We’ve been talking with a company that’s sharing a familiar story.

This is an old, established company, with their first century anniversary not far in the future. They sell high-end goods, and they’ve been online for more than a decade. Now they’re ready to expand their e-commerce options. With a high-traffic PR5 website, they’re in a strong position.

So they’re talking about wholesale ordering, a friendlier shopping cart, and integrating with accounting (they use Peachtree) and inventory.

Right now, staff waste time entering the same data twice or even three times: in an email, in Excel, in the accounting system. Reports require multiple sources of data, and experts who can look at them and fit them all together mentally before preparing a new report that combines them all. Papers pile up. Errors are more likely to be made — and even if no errors are made, the extra stress involved in avoiding them and double checking for them can be tiring.

It doesn’t have to be that way.

The solution here is an integrated system. When point of sale and inventory management mesh with accounting and both interlock seamlessly with the e-commerce system, it means the end of the repetition, the stacks, the double checking, the stress. It’s like replacing an obstacle course with a ballet.

More work gets done without requiring more staff time. Key people are freed from repetitive tasks and empowered to take on more creative work. The workflow improves — and if it’s done right, this happens without a steep learning curve or intensive efforts at change.

Everybody knows that integrated systems are better. But they can be hard to create. It’s rarely a matter of pulling a couple of boxes off a shelf and hoping they work together. That’s like throwing a lot of vegetables together and hoping they become soup.

The story is familiar, but we’re just as excited about it every time, because we know that we can help. We specialize in integrated systems, and particularly in integrating accounting systems into the workflow. We’re not saying it’s easy — but it’s easier when you know how.

We know how.

And it’s always easier to change the environment than to change the people. There’s a lot of satisfaction for us in hearing clients say that we’ve changed not only their workflow but the atmosphere in the office.

Could integrated systems make a difference for you? Call us at 1 888 494-1260 to discuss the workings of your business.

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