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How Arbutus RV Ended the Three-Report Reconciliation Chase with IDS Pay
Industry:
RV
Company Size:
6 sales locations, 7 service locations
Number of Employees:
Location:
Mill Bay, BC
Key Takeaways
- No payment errors and no failed transactions in nearly two months at the first location on IDS Pay
- Reconciliation went from three reports that rarely matched to one IDS Pay report that has matched the bank every time so far
- Zero lag time between the terminal and IDS
- Faster checkout at the counter, and a reference refund feature the service advisors love
- Rollout to the remaining locations is planned from the end of October
Arbutus RV has been serving Vancouver Island for 38 years. It is a family-run business that began at the Mill Bay location, which is still its head office. Today it has six sales locations stretching from Sidney in the south to Courtenay in the north, plus seven service locations.
Running that many locations means a lot of money moving around. We sat down with Laurel Reynolds, the corporate controller, to hear what changed after Arbutus moved its first location to IDS Pay.
Laurel oversees accounting, payroll, HR and IT for the dealership group. She came from a large nonprofit and has been in the RV world for just over a year. Her days vary, but payments are never far away.
Laurel Reynolds: “Sometimes it feels like some days all I’m doing is making payments. And just watching the cash move around.”
She says the people make up for it. When she started, the GM told her, “we’re selling fun,” and she agrees. “It’s 100% the people.”
The Challenge: A Long Road for Every Payment
Too many systems in the middle
Before IDS Pay, a card payment passed through several outside payment systems and back again before it finally reached IDS.
Laurel Reynolds: “The communication channels were just too long that it was creating lots of issues.”
Sometimes a card was charged but the payment did not show up in IDS. Other times the card was not charged and something odd appeared on the other end.
Reconciliation meant three reports and a lot of hoping
To reconcile, the team ran a report from each of two outside payment systems plus an IDS report, then checked the bank on top of that.
Laurel Reynolds: “We’d run a [processor] report, a [gateway] report, and an IDS report, hoping that they would match. These reports rarely ever matched.”
Janet, who handles accounts receivable and all of the credit card reconciliations, could lose a whole day to it.
Laurel Reynolds: “She could spend a whole day chasing these down, trying to get information from people, trying to see where things are, make sense of which cards were the discrepancies.”
The Results: Reports That Match the Bank
No lag, no failed transactions
Laurel Reynolds: “There is honestly like 0 lag time. We don’t have failed transactions or failed communication from the system.”
Nearly two months in, Mill Bay has not seen a payment error.
Reports that match
Laurel Reynolds: “We have yet to see an IDS Pay report not match the bank. So that is a massive win for us.”
One thing is different. IDS Pay pulls its fees at the same time it deposits the transaction, so fees are recorded daily instead of twice a month. Laurel does not mind.
Laurel Reynolds: “To me, that doesn’t make a difference. That’s just accounting. But when your reports aren’t right, that’s where I get really frustrated.”
Faster checkout and easier refunds
Checkout at the counter is faster. The service advisors like the system, and their favorite part is the reference refund feature.
Laurel Reynolds: “That has significantly improved the process for doing refunds.”
Collecting old balances
Arbutus uses payment links to collect outstanding balances. It worked before and it works now. The challenge is on the customer side.
Laurel Reynolds: “The hard part is getting people to actually click and pay.”
What’s Next: Rolling Out Across the Island
Arbutus plans to bring IDS Pay to more locations starting near the end of October.
Laurel Reynolds: “I have full faith that implementing the rest of the stores is going to go really well.”
Advice for Other Canadian Dealers
Laurel Reynolds: “If you’re using [a separate gateway and processor], IDS Pay is going to 100% work the best. I think it’s going to change the game, and it’s designed by IDS to work with IDS. It’s definitely going to be your best option.”