Spotlight on … Kudos Software – sponsor of our Thursday night at Conference

15/08/2022 12:11

This year we have been asking our Headliners, Awards and networking event sponsors to tell us more about their business and perspectives on all things charity retail.

We chatted with Sarah Dodd, Managing Director at Kudos Software, sponsors of the ‘Kudos to You’ drinks reception & buffet dinner on Thursday evening at the Charity Retail Conference.

If you haven’t booked your Conference place yet follow this link to find out more and join us on Thursday 15 September evening, raise a glass and toast “Kudos to You!”

1. How long has Kudos been in business and how did it begin?
Kudos was incorporated in 1995 by a software developer looking to use technology to make complicated processes in retail and workshops simple. Kudos has since broadened its horizons to discover the benefits that the system brings to the charity retail market and I am proud that our solution does more than any other retail system to help charities increase income, maximise gift aid and improve customer service.

2. Tell us about your journey that led to you leading in this industry?
Having a comprehensive retail system meant that when we were approached to look at the new Retail Gift Aid incentive from HMRC by a charity retailer, we thought we could use our software development skills to help charities track the donor for donated stock.  We first deployed the charity solution in 2009 to Clic Sargent (now Young Lives v Cancer) and they are still a Kudos customer today – I am really proud of our high customer retention rates

3. How many people do you employ? What is special about your team?We have a team of 23 people. Kudos has great staff retention so as well as having a brilliant team spirit, for our customers it means we’re knowledgeable and they have long relationships with the people at Kudos, not just the company. In looking after our team the focus is always within the framework of our core values; valuing the team and giving consideration to all our stakeholders.

4. What are the three major changes you have seen in the charity shop/EPOS relationship since Kudos began?
There are two themes for the change that we’ve seen. Firstly, in the requirement for business intelligence. Back in 2009 we provided a suite of data reports and as charity retail has evolved the requirement for business intelligence from retail partners has evolved too. In 2015 we launched a BI dashboard, in 2018 we added tools to enable charities to share report data more easily and this year we’ve the launched Sales Insights tool for customers to create the data they need to see themselves. We’ve also just opened our API so charities can integrate Kudos with Power BI and other tools and bring together information from retail, fundraising and finance to understand their oganisations better and manage change.

Secondly, the requirement for more than ‘just an EPoS’, with the diversification of charity retail coupled with advancement of technology, we can support charities better.  We provide modules for managing furniture collections and deliveries and selling online, tools for managing volunteers rostas and configurations for cafes, bridal boutiques, and discount stores, plus browser-based and app-based solutions that complement the EPOS

5. How did Kudos manage during the Covid-19 pandemic? What was the learning that came out of it?
We learned to stay in touch with our clients at a distance; running training webinars and regularly communicating with them. We offered discounted rates in solidarity with the challenges charity retailers were facing and we developed new features and reporting tools to help them during reopening periods. Many members of Kudos have always had the ability to work from home, but we were able to support our whole team to do so. It worked well in our ability to support customers and what we learnt was there’s no substitution for the team being together. For Team Kudos this helps with morale and with the ability to collaborate. So now, post government restrictions, we all benefit from hybrid working.

6. What do you think the future holds for your industry in the next five years?
I would expect a busy five years for charity retail; the predictions for the UK economy point to more of a need from consumers for charity retail, the global focus on climate change and how reuse is tied into that is a factor for sector growth and finally, it’s trendy to shop for pre-loved. These three elements should lead to a very buoyant sector. I also expect managing the challenges of online retailing to be of increasing importance, which is why Kudos is launching a new online listing and dispatch software at the CRA conference, which supports charities to sell and dispatch across multiple online selling platforms.

7. What do you see as the biggest challenges for charity shops in the next five years?
Stock may be a challenge if the UK economy retracts and consumers are spending less on new goods, plus an increase in demand for vintage and preloved stock from non-charity retailers. 

8. What can Kudos do to be more sustainable for the planet?
Kudos has policies in place for sustainability, which we constantly review.
We:

  • Have gone digital with most of our previously printed documents
  • Work from home to save fuel
  • Reuse and recycle some hardware
  • Use the cycle to work scheme
  • Help clients save printing by offering digital receipts

9. Tell us more about you! What do you like to do in your spare time?
Not surprisingly I like a bit of charity shop shopping and my girlfriends and I have shopping trips involving only charity shops, plus a spot of lunch. It’s great fun and we always end up with plenty of new (to us) things. I also like being on the water; paddle boarding mainly and I take the odd sea swim.

10. And finally, what do you love most about working with charity retailers?
There are four things that I love most:

  1. The collaboration between charities and their teams within their organisation and outwardly with other charities. The CRA and other bodies help encourage this too. The experiences I’ve had show that charity retailers are always happy to help one another and share the things that are working well for them, or problems they’ve solved
  2. Personally, I find it great to be working in a sector with so many women in management and within the shops. I worked in the petrol and c-store sector before, which was very male dominated; this sector gives me more hope for gender equality
  3. The positive impact of reuse on the environment
  4. Learning about all the amazing charities we have in the UK and how they help those in need

Learn more about Kudos Software