The challenge: an inefficient, outdated accounting system
Dr. Tavel Family Eye Care struggled with an outdated, server-based accounting system that was both inefficient and inflexible. They were using Sage100, a system that was sunsetting, causing a multitude of issues including an inability to integrate with their point-of-sales system for retail locations. The company's server-based system could not support remote work, a need made apparent during the COVID pandemic, and had no capacity for document storage and backup. As a result, the team was stuck sifting through piles of paperwork to reconcile expenses, contributing to a month-end close process that extended beyond 30 days.
"That’s really not acceptable in finance, and it certainly wasn’t acceptable to me as a financial professional,” VP of Finance and HR Tera Carpenter said.
Calculating triple-net leases each year was a similarly labor-intensive process that consumed days of her team’s time.
Sage 100 was also incapable of handling multi-entity accounting efficiently. Tasks such as reversing journal entries and properly coding them involved multiple steps and heavy reliance on Excel. Carpenter knew there had to be a better solution, so she began researching multi-entity accounting systems and discovered Gravity Software.
The solution: cloud-based, multi-entity accounting software
Gravity had many of the features of a larger ERP system at an affordable price, Carpenter said.
It was also very easy to use, which made her team more willing to adopt a new system.
The initial benefits were apparent within a few weeks of implementing the software.
Carpenter’s team could enter intercompany transactions or invoices that applied to multiple locations once and assign them to the appropriate entities and the right month without having to re-enter them.
Gravity’s bank reconciliation feature streamlined the once painful process of matching invoices and bank records to journal entries in the company’s own internal records. “Our (previous) accounting system didn't function as a real live accounting system,” Carpenter said. “It was just an afterthought to put the summaries in to generate reports. With Gravity, it's an active system. Our bank transactions and payables are there throughout the month, with everything updated in real time.”
Gravity’s fixed asset system also allows them to mark vouchers that are fixed assets, enabling an automatic transfer to the fixed asset system, effectively removing an additional step from their routine.
The result: more efficient month-end close and more accurate and timely financial analysis
Dr. Tavel Family Eye Care has been using Gravity Software for more than a year now, and the accounting team has experienced even more significant improvements in their processes during that time. They reduced their month-end close time from more than 30 days to 10-15 days within a few months of implementing the software.
They also saved time on triple net calculations, an annual task that used to be a frustrating and heavily manual ordeal. Their team used to spend several long days pulling general ledger data, sifting through physical invoices, and scanning them. With Gravity, they simply select merely relevant entries and save them as a PDF — a process that takes just a few hours.
“With all the time we’re saving on bank reconciliation, month-end close, and other routine tasks, we can do more financial analysis, budgeting, and providing valuable feedback to the company on strategic direction,” Carpenter said.
Simplify multi-entity accounting with Gravity
With the success of Gravity Software in improving its accounting processes and efficiency, Dr. Tavel Family Eye Care plans to continue integrating more entities into the system. As they focus on their vision of improving and expanding their services, Gravity Software will undoubtedly play a vital role in their journey, allowing them to focus on what they do best — providing quality eye care.
See why Dr. Tavel Family Eye Care and more than 3,200 other companies trust Gravity Software to manage their growing businesses. Schedule an online demo today.
