Yarn Shop Supports a Worthy Cause with Aquilon Financials
The Shepherd’s Heart Society is a non-profit society and the sole proprietor of the Once Upon a Sheep Yarn Shop. Since 2006 the Society’s mission has been to provide the community with a local yarn shop that carries quality yarn and knitting products, as well as an inviting atmosphere to enjoy your craft.
Once upon a time…
Heather Murray* had long been a fan of Aquilon ERP software, having previously used it in several organizations. So when she became bookkeeper for the Once Upon a Sheep Yarn Shop, having the right financial package became a priority.
From its beginnings in 2006, the yarn shop was designed to support charitable projects, and is staffed entirely by volunteers. Today its profits go to Salvation Army Camps, attended by more than 4,500 children in Canada each summer. But how to know whether the store was generating any revenue for the cause? Without a comprehensive financial package, Heather wasn’t sure. She wasn’t fully confident in their financial statements, and neither was she able to determine their cost of goods, what the bestselling or non-selling yarns were, or whether in fact the shop was breaking even.
She sought out contacts at Aquilon Software, requesting special nonprofit pricing, and was able to go live with the system in June 2012. Eighteen months later, Heather is very pleased with her choice, finding it affordable, reliable, and helping all of the pieces of the business fit together. The capabilities she finds most useful are:
- Having accurate cost-of-sales information
- The ability to do sales analysis to highlight profitable and non-profitable items
- Accurate inventory information
- Easy bank reconciliation
- Paying suppliers on time with the Accounts Payable package
- Generating financial statement needed for month-end and year-end
Heather is very pleased with the progress that’s been made. She is very comfortable using the system and is able to make sound management decisions based on the sales analysis. And operational tasks have been improved as well: “With Aquilon, I can now manage the retail operation to produce revenue for our nonprofit,” says Heather, adding “while financial statements and bank reconciliation are a breeze.”
The next step for Heather is greater systems integration. Currently she does a weekly transfer of cash register data into the Aquilon system, allowing her to have the benefit of the financial package. But by connecting her point-of-sale system directly to the ERP system as planned, the retail store operation will benefit from even more efficiency gains.
“With Aquilon, I can now manage the retail operation to produce revenue for our nonprofit, while financial statements and bank reconciliation are a breeze.”
Heather Murray, Bookkeeper at Once Upon a Sheep
At a glance:
Challenge:
- Insights to revenue and sales performance
- Comprehensive financial statements
Outcome:
- Affordable and reliable system with Aquilon software
- Accurate cost-of-sales
- Accurate inventory
- Easy bank reconciliation
- Timely supplier payments
- Simple financial statements
- Improved retail operations
* Note: This case study was originally published in 2014. Heather Murray has since retired.