Nut Butter Entrepreneur Cuts Bookkeeping Time 50% with Trapp Technology QuickBooks Hosting

Wild Friends Foods grew out of a rainy day, a bag of peanuts, a food processor and plenty of imagination. With no intent to start a business, University of Oregon sophomores, Keeley Tillotson and Erika Welsh, created their first batch of homemade cinnamon raisin peanut butter in February, 2011. With the urging of friends, they found a ready market for their tasty spread and other creations. After an appearance on Shark Tank in 2012, and with funding from Kickstarter, friends and family they built a successful natural foods company.
With products in more than 2,000 stores nationwide, Wild Friends Foods continues to expand rapidly. You can find their delicious peanut, almond and sunflower butters at Sprouts, Whole Foods, New Seasons and several regional natural foods stores. Wild Friends Foods uses QuickBooks Premier hosted on the cloud by Trapp Technology QuickBooks Hosting.

Keeley Tillotson, co-founder, Wild Friends Foods, eliminated duplicate data entry, cutting her bookkeeping time in half, by moving her accounting to Trapp Technology QuickBooks Hosting. Being on the cloud has provided convenient, anywhere access for Tillotson and other employees, allowing her to outsource accounting tasks to others. More current data results in more timely reports for investors and company officers. Automated regular backups make Wild Friends’ data more secure.

Business Needs

Accounting Help

As the Wild Friends’ brand ambassador, head of marketing and CFO, Keeley Tillotson needed help with bookkeeping but was the only one with access to QuickBooks on her Mac. “Accounting was not a very useful tool for us because I never had time to keep it updated,” explained Tillotson. “When you’re growing quickly you have way more to do and need to be more efficient. It didn’t make sense to only be able to access QuickBooks on my own computer.”

Duplicate Data Entry

Tillotson maintained a number of spreadsheets to track and share performance with others in the company. “Everyone could access it and it was more up-to-date,” shared Tillotson. “I entered data into Excel for everyone to see then into QuickBooks at the end of the month.” In addition to the extra work created by duplicate data entry, report printing was limited to the end of the month.

Data Security

On one occasion, Tillotson accidentally deleted a backup. “I had to re-enter multiple months of data,” explained Tillotson. “It took one full week of concentrated work to re-enter the data.” She needed a more reliable and secure backup procedure.

Solution

Trapp Technology QuickBooks Hosting

In 2013, Wild Friends’ outside accountant recommended Trapp Technology QuickBooks Hosting because of her experience with other clients who were using it. “She said it worked really well for people who wanted to handle certain aspects of the business and outsource other tasks,” stated Tillotson. “She highly recommended them.”

Tillotson checked out the Trapp Technology Website and talked to a helpline representative. “Because of Trapp Technology’s low cost and the recommendation from someone I trusted, I didn’t investigate other alternatives,” stated Tillotson. “We decided late in 2013 to move our accounting to the cloud.”

In early 2014, Tillotson switched from QuickBooks on Mac to QuickBooks Premier on the PC to prepare for the move to Trapp Technology. “It took a little time to learn the new inventory features of QuickBooks PC, but switching to the cloud was really easy,” stated Tillotson. “You just backup a copy and they set it up for you. It was a five minute phone call to learn how to use it.”

Tillotson found Trapp Technology’s support to be helpful during the transition. “I’ve never been able to get a good answer from a QuickBooks support person,” stated Tillotson. “So, having Trapp Technology’s support walk me through the whole process has been great.”

Trapp Technology QuickBooks Hosting gives you access to your QuickBooks application and data anywhere you have an Internet connection. Three people in the company now easily access and update Wild Friends’ QuickBooks. “Our bookkeeper, a new AR clerk and I each access the system from our own locations,” stated Tillotson. “It’s great to have the help.”

Accessing QuickBooks on the cloud with Trapp Technology QuickBooks Hosting is just like using it on the PC. “I like that it’s the same as using QuickBooks on my computer,” stated Tillotson. “It’s been incredibly helpful to access the system from anywhere!”

Benefits

Bookkeeping Time Cut 50%

Being on the cloud has made Wild Friends’ bookkeeping process much more efficient. “Working with Trapp Technology has cut my bookkeeping time in half,” related Tillotson. “I don’t have to enter everything twice. And, I can be at my parent’s house for dinner and access my QuickBooks to change an invoice quickly if needed.”

The Freedom of the Cloud

With improved access on the cloud, Tillotson is getting the help she needs. “It’s incredibly helpful to have multiple people working on one system instead of me having to do marketing and travel and then come home to do basic data entry that anyone can do,” stated Tillotson. “My clerk can go online and pay checks from her home computer whenever she wants so everything’s up-to-date.”

Tillotson thinks anywhere access to QuickBooks is a must. “Trapp Technology makes QuickBooks modern like any other cloud-accessible technology,” stated Tillotson. “My generation expects everything to be accessible from anywhere all the time. Not being able to do that with QuickBooks felt like a big burden.”

Secure Data

Trapp Technology’s regular automatic backups make Wild Friends’ data more secure. “It’s really nice to know that my data is always being backed up,” stated Tillotson. “We don’t lose data anymore.”

Life is Better

Trapp Technology’s QuickBooks hosting makes a big difference in the life of a young entrepreneur. “Trapp Technology has made my life easier and simpler,” explained Tillotson. “As an entrepreneur, my life is full of crises and problem solving. When something solves a problem for you it’s awesome. Putting our QuickBooks on the cloud was a great decision.”

Can your company benefit from cloud hosting in a similar way to Wild Friends Foods? Start a 30 Day Cloud Test Drive today!