Retail Shop Realizes Real Accounting Success
The Challenge
One small privately owned retail company had served its Kansas community for more than 50 years. Yet, in 2022, the owners realized the store’s manual accounting processes – including check writing, payroll, and reconciliations – were holding them back. Plus, the POS wasn’t integrated into the general ledger system, no month-end close process existed, and financials weren’t issued on a regular basis. As a result, the store was falling behind on accounts payable, and many of their vendor relationships were at risk.
Our Solution
After engaging Springline, the FP&A team started by converting the general ledger system to an online solution to better integrate with the shop’s banking transactions, as well as connecting the POS for better visibility into real-time inventory and revenue. The team also implemented BILL, a cloud-based software that digitized and automated the company’s accounts payable processes, including AP approvals, bill storage, and check payment process. One of the most valuable solutions the Springline team implemented was a weekly dashboard that reports cash in and out and a sales comparison by revenue line, sales tax, and anticipated bills.
Client Impact & Results
Inventory is now being updated daily, managers are more easily held accountable for the performance of their departments, and bill payment is organized and simple. The shop has already increased its profit margin from 42% to 47% and dramatically reduced its outstanding accounts payable from $402,000 in 2022 to $125,000 in 2025.
