How outsourced bookkeeping helped this equipment supplier

Introduction

Inter-Fridge are a locally owned and operated business supplying commercial refrigeration to various businesses around NZ. They import a range of equipment from Asia and Europe specifically designed for the supermarket and hospitality industry. Based in Auckland, they are able to service the whole of NZ and employ 3 staff that manage sales, service and deliveries. They have been with Red Office since 2015, initially for bookkeeping and payroll services, and then in 2019 started using our marketing support services.

The Challenge

Inter-Fridge was managing their bookkeeping and daily accounts functions in house for close to one year before they were referred to Red Office through their accountant. It was a time consuming chore for James, Director of Inter-Fridge to do on his own. It often meant late nights, or working weekends to catch up on admin, and he knew he wasn’t doing the best job having to manage it all on his own.

Having the right fit person was important to Inter-Fridge.  They didn’t feel they were big enough to employ someone but they knew they needed “more than just a bookkeeper” – they wanted a business driver, someone who understood and challenged them on their goals and were able to have discussions around where they wanted to be in 3-5 years and beyond. James also wanted to know and understand his figures better, to know which areas of the business required attention and which areas were working well.

Outsourcing work like this can be tough. It takes some getting used to the process, so it was also a preference to have someone on-site where there could be collaboration and discussion in person and reduce the emails or phone calls.

Inter-Fridge wanted a trusted, full-service relationship where there was complete visibility of the processes and accounts, including support for the wider team as well as ensuring the day to day accounts functions such as invoicing, payments, and payroll didn’t fall behind.  

The Solution

With the referral from their accountant as our introduction, we were able to propose a solution to James, where he would receive weekly accounts support and management of all daily tasks, payroll management, accounts support for the sales team and monthly reports prepared for their accountant.

This was a cost effective way of ensuring the accounts were accurate and compliant, saving Inter-Fridge thousands in recruitment and salaries.

Having someone off-site was a slight concern for him, so we proposed a tailored solution where our senior bookkeeper would work in their office one day per week. This provided peace of mind, clarity, and a chance to go over any queries together without having to pick up the phone or send multiple emails.

Results & Benefits

We established a great working relationship between us and all members of the Inter-Fridge team. 

With access to not only a senior bookkeeper who managed the day to day functions of the business,  supporting the sales team with their purchase orders, invoicing as well as monthly stocktakes with the team, James was also able to engage consulting services from Louise to support the larger aspects of the business, liaising with his accountant, lawyers, banks and other stakeholders when required.

James has full confidence in his accounts and peace of mind that his figures are accurate. He was able to reclaim the time he used to spend navigating Xero and the various admin work to focus on his customers and sales.

Conclusion

With a fully managed service in place, across 2 functions of our business, the team at Red Office have become not just an outsourced service to Inter-Fridge, but a trusted advisor and partner to James and his team.

Our hybrid working setup alleviated his concerns with having work completed off-site, establishing our strong relationship that increased our service capabilities to other areas of his business.

We have attended sales pitches, provided support for a recent acquisition, and have been involved in other aspects of the business at the client’s request due to our team’s experience and service oriented outlook.