Leading UK-based specialty coffee chain
THE CLIENTS
This specialty coffee company is engaged in production, processing, roasting and retailing coffee and associated beverages, operating from ten locations in the United Kingdom.
THE PROBLEM
The client was accustomed to managing business data on a collection of spreadsheets. Changes made in the data on each file had to be manually updated on all related files, and this exposed business data to significant risk of human error and process inadequacies. Data had to be exported outside the system for further analytics or if the client desired to generate any customized reports. There was no unified system/platform safeguarding the integrity of business data and enable end to end processing and management.
Large discrepancies were noted in trial balance to distributed analytical reports prepared for monthly, quarterly & statutory purposes. Significant manpower had to be spent on frequent audits to discover mismatched data, identifying appropriate adjustment methods and for updating all sheets. At any given time, the company was likely to be working with incorrect data and business decisions were negatively impacted.
THE IMPACT
The credibility of the company’s financial records were affected, and stakeholders expressed a lack of trust in the company’s business data.
OUR SOLUTION
We started by cleaning up the books and implementing a comprehensive digitization of the client’s finances. A reference period of 8 months was chosen to assess the effectiveness of the solution and quality of data.
Virgate’s Balance Sheet Reconciliation tool was deployed at the client’s various locations. All their ePOS (point of sale) machines were linked via APIs to the accounting module to enable direct and unobstructed data flow, eliminating the need for manual data entry and processing. All data is securely stored within the system, and PowerBI generates customized reports in accordance with the client’s requirements. and prepare accounting statements. Authorized stakeholders have secure access to relevant dashboards through the Xero platform, and can pull PDF reports in just a few clicks.
RESULTS DELIVERED
Within 10 weeks from the launch of the project, the client regained control of their accounting and financial reporting functions. Cashflow movements (captured though the ePOS and other systems) were reconciled on a daily basis and the data was accurately synchronized across the entire business. Timely reports generated on various aspects of the financial positions enabled total compliance as well as intelligent decision making. The new system restored the stakeholders’ trust in the integrity and accuracy of business data from the client.
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