Contrary to popular belief, the business of Cupid is a year-round affair. Cupid and his crew are constantly all over place, pairing, matching, tracking and yes, shooting arrows of love into would-be lovers. Of course, there’s more to the business of Cupid than popular mythology presents. Beyond the shot of the arrow, lies a whole host of duties, from invoicing and receiving, to tracking and mandatory follow-through. And until recently, Cupid and Co. were able to exist and even thrive on a relatively simple operation, a small-scaled accounting system that seemed to get the job done. That entry level accounting software would help crank out their weekly, month-end, quarterly and annual reports, though with increasingly prolonged delays. And while Cupid’s entire team knew that Cupid and Co.’s fiscal year always began on February 14th, they still couldn’t get their financials squared away in time. So, ultimately, Cupid and Co. said goodbye and gave that old software the boot.
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What really happened
Still, we wanted to dig a little deeper than popular mythology would share. So, after some persistence, last February 14th, Cupid granted an interview and gave us a real breakdown as to why he ditched his entry level accounting software. He even shared the solution that helped his business of love and matchmaking truly thrive.
Following is an excerpt from our exclusive interview:
I found that my team and I were constantly at a bottleneck. When it came to tracking our arrow shots and matches, even the simplest straight shot took forever to track and reconcile. At first, tracking and matching was a breeze, even during our busiest season. We even came to rely on those spreadsheets. But now that we’re operating in every time zone, our operations and the inevitable growing pains that follow, have increased exponentially. I thought, there has to be a better way! So, I made a list of what it would take to allow my team of matchmakers to get ahead of the game and really thrive.
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An Unlimited Number of Users: I needed a system that wouldn’t need a temporary shutdown just to add another matchmaker to my team.
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A User Definable Dashboard: Those cookie cutter dashboards were so mid-2000s. I wanted something that felt like it was tailor made for my business based on our business needs. Why not?
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Flexible Financial Periods: Sure, some of those other companies start their clock on January 1st, but we’re a little different at Cupid and Co.
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Dimensional Reporting
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Advanced Financial Report Writer
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Advanced Find- Slice & Dice Query Tool
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Full Role-Based Security: I want to control access to my company’s data to ensure privacy with sensitive data.
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Integrated CRM: The last thing I wanted was unnecessary work heaped on my team when they’re already busy. And the worst thing that I can think of is redundant manual entries. For all of our clients, we certainly don’t have the time to enter their information twice. If a client’s information is updated in one area, that should be the end of it.
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Attach Notes, Documents, Emails to any Record: Sometimes we need detailed records to follow-through when dealing with difficult situations. We don’t have time to rely on paper trails or email threads to track an activity.
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Multi-Location Inventory: Nothing is worse than a lost or unrecovered arrow. Sure, it’s a rare occurrence, but we shouldn’t have to rely on those manual and tedious inventory counts. I needed a system that tracks and manages from one location to the next.
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Accounting for Multiple Locations: Transactions from every time zone, from Newport Beach to Detroit, should be readily available and easily tracked and reconciled, down to the penny.
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Accountability Dashboard: I really wanted to know how my team was performing, so I knew that I needed a tangible way to quantify and analyze performance. From arrow usage and shot accuracy, to client returns and satisfaction. While rare, the occasional lost client due to irreconcilable differences, would surface.
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Cloud-Based Access from Anywhere: This was a given. I needed a real accounting solution that my team and I could access and utilize from anywhere. After all, what good would a powerful and robust solution be, if it was only accessible from our HQ?
Once I came to terms with the fact that my entry level accounting software wasn’t going to get the job done, I knew I had to make a change. I knew that catching up wasn’t enough.
The perfect match
I found myself looking for that perfect match, not only for a better alternative, but for a real long-term accounting solution that would help Cupid and Co. grow. Ultimately, I looked at the cloud right under my feet and found Gravity Software® (Gravity). Gravity’s robust accounting solution streamlined my business operation by eliminating unnecessary clutter and steps, ultimately increasing efficiency across the board by saving time and money, especially when you need more than basic financial transactions. Ultimately, Gravity’s got me covered.
To be clear, if I were still the same old single time zone mythological matchmaker, I could probably get by on my old entry level accounting software. But when you have a solution in place that really grows with your business, you have to make the jump. I learned that Gravity's guiding principle is to simplify the lives of their users while providing SMBs like Cupid and Co., the platform we need to grow.
Gravity is built on the Microsoft Power Platform (aka Dynamics 365), a robust and open platform that hosts over 5 million users worldwide. Give your business that extra sparks it deserves with Gravity’s robust cloud accounting solution and schedule your online demo today. My business is connected. Is yours?
Gravity Software
Better. Smarter. Accounting.
