Moving to cloud inventory software is a big step, but it doesn’t have to be an intimidating one. And if you need a bit of extra help, there’s always an expert on hand to help out.
Here’s Gillian Rossouw from Ezi Cloud Connect on how she helped Sunstate Liquor upgrade their inventory system with zero hassle.
Sunstate Liquor has been in the alcohol industry for over 30 years, selling a wide range of imported and locally produced liquor to licensed restaurants, bars and clubs around the Gold Coast and Brisbane.
Making the leap to better inventory management with cloud software
I started working with Geoff from Sunstate Liquor when he switched over from a desktop accounting system to Xero in 2015. With Xero up and running, he was interested in replacing his desktop inventory solution with Unleashed Software so his backend systems were all connected online.
His desktop solution provider had promised that they would take their system online — but after three years, this promise never eventuated. In addition to this delay, Geoff was paying big bucks for his antique software.
After I gave an initial face-to-face presentation and live demo, we were ready to get down to it. But year-end was fast approaching, which is always a busy period for Geoff with Christmas festivities and New Year orders flowing through. That meant time was of the essence.
We rolled up our sleeves and got started. It was a case of interpreting his needs from the old system and being able to provide solutions and implement these in a logical manner in the Unleashed Software system.
The implementation process went smoothly — with Geoff helpfully providing me with supplier, customer and stock to import into his Unleashed Software — and the rollout was ready December 1. The task of setting up, rolling out and training was straightforward because Geoff understood what he needed to set up specifics such as special customer pricing and profit margins.
Leveraging Unleashed with a third-party app
The software revolutionised how Sunstate handled their inventory, but it couldn’t do everything. Geoff and his team were still struggling to create a customised report within Unleashed to populate total sales with their Liquor License Number and a summary of beer, wine and spirits; an industry-specific report that was required by law.
Through Unleashed, I got in touch with Andrei from Wink Reports, a third-party app that integrates seamlessly with Unleashed to create customised dashboards and reports. After connecting the two apps up via API, we were able to accurately generate the required reports.
“This project really makes one appreciate just how fabulous it is to work with clients who are prepared to spend the time to embrace change using cloud-based solutions.”
Looking to the future with Sunstate Liquor
With the integration between Xero and Unleashed, Geoff can view his data in real time so there’s no need to process opening or closing balances. He’s also able to see profit margins on each sale, and process orders through the Unleashed Sales app on his phone — even during the weekend.
Now that he is happily settled into Unleashed and Wink Reports, Geoff and his team at Sunstate Liquor have saved an enormous amount of time on admin work. At the end of the day, Geoff was happy to be able to concentrate on taking his business to new heights.
Their next objective is to start using the Unleashed B2B eCommerce Store — something that Geoff’s business buyers have been asking for!
Gillian Roussouw is Australia’s premier Xero consultant. She founded Ezi Cloud Connect in 2015 as a sister company to Jill of All Trades. Ezi Cloud Connect is focused on providing software solutions, conversions and training to help businesses become more efficient.
