'Even blokarting is now easy to schedule'

Activities on the beach

'Wato Events started in 2011 with our successful activity blokarting, also known as beach sailing,' Bartjan looks back. 'Over the years, more and more other activities were added, which we organized in combination with other beach clubs. We now offer about twenty different activities on the beach and have about fifty staff members. Super fun,' he enthuses.

Everything manually

'In the beginning, we did all the reservations for the activities and outings using Gmail and our Google Calendar. Everything had to be put in manually. That worked fine, but it did take more and more time as we kept expanding our offerings. Therefore, it was time for good management software. Recras came to mind, but we ran into a problem. Was it possible to adapt it to our most booked activity: blokarting?

Blokarting was stumbling point

'In order to beach sail, you need low tide. So that can only be scheduled in a block of four to six hours a day, and that block moves up an hour each day. That means one week you can only ride in the morning, and another week only in the afternoon. That proved to be the stumbling point every time. This activity was difficult to book and was time and again the reason for not choosing a program like Recras.'

Lots of time savings

'Because I still found it a very attractive system, we started talking again last year. It turned out that the changing tide could not be implemented in the system by default, but it could be entered manually. So that's what I've done now. I requested the tides from the Department of Public Works for the whole year and entered them all manually. And yes, it took me a day to do that, but it will save a lot of time next year because I no longer have to send an e-mail to the people who make reservations. Recras takes care of that. In the past I was spending ten to fifteen minutes per booking.

Additional staff member

'What works really well are the standard emails that the program sends. You enter your entire business and your own arrangements, and everything is taken care of. That too was a lot of work to do and took a lot of time, but once you get that right, it takes a lot of work off your hands. I see Recras as a kind of extra staff member. Like a secretary who keeps me up to date, makes sure emails and reminders are sent, who shows me if someone has to pay. It ensures that I keep an overview and that we remain in constant focus with clients. And that is super important otherwise they look for another event company and that one walks away with the job.'

Total Overview

'As soon as you open Recras, you immediately have a total overview. You immediately see which actions still need to be followed up, and you are one button away from quotations and invoices that have expired. Previously with Gmail we worked with all separate programs and with Recras you have everything in one system. That's easy and because of that it also works incredibly fast. More professional "Recras is a program in which you first have to invest a lot of time to get the hang of it, but that investment is returned in time and convenience. You also present yourself a lot more professionally to your clients. If you make a nice pdf with your own logos, corporate identity and photos and you set up that program, your quotations will look professional. That gives a better impression of your company.'

Recommended

'Yes, I would definitely recommend Recras to others,' Bartjan concludes his story. 'Absolutely. Maybe for a small company it is a big investment, but if your business keeps growing, it is a program that moves with your business. It's like an extra staff member that keeps everything organized.'