If you operate a venue with a redemption center, you already know that your cashless system is a massive financial investment. When it works, it’s an operational dream. But a cashless system is a data-driven machine, and like any machine, it is entirely dependent on the quality of the fuel you put into it. In our world, that fuel is smart data. And the most critical tool for delivering that data into your system is the DPL.

What Is a DPL?

Let’s start with the basics. DPL stands for Digital Packing List. Depending on your software provider, you may encounter it as an EPL (Electronic Packing List) or with an official ".epl" file extension. Regardless of the terminology, it serves the same purpose: a text file from your redemption vendor detailing your order. It is formatted in the exact way your specific cashless system needs to read it, carrying over all the vital statistics of your prize mix:

• SKUs and item names
• Quantities and units of measure
• UPCs and Barcodes
• Ticket values and prize costs

When you place an order with your vendor, they generate this DPL file the moment the shipment heads out the door. It will either land directly in your email inbox or be available for a quick download inside your online ordering portal.

The Right Way to Receive: The DPL Workflow

Having the file is only step one. A DPL is an incredible tool, but it doesn't replace basic operational oversight. You can't just blindly upload the file and assume everything is perfect. A DPL doesn't know if FedEx lost a box on the highway, or if a warehouse worker accidentally packed fewer items than they were supposed to.

To keep your redemption database clean, your team needs to follow a strict check-in sequence:

1. Locate the File: Pre-arrival. Download the DPL file from your vendor portal or locate it in your email before the delivery truck arrives.
2. Upload the DPL: Upload the file directly into your system's inventory module—there is no need to open or view the file itself. Simply follow your software manual’s instructions, keeping in mind that while formatting varies by provider (e.g., Intercard, Embed, Sacoa), the essential data remains consistent.Best Practice: Keep Redemption and Crane/Merchandiser inventory in separate data warehouses. This ensures accurate tracking: Redemption data informs your Cost of Goods Sold (COGS), while Crane/Merchandiser data tracks your payouts.
3. Physically Check the Shipment: At the counter. Open the boxes and count the prizes. As you manually check in the shipment, scan every item to ensure it’s recognized, verify that assortment items scan correctly, and note any non-working barcodes. While you're at it, take a moment to introduce the new items to your staff: What is it called? Where is it displayed? Where does it live in storage? Finally, confirm ticket values and update labels, making explicit notes of any discrepancies, missing items, or extras.
4. Adjust for Real-World Variations: Final Sync. Go into the system and manually adjust the numbers to match what actually arrived in the boxes. If you were supposed to get 20 plush but only got 18, fix it now before committing the data. Also, use this time to add any missing barcodes and update ticket values if they need adjustment.

Best Practice: Prioritizing the DPL Workflow

For most redemption operations, the DPL is the most efficient path for managing inventory. While manual item entry isn't always complex or time-consuming, it does introduce variables that can affect long-term data accuracy. The primary challenge with manual entry often involves the "primary key"—the unique identifier (like a SKU, vendor barcode, or system-generated code) your software uses to track a product. If a team member creates a new entry manually, even a slight difference in how that ID is assigned, or variations in how a product name is typed, can result in duplicate records for the same item. This fragmentation can clutter your database and complicate your reporting.

When Is Manual Entry Appropriate?

You should use manual entry sparingly, reserving it for true one-off purchases where a DPL is not available, such as a specialized prize from a local store or a unique online order. Even in these cases, check if your system offers a "DIY DPL" feature. These templates allow you to input purchase information into a standardized format, ensuring your database stays clean. The Standard: Make DPL uploads your go-to process for every order. By using the digital file provided by your vendor, you ensure that every product is keyed correctly, keeping your inventory data precise and your reporting reliable.

The Cascading Snowball Effect at the Counter

What happens if you bring a new prize into the redemption center and skip the DPL upload? That item has no data attached to it in your system. It is completely unscannable.

Eventually, a guest is going to bring that prize to the redemption counter. Your part-time employee goes to scan it, and the screen pops up with a blinking error: Invalid Item or Item Not Available.

With a line of excited kids staring at them, what is that part-time employee going to do? They are going to look for a quick fix. They’ll look around the counter, find the next closest item with the exact same ticket value, and scan that item out instead just to clear the screen and hand the kid their prize.

On paper, the transaction goes through. In reality, you just broke your inventory on two completely separate items with a single keystroke:

The item that was actually sold: Your system thinks it is still sitting on the shelf. Your physical count is now minus one compared to what the software thinks you have. The alternate item that was scanned: Your system thinks it left the building, but it's actually still sitting on your wall. Your physical count is now plus one compared to the software. That is just one mistake, one time, by one employee. But this problem cascades exponentially. The next time that unscannable item comes to the counter, who knows if the employee will even pick the same alternate item to scan out? Within a weekend, your inventory counts are completely inverted, and your data is untrustworthy. If you are trying to use any sort of automated reordering system to save yourself time on weekly orders, it is dead in the water. Reordering systems rely entirely on "smart data in, smart data out." They are only as intelligent as the data you give them. If the data is broken at the counter, the ordering machine breaks down completely.

Total Scanning Integrity: Keep Tracking Tight at the Counter

This brings us to a foundational rule of redemption operations: Scanning integrity is everything. Every item that can be physically scanned must be physically scanned. For those tiny items that are physically impossible to tag—like Tootsie Rolls, loose Dum Dums, or small plastic army men—you have two great options to keep things moving quickly and accurately:

• The Scan Book Option: Keeping a dedicated binder or sheet behind the counter is a perfectly valid option, but it must be strictly reserved only for these few small items. Problems start when the scan book becomes a lazy crutch used for larger items that should be physically scanned.
• The Bin Barcode Alternative: A highly efficient alternative to the book is placing a barcode tag directly on the back or side of that specific prize bin. When your employee reaches in to grab a Tootsie Roll, they scan the barcode attached to the bin.

Whether your venue uses a tightly controlled scan book, barcodes on the bins, or a mix of both, the main point is that these small items must be scanned quickly and accurately every time. Flipped pages in a book or guessing at the counter leads to mistakes, missed lines, and a snowball effect of mismatched inventory.

⚠️ The Golden Rule of Cashless Operations

If a prize cannot be scanned directly via the product, a bin label, or a dedicated small-item scan book, it doesn't belong on the sales floor. Do not put it out on the redemption wall until the data is in the system.

Stop Freelancing: Get Your Money's Worth From Your Tech

Your cashless platform is likely one of the most significant capital investments in your entire building. It is a powerful tool capable of running deeply specific margin reports, tracking player velocity, and automating your inventory workflows. Yet, too many teams treat it like a basic cash register because they never took the time to learn it.

When a manager doesn’t understand how to execute a process or pull a specific report in the system, the common temptation is to "freelance." They invent their own manual workarounds, create rogue Excel spreadsheets to track inventory on the side, or make up their own ways of doing things. Freelancing isolates your team, creates data silos, and guarantees you are wasting the thousands of dollars you invested in your software. If you don't know how to do something inside your system, stop guessing and learn how to use it. Every major cashless provider offers training materials, manuals, and customer support. To make this easier, we have collected a vast library of these exact training manuals and operating resources and tucked them directly inside our Operational Toolkit.

Next Steps for Your Team

Do yourself a favor: pick at least one person on your management team and designate them as your venue’s Cashless System Champion. Build a strong relationship with your provider's support team. Book training sessions for your staff, dive into the manuals, and learn the software inside and out. Your cashless system can save you hundreds of hours of labor and protect your redemption center's profit margins—but only if you stop fighting the technology with manual workarounds. Commit to uploading your DPLs for every single order, protect your scanning integrity, and finally get your full money's worth out of your system.