The challenge: Seamless bar operations, branding, and separating internal consumption

For an open-air festival like Maatwerk Festival, smooth bar operations are crucial to prevent queues and maintain an optimal festival experience. In addition to a fast payment process, the organization sought a way to extend their unique festival branding to the payment methods themselves.

The biggest administrative challenge, however, lay behind the scenes: managing internal consumption for staff, crew, and artists. Traditionally, drink tokens or complimentary crew cards create grey areas in accounting. Maatwerk Festival sought a robust system that would keep these internal consumptions strictly separate from actual public sales in the final reporting, as these expenses logically do not belong in the revenue figures.

The Beyond Ordering Solution

Maatwerk Festival opted for a fully customized closed-loop system to achieve logistical efficiency and administrative perfection:

Custom-designed Cashless Cards

Visitors paid using a secure closed-loop system with physical cashless cards. These cards were fully designed in Maatwerk Festival's unique look & feel, providing a premium brand experience for festival-goers.

Compact and Strategic Hardware

An efficient hardware setup was chosen, featuring in-booth terminals and mobile all-in-one terminals. This allowed bars, top-up points, and food trucks to each use their preferred form factor.

Automated Internal Credits

Staff and artists also received a cashless card, but with internal credit. These consumptions were digitally registered, eliminating the need for physical drink tokens.

Smart Segregation in the Management Platform

In the Beyond Ordering back office, internal credits were immediately and automatically filtered and separated. Since these consumptions were not to be accounted for as revenue, the platform provided a crystal-clear overview of pure public income versus incurred crew costs.

The Result: Watertight Reporting and a Seamless Festival Flow

Thanks to the cashless platform, the festival ran smoothly both front-of-house and behind the bar:

100% Accurate Revenue Reporting

No more manual post-calculations to deduct crew consumptions from profits. The management platform provided a conclusive report immediately after the event, perfectly itemized by consumption type.

Optimal Bar Efficiency

By choosing the most efficient form factor, the festival successfully provides the best solution for every location.

Professional Appearance and Control

The branded cards gave the festival a professional appearance, while the digital management of artist and crew credits prevented misuse, fraud, or loss.