Accounting for Bakeries

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Krista and Aynsley at their Winnipeg bakery.

That’s precisely what Aynsley Rosin felt her business was to the large accounting firm she was working with. She just couldn’t get answers to her questions quick enough, and she wasn’t receiving any sort of detailed advice or insight based on her numbers.

And Aynsley is someone who understands the importance of detail. Her business, Sweet Impressions - which she runs with co-owner Krista Robertson - has been making beautifully decorated, intricate, and downright delicious sugar cookies, cupcakes, and wedding cakes in Winnipeg since 2008.

Aynsley wasn’t getting access to up-to-date financial information, and the guidance that should accompany it. She needed those numbers to make informed decisions, and not being trained in accounting, she needed an accountant with whom she felt a connection - and one who could provide her with greater insight into her business and its performance.

Enter: Avalon

Aynsley came to us through an introduction by a mutual friend, and we very quickly began working on ways to give her and Krista the information they needed. From the word go, our teams clicked. And our shared love of lists cemented a match made in accounting heaven!

Together, we zeroed in on what was required. Aynsley needed to see numbers in a timely manner, and to have that information broken down in such a way that it made sense for her business. So, we decided to introduce a cloud accounting platform into the mix. Our reasoning was two-fold:

1. It gave Aynsley access to real-time numbers, anytime and anywhere, with a just a few clicks;
2. And with Sweet Impressions based in Winnipeg and we’re based in Victoria, it made working remotely a cinch.

On top of the cloud accounting platform, Aynsley handed over their monthly bookkeeping and year-end reporting to us. Aynsley now gets the info she needs within 15 days of the end of the month in a handy and easy-to-understand report.

The document breaks down various income streams, promotions, and the sales of various products, from cupcakes to cookies. This has proved incredibly useful for Aynsley, as it allows her to accurately assess how well certain products are selling, and how well her promotions have performed.

Xero? A Piece of Cake

Speaking of the cloud, it isn’t just any old cloud accounting platform Sweet Impressions now has: it’s the world’s most beautiful: Xero.

Aynsley requested that things were organized in such a way that it made sense for her, providing the information she required at her fingertips, whenever and wherever. This was hugely empowering for Aynsley, as she hadn’t realized that cloud accounting was even an option for her business.

Now, all her important documents are available online via Xero and Receipt Bank, but this new solution introduced a new challenge. The point of sale software used by Sweet Impressions didn’t integrate with Xero, so we introduced Aynsley to a software developer who’s now working on building a custom software solution that will import info directly into Xero, while offering some new ecommerce capabilities too.

Straight to the Good Stuff

In addition to the monthly report, Aynsley now gets a monthly video meeting via Zoom, which is very apt, as it allows us to quickly connect and catch up, going over sales and celebrating all the great things Aynsley and her team have achieved. Instead of spending 45 minutes analyzing everything in minute detail, we get straight to the good stuff.

Aynsley also lets us know which new information she’d like to see in next month’s report; it’s not a simple template, it’s an ever-evolving document. She now has the relevant info to continue to run and grow her business.

For example, when Aynsley started running promotions in the bakery, and wanted to know the cost and ROI of running these promotions, the report was adjusted to break down the cost of goods sold during the offer.

Avalon is different from other accounting firms because they genuinely care about the success of my business.

Worth the Investment

Now that she’s getting accurate, up-to-date information about her business, Aynsley has the confidence to make big decisions based on real numbers. And with some large-scale purchases in the business’s future, knowing her numbers means she can make those purchases with complete conviction.

Accounting wasn’t something Aynsley looked forward to before. She didn’t think of accounting as fun, but our teams share a sense of humour, and it makes dealing with numbers less boring for her.

Aynsley has learned that outsourcing accounting is definitely worth the investment: “It might be hard to justify this cost to yourself, especially if you’ve just started out, but having an expert do your books can save you valuable time, and also saves you from a lot of mistakes.”

Avalon is different from other accounting firms because they genuinely care about the success of my business. — Aynsley R.

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Small potatoes? Not to us. Sweet Impressions are large fries. And a supersize milkshake. And we’ll take some of those sugar cookies too...