Operations - Improvement Opportunities
Master log of operational improvement opportunities and pain points, audited 24 March 2026.
- FIN-001: Late invoice payment — performers and suppliers cutting off deliveries
- FIN-006: No event P&L, weekly P&L, or cash forecasts
- OPS-001/002: Email triage for customer enquiries — multiple staff responding to same email; enquiries lost
- OPS-005/006: Incident reporting inconsistent; banned persons list not produced for security guards; creates security risk
- GOV-001/002: Public Liability Insurance gap — critical gap in place
- STRAT-001/002: CEO bottleneck — too many daily and strategic decisions require CEO input
- STRAT-003/004: Financial strategy and budgeting held by CEO only; not shared with leadership team
Finance & Invoicing
| ID | Issue | Priority | Status |
|---|
| FIN-001 | Performer and supplier invoices processed late; suppliers cut off | CRITICAL | Not started |
| FIN-002 | Receipts degrade or go lost; no document trail | High | Not started |
| FIN-003 | Manual double-handling of invoices (email then Xero); could be direct-to-Xero | High | Not started |
| FIN-004 | Deputy rosters manually transferred to Xero; complex due to 6 different rates | High | Not started |
| FIN-005 | Tom may have built Deputy→Xero spreadsheet bridge; needs verification | High | Not started |
| FIN-006 | No event P&L; no weekly P&L; no cash forecasts | CRITICAL | Not started |
| FIN-007 | Xero P&L/Balance Sheet not trusted by leadership | High | Not started |
| FIN-008 | TryBooking ticketing reports unexplored; potential data source for event performance | Medium | Not started |
Operations & Process
| ID | Issue | Priority | Status |
|---|
| OPS-001 | Customer enquiries to meet@ email — multiple staff respond to same one | CRITICAL | Not started |
| OPS-002 | No email triage or ticket system; enquiries lost or duplicated | CRITICAL | Not started |
| OPS-003 | Function inquiry responses are manual; prepared templates needed | High | Not started |
| OPS-004 | Manager does 16-hour shifts (setup → shift → close); unsustainable | High | Not started |
| OPS-005 | Incident reporting inconsistent; no banned persons list produced | CRITICAL | Not started |
| OPS-006 | Banned persons list not provided to security guards — security risk | CRITICAL | Not started |
| OPS-007 | TryBooking attendance data being lost (print and throw away) | High | Not started |
| OPS-008 | Digital assets library scattered; no central location or version control | Medium | Not started |
| OPS-009 | Google Drive scanned manually for activity updates; should be automated | Medium | Not started |
Technology & Automation
| ID | Issue | Priority | Status |
|---|
| TECH-001 | No automation exists as of 24 March 2026 | Baseline | — |
| TECH-002 | Email inbox chaos (25,000 unread emails in CEO inbox) | High | Not started |
| TECH-003 | DMs in Meta go to request folders; spam catches real messages | High | Not started |
| TECH-004 | Automated weekly P&L and cash flow reports needed | CRITICAL | Not started |
| TECH-005 | TryBooking attendance data export and retention pipeline | High | Not started |
Governance & Compliance
| ID | Issue | Priority | Status |
|---|
| GOV-001 | Public Liability Insurance not in place — CRITICAL GAP | CRITICAL | In progress |
| GOV-002 | Working to obtain Public Liability with multiple providers | CRITICAL | In progress |
| GOV-003 | 2FA for shared accounts goes to CEO’s phone (single point of failure) | High | Not started |
| GOV-004 | Plan to replace with shared staff phone at venue | High | Not started |
| GOV-005 | Licence reclassification from nightclub to “theatre cafe” once kitchen opens | High | Pending |
| GOV-006 | Reclassification will reduce security compliance burden significantly | High | Pending |
| GOV-007 | Reclassification may affect insurance requirements and premiums | High | Pending |
Strategy & Leadership
| ID | Issue | Priority | Status |
|---|
| STRAT-001 | CEO is decision point for too many daily and strategic decisions | CRITICAL | Not started |
| STRAT-002 | Better systems and automation would reduce CEO input requirements | CRITICAL | Not started |
| STRAT-003 | Company strategy, budgeting, financial outlook held by CEO only | CRITICAL | Not started |
| STRAT-004 | Need clearer goals shared with VM and Event Leads | High | Not started |
| STRAT-005 | Document government correspondence process (ASIC/ATO/Liquor Licensing) | High | Not started |
| STRAT-006 | Identify secondary person for government correspondence if CEO unavailable | High | Not started |
| STRAT-007 | External graphic design and public communications must stay human-led (AI-free) | High (preserve) | Not started |
Sprint 1 Focus (Weeks 1–3)
Recommended sequence based on impact and feasibility:
- Invoicing workflow redesign (FIN-001, FIN-002, FIN-003) — implement supplier direct-to-Xero
- Email triage system (OPS-001, OPS-002) — set up shared inbox or ticketing
- Weekly P&L report (FIN-006, TECH-004) — automate from Xero/Square; share with leadership
- Incident reporting forms (OPS-005, OPS-006) — create template and banned persons list process
- Payroll bridge verification (FIN-004, FIN-005) — locate and verify Tom’s spreadsheet
- Manager shift review (OPS-004) — analyse current pattern and propose sustainable alternative
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