live.
New to CaterZen? Start a free trial and see how ordering, CRM, and payments work together.