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Toronto’s Majestic Castle Rolls Out Red Carpet with Sage BusinessVision
Casa Loma, built just before World War by financier Sir Henry Pellatt, is Canada’s
foremost castle, and one of Toronto’s top two tourist attractions. More than a
third of a million people visit each year to view the mansion’s stately towers, secret
passageways, soaring battlements and sweeping terraces. Casa Loma was the
largest private home in Canada when it was constructed and boasted the city’s
first elevator in a home and leading edge residential electricity.
Filmmakers and event planners take advantage of Casa Loma, which has been
called “the most romantic thing to ever happen to Toronto.” X-Men was shot here,
along with countless other Hollywood movies. Brides hoping for a wedding at Casa
Loma join a waiting list that is two years long.
Selecting Sage BusinessVision
Casa Loma is now a non-profit organization operated by the Kiwanis Club of Casa Loma,
who works hard to make revenues stretch as far as possible. So old-school glamour must
be matched with modern-day efficiencies. This created a problem for the accounting
group and its batch-processing accounting system.
“Our previous software required lengthy month-end processes, and did not provide
us with real-time data,” says Dwight Lackey controller. “We sought a system that was
both cost-effective and had the functionality and flexibility necessary for a multifaceted
organization. Sage BusinessVision was the clear winner, and we implemented it in 1999.”
Powerful POS for Ticketing
The castle uses Sage BusinessVision in three main areas. The first is as a point-of-sale
(POS) tool for ticket processing. “When a customer comes to the box office, they
purchase an adult, child or senior ticket Each is an inventory item in our system. The
payment is processed as cash or through an integrated credit/debit card system,” explains Lackey.
“We also have several tour operators bringing busloads of guests, and these
have credit privileges,” he continues “Their tickets are processed on account
through the Sage BusinessVision Accounts Receivable module. Other types of charges
like special events or shows all have individual codes, which are processed as
inventory items by the system.”
Visitors can also purchase tickets on Casa Loma’s website. “Online purchases result in
a voucher that moves guests to the front of the line when they arrive at the castle,”
Lackey says. “The voucher is processed into the POS module as an on-account
transaction, and we receive monthly remittances through our ticketing partner
Everything is integrated seamlessly through Sage BusinessVision.”
Ringing Up Sales in Gift Stores
The second important role for Sage BusinessVision at Casa Loma is in its two
gift shops, where the POS system records sales. “Our software inventories all gift
store items into categories, so that we can do analysis on sales transactions,” Lackey
says. “Each item is tracked with a barcode, whether inventory is being sold in our main
store in the basement or in our third-floor outlet shop. We treat the two locations
as separate warehouses within Sage BusinessVision, making it easy to transfer
items from one to the other and compare sales results.
“We also do traditional inventory reporting using Sage BusinessVision reports, such as
counts and variance analyses. It works very well for telling us which items are most
viable from a revenue perspective.”
Complex Catering Management
The third main area managed by the software is the catering department. “We
host and cater approximately 250 functions a year, and all details are tracked through
Sage BusinessVision. Each category of event has a different customer code. Weddings
start with W, for instance. Then the date serves as a secondary indicator,” says
Lackey.
“We use Sage BusinessVision in a unique way with regard to events. Our clients
frequently apply deposits on account for events scheduled a year or two in the
future. When our software records these, it is effectively performing trust accounting
and distinguishes accurately between deposits and operating funds,” he adds.
Royal Returns
How has the system improved operations for Casa Loma? “Sage BusinessVision is
extremely versatile, and therefore opens up many options for us. We can approach our
business in a completely different way. For example, online ticketing would never have
been possible with our old cash register system at the box office. Also, the software
lets us partner with other organizations to grow our business. We are currently
number one in satisfaction with ticket purchase experience of all tourist attractions
in Toronto—primarily because of the speed of our POS system. It’s the most customer
-oriented software in town,” Lackey explains “Furthermore, we have doubled our
productivity, thanks to Sage BusinessVision he continues. “I can’t imagine how my
predecessor ever functioned without it.”
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