Dawn and Rae have been using Unleashed to help run their business Out Deco since early 2010, making them pioneers of our cloud Inventory Management solution.
Out Deco was started by Dawn and Rae when they left the corporate world behind and went into business for themselves. Dawn had worked in Asia for 12 years (including seven years in China), and Rae had worked in a government department for 18 years.
The concept for Out Deco came from numerous discussions over a few years, about the need to make the outside of homes as interesting as the inside. While some people may just call this an outdoor room, Out Deco are passionate about finding holistic solutions for challenging garden and patio spaces, with a particular focus on establishing the right mood for your space and providing customers with something that will make their garden stand out from everybody elses.
The business itself has several components – an online shop, trade and selling direct at shows and markets. As well as Unleashed, Dawn and Rae use Xero for their accounting, and Vend for their point of sale requirements. All three systems are integrated to create a seamless cloud-based business platform from which Out Deco operates.
Before adopting cloud technology, Dawn and Rae relied on an offline solution to manage their accounting and inventory. They quickly realized that this was not conducive to achieving their goal of running a business that would fit with their desire to lead active lives. Dawn and Rae wanted to be able to travel and not be stuck in front of a computer all day - not to mention the fact that living in different cities and sharing business information was difficult.
When searching for alternative options, it became apparent that ‘the cloud’ held the answer for many reasons.
For a business that was just starting out, cloud-based software was a low risk option. Paying a monthly fee and having a user-friendly system automatically upgraded over time had immense appeal. Flexible subscription models and the ability to integrate seamlessly with other cloud-based software applications meant that Dawn and Rae could extend their business platform as and when required. And best of all they would be able to access their information from anywhere, at any time of day.
Reflecting on whether the move to the cloud and Unleashed was a good one, we think Dawn sums it up nicely. “I’ve heard about some businesses getting into real strife, and I just think to myself ‘A system like Unleashed is such a small investment for the integrity and insight that it gives you into what’s happening with your stock, why wouldn’t you?’ I can’t understand why people don’t invest in good systems.”
To learn more about Dawn and Rae’s journey with Unleashed and the cloud read our Out Deco case study.
If you’re interested in joining Dawn and Rae, and the growing number of businesses using cloud-based software, sign up for a free 14-day trial of Unleashed inventory management software.
