Pride Intelligence

Recent

    Em Questionnaire — 105 Questions on Pride Operations

    source8 min readUpdated 12 Apr 2026

    8 min read

    Updated 16d ago

    Em Questionnaire — 105 Questions on Pride Operations

    Source: governance/Pride Business - Em Answers Questionnaire.xlsx Response Date: 24 March 2026 Respondent: Emily (Em) — Head of Programming and Promotion Coverage: 105 questions across 8 operational domains

    Document Purpose

    This is a structured questionnaire capturing operational, financial, technical, and governance details of Pride of Our Footscray. Emily (38-hour/week contractor, Head of Programming and Promotion) provided answers on behalf of the organisation. Responses provide detailed insight into current systems, gaps, and pain points.

    Key Sections and Findings

    Finance & Accounting (Q1–6)

    Accounting Software: Xero (since inception)

    Bookkeeping:

    • Was done internally; checked by external accountant before tax return
    • Internal bookkeeper left November 2025
    • Bookkeeping now done by CEO “when he has time”
    • Gap: CEO-dependent bookkeeping reduces timeliness and creates bottleneck

    External Accountant: Collins and Co, Footscray (since inception)

    Invoice Management: Central email address (accounts@prideofourfootscray.bar) — seen by internal bookkeeper, CEO, and one employee who pays invoices. Invoices approved and processed through Xero.

    Banking:

    • Primary: Westpac Bank (with Xero integration feed)
    • Secondary: Commonwealth Bank (used for cash deposits and change facilities due to superior equipment)

    Payroll: All processed through Xero; superannuation paid directly through Xero

    Point of Sale & Payments (Q7–30)

    POS System: Square

    • Strength: “Light years ahead” of competitors; meets Pride’s specific needs
    • Weakness: Hardware regularly fails; costly to replace

    Payment Terminals: Square hardware

    • Issue: Regular hardware failures

    Tab/Pre-Auth System: Yes — pre-auth in Square; tab management via Square “Tickets” feature

    Ticketing Platform: TryBooking (since 2018)

    • Status: “Super-partner” level with TryBooking
    • Importance: Very important for business

    Staffing & Operations (Q11–18)

    Headcount:

    • Full-Time: 2 (Mathew O’Keefe — CEO; Monique Anderson — Venue Manager)
    • Contractors: Emily — 38 hours/week (Head of Programming and Promotion)
    • Casual: Variable
    • Historical: January 2023 had 6 staff; 4 made redundant due to economic constraints

    Roles Covered:

    • Management, Communications & Media, IT, Finance and Accounting, Hospitality (bar), Events

    Security: External agency only (law no longer permits in-house security)

    • Provider: Highly trained guards through external agency

    Rostering: Deputy (software platform)

    • Staff clock in via Deputy app on cash registers

    Payroll: Via Xero; generates ABA files for bank transfer

    Staff Compensation: Casual staff on Australian Hospitality Award wages

    • Wages rise every six months according to award

    Marketing & Social Media (Q18–25)

    Instagram: ~15,000 followers

    • Manager: Emily (38-hour/week contractor)

    Scheduling Tools: Meta Business Suite (for ad scheduling)

    Paid Advertising:

    • Platforms: Primarily Instagram
    • Monthly Budget: ~$400/month

    Website: Built on Google Sites

    Google Business Profile: Managed by Emily (Head of Programming and Promotion)

    Email Marketing:

    • Minimal formal strategy; low confidence in email effectiveness
    • “Often goes to spam or gets ignored”
    • Newsletter list exists but limited use

    Customer Data Collection:

    • Loyalty program: 5% discount for email capture
    • TryBooking collects customer emails on behalf of Pride
    • Limitation: Low confidence in email efficacy

    Internal Communications: Facebook Messenger (used by younger bartenders; email less effective)

    Email Provider: Gmail (part of Google Workspace subscription)

    Business Phone: 0417 219 899 — monitored by CEO (8am–4am)

    • Cannot afford dedicated staff for phone duty

    Customer Contact Channels: Email, phone, SMS, DM on Facebook/Instagram

    Venue & Licensing (Q30–47)

    Capacity: 200 patrons (licensed)

    Licence Type: Late Night (On-Premises)

    Trading Hours: Licenced to serve Sunday–Wednesday 12 noon–4am; Thursday–Saturday 12 noon–5am; actual trading: Wed/Thu/Fri/Sat nights

    Event Types:

    • Wednesdays: Art Class, Trivia, Comedy, Film Night (rotating 4-week schedule)
    • Thursdays: Lesbian Dance, Art Classes (rotating)
    • Friday/Saturday: Regular programming (drag, bingo, comedy, film, cabaret, burlesque, music, community fundraisers)

    Kitchen/Food:

    • Kitchen about to open; very small
    • Menu: 3 items only (hot dogs, pizza, toasted sandwiches)

    Stock Tracking: Manual only

    • Constraint: “Hectic nature of busy times makes it impossible” to track through Square
    • Inventory shrinkage: Minimal (alcohol doesn’t go off); beer waste minimal

    Main Suppliers: ALM and Paramount (largest liquor wholesalers in Victoria)

    • Ordering: Via their online platforms

    Cleaning: In-house by staff (formerly had contractor, too expensive given venue busyness)

    Internet/Wi-Fi: NBN Business Broadband (Optus)

    Sound/Lighting Systems: In-house

    • Sound managed by Emily (stage management responsibilities)

    CCTV: Extensive system (required by liquor licence)

    • Type: Record-only (not monitored)
    • Access: Only when needed

    Cloud Storage: Google Drive (part of Google Workspace)

    Shared Login/Password System: Yes

    • Staff provided individual logons to key platforms
    • Track what’s happening by user

    Beer Agreement: Mountain Goat brewery — 54,000 litre agreement

    • Sold: 49,000 litres (92% complete)
    • Status: Nearly over; plan renewal or renegotiation

    Revenue & Profitability (Q48–56)

    Primary Revenue Streams:

    • Alcohol sales (primary)
    • Ticket sales (important)
    • Additional: Functions, memberships, merchandise

    Most Profitable Times: Saturday nights (higher spending)

    Mid-Week Performance: Lower spending; people “don’t consume as much alcohol”; “have a good time” at events

    Target Revenue by Night:

    • Wednesday: $1,500 (covers costs)
    • Thursday: $2,500
    • Friday: $6,000
    • Saturday: $15,000
    • Total needed: Weekly amount not explicitly stated, but weekend-heavy model implied

    Fixed Costs:

    • Primary pressure: Performer/entertainer costs ~$4,000/week average (over many years)

    Revenue Drivers:

    • Drag Bingo (very popular)
    • Eve Sapphic Night / Lesbian Dance Party (Thursday, monthly — very popular)
    • Lesbian Arts workshops

    Walk-in vs. Ticketed:

    • Neighbourhood foot-traffic: “Really struggling,” deserted
    • Model: “Can sell 100 pre-sold tickets”
    • Implication: Almost entirely ticketed; minimal walk-in

    Customer Engagement & Data (Q65–78)

    Ticket Buyer Database: TryBooking collects and hosts customer emails

    Customer Tracking:

    • Database of shareholders, members, and loyalty program participants
    • Plus TryBooking email collection

    Membership & Loyalty:

    • Free loyalty program in place
    • Paid memberships available
    • Software: PinTuna (loyalty management)

    Private Hire:

    • No regular table bookings
    • Cocktail bar (Superbia) and garden available for private booking

    Refunds & Complaints: Sliding-scale tickets introduced

    • Free, hardship (half-price), concession options
    • Response to cost-of-living crisis

    Point-of-Sale Upsells: Yes

    • Ticketing system asks if customer wants pizza or cocktail
    • Discount offered; helps Pride’s margins

    Useful Customer Data: Postcode (indicates geographic catchment reach)

    Customer Journey: Event discovery → event selection → ticket purchase

    Customer Return Reasons: “Welcoming nature of venue” and “friendliness of staff”

    Non-Return Reasons: Cost of living crisis; reduced alcohol consumption for health reasons

    Feedback Collection: Primarily Google Reviews (formal); anecdotal compliments in-person

    Staffing & Culture (Q76–78)

    Diversity Hiring: Deliberately diverse staff mix; “Any individual walking in is likely to come across a staff member they can relate to”

    Non-Alcoholic Offerings: Yes

    • “Good range of mocktails”
    • Actively promoted during mid-week events

    Community Partnerships: “Deep relationships locally” achieved through “dedicated time spending time with people”

    Reporting & Analytics (Q79–87)

    Weekly/Monthly Reports: Rarely prepared formally due to “time and resource constraints”

    • Checking done informally via direct Square/Xero inspection

    Performance Visibility: Financial targets and rough results shared between CEO Mat, Venue Manager Monique, and Head of Programming Emily

    POS Reporting Capability: Can report by item, category, register, channel — NOT by staff member

    Labour Cost Tracking: Scheduled against likely customer numbers

    • “Generally understaff events due to economic constraints”
    • Labour cost vs. revenue not formally tracked

    Stock Shrinkage: Not measured (minimal waste; alcohol doesn’t expire)

    Marketing Results: Instagram statistics watched; adjustments made based on likes/shares

    Documentation & SOPs: Google Drive holds templates, but “not managed as closely as ideal due to time and resource constraints”

    Data-Reliant Decisions: Programming is “most difficult to be data-reliant”

    • “Matter of constant luck, speculation and hope”

    Training & Procedures (Q87–92)

    Onboarding: 3 training shifts before expected to work alone

    • Training covers products and procedures

    Opening/Closing Procedures:

    • Substantial documentation for bartender procedures (opening, on-shift, closing)
    • “More junior roles” less documented

    Manager-on-Duty / Shift Handover:

    • Currently none due to resource constraints
    • Same manager sets up, runs shift, closes

    Incident Documentation: Serious incidents documented; not all incidents documented due to resource constraints

    • Note: “Dictation sometime used”

    Decision-Making & Authority (Q91–93)

    Spending Approval Authority: CEO sets limits

    • Venue Manager given petty cash for necessary bar supplies and emergencies

    Key Tasks Held by Owner:

    • High-level finances
    • Shareholder relationships
    • Government correspondence
    • Relationship with external accountants
    • Accounts payable review

    If Owner Disappeared 2 Weeks:

    • High-level government communications would be first to break (ASIC, ATO correspondence)
    • “Everything else can be managed”

    Automation & Integration (Q94–103)

    Most Repetitive Tasks:

    • Paying performer/entertainer invoices (many invoices per week)
    • Supplier invoices
    • Money pressures make processing slow

    Duplicated Tasks Across Apps:

    Un-Integrated Systems:

    • Deputy (rosters) data must be manually entered into Xero
    • Clear inefficiency identified

    Safe-to-Automate Tasks:

    • Responding to function inquiries (prepared responses for review)
    • Reporting and invoicing

    Should Remain Human-Led:

    • External graphic design
    • Public communications
    • “As AI-free as possible” due to arts/creative business nature

    Available Data Sources: POS (Square), timekeeping (Deputy), accounting (Xero)

    Current Automations: None; “very little automation as at 24 March 2026”

    Scaling Considerations: “Systems we have are solid”

    • Square: “Easy to expand to different locations”
    • Xero: “Easy”
    • Google Workspace: “Easy”

    Standardisation Status:

    • “Reminder and work-flow systems are still too ad-hoc”
    • Key staff have different practices

    Centralisation vs. Location-Specific:

    • Centralised: CEO, Head of Programming, Bookkeeper
    • Location-specific: Venue Manager, general staff

    Documentation Gaps: Brand guidelines not written down; should be documented with core values

    Pain Points (from second sheet)

    Leadership & Management:

    1. Many tasks bottleneck around CEO
    2. Financial situation and company strategy held by CEO
    3. Budgeting processes dependent on CEO

    Backlinks

    Relationships

    Sources

    • governance/Pride Business - Em Answers Questionnaire.xlsx

    Graph View