3 cups

3 Cups can run more efficiently with Deputy streamlining their business operations

Holladay, Utah
hospitality industry Hospitality

At a glance

  • Reduced time spent creating schedules and processing payroll by 30%
  • Improved team productivity and customer service
  • Increased revenue due to more accurate employee payroll

The Story

The brainchild of nine-year coffee garden veteran Derek Belnap, 3 Cups is a fresh and modern neighborhood joint in Holladay, Utah, that serves coffee and house-made pastries and gelato by renown chefs and bakers. 3 Cups is focused on creating an enriching atmosphere that is aesthetically pleasing, clean and filled with a friendly, welcoming staff who are knowledgeable and willing to educate customers about the high-quality premium ingredients, baking artistry, and locally sourced products. The company values quality over quantity and has a desire to support industries and people within the local community.

“Having worked in the coffee industry for 13 years, I’ve always known I’d open my own coffee shop,” said Derek Belnap, owner and operator at 3 Cups. “What I love about what we’ve created with 3 Cups is the high attention to detail and high-quality ingredients we provide, as well as a great staff who really love what they do.”

"Having worked in the coffee industry for 13 years, I’ve always known I’d open my own coffee shop. What I love about what we’ve created with 3 Cups is the high attention to detail and high-quality ingredients we provide, as well as a great staff who really love what they do."

3 cups

The Challenge

3 Cups is committed to creating a simple, welcoming atmosphere and providing quality coffee, food, and sweets. The ability to pay close attention to detail, such as presentation, menu creativity, and cleanliness, all while creating a friendly, laid-back atmosphere is what sets 3 Cups apart from competitors. Derek’s focus as the owner and operator is not only upholding this mission and vision but also being on the floor himself, engaging with the community.

3 Cups is a new venture for Derek, who has had little experience owning and managing a small business before its doors opened. It wasn’t long before he realized he was spending a lot of time managing his team of baristas, kitchen workers, gelato and pastry chefs, processing payroll, supporting inventory, making food selections and purchases and, of course, growing the business.

Before Deputy, Derek would send group texts and emails to his team about tasks that needed to be done and open shifts that needed to be filled. He also used pen and paper to tally up changes to timesheets before payroll processing, all while ensuring 3 Cups was maintaining the highest level of quality and service for its customers. This translated into many hours each day of management and paperwork in the back office, which took time away from engaging with customers. The word was quickly spreading among the community about 3 Cup’s handmade sweets and welcoming atmosphere, so business was picking up fast.

Derek needed a solution that would allow him to spend more time on the floor, engaging with the community and customers, as well as focusing on the quality food and coffee that 3 Cups was becoming known for.

3 Cups needed a solution that could:

  • Decrease time spent creating timesheets and processing payroll
  • Create a mobile, intuitive way for Derek to manage team schedules via his smartphone
  • Streamline communication among the baristas, chefs and kitchen workers
  • Improve and automate employee payroll processing
  • Obtain a more accurate view of point of sales, tip tracking, clock-ins and timesheet changes

"It wasn’t long before he realized he was spending a lot of time managing his team of baristas, kitchen workers, gelato and pastry chefs, processing payroll, supporting inventory, making food selections and purchases and, of course, growing the business."

3 cups

The Solution

3 Cups looked to Deputy, due to its simple, mobile-friendly interface and high-level of integration with both 3 Cups’ existing point of sale solution, Square and payroll provider, Xero.


Seamless creation and updates to scheduling from any location

Using Deputy, Derek can create and update employee timesheets, including the ability to copy schedules from weeks prior and update them for the coming week, based on staff availability. He can also make any adjustments to schedules in real time, straight from his smartphone, eliminating the need to leave the floor and login to a computer in the back office to adjust and update.


Instant communication among the entire 3 Cups team

Using Deputy’s News Feed, Derek can post notifications, ask questions or send attachments of training instructions or policy documents for the team’s reviews and signatures. Employees instantly receive a push notification on their smartphones regarding the added information, and the notes even show up on the Deputy iPad kiosk when employees clock in. Employees can also use the News Feed to ask scheduling questions or post a task that needs to be completed.


Complete payroll processing accuracy with the click of a button

By integrating Deputy with 3 Cups’ existing payroll provider Xero, Derek can simply roll up employee timesheets that are created and updated in Deputy into Xero, creating a seamless, instant payroll process. This eliminates the need for Derek to sit in the back office for hours on end calculating employee timesheets. Deputy’s clean, intuitive design allows Derek to accurately process payroll straight from his smartphone, from any location.


A 360 degree view of business performance in real time from any location

Derek can integrate Deputy with his existing payment and commerce solution provider, Square, to see how much revenue 3 Cups is generating in real time compared to how many employees are on the floor. This information can help Derek instantly obtain a more accurate view of business performance and help him forecast and adjust the number of employees needed during high and low times of business over the next week.

“I have no formal training in accounting and using old-school timesheet software doesn’t work for me,” said Derek. “Deputy has a simple, easy-to-use interface that streamlines these processes with just the click of a button.”


The Results

With Deputy, Derek spends virtually no time in the back office processing paperwork. In fact, Deputy’s mobile, intuitive interface allows Derek to keep his business running from anywhere, anytime so he can focus on his passion – creating a simple, welcoming atmosphere and providing quality coffee, food, and sweets to the local community.

The results of using Deputy include:

  • Reduced time spent creating schedules and processing payroll by 30%
  • Increased revenue due to more accurate employee payroll
  • Improved accuracy of business forecast and labor costs
  • Increased the time spent with customers, enhancing customer service
  • Increased accuracy of business forecast and labor costs
  • Increased the time spent with customers
  • Improved team productivity and customer service

"Deputy gives me the time I need to be there for my customers and grow my business. I love Deputy’s intuitive, easy-to-use platform and its ability to integrate with my existing business software."

3 cups
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