With 2024 almost in the books, we think it the perfect time to recap some of the many improvements made to the Syrve platform this past year. From order processing enhancements, to the unveiling of contactless QR Menu transactions, 2024’s updates have been significant and impactful, taking our next-gen system to another level altogether.

Staying true to the Syrve tradition, they were rolled out across each quarter, beginning in January and culminating with our recent winter release. To begin our recap, let's take a step back to the New Year of 2024 and the 8.7 deployment.

Winter Update 8.7 – Call-Centre Order Orchestration and Procurement Enhancements

The first product update of 2024 was a powerful package of back-of-house enhancements.

In the kitchen, filters were added to the KDS settings area allowing chefs to customise their order views to free up screen space. For distribution centre procurement, cost thresholds were included to prevent orders from being submitted if the delivery costs exceeded the order value.

And to help simplify stock taking even further, it became possible to conduct partial counts and track semi-finished products, with all counts synced with the Syrve’s desktop office app.

8.7 also enhanced the call centre ordering process. Now, operatives could override the system to select their own stores for order fulfilment, while items could be removed, added and changed for an existing order, right up to the point of courier pick-up.

Key Improvements in 8.7

• KDS Filters for Custom Order Views
• Greater Flexibility for Call-Centre Ordering
• Cost-Saving Procurement Thresholds
• More Accurate Stock Taking Features
• Extra Customisations for Prep Plans

Spring Update 8.8 – KDS Improvements, a New Editor Tool and Streamlined Tipping

The 8.8 release featured a trio of improvements to kitchen order processing. An additional ‘packed’ status was included for takeout orders to keep couriers in the loop, a new editor was introduced for editing kitchen tickets, and one-tap KDS functionality was further expanded to include course-level status changes.

At front of house, an option was added at point of sale that allowed customers to leave tips instead of checking out twice. It also became possible to set up point based redemption schemes thanks to a new integration with Piggy Loyalty in the UK. And a menu grouping function made it easier to set up day-parting across all ordering channels.

Key Improvements in 8.8

• ‘Packed’ Status Added for Takeout Orders
• Improved KDS Status Changes
• Piggy Loyalty Integration Announced (UK)
• New Built-In Editor for Ticket Customisation
• Streamlined Tipping
• Streamlined Stock Taking
• New Day-Parting Functionality

Summer Update 8.9 – Combo, QR and Call Centre Refinements

One of the standout features of the Summer 2024 release was the introduction of contactless dine-in orders. Not only could customer use a QR menu to browse menus. They could also pay electronically.

The Summer update also featured further improvements to kitchen order processing with the addition of expected delivery time statuses for KDS screens. Call-centre ordering received a minor but important revision as well - to avoid errors and to improve coordination, orders were now assigned to the actual call centre order taker.    

What’s more, customisation options were introduced to streamline combo order processing. With update 8.8, completed combos could be used as templates with staff then able to add, modify, or remove items for subsequent orders of a similar type.

Trust-building tweaks were also added at point of sale enabling severs to round off cash payments, remove customers from orders in a few taps, and easily access nutritional information for each dish.

Key Improvements in 8.9

• QR Menu Dine-In Ordering
• Call-Centre Order Streamlining
• Better Combo Order Processing
• Cash Payment Round-Offs
• Better Ingredient Transparency at Point of Sale
• Expected Delivery Time Added to KDS

Autumn Update 9.0 – App Syncing, Smarter Mobile Counts and Trust-Building Tweaks

9.0 included a collection of significant updates with the Syrve App receiving two major improvements. First of all, the popular Event Log dashboard was made accessible to smartphone users. Thus, it became possible to remotely track numerous operational activities including cash register events, purchase orders, till shifts and a whole lot more. A new databases section was added as well, so that expenses could be tracked with any changes fully synced with Syrve Office.

Stock-count administration was also streamlined with employees able to copy existing storage settings when setting up new inventory count areas – previously this had to be done from scratch. Furthermore, the inventory count window could now be accessed via Telegram or by email.

And for the fourth update in a row, call-centre order processing received further tweaks, most notably a more user-friendly customer order list for easier lookups.

But the improvements didn’t stop there. A brand-new interactive application known as Delivery Map was introduced. To assist drivers, it displayed all delivery zones and restaurant business hours, while making it much easier for call centre operators to select and assign drivers.

Finally, at point of sale, servers could access the nutritional and allergenic information for each dish simply by tapping and holding the item button.

Key Improvements in 9.0

• Expenses Management Added to Syrve App
• Event Log Made Available on Syrve App
• Better Stock-Count Administration
• User-Friendly Order List for Easier Lookups
• Delivery Map Launched
• Easier POS Access to Nutritional Information

And that was 2024 in a nutshell for Syrve – a year of sustained innovation and enhancement. We should point out that many of the improvements were inspired by customer and client feedback. Without this, refining our platform to its current level of excellence would simply not have been possible. Our team is already working on updates for 2025. We can’t wait to unveil them!

For a comprehensive account of our product releases in 2024, take a look at our release notes.