Leveraging tech to take on large scale clients
How A2X has been a key player in Catching Clouds growth
Ecommerce accounting firm, Catching Clouds, based in the US, works with established ecommerce sellers producing a turnover of between one and $50 million. They’re considered leaders in the mid-to-high-range seller market because of their focus on high-quality tech to help their clients automate business operations.
Co-founder Scott Scharf has worked hard to create a well-known, high-tech brand - working closely with other leading tech brands like Xero and Gusto. He says A2X sets the standard, automatically summarising Amazon sales data, allowing for the automation of cost of goods sold and inventory.
A2X has also helped Catching Clouds grow and take on Amazon sellers of any size.
“We know we can manage both income at any level and cost of goods sold. A2X standardises the amount of work - it’s about the same effort no matter the size of the client” says Scott
On-boarding new clients using A2X
Not knowing if their business is profitable is one main reason clients approach Catching Clouds. Scott explains they’ve looked over hundreds of sellers’ books in the last eight years, and every single one - except those who already have A2X - have tried and failed to summarise Amazon sales data.
For most ecommerce sellers, 70-90% of their income will come from Amazon or Shopify. When taking on a new client, Scott’s team will use A2X to post summaries of income from Amazon or Shopify to Xero or QuickBooks Online. This makes it easy to reconcile financials. Thanks to A2X’s quick work, they can see the cost of goods sold per month, as well as accurate inventory values. Scott adds that not a single other tool he has looked at - and he’s researched most - can pull out and show the value of things like unsellable inventory. For clients trading in the $10-50 million range, this can be tens of thousands of dollars.
“Because we can show how the data comes in, they have detailed accurate financial information - and can sleep at night knowing how profitable they are. It’s such a huge piece to get all that pulled together,” he explains.
Reaching new business heights
When Catching Clouds was first starting out, Amazon had approximately 40 different fees, and grew rapidly to 300. To cope, Catching Clouds built an access database to try and pull Amazon settlement transactions but realised early on they needed something more powerful.
Scott could see A2X had the capability to transform the lives of his clients - and in the end, it’s also helped his business to scale and grow. Scott explains that with A2X he knows how long and how much effort it will take to support each of his clients’ accounts - and that is what has helped his business evolve tremendously.
“A2X has allowed us to take on large-scale ecommerce clients because it doesn’t matter how large or how much volume is involved. Our clients expect us to a) be their accounting department, so they’re freed up to focus on other things, and b) provide them with accurate, detailed financials, so they can move on and grow their business. A2X is core to that service” he says.
Good product, great people
Both Catching Clouds and A2X have come a long way in a relatively short period. Because his firm’s reputation relies on using quality tech, Scott says the systems he uses must be excellent at both a management and product level.
He reflects on the great relationship he’s had with A2X, stating that as Amazon has grown, so too has A2X. He likes to think his clients’ needs have been a big influence on A2X’s growth. He says being able to provide feedback on how to make A2X better for ecommerce accountants who use it, and their clients, is a great example of the reciprocal trust between the brands.
“Great product-level connections form great partner-level connections, and a great support team. We have all of that with A2X, so we can rely on the product as well as the relationship, enabling us to move forward and provide value to our clients, which is key to our business.”
