Raison D'etre: Success Story
Accounting Software for Baking Companies

Sage Pro Series with Custom Order Processing System

Raison D'etre is a wholesale bakery that delivers fresh artisan baked goods to cafe's, coffee shops and grocery stores in the Greater San Francisco Bay Area. The bakery, which started out in a little kitchen above the family gourmet market in 1994, has grown consistently year after year and now serves over 300 customers with daily deliveries.

Stir-in Baking Powder to the Batter
When Raison D'etre received a notice from Sage Software that their accounting system, Vision Point, was being retired, their decision to upgrade to Pro Series was an easy one. The data capacity for Vision Point was filled up, which meant the program would crash at any time. Taking orders, processing orders and preparing invoices had become an issue as these daily tasks, interrupted by crashes, would cause hours of lost productivity time.

Bob Zuckerman of Zuckerman Consulting had previously created a
bridge program for Vision Point, and Raison D'etre decided to use
his services to execute the upgrade to Sage Pro.

The bakery had to make a smooth transition, and needed to convert all its Vision Point data to the new system. System integration became another concern, as all of the bakery's data resided in a custom order processing database. Raison D'etre needed a bridge program that would link the order processing program to Sage Pro ERP and transfer the completed orders while increasing accuracy and avoiding double entry.

Set the Oven at 350 degrees
While preparing for the data conversion and upgrade, Bob
Zuckerman uncovered incorrect and inconsistent data within the
Vision Point files. Working closely with the bakery, he proceeded
with careful corrections to the data to ensure as smooth a conversion as possible.

Throughout this process, Zuckerman Consulting took inventory of
the processes and needs of the bakery. The entire conversion process took a few months which involved preparing and testing the data, the bridge program, and executing the program upgrade itself.

The Batter Is In the Oven
Once all the data and the bridge program were tested and ready, Zuckerman Consulting completed the upgrade for Raison D'etre. Frances Fong, Manager of Admin Operations said, "For the most part, the implementation went fairly well with minor issues to tend to. Bob Zuckerman worked with us to isolate the problems and get resolution."

After the conversion was completed, it was only a matter of weeks for the employees at Raison D'etre to get comfortable and adapt to the new system. "We had to get our bearings, understanding where we needed to go into the program to input our data and how to extract our data", said Frances Fong.

Bob Zuckerman provided initial training on Sage Pro. The employees then worked together as a group to share and discover the intimacies of the program, which allowed them to better familiarize themselves with the program

Tasting the Goodies
With hundreds of invoices to prepare on a daily basis, Raison D'etre was now able to significantly reduce the time spent on those tasks, freeing large amounts of time better put to use developing stronger relationships with their customers and following up with them on a regular basis.

"The biggest result came from the implementation of the bridge program from the order processing system to Sage Pro that allowed us to save approximately four (4) hours in invoicing time daily", said Frances Fong.

Celebrating the 'Reason for Being'
Frances Fong said, "Zuckerman Consulting is a local company, familiar with our business processes. We can count on them to quickly help resolve problems should a problem arise." The employees at Raison D'etre enjoy working with Bob Zuckerman because he is an enthusiastic consultant who takes time to understand their business needs.

"His initiative and ability to ask the right questions in order to get the full picture for what needs to be done makes him a valuable member of our team", said Frances Fong. Bob Zuckerman at Zuckerman Consulting appreciates working with Raison D'etre because they see their business through the eyes of their clients.

"Mary Wong, owner of Raison D'etre states that hers is a simple business: they make a good product and deliver it on time. That's what we tried to do when delivering their upgrade as well."

About Zuckerman Consulting, Inc.
Zuckerman Consulting has assisted its clients in maintaining a consistently high standard of accounting and control. Finding creative solutions is what we do; we pride ourselves in designing the right blend of software, configuration, modification, procedural changes, training, reporting and web or systems integration to allow for your company's growth.

Contact WAC Consulting Group for information on accounting software for baking companies.