Take Five Espresso's successful collaboration with bookU and Acerta

Craving a delicious coffee, a revitalizing breakfast, or a fresh lunch? You can find it all at Take Five espressobars in the heart of Ghent. Alexis Ywaska and his team of 50 ensure quality and experience in an oasis of calm and jazzy coziness. And they get a little help from bookU and Acerta.

Navigating legal compliance challenges

Alexis has been a client of Acerta, a Belgian payroll service provider for 7 years with Take Five. Over a year ago, he connected with bookU, previously managing his team's scheduling entirely on Excel and communicating individually via email.

"To keep my espressobars open 7 days a week, I have a team of 42 flexible and 8 permanent employees, totaling 50 employees," Alexis explains. "On weekdays, we have 5 employees per location; on weekends, it's 7."

_{Alexis Ywaska, business owner of Take Five Espresso:}

“I had literal nightmares about the legal compliance challenges. With each hiring, I had to take action, and I feared being chained to this for the rest of my life."

"I had literal nightmares about the legal compliance challenges," Alexis shares. "With each hiring, I had to take action, and I feared being chained to this for the rest of my life. For me, this is the greatest benefit of working with bookU and Acerta: the filings are now automatic. I only need to review everything once a week, and that's it. Wonderful!"

Automation of scheduling 

"The main goal of bookU, managing complete scheduling from one handy software tool, is a significant advantage for me," Alexis continues. "My scheduling process is fully automated now. Employees enter their availability and absences, I finalize the schedule, and the tool communicates with them. It's incredibly useful, especially in our sector where last-minute changes are common. It saves time for me and is convenient for my team."

Integration of bookU and Acerta Connect

The integration between bookU and Acerta Connect, Acerta's payroll tool, is also valuable. Employee details from temporary workers entered into bookU seamlessly transfer to Acerta Connect.

"This saves a lot of time and ensures no errors slip through," Alexis notes. "Especially during peak periods like the end of the school year, when we onboard many new students, temporary, and flexi-staff, it's a huge help. Confirming employee performance is straightforward too. For permanent staff, I just input sick days and vacation days in Acerta Connect, that's it. And if I have questions, I prefer calling Acerta. My dedicated contact, Laurien, provides quick and concrete answers over the phone."

Smooth implementation of bookU

Automating your personnel administration requires good preparation and adjustment, Alexis finds. "But it went smoothly with the bookU team. We conducted tests first, ensuring I could use the new system confidently. I also received training, and the bookU team is always supportive."

1 plus 1 is more than 2

For Alexis, the tool's added value for his hospitality business became clear quickly: time savings, fewer errors, and more peace of mind.

"A year after implementation, I can confidently say it was a good decision. I wouldn't want to go back to manual planning."

"A year after implementation, I can confidently say it was a good decision," Alexis concludes. "I wouldn't want to go back to manual planning. And the collaboration between bookU and Acerta makes scheduling, payroll calculation, and administration even easier."

Interested in streamlining your planning, administration, and/or timekeeping? 

Choose bookU like Take Five did