Executive Summary
Client Snapshot
Industry: FMCG (Fast-Moving Consumer Goods)
Geography: Australia
Operational Context: High transaction volumes, customised finance processes within a SYSPRO ERP environment
Engagement Focus: Accounts Payable and Accounts Receivable support, expanding into reconciliations, customer claims, Balance Sheet reconciliations, and finance process improvement
The Challenge
The engagement began with a difficult handover and minimal process documentation, requiring the team to independently understand complex accounting workflows within a customised SYSPRO ERP environment. At the outset, the client was facing several operational pain points:
- Limited transition period and minimal process documentation
- Backlog in Accounts Receivable reconciliations
- Delayed stakeholder responses on outstanding balances
- Large volume of pending Zoho CRM customer tickets
- Historical unreconciled Braintree clearing accounts
- Reliance on manual month-end journals
Befree's Approach
Rapid Learning & Ownership
The team independently learned the client’s SYSPRO ERP through live transaction processing, online resources, and internal documentation, all while ensuring uninterrupted finance support.
Stabilising Operations
- Maintained AP and AR continuity
- Utilised daily trackers for customer queries and AR follow-up
- Built relationships with stakeholders
Eliminating Backlogs
- Reviewed and prioritised aged AR items
- Reduced Zoho CRM ticket turnaround from approximately 3 days to same-day closure in most cases
- Implemented daily monitoring and structured escalation
Resolving Complex Reconciliations
- Took ownership of Braintree clearing account reconciliations
- Resolved historical reconciling items
- Managed Amazon vendor reconciliations and supplier statement differences
- Implemented sustainable reconciliation controls
Process Improvements
- Standardised transaction processing workflows
- Reduced dependency on manual month-end journals
- Introduced month-round reconciliation controls
- Improved clearing account transparency and financial reporting
Rapid Expansion of Services
| Initial Scope | Expanded Scope |
|---|---|
| AP | AP & AR |
| AR | AR Reconciliations |
| Basic Bookkeeping | Zoho CRM Claims |
| Braintree Reconciliations | |
| Amazon Vendor Reconciliations | |
| Balance Sheet Reconciliations | |
| Process Improvements |
The Results & Business Impact
The engagement delivered measurable improvements across scope, efficiency, and reconciliation accuracy:
- Significant increase in the scope of services
- Successfully mastered a complex SYSPRO ERP environment
- Eliminated historical AR reconciliation backlogs
- Reduced Zoho CRM response time from 3 days to same-day resolution
- Successfully reconciled complex Braintree clearing accounts
- Improved Amazon vendor reconciliation accuracy
- Reduced manual month-end journals
- Improved month-end close efficiency and reporting quality
- Became a trusted extension of the client’s finance team, supporting both operational delivery and continuous process improvement
Despite a difficult transition, the team quickly stabilised operations, resolved long-standing reconciliation issues, and introduced sustainable finance processes. Through technical adaptability, proactive ownership, and a continuous improvement mindset, the engagement rapidly evolved from supporting core bookkeeping activities to managing a wide range of critical finance functions. Today, Befree continues to serve as a trusted extension of the client’s finance team, delivering operational excellence while driving ongoing process improvements.