Customised, in-depth reporting for better decision-making
Cloud-based system provides one source of data truth for all APTC’s work sites.
Automated workflows save time, and teams can do their jobs more efficiently.
Like many homegrown companies, APTC Australia started as a Mum-and-Dad business (literally).
Laura Gatecliffe’s parents founded the sealing solutions company almost 30 years ago, and when they retired, she stepped in as General Manager. Today, APTC has 20+ employees across multiple sites and works closely with the construction industry, offering a diverse range of products.
As the company has grown, so has the complexity of its finances. Laura shares how upgrading from MYOB AccountRight to MYOB Advanced Business helped automate processing, consolidate business reporting and set the business up for success in the coming years.
The company outgrew its old system
From the beginning, APTC has used MYOB. During its early days, the company found that MYOB AccountRight was the right fit. But as it added more products and services, the system started lagging. That delay was further exacerbated when APTC offered national distribution and opened more warehouse locations.
“We’d used MYOB AccountRight for many years, but it had become outdated for our business,” Laura says. “For example, we still used a manual-card filing system for pricing. When customers ordered, you’d have to sift through every customer card before creating an invoice. This also made price increases a nightmare!”
Technology has also come a long way over the last few decades, and APTC knew an advanced system would help the business achieve its future ambitions.
“We knew there were many benefits of moving to a cloud-based system. Most importantly, we needed a solution that our teams could access on the road or from different sites.”
- Laura Gatecliffe, General Manager, APTC Australia
APTC chooses to stay with MYOB
Laura believes upgrading to MYOB Advanced Business was because of APTC’s positive experience with MYOB previously. And, when MYOB Advanced Payroll launched, the business was even more confident it had made the right call.
“We were still running payroll through MYOB AccountRight, so it was great when MYOB Advanced Payroll was introduced, and we could do everything in the one system."
- Laura Gatecliffe, General Manager, APTC Australia
“It’s also been easy to train new staff to use the system, which is a bonus.” she explains.
Automated processing, better customer experience
One of the most noticeable improvements since upgrading to MYOB Advanced Business is the speed at which Laura and the team can access and process data.
In APTC’s line of work, “tradespeople don’t have the time to wait for your system to process – they just want in and out.” Recently, Laura has been working to streamline how APTC processes trade counter sales, automating tasks where they can. That includes digitising its customer pricing.
“When we were a smaller business, it was easy enough to manage individual customer pricing. Now, it’s critical that we’re able to provide quick and easy transactions so our customers can get on-site as soon as possible,” she says.
Lots of other processes have improved too. APTC has digitised its Accounts Payable/Accounts Receivable using templates available in MYOB Advanced Business, saving the accounts team significant time.
When receiving goods, warehouse teams now add batch numbers and expiry dates directly into the system rather than on packing slips. The business also uses the inventory management plugin Netstock, which helps automate stock transfers, track international ordering and forecast sales.
“Most of those processes were done using paper. Now that we have a digital paper trail, we can focus on customer service and growing the business."
- Laura Gatecliffe, General Manager, APTC Australia
Customised reporting: high-level or drill down
As General Manager, Laura now has access to customised reporting without having to manipulate data using Excel. She can pull profit and loss statements for each site or consolidate the numbers for a bird’s-eye view of APTC’s overall financial performance.
“It gives me a clearer picture of what’s happening in the business, which I didn’t have before.”
- Laura Gatecliffe, General Manager, APTC Australia
Setting the business up for success
Prior to MYOB Advanced Business, the company ran on a server-based system with limited off-site access. For APTC’s sales reps, this made accessing customer information while on the road almost impossible. Instead, they’d spend hours on the phone with the admin team or riffling through paper records.
With MYOB Advanced Business, APTC is now fully cloud-based – and that’s been a game-changer.
“All of our sales reps now fly with laptops and are less dependent on the office staff because they can directly pull the information they need from MYOB Advanced Business, like customer purchase history.”
- Laura Gatecliffe, General Manager, APTC Australia
More APTC locations on the horizon
Over the next few years, APTC aims to expand its national footprint by opening more sites across Australia. With MYOB Advanced Business, Laura’s confident it has the right system to support that level of growth. Until then, her focus is unlocking even more areas with MYOB Advanced Business that will benefit the business moving forward.
“There are so many areas of MYOB Advanced Business that we’re still not tapping into and utilising, so we want to take advantage of that,” she says.
Improvements since implementing MYOB Advanced Business and MYOB Advanced Payroll:
Greater financial visibility – customised, in-depth reporting for better decision-making.
Consolidation – one source of data truth for all APTC’s work sites.
Automated workflows save time – teams can do their jobs more efficiently.
Cloud-based system – sales reps can access customer information while on the road.
Better inventory management – digital audit trail makes tracking stock easier.
