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Case study: QuickBooks gives Beds R Us sweet dreams
Mon, 13th Jun 2011
FYI, this story is more than a year old

When new management took over the Whangarei Beds R Us franchise a few years ago, accounts were a pen and pencil affair. "Our franchise is one of the busiest in the country, per capita,” says Heather Rye, contract bookkeeper at the Whangarei store. "The nature of our business means that we move a lot of stock. But not every sale is cash and carry. Sometimes a customer will select a full bedroom suite, pay a deposit and then come back two or three additional times to pick up one or two pieces, each time adding to the deposit. Tracking inventory, deposits and partial deliveries takes forever with a manual system. But with QuickBooks Premier, it is as easy as a few clicks of the mouse.”

"After the store changed hands, the new owner asked me to look at the operation and recommend an automated accounting solution,” says Karina Chapman, Associate/Accounting Systems Manager at Sudburys, a Whangarei-based business development and accounting firm. "We had in-depth discussions about their business processes and what they wanted to achieve with their accounting package. For their particular requirements, QuickBooks Premier was the perfect choice. It had all of the capabilities they required and was well within their budget. Plus it had the advantage of being easy to use and had the flexibility they required to support their unique requirements. They decided to purchase QuickBooks Premier and asked us to customise it so they could realise immediate benefits.”

The business functions that Karina implemented support a variety of applications. "The whole transaction process is automated,” says Heather. "Sales receipts, purchase orders, stock levels, deposits and delivery dockets are all linked to the financials. I only spend maybe nine hours a week updating the accounts. Regular reports and end-of-year reconciliations are all easily managed.

"We might have up to 50 beds in our showroom and 500 beds in the warehouse,” continues Heather. "With QuickBooks Premier we can monitor the stock inventories, manage our transactions and run regular reports for management quickly and easily. The sales team loves it because they can provide up-to-date information

to customers. And, of course, it has consistently earned us positive feedback for customer satisfaction.”

And how do the owners like it? "They just purchased another Beds R Us franchise in Te Rapa,” concludes Heather, "and have replicated the entire QuickBooks-based system down there 100%. I have been driving down, but with remote login, I can even access the system and manage the accounts from home. With QuickBooks Premier, taking care of business has never been easier.”

Benefits

• Manages inventory and links to transactions

• Handles partial deposits and deliveries with ease

• Improves customer satisfaction

Why QuickBooks Premier

• Full range of functions and capabilities

• Cost-effective and easy-to-use

• Expert local support

For more information on QuickBooks and the range of products offered by Reckon,

please call 0800 447 292 or visit www.quicken.co.nz.