We had a chat with Helen Goodman about how Invisible Business Solutions and Unleashed work together. She worked in the corporate sector for over 20 years, but with the building pressures of work and raising a young family, Helen left to set up her own practice in 2012. As a Consultant and Cloud Integrator, Helen provides advice and facilitates businesses efficiency by embracing the cloud. In a nutshell, Helen is #notyourordinaryaccountant.
Could you tell us a bit about your customers?
We work with women in business. For inventory management our clients are almost exclusively women in business who stepped away from the corporate world when they decided to have a family. They found or made a product that started from their kitchen table, and has grown beyond their spare room and garage, into 3PL and multi-channel sales. Their products are usually based around children and babies from clothes, to toys, to pram accessories. I am able to work with like-minded individuals who understand the balance between work and life, and who really appreciate professional support. My role is to identify the right platform for them, assist with implementation, and train them to understand and interpret the data. This allows them to save costs and grow more efficiently.How did you hear about Unleashed and what was your first impression?
As one of the first Xero Cloud Integrators, I have actively reviewed many of the Apps in the Ecosystem. When reviewing the options for inventory management, Unleashed met all the requirements for my clients and works well with Xero.Why do you think inventory management is important?
How often are customers disappointed when an item is out of stock? In today’s world where one bad social media review can ruin a brand, ensuring customers needs are met is essential. Alternatively, as a Management Accountant managing cashflow, ensuring that the right stock is on hand is important as too much stock means too much cash tied up! So many small business owners cannot effectively forecast sales and know stock turns of products. Therefore, they end up with too much inventory for one item and none for another!What are some of the challenges your customers are facing with inventory management?
Not knowing the value of stock on hand for insurance or just peace of mind. Also, not being able to meet customer demand and therefore receiving bad reviews.How does the future look for your business? Anything exciting coming up or something that you are working on and can tell us about?
Cloud Integration as a service is new, and business owners are just discovering how we can help them. After exhibiting at the Xero Roadshow in February, we were excited to meet so many tax accountants and bookkeepers who have clients that need cloud-based inventory management solutions. However, they had been referring a platform without being able to offer support. By partnering with a Cloud Integrator like us, they can now see a new way to add value to their clients.
What benefits does Unleashed bring to your customers? What problem/s does it solve?
One client, Jasmine of Bambella Designs, said "I now know exactly what stock I have in the warehouse and can avoid expensive air shipment orders.” Jasmine also said "By knowing the real cost of the products I sell, I can confidently negotiate with prospective wholesale customers knowing what margins that leaves me with. This allows me to grow my business both in Australia and overseas.”What is it like to work with the Unleashed team?
The Unleashed team are awesome and always responsive to requests for help! I deal with a number of Apps in the Xero Ecosystem, and Unleashed are second to none!How has Unleashed helped your customers grow?
By creating an environment where my clients have a better understanding of their business and a view of the true cost of their product, they have been able to negotiate with potential wholesale clients. Having a world-class inventory management solution allows them to compete with retail giants like Myer and David Jones, who require their suppliers to have systems and processes to ensure their customers are not disappointed.How do you find the implementation and integration between Unleashed and other software?
Integration from Unleashed to Xero is great! We had more “fun” when connecting with Neto around which platform should be the source of the data. However, the support team were great and gave us all the information we needed to make the right choice for the business. Some customers avoid change but they may be missing out on getting more efficiency in the business, what do you say about that? Change is really the only constant! Customers who resist change will eventually see their competitors overtake them. As difficult as it may be, with support and training, and a clear change management plan, many of the initial fears are manageable. However, I also think you can't force change, sometimes you have to wait until the client is ready! When they are ready, they will be willing to adopt new processes.Why do you recommend Unleashed?
If you bookkeep with Xero, then you need world class inventory management. Unleashed is the answer.What are some of the things that you enjoy about your partnership with Unleashed?
Support and training, access to resources (and the chance to feature in the spotlight!), and a helpful client manager who can find the answers to my questions!