Retail is changing fast, and accounting needs to keep up. With more transactions happening online and businesses juggling multiple platforms, decisions need to be made in real time. The old ways of doing things just don’t cut it anymore, making automated solutions a must. It’s not just fancy tech—it’s a groundbreaking innovation that helps businesses save time, reduce errors, and focus on what really matters: growing and thriving.
Why retail accounting is getting harder—and how to manage the chaos
Let’s face it—accounting in the retail world can get messy. As businesses grow, so do their transaction volumes, and keeping track manually can quickly become a recipe for burnout and errors. Plus, it takes you away from focusing on more important things, like spotting trends or making smart business calls.
Vilms Consulting, an accounting firm dedicated to supporting growing ecommerce businesses, knows these challenges all too well. Today we’re going to share their CEO’s insights.
With over 20 years of financial management experience, Vilms Consulting CEO Michelle Vilms makes money matters simple for growing businesses. A QuickBooks Advanced Certified ProAdvisor with an MBA from Babson College, her hands-on approach makes financial clarity accessible and actionable.
Michelle explains how dealing with multiple platforms like Amazon, Stripe, and Shopify caused major headaches for her team. “It was a strenuous process and a lot of learning among the team, depending on what each client brought to us,” she says. The lack of standardization made it hard to maintain consistency and build efficient processes.
Automation: A time-saving revolution
Automation is a game-changer for retail accounting. It cuts out the boring, repetitive tasks and lets you focus on the bigger picture. As Michelle states, by automating manual data entry, accounting firms like hers can save up to 40% of time.
Vilms Consulting has seen firsthand how automation transforms workflows. One of their clients started out manually entering sales receipts. While it worked when the client was small, it became a massive drain on resources as their business grew. With Synder’s automation tools, Vilms Consulting helped integrate their client’s sales platform with their accounting system. This eliminated the need for outsourced help, saved significant time, and allowed the client to focus on scaling their business.
“I think Synder saves us a third to a half of time working, because it allows us to skip over the data entry. Once you get comfortable with how it integrates, then you can just trust the process. The platform will show you if there’s a hiccup or a misfire and tell you exactly where it is.”
Michelle Vilms, owner of Vilms Consulting
Multi-platform integrations: Simplifying complexity
Running a business across multiple platforms without integrating them into one system can feel like herding cats. But with tools that tie together everything from sales channels to payment processors, businesses can finally make sense of it all.
“Synder is adjusting our workflow, it fixes our in-house process. It doesn’t matter what platform the client chooses, we know how these systems are going to work in Synder.”
Michelle Vilms, owner of Vilms Consulting
One of Vilms Consulting’s early clients faced a particularly complex situation, juggling four loans and five payment platforms on Shopify. As Michelle Vilms explains it, simplifying this intricate setup with Synder’s accounting automation software was a rewarding challenge for the team. After months of dealing with this issue, they were now able streamline operations, enabling the client to easily pinpoint specific deposits that required attention and resolve any issues efficiently. Michelle points out that this optimization not only saved significant time but also freed up resources to focus on growth opportunities for the client.
The role of daily summaries in scaling up
Scaling up often means dealing with a mountain of transactions. But a tool like Synder, which offers daily summary entries, makes the task of conquering that mountain seem way less daunting. Instead of slogging through every single transaction, you can handle it all in one neat package each day.
Vilms Consulting has mastered this approach to help clients streamline their accounting. One specific ecommerce client of theirs, facing skyrocketing transaction volumes, benefited immensely from daily summaries. By using this functionality, Michelle and her team ensured that the client’s books stayed efficient and organized, even as the business scaled rapidly.
“The summary functionality has been great, one daily entry means that as the client grows, that arduous process of getting data into the books doesn’t really change. The numbers grow, but our processes stay smooth.“
Michelle Vilms, owner of Vilms Consulting
This approach not only saves time but also empowers Vilms Consulting to deliver more strategic insights and value to their clients.
The power of real-time accounting: Why waiting isn’t an option
In today’s fast-paced world, waiting for end-of-month financial updates is no longer enough. Automation and integration tools provide real-time data, so businesses can see what’s happening with their finances whenever they need to.
Vilms Consulting finds this particularly valuable for their clients. Another client of theirs, a retailer utilizing Stripe, shared how much they value the ability to instantly generate financial summaries. This feature allows them to gain a clear understanding of their financial position at any given moment, providing greater insight and control over their operations.
“If you hire an outside company, they might work on your books every day or once a week. But if you have an electronic system like Synder that’s going to send data over, that data is reliable to the business owner, even before the books are ticked. It’s usable information in a real time way. Not having to wait on the data is a benefit for everybody.”
Michelle Vilms, owner of Vilms Consulting
Unlocking the future of accounting in retail
The future of retail accounting is all about working smarter, not harder. Automation, integration, and real-time access to data make life easier by cutting down on tedious work, reducing errors, and freeing up time for the things that really matter. Tools like Synder allow businesses to harness these trends by connecting platforms, simplifying workflows, and keeping finances clear and up-to-date.
With Synder, accounting becomes less of a chore and more of a strategic advantage. It’s all about helping businesses thrive in a competitive, fast-moving world. By embracing these advancements, accounting firms like Vilms Consulting can stay ahead of the curve and set themselves up for long-term success.
Revolutionize your accounting workflow today
Synder has proven to save time, enhance accuracy, and enable Vilms Consulting to deliver exceptional value to their clients. Sign up for Synder’s 15-day free trial or join our Weekly Public Demo to experience the future of retail accounting—right now.
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