CASE STUDY: COTTO
TRANSFORMATION THROUGH DATA-DRIVEN DECISION MAKING
MEET THE VENUE GROUP
Cotto, Adelaide, South Australia
Owner: Frank Cecere
When Frank took over the venues in late 2015, he had a clear vision: to transform them into thriving, profitable operations. The venues had potential, but lacked the systems and insights needed to operate efficiently. By implementing Viability and building a culture of accountability around real-time data, Frank created an operational blueprint that turned struggling venues into profitable establishments. Today, they operate two successful venues (Cotto and Platform 10) with management systems and financial discipline that serve as a model for operational excellence.
10 months
15 minutes
every segment
The Challenge They Faced
When Frank took over the three venues in 2015, he recognised immediately that the business needed a fundamental shift in how it was managed. There was no systematic approach to understanding financial performance. Operations relied on manual processes and spreadsheets, making it nearly impossible to see where the business really stood or respond quickly to performance issues.
- Lack of visibility: Without daily financial tracking, it was impossible to know whether the business was performing well or sliding backwards. Labour costs were never properly monitored or optimised.
- Reactive management: Decisions were made long after the fact, based on incomplete information. By the time problems were identified, significant damage had already been done.
- Time-consuming processes: Compiling accurate financial data required hours of manual work—downloading from POS systems, cross-referencing spreadsheets, reconciling numbers across multiple locations.
- No segmentation by service period: Without understanding how each part of the day performed (breakfast, lunch, afternoon, dinner), it was impossible to optimise staffing and pricing strategically.
- Manual rostering with no data support: Setting staff levels was based on intuition rather than data. There was no way to match labour allocation to expected revenue scientifically.
They knew that to turn these venues around, they needed a system that could provide real-time, accurate data and help the team make informed decisions at every level.
How Viability Helped
When Frank discovered Viability, he recognised immediately what made it different from traditional spreadsheet-based approaches: real-time, comprehensive financial data at your fingertips. Unlike monthly or weekly manual reviews, Viability delivered accurate information with continuous updates for more accurate reporting.
What Viability provided:
- A single source of truth
For the first time, Frank and his managers had one accurate, up-to-date source of financial data. No more conflicting spreadsheets or guesswork. Every decision was made with the same facts, creating consistency across both venues.
- Performance visibility by service segment
Viability broke down revenue and labour costs into specific time periods (6–8am, 8am–12pm, 12–2pm, 2–5pm), making it possible to see which parts of the day were profitable and which weren’t. This segmentation was transformational—you can’t optimise what you can’t measure in detail.
- Productivity benchmarking
They could now set productivity targets (revenue per labour hour) and monitor actual performance against them in real time. If a venue was operating at $70 per person per hour on a normal day, it signalled overstaffing. If it spiked to $180+, it meant understaffing and potential service issues. The healthy operating range was $100–$150, and Frank taught his managers to understand and work within this framework.
- Cost control & budget tracking
By logging invoices and monitoring cost of goods sold against budgeted allowances, Frank could keep expenses in check throughout the week, not just at month-end. This real-time visibility meant corrective action could happen immediately, not weeks later.
- A training and coaching tool for management
Viability became the foundation for developing his management team. Frank taught his managers to understand the numbers, recognise trends, and make informed decisions about rostering, ordering, and revenue forecasting. The system provided the objective data; the managers applied their local knowledge and judgment. This transformed Viability from a reporting tool into a coaching platform.
- Competitive advantage
In 2026, trying to run a venue without this level of data insight puts you at a serious disadvantage. Competitors using Viability will optimise faster, respond quicker, and maintain profitability whilst others operate in the dark.
The Results
A full turnaround, built on early wins
Frank’s strategy was clear: implement Viability, teach his managers to understand and act on the data, and systematically improve every aspect of the operation. The margin response came quickly — but the deeper work of rebuilding the operation on a sustainable footing continued through the year that followed.
The transformation process:
- Frank personally monitored the data daily and coached his two venue managers to do the same.
- They analysed costs, labour allocation, and margins every single day, looking for opportunities to improve.
- Managers used Viability’s rostering tools to maintain target productivity levels whilst ensuring adequate staffing for service quality.
- They made real-time adjustments: if revenue was tracking below forecast, they managed labour accordingly. If it was above forecast, they ensured adequate coverage.
- They ran scenarios with different roster configurations to find the most efficient staffing levels that maintained service standards.
Beyond break-even: growth and optimisation
By 2017, Frank and his team shifted focus to growth and further optimisation. Viability became the tool for:
- Setting and achieving new revenue targets
- Identifying opportunities to improve staff capability and service
- Further optimising labour efficiency
- Making strategic decisions about menu offerings, pricing, and service standards
Today, Frank and his team operate two successful venues with robust systems, accountable management, and a culture of data-informed decision-making. This transformation is a direct result of having reliable, real-time data and a commitment to making decisions based on facts rather than assumptions.
What Made the Difference
- True data, day by day
Most venue operators don’t actually know where they stand. They might guess, based on feel or partial information. Viability gave Frank the complete picture, minute by minute. Armed with truth, he could make strategic decisions with confidence.
- A tool for teaching managers
Viability wasn’t just a reporting dashboard—it was a coaching and development platform. Frank trained his managers to understand productivity ranges, recognise when they were understaffed or overstaffed, and adjust rosters accordingly. The software provided objective data; the managers applied context and local knowledge. This created genuine accountability and ownership across the team.
- Forecasts that already know the context
Frank’s managers used to layer their own judgement over the forecast — weather, local events, disruptions. Viability’s machine learning now handles that itself, drawing on 48 data points. Operators can still override when they have insight the model can’t see, like a large table booking, but the default forecast is one they can act on directly.
- Consistency across multiple venues
By ensuring all managers spoke the same language and responded to the same metrics, Frank created consistency across both locations. Every manager knew what healthy productivity looked like, what labour costs should be, and how to make trade-off decisions to balance profitability and service quality.
- Speed of implementation and value recognition
Viability delivered insights immediately. Frank could see performance trends and act on them in days, not weeks. Modern Viability is even faster—15 minutes to a live dashboard—meaning new operators can start gaining competitive advantage from day one.
From One Owner to Another
“You really can’t afford not to have it. That is the power of Viability. It’s a source of truth. You need to take that truth, make the best decisions you can using that information and improve your business, right? It’s not a magic wand. It is a tool which you need to use correctly.
Any business owner debating whether it’s worth it—I would say they’re crazy not to have it. You would be crazy in 2026 to try to run a business without it.”
— Frank Cecere, Cotto
Ready to see what becomes possible when everything connects?
We can walk you through how it works—no pressure, just a quick chat about your venues and what integration could mean for your operation.